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Shanghai girls company PHang tang music - Harmattan music clubs. Mon groupe d'étudiante danseuse et chanteuse et dessinatrice ami de madame Bayili de ...
IQIY
et les universités franco - chinoises...
signé
Jacky BAYILI
Here, we present some of the most striking images around the world this past week.
MADRID - Cristiano Ronaldo set yet another Champions League record on Wednesday, scoring in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund to become the first player to find the net in all six group-stage matches.
MADRID - Cristiano Ronaldo set yet another Champions League record on Wednesday, scoring in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund to become the first player to find the net in all six group-stage matches.
MADRID - Cristiano Ronaldo set yet another Champions League record on Wednesday, scoring in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund to become the first player to find the net in all six group-stage matches.
MADRID - Cristiano Ronaldo set yet another Champions League record on Wednesday, scoring in Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund to become the first player to find the net in all six group-stage matches.
CAIRO - Arab foreign ministers on Sunday demanded that the US rescind President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, calling it a "grave" development that puts Washington on the same side as "occupation" and the violation of international law.
CAIRO - Arab foreign ministers on Sunday demanded that the US rescind President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, calling it a "grave" development that puts Washington on the same side as "occupation" and the violation of international law.
The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has set the guideline for China's development and renewed its commitment to an open economy, which has great significance for the world, China's top publicity official said on Thursday.
China's national internet platform featuring information about lost or stolen cultural relics went online on Thursday in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province.
The number of Chinese students taking advantage of an Optional Practical Training (OPT) program in the United States, has seen growth for seven straight years, according to a report released on Tuesday.
President Xi Jinping attended the grand opening ceremony of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace, which was built with Chinese assistance, in the middle of a new district of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Sunday.
China's Belt and Road Initiative is expected to tighten connections between Asia-Pacific economies and explore new growth engines in supporting a more open regional market, according to officials and experts at the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam.
China and Vietnam signed documents to boost cooperation in such areas as the economy, investment, finance and cultural exchanges on Sunday during President Xi Jinping's state visit to the neighboring country.
Depuis plus d'une semaine, l'accès à Facebook connaît une restriction (impossible d'y accéder à partir des données mobiles). Interpellé sur le sujet, au sortir du Conseil des ministres de ce mercredi 19 janvier 2022, le porte-parole du gouvernement, Pr Alkassoum Maïga, a réagi.
« Je suis dans la même situation que vous ; depuis ce temps, je n'ai pas accès à Facebook. On avait informé tout le monde que pour des raisons de sécurité, et d'autres préoccupations d'intérêt national, le gouvernement est en droit (...)
L'Observatoire indépendant des valeurs civiques et citoyennes (OIVC) a convoqué la presse ce mercredi 19 janvier 2022, à Ouagadougou. Cette conférence de presse a eu pour objectif de faire sa lecture de la marche que certaines organisations de la société civile prévoient ce 22 janvier 2022. Les conférenciers se sont aussi prononcé sur la récente présumée tentative de putsch et les sanctions de l'UEMOA et de la CEDEAO contre le Mali.
Ces trois sujets d'actualité ont été au centre des échanges avec la (...)
Décédé le 16 janvier 2022, les obsèques nationales du président Ibrahim Boubacar Keita renversé par la rue et les militaires auront lieu le 21 à Bamako. La junte réussira-t-elle à en faire une occasion de prendre langue avec les chefs d'État de la CEDEAO pour lever l'embargo ne serait-ce que pour que ses « frères et amis » puissent assister aux funérailles et profiter pour renouer les fils du dialogue ? Que retenir de celui qui s'en va ? Quel est le testament politique de l'ancien Premier ministre d'Alpha (...)
- InternationalIls sont de plus en plus nombreux, ces étudiantes et étudiants, surtout des universités publiques du Burkina, à se lancer dans l'entrepreneuriat. Un domaine qui leur est inconnu pour la plupart, mais qu'ils arrivent à maîtriser grâce à leur courage, leur persévérance et leur détermination. Installé sur l'avenue Charles-de-Gaulle, non loin de l'entrée de l'UFR-SJP et de l'ISSP de l'université Joseph-Ki-Zerbo, l'ancien étudiant en SVT (Sciences de la vie et de la terre) devenu « garbaman » (vendeur d'attiéké) (...)
- PortraitsGrâce à leur nul (1-1) contre l'Ethiopie, les Etalons du Burkina Faso sont qualifiés pour les huitièmes de finales de la 33e Coupe d'Afrique des nations (CAN), Cameroun 2021. Ils rejoignent le Cameroun, le Maroc, le Nigeria, déjà qualifiés avant leur troisième match.
Contrairement à ce qui se disait, le dernier match des Etalons avait bel et bien un enjeu. Si le Burkina Faso perdait son match et que le Cameroun se faisait surprendre par le Cap-Vert, s'en était fini des Etalons. Même avec ce nul, une (...)
L'Unité d'action syndicale (UAS) du Burkina Faso a, dans sa déclaration du 18 janvier 2022, dénoncé les sanctions « inhumaines » infligées à la République du Mali le 9 janvier par la CEDEAO et l'UEMOA. « Le caractère sévère et excessif de ces sanctions suscite chez des Africains de toutes conditions incompréhension, colère et rejet » peut-on lire dans la déclaration.
Sans soutenir la junte militaire au Mali encore moins cautionner les coups d'Etat, l'Unité d'action syndicale a regretté les peines « injustes (...)
Dans le cadre de la lutte contre le covid 19, la Direction régionale de la santé des Hauts-Bassins a organisé le mercredi 19 janvier 2022 à Bobo-Dioulasso, une rencontre d'échanges avec les journalistes.
Cette rencontre a pour objectif d'informer les acteurs des medias sur la situation du covid 19 et l'évolution de la vaccination contre cette maladie dans la région des Hauts-Bassins. Il s'agissait aussi de plaider auprès d'eux en vue d'obtenir leur accompagnement pour la campagne nationale (...)
Des responsables d'organisations internationales axées sur la protection de l'enfant au Burkina Faso se sont réunis le jeudi 13 janvier 2022 à Ouagadougou pour réfléchir sur les possibilités d'unir leurs forces à travers des actions conjointes guidées par les voix et les besoins des enfants. Une collaboration qui leur permettra de rejoindre la grande famille de l'initiative Joining Forces née en 2017 et déjà en place dans plusieurs pays à travers le monde.
Huit organisations travaillant avec et pour les (...)
Le Conseil des ministres s'est tenu à Ouagadougou, le mercredi 19 janvier 2022, en séance ordinaire, de 09 H 00 mn à 12 H 45 mn, sous la présidence de Son Excellence Monsieur Roch Marc Christian KABORE, Président du Faso, Président du Conseil des ministres. Il a délibéré sur les dossiers inscrits à son ordre du jour, entendu des communications orales, procédé à des nominations et autorisé des missions à l'étranger.
I. DELIBERATIONS
I.1. AU TITRE DU MINISTERE DE L'ECONOMIE, DES FINANCES ET DU PLAN
Le (...)
Suite aux sanctions imposées par les institutions sous régionales ouest africaines (CEDEAO et UEMOA), pour contrer ce qu'elles qualifient de mauvaise gestion dans la transition dans ce pays de l'Afrique occidentale, Jonas Hien, un acteur de la société civile burkinabè dénonce la goutte d'eau de trop. Il nous a fait parvenir la tribune ci-après.
Une conférence s'est tenue du 15 novembre 1884 au 26 février 1885 à Berlin, en Allemagne. L'initiative de convocation de la conférence est venue d'un Chancelier (...)
Le 13 janvier 2022, un affrontement a opposé les étudiants de l'université Nazi Boni de Bobo aux forces de défense transformant ainsi le campus en un centre de tirs. Bilan : Une dizaine de blessés et des arrestations.
Suite à cet événement, l'Association des étudiants burkinabè en France (AEBF) par son communiqué parvenu à notre rédaction ce mercredi 19 janvier 2022, condamne les répressions " barbares" perpétrées sur leurs camarades de Bobo Dioulasso et exigent entre autres la réintégration sans délais (...)
Le Centre pour la qualité du droit et la justice (CQDJ) a procédé ce mercredi 19 janvier 2022, au lancement de la troisième phase de son projet intitulé : « Sécurité humaine et accès à la justice ». Cette initiative qui entend renforcer et promouvoir le contrôle citoyen de l'action publique sécuritaire concernera désormais le Centre et Centre-nord.
Le Centre pour la qualité du droit et la justice (CQDJ) va passer à une étape supérieure de son projet « Sécurité humaine et accès à la justice ». Ce mercredi (...)
L'Initiative de soutien au peuple malien (ISPM) a organisé une conférence de presse, ce mardi 18 janvier 2022 à Ouagadougou. Elle a qualifié d'illégales les décisions de la CEDEAO à l'endroit du Mali.
Depuis l'adoption des sanctions contre le Mali par les Etats membres de la CEDEAO, les messages d'indignation vont bon train. C'est ainsi que l'initiative de soutien au peuple malien (ISPM) a estimé qu'il était urgent de mener une réflexion pour trouver de bonnes réponses à cette crise diplomatique. Elle a (...)
Le Centre de formation en transport routier et activités auxiliaires (CFTRA) a procédé à la remise d'attestations à ses impétrants formés durant l'année 2021. C'était au cours d'une cérémonie qui a eu lieu ce mercredi 19 janvier 2022 au sein de la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie à Ouagadougou.
Ce sont 260 chauffeurs venant de plusieurs sociétés publiques et privées qui ont bénéficié en 2021 des formations du Centre de formation en transport routier et activités auxiliaires (CFTRA). Il s'agissait de renforcer (...)
Quatre soldats français de la force Barkhane ont été blessés par un engin explosif improvisé (IED), ce mardi 18 janvier 2022, dans le nord (Ouahigouya) du Burkina, lors d'une mission de reconnaissance, apprend-on de l'Agence française de presse (AFP).
Selon l' Agence, l'Etat-Major français des armées a indiqué que « le véhicule tout-terrain a explosé sur un IED à la sortie de l'aéroport de Ouahigouya », en précisant qu'il s'agissait d'une « unité Barkhane en mission de reconnaissance. »
Tous ont été (...)
Les responsables du petit séminaire de Tionkuy ont animé une conférence de presse le mardi 18 janvier 2022 à Dédougou. L'objectif de cette sortie médiatique était d'expliquer aux hommes et femmes de médias l'événement couplé de la fête du séminaire qui aura lieu du samedi 22 au dimanche 23 janvier 2022.
Le petit séminaire Saint Paul de Tionkuy est une institution éducative fondée en 1961 et située à 5 km de Dédougou. Chaque année, il célèbre une fête dénommée « La fête de Saint Paul ». Cette année, la fête (...)
Dans la déclaration ci-après parvenue à notre rédaction, Le Conseil national des Organisations de la société civile (OSC) du Burkina Faso, condamne les sanctions illégitimes et inhumaines prises contre le peuple frère du Mali, et exige leur levée.
Le Conseil national des organisations de la société civile du Burkina Faso a accueilli avec étonnement les sanctions prises contre le peuple frère du Mali par la CEDEAO lors du sommet des Chefs d'Etat tenu le 09 janvier 2022 à Accra, en République du Ghana. (...)
Les 18 et 19 janvier 2022, le personnel du SPONG ainsi que les organisations partenaires de mise en œuvre du projet Benkadi, renforcent leurs connaissances sur le concept genre et l'inclusion. Mis en œuvre dans le but de renforcer la résilience des populations face aux effets néfastes des changements climatiques, Benkadi met un point d'honneur sur la prise en compte des besoins des populations vulnérables que sont les femmes, les jeunes et les personnes handicapées. Deux jours durant, les (...)
- SociétéLancement du processus de consultation des travaux pour le Plan-Cadre de Coopération des Nations Unies pour le Développement durable, United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework ((UNSDCF)
Ouagadougou, 19 Janvier 2022 - Dans le cadre de sa mission d'accompagnement des Etats dans la mise en œuvre de leurs stratégies de développement, le Système des Nations Unies (SNU) au Burkina Faso organise ces 20 et 21 janvier 2022 à l'hôtel Sopatel Silmande à 9h00, le lancement officiel du (...)
L'Institut International d'Ingénierie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement (2iE) recrute des professionnels en Bachelor et Master en Gestion des Infrastructures et Services, en Master en Management des Entreprises et des Organisations, et en Mastère Spécialisé en Gestion Durable des Mines pour le compte de la rentrée de février 2022.
Offre innovante et flexible
L'offre de formation professionnelle en ligne de 2iE s'adapte aux spécificités du monde de l'entreprise : manque de temps, faible disponibilité, (...)
Le WAM NAABA, chef coutumier de WAM TENGA à Saaba, Les grandes familles BONKOUNGOU, ILBOUDO, KABORE, DEMTOUMDA, SAWADOGO à Ouagadougou, Le chef de GAOGHO à Manga, Les familles GOUNGOUNGA, NIKIEMA à Saaba et Ouagadougou, Les familles alliées KABORE, NACAMBO, KIENDREBEOGO, ILBOUDO, Les familles amies,
Son époux BONKOUNGOU Emile, Ingénieur télécom à l'ex-ONATEL à la retraire à Ouagadougou, Ses enfants BONKOUNGOU Alida agent de santé à Ouagadougou, Laure conseiller clientèle à Colombiers (France), Sylvie (...)
La grande famille Royale du Yatenga,
Sa Majesté le Naaba Kiiba, Roi du Yatenga,
Le responsable coutumier de Teonsgo,
Les familles DIARRA et OUEDRAOGO
à Teonsgo, Ouahigouya, Ouagadougou et Etats-Unis,
Les familles DAH, SIB et KAMBOU
à Gaoua, Kampti, Batié-Nord, Bobo Dioulasso, Ouagadougou et Abidjan,
Les familles alliées : LOMPO, NEBIE ET ZOUNGRANA,
Les enfants : Léonce, Valérie, Hermann, Antonine et Rebecca
Les beaux-fils : Mahamadi NEBIE et Aimé ZOUNGRANA
La belle fille : Marie Nadège (...)
Le Chef de canton d'Arbinda Les grandes familles MAIGA, OURBA, MAZOUMBA, KIENI, WEREME, DOUNA, ZANGO, TAO, YIRGUE, ZARE à Arbinda, Ouroundou, Gaikngota et Dalla Les familles alliées : KABORE à Bougrétenga Nabelen, OUEDRAOGO à Bendatoega et Douala (Cameroun), DIARRA, TAPSOBA, PARE, BANHORO, NONGUIERMA à Ouagadougou, SAWADOGO à Fada Ngourma et BAYAMA à Koudougou
Madame MAIGA née KABORE Fatimata Martine et enfants, Rosine, Suzanne, Jeannette, Paul, Eugenie, Daniel, David et Nicole à Ouagadougou Ont la (...)
« J'ai combattu le bon combat, j'ai achevé la course, j'ai gardé la foi ». (2Timothé 4-7)
Les grandes familles KY, GOLANE et ZANTE à To, Toma, Ouagadougou, Abidjan, Bobo-Dioulasso, Dédougou, Niamey, Lomé et Houndé ; Les familles alliées KI à Toma, Sapala, Paris, Koudougou et Bobo-Dioulasso ; DRABO, TOE, ZIE, SIA, ZERBO, PARE, KABORE, FORO et TRAORE ; Monsieur KY Edmond et frères, KY Lassina, KY Jean-Christophe, KY Marcel et KY Jean-Baptiste ;
Les enfants : KI Gaston, gendarme à la retraite, KI (...)
Sa Majesté le LALLE Naaba de Koudougou ; Sa Majesté le Tingsoaba de Koudougou ; Son Excellence le Dapoya Naaba Baongho de Koudougou ; Son Excellence Wogd Razang Naaba POULMA, PDG de Poulma Distribution ; La grande famille YAMEOGO à Dapoya/Koudougou, Ouagadougou, Ouahigouya, Léo, en Côte d'Ivoire et en France ; Monsieur YAMEOGO Ambroise Zanré à Koudougou ; Les Pasteurs YAMEOGO Enock, Bernard et Pierre à Ouagadougou ; Capitaine YAMEOGO Christophe à Ouagadougou ; Messieurs YAMEOGO Felix, Urbain, (...)
- NécrologieLes grandes familles WOBA, SOUBEIGA, GNAMIEN, GNAKOU à Ouagadougou, Fada, Tibga, Diabo, Casablanca, Abidjan, Divo et Djitri en Côte d'Ivoire,
Les familles KIEMA, NATAMA et SAWADOGO,
Les familles alliées BAMBARA, OUONGO, ZOPULA et KAMBOU,
Docteur Richard WOBA (Pharmacie Louis Pasteur) et ses enfants Axel Emmanuel, Jean Erwin et Nicolas
Ont la très profonde douleur de vous annoncer le décès le jeudi 13 janvier 2022 à domicile à Somgandé de leur fille, belle-fille, sœur, épouse et mère :
Marie Laure (...)
La Ligue des acteurs du E-commerce était face aux hommes de médias en cette après-midi du 18 janvier 2022. Objectif, réclamer le rétablissement du réseau social Facebook qui depuis plusieurs jours a connu des restrictions. Selon les membres de la Ligue, Facebook est devenu pour eux un outil indispensable d'écoulement de leurs produits. Et depuis la restriction, c'est une baisse notable de leur clientèle ainsi que du chiffre d'affaires qui est notée. Leurs entreprises se trouvent donc fragilisées et (...)
- EconomieLe regroupement des petits commerçants de Ouagadougou a animé une conférence de presse ce mardi 18 janvier 2022 à la Bourse du travail de la capitale. Objectif, donner leur lecture sur la situation du transport de marchandises entre le Burkina Faso et le Togo.
Les prix des denrées importées pourraient connaître une hausse dans les jours à venir. C'est du moins ce qu'a laissé entendre le regroupement des petits commerçants de Ouagadougou. Et pour cause, ils disent avoir constaté une hausse des frais de (...)
Cinq fois sacré champion national « Muscl'or » au Burkina Faso, Alfred Zan Badi dit « Caterpillar » teste ses compétence au-delà de nos frontières. Ce « Caterpillar » a battu le record malien le dimanche 12 décembre 2021 lors de la 9e édition de « Fangatigui » (homme fort) en soulevant une charge de 250 kg. Dans une interview accordée à LeFaso.net ce lundi 17 janvier 2022 à Ouagadougou, le champion burkinabè est revenu sur sa carrière sportive dans la lutte traditionnelle, sa décision de passer à (...)
- SportL'Office national de l'eau et de l'assainissement (ONEA) est en pleins travaux pour résoudre les perturbations de la desserte en eau liées à une série de pannes techniques. C'est le constat que nous avons pu faire ce mardi 18 janvier 2022 sur le site de la station de traitement de l'ONEA implanté à Ziga.
Une série de pannes techniques est à l'origine des perturbations de la desserte en eau potable survenues ces temps-ci dans certains quartiers de Ouagadougou et bien d'autres zones. Ce sont les raisons (...)
La journée d'hier a été des plus palpitantes pour les Burkinabé. Achevé sur un score de 1-1, le match des Etalons contre les Walya de l'Ethiopie n'a pas su étancher la soif de victoire des supporteurs burkinabè. Bien que ce match ait offert un billet aux poulains de Kamou Malo pour les huitièmes de finale, le doute demeure tout de même dans l'esprit des Burkinabè quant à la capacité des joueurs à poursuivre dans la compétition.
Abdoul Aziz Guiré, étudiant en 3e année de marketing et gestion commerciale
« (...)
Les Etalons affrontent les panthères du Gabon en huitièmes de finale de la Coupe d'Afrique des nations de football, Cameroun 2021.
Après son nul 2-2 contre le Maroc, le Gabon se classe deuxième du groupe C derrière le Maroc qui compte 7 points+3.
Deuxièmes de leur groupe, les Etalons affrontent, selon le calendrier de la CAN, le deuxième du groupe C. Les Gabonais sont réduits par l'absence de Aubameyang et Lemina qui ont présenté, aux derniers tests médicaux, des lésions cardiaques causés par le (...)
Dans la matinée du samedi 15 janvier 2022, le Premier ministre Lassina Zerbo, en compagnie du ministre en charge des armées, du ministre en charge de l'action humanitaire et de celui de la sécurité, a fait escale à Toma dans la province du Nayala.
Le Premier ministre a expliqué qu'il a fait escale pour « dire un bonjour à mes oncles et demander leurs bénédictions afin de bien conduire la mission qui m'est assignée ». Après les salutations d'usage, la délégation s'est rendue au domicile du grand père du (...)
Le ministère du développement urbain, de l'habitat et de la ville a procédé à la publication du rapport du comité ad hoc d'examen des demandes d'approbation des projets immobiliers. C'était ce lundi 17 janvier 2022, au cours d'un point de presse.
Sur 400 dossiers reçus, 105 projets ont été jugés recevables car respectant les documents de planification urbaine.
Sur la base de cette première étape des analyses, 295 demandes sont rejetées pour non-respect des documents de planification urbaine, conformément (...)
Dans un communiqué du mardi 18 janvier 2022, le directeur général de la Police nationale informe les populations que suite à un incident technique survenu au niveau de la plateforme E-passeport, la délivrance des passeports ordinaires au niveau de la Division de la Migration (Service passeport) connaît des perturbations.
La réception des demandes de passeport au niveau de la division de la migration se poursuit mais avec des délais de délivrance qui pourraient être allongés du fait du (...)
Le Burkina Faso accueille ce mardi 18 janvier 2022, la 7e revue annuelle, édition 2021, des réformes politiques, programmes et projets communautaires de l'Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine (UEMOA). Une rencontre qui vise à examiner les conclusions et les recommandations des travaux techniques entre les experts de l'UEMOA et ceux du Burkina Faso.
Les réformes politiques, programmes et projets communautaire de l'Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine (UEMOA), sont évaluées au (...)
Sur 404 échantillons analysés, 41 personnes dont 21 à Ouagadougou, 9 à Koudougou, 6 à Tenkodogo et 5 à Bobo-Dioulasso ont été testés positifs.
Ce qui porte le nombre de cas actifs à 918.
14 nouveaux décès ont été enregistrés à cette date.
Le nombre de guérisons est de 227.
Le nombre de cas confirmés depuis le 09 mars 2020 est de 20 290 dont 7512 femmes et 12778 hommes.
Le nombre de personnes vaccinées contre la maladie à coronavirus au Burkina s'élève à 1.275.315. (...)
Une délégation malienne composée de ministres (affaires étrangères, administration territoriale, économie et du commerce), s'est rendue à Nouakchott, en Mauritanie, ce lundi 17 janvier 2022.
Cette visite vise à contourner l'embargo qui frappe le Mali depuis l'adoption des sanctions par la Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) et à faire transiter une partie du fret malien par la Mauritanie.
Avant la Mauritanie, la délégation s'est rendue à Conakry pour rencontrer les autorités (...)
« Anthropologie culturelle burkinabè », tel est le titre de l'œuvre du moine et prêtre, Pascal Ouédraogo du monastère Saint Benoit de Koubri. Éditée en 2020 la version améliorée a été rééditée en 2021. Dans son œuvre, l'homme de Dieu veut éveiller les consciences de tous ceux qui sont en quête de leur identité fondamentale, surtout burkinabè. Tout en faisant voyager ses lecteurs dans la langue mooré ainsi que d'autres langues.
Dans cette nouvelle édition, le religieux anthropologue propose une autre version de (...)
Dans l'après-midi du 10 janvier 2022, les utilisateurs de l'internet mobile ont constaté une interruption du service sur l'ensemble du territoire national. La connexion a été rétablie quelques heures plus tard au niveau des trois compagnies de téléphonie mobile, Telecel, Orange et Moov. Interrogé sur la question le 11 janvier 2022 par la télévision privée BF1, Maxime Koné, ministre en charge de la sécurité a réagi en ces termes : « Nous n'avons pas de commentaire à faire ».
Cependant, suite à cet épisode (...)
A la faveur du nouvel an 2022, le Panel des anciens pour la paix et la réconciliation nationale (PANAPAX) de l'Appel de Manéga adresse ses vœux les meilleurs aux Burkinabè et lance à leur endroit un appel « au sursaut patriotique pour l'honneur, la dignité et pour le salut du peuple ».
« En ce début d'année nouvelle, les anciens de l'Appel de Manéga voudraient adresser leurs vœux de paix, de sécurité, de santé et de bonheur partagé à l'ensemble des Burkinabè notamment les travailleurs, la vaillante (...)
Le Congrès pour la démocratie et le progrès (CDP) dénonce, dans cette lettre ouverte, la coupure du réseau social Facebook au Burkina. Le parti de l'opposition exige le rétablissement « dans les meilleurs délais » de la connexion mobile du réseau social Facebook et le respect du droit élémentaire des Burkinabè au libre accès à l'information.
« Le Congrès pour la démocratie et le progrès (CDP) note que depuis le mardi 11 janvier 2022, les Burkinabé ont encore une fois de plus constaté que le gouvernement a (...)
Le président de la République populaire de Chine, Xi Jinping, a prononcé, lundi 17 janvier 2022, un discours spécial à la session virtuelle 2022 du Forum économique mondial de Davos. Ci-dessous, le texte intégral de son discours qui invite à se projeter déjà dans l'après-covid-19 et donne quelques pistes de solutions.
« Professeur Klaus Schwab, Mesdames et Messieurs, Chers Amis,
Bonjour à tous. C'est un grand plaisir pour moi de participer à cette session virtuelle du Forum économique mondial.
Nous (...)
Maurice Sarigda a été élevé au grade de docteur en sociologie avec mention « très honorable » ce vendredi 14 janvier 2022 à l'université Joseph KI-Zerbo. Pour motif, il a présenté le fruit de ses recherches doctorales portant sur la suppression des paiements des soins au profit de certaines catégories socialement vulnérables à un jury composé de quatre membres, sur le thème « Contribution de l'exemption direct des soins à l'amélioration de la qualité technique et relationnelle des soins curatifs dans les (...)
- Recherches et innovationsNew York/Ouagadougou, 14 janvier - Le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD) annonce que son bureau de pays au Burkina Faso et "GOOD ON ROOFS", une association générale constituée en société au Japon, ont signé un accord pro-bono pour installer un système d'énergie renouvelable au centre "Espace Rencontre Jeunesse de Dafra" à Bobo-Dioulasso, une ville située à environ 330 km de la capitale du pays, Ouagadougou. Ils travailleront également avec le Ministère de l'Education pour créer un (...)
- CommuniquésLe CLU-JKZ Centre de Langues de l'Université Joseph KI-ZERBO précédemment CLUO a le plaisir d'informer les institutions privées et publiques élèves, étudiants, travailleurs et toute personne désireuse d'apprendre ou de perfectionner son anglais que les cours de la 2ème session de l'année académique 2022 débutent le 03 Février à 18 heures dans ses locaux sis à l'Université Joseph KI-ZERBO.
Les inscriptions et réinscriptions ont lieu du 05 Janvier au 03 Février 2022
de 8 h à 15h 30, sauf samedi et dimanche. (...)
La Direction générale des impôts a recouvré à la date du 16 décembre 2021, 1 005 373 306 806 de FCFA au titre du Budget de l'Etat pour une prévision annuelle révisée à la hausse de 956 713 027 000 de FCFA soit un taux de recouvrement de 105,09% à 15 jours de la fin de l'année.
Si, ces résultats exceptionnels sont tributaires des efforts consentis par les agents de l'Administration, ils sont surtout le fruit du civisme fiscal de bon nombre de contribuables qui ont compris l'importance de l'impôt qui est (...)
Le Naaba Karfo de Bagemnini ; Le Naaba Saneem de Doulougou (Gana) ; Les grandes familles NANA à Bagemnini, Ouagadougou et Quebec ; Les grandes familles NIKIEMA à Pamnoogo et Ouagadougou ; Ses frères et sœurs : Boukaré, Mamounata, et Michel ; Ses enfants : Pauline, Feu Etienne, Léopold, Philomène, Justine, Édouard, Désirée, et Amélie ;
Les familles alliées TAPSOBA, TARNAGDA, NIKIEMA, IBRIGA, TRAORÉ et RAMDÉ ; Ses petits-enfants et arrières petits-enfants ;
Très touchés par les marques de compassion, (...)
Les grandes familles KPAGGNAWNE à Memer Mongnoupla, les familles alliées Kpièlè à Mèmer Lopal, Naayilé à Bozo, Fielmuon et Mémer ;
Les frères et sœurs avec leurs familles respectives : SOME Nicolas à Lille en France, Mme OUATTARA/SOME Léocadie à Gaoua, SOME Emmanuel à Göttingen en Allemagne, SOME Siméon à Mongnoupla, SOME Elysée et SOME Alain à Ouaga ; Les enfants : Mme DIARRA/SOME B. Prisca à Ouaga, SOME D. Ghislain à Boromo, Mme NABALOUM/SOME Alida, SOME Carine Marie Léonce à Ouaga ;
Les petits enfants : (...)
En tout, 105 projets immobiliers ont été retenus suite à l'examen de 400 demandes d'approbation de projets immobiliers au Burkina Faso. Le rapport de la commission ad hoc, instruit à cet effet par le ministre en charge du développement urbain, a été rendu public ce lundi 17 janvier 2022 à Ouagadougou.
L'on retient que ce sont 92 promoteurs, sur 275, qui ont introduit les 400 demandes. Après donc analyse de celles-ci, 295 dossiers ont été rejetés. Si les 105 autres projets sont jugés recevables, ils (...)
Des déchets de tous genres et même des chiens morts sont jetés dans certains cimetières de la ville de Ouagadougou. Cette facette plus ou moins cachée de la capitale, est souvent mise aux oubliettes jusqu'à ce que la mort d'un proche ou d'une connaissance nous ramène à nouveau aux réalités de ces espaces accueillant nos disparus. C'est ce que nous avons pu entrevoir le lundi 10 janvier 2022, lors de notre passage dans les quartiers de Toécin, Kilwin, Rimkièta et Karpala.
Les cimetières au Burkina Faso, (...)
Les Etalons ont obtenu, ce lundi 17 janvier 2022, leur ticket pour les huitièmes de finale de la CAN 2021 en arrachant un nul difficile (1-1) contre les Walya d'Ethiopie. Leur adversaire des huitièmes de finale sera connu à l'issue de la dernière journée du Groupe C.
On croyait qu'ils seraient très performants. Mais les Etalons ont fait montre d'un visage peu reluisant lors de la phase de poules de la CAN 2021. En trois sorties, ils sont passés par tous les résultats : une défaite, une victoire et (...)
L'État-Major General des Armées du Mali, dans un communiqué ce 17 janvier 2022, a porté à la connaissance de l'opinion que dans la continuité des opérations militaires, les Forces Armées Maliennes (FAMa) maintiennent la dynamique offensive de l'opération "KELETIGUI" en zones Sud et Centre contre les groupes armés terroristes qui adoptent l'évitement comme mode d'action.
Dans ce sens, les actions de renseignements, d'infiltrations et d'aéroterrestres ont produit les résultats suivants : Le 10 janvier 2022, (...)
Le « bras » de fer entre les autorités de la transition malienne et la CEDEAO (Communauté économique des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest) « continue d'alimenter l'actualité ». En effet, depuis l'annonce des sanctions de ces institutions sous-régionales (CEDEAO et UEMOA) contre le pouvoir du Colonel Assimi Goïta, le sujet est au cœur des débats.
Au-delà des thèses et antithèses, les sanctions commenceront à se faire ressentir dans le quotidien des Maliens dans les jours à venir, même si pour le moment, la (...)
Société Générale Burkina Faso (SGBF) se transforme pour s'adapter aux nouvelles habitudes de consommation de sa clientèle. Elle a lancé ce vendredi 14 janvier 2022, son plan de transformation dénommé « AUDACE ». C'était au cours d'une conférence de presse digitale animée par Harold Coffi, Directeur Général de Société Générale Burkina Faso, Robert Diallo, Directeur Commercial Entreprises, Jean-Pierre Madiéga, Directeur Marketing et Communication et Alassane Zongo, Responsable Unité Commerciale Provinces et Canaux (...)
- EconomieLes Forces Armées Nationales poursuivent les opérations de sécurisation du territoire national à travers les activités menées au sein des Groupements de Forces. Elles conduisent également des activités de soutien au développement au profit des structures de l'Etat, de structures privées, ainsi que des activités au profit des populations.
GROUPEMENT DE FORCES DU SECTEUR CENTRE ET EST
10 au 16 janvier 2022 : Dans la continuité des efforts déployés pour la sécurisation du territoire national, les Forces (...)
L'opposition politique burkinabè était au chevet des étudiants blessés suite à l'incident des 13 et 14 janvier 2022, qui s'est produit à l'université Nazi Boni de Bobo-Dioulasso. La délégation conduite par le député Boubacar Sannou, est allée s'enquérir de l'état de santé et du traitement des victimes de la manifestation. C'était ce lundi 17 janvier 2022 à l'hôpital Souro Sanou.
Cette visite a eu lieu loin des objectifs de caméras et d'appareils photos des journalistes. Cette interdiction de prise de vues émane (...)
L'Association des grossistes et détaillants d'intrants agricoles du Burkina Faso a apporté une assistance alimentaire aux personnes déplacées internes de la région de la Boucle du Mouhoun ce lundi 17 janvier 2022. La cérémonie de remise du don a eu lieu à Dédougou en présence des bénéficiaires, des autorités administratives, coutumières et religieuses.
50 042. C'est le nombre de personnes déplacées internes (PDI) de la région de la Boucle du Mouhoun qui ont bénéficié du soutien de L'Association des (...)
Le ministre de la santé, de l'hygiène publique et du bien-être, Pr Charlemagne Ouédraogo a rencontré les élus consulaires de la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie du Burkina Faso ce lundi 17 janvier 2022. Il est allé solliciter leur accompagnement dans la lutte contre le Covid-19.
Le Burkina Faso traverse depuis septembre 2021 une troisième vague de Covid-19. Une vague particulièrement sévère à en croire le ministre de la santé qui indique que sur 462 personnes admises en réanimation, seulement deux (...)
A la date du 15 janvier 2022, sur 551 échantillons analysés dont 20 tests de diagnostic rapide, le Burkina a enregistré 54 nouveaux cas dont 45 à Ouagadougou, 06 à Bobo-Dioulasso, et 01 à Boulsa, Tenkodogo et Garango.
A la même date, 196 nouvelles guérisons ont été enregistrées portant le nombre à 18 792 guéris. Aucun décès enregistré à la même date. Le total de personnes emportées par la maladie est donc de 339.
Depuis le 9 mars 2020, 20 249 cas dont 7502 femmes et 12747 hommes ont été confirmés dans le (...)
Les Etalons affrontent, ce lundi 17 janvier 2022, au Stade omnisports de Bafoussam, pour leur troisième et dernier match de poule, les Walya d'Ethiopie. Le sélectionneur national, Kamou Malo, a rendu public, à 1h30 mn du match, son Onze de départ.
A l'attaque, Fessal Tapsoba cède sa place à Hassane Bandé. Absent lors du match précédent pour raison de covid-19, Bertrand Traoré retrouve sa place au sein des titulaires et son brassard de capitaine. Cyrille Bayala est le troisième élément de l'attaque. (...)
La CAN 2021 bat actuellement son plein au Cameroun. Après un match d'ouverture qui a connu la victoire des Lions indomptables, 2-1, sur l'équipe du Burkina Faso, les Camerounais sont très satisfaits du déroulement de la compétition.
Emmanuel Edzamba : « La CAN de cette année est exceptionnelle parce que cela fait 50 ans que le Cameroun n'avait plus organisé de CAN. Nous ne sommes pas de cette génération et nous sommes heureux que cette édition représente en nombre l'Afrique et un défi que le Cameroun (...)
La star gabonaise, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, quitte la Coupe d'Afrique des nations de football, Cameroun 2021, pour des lésions au cœur après avoir été testé positif au Covid-19. La décision concerne également son coéquipier Mario Lemina pour les mêmes raisons.
Ils quittent officiellement la compétition alors que la Confédération africaine de football avait indiqué, dans un communiqué, d'écarter les deux joueurs pour des séquelles cardiaques du covid-19 découvertes lors des récents examens médicaux.
Dans (...)
L'Organisation non gouvernementale (ONG) WaterAid a remis le vendredi 14 janvier 2022, des kits d'hygiène et de dignité aux Personnes déplacées internes (PDI) des communes de Kaya, de Tougouri et de Tikaré, dans la région du Centre-nord. Cette action de l'ONG entre dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre de son « Projet de promotion de l'hygiène et de l'assainissement dans les régions du Centre-nord, du Centre-sud et du Nord » financé par la Suède.
Les Personnes déplacées internes (PDI) des communes de Kaya, (...)
La société SYSAID FASO SA, filiale de la société "TECMON ENERGY SA" « implantée au Burkina Faso a offert dix poteaux solaires au village de Séloghin, dans la commune de Kombissiri. Ce mercredi 12 janvier 2022 a eu lieu la cérémonie de réception. D'une valeur de dix millions de FCFA, cette réalisation s'inscrit dans la vision de ladite société d'accompagner le gouvernement burkinabè dans sa politique d'électrification des villes et des campagnes.
Après Tuire dans le Ganzourgou, Kaya, Boussouma et Langle (...)
La Secrétaire générale de la Primature a annoncé sur la page Facebook de l'instution, le décès de Moubasséra Kirakoye, précédemment directeur du protocole.
Le décès est survenu ce lundi 17 janvier 2022, des suites de maladie à l'hôpital de Bogodogo où il était interné depuis quelques semaines.
Diplômé en lettres (Anglais), M. Kirakoye a fait l'essentiel de sa carrière professionnelle au service du protocole de la Primature où il est entré au temps de Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo (1996-2000). (...)
Les Forces armées maliennes (FAMa) ont neutralisé neuf terroristes et détruit deux de leurs bases logistiques , hier 15 janvier 2022. C'était au cours de l'opération des manœuvres offensives ‘'KELETIGUI'' qui a concerné la localité de Alatona, zone de Diabaly, cercle de Niono.
Au cours de cette opération, les FAMa ont enregistré un blessé et ont réussi à récupérer plusieurs matériels, notamment, un camion équipé de 12,7 ; un Pick-up équipé également de 12,7 ; détruit un tricycle, récupéré 57 téléphones (...)
Afin d'assurer la mise en œuvre efficiente du projet Benkadi dans les sept régions d'intervention au Burkina Faso, des accords de partenariat ont été signés entre les organisations de mise en œuvre du projet. D'un coût d'environ 221 millions de FCFA, ces protocoles vont permettre la réalisation des activités prévues pour l'année 2022. La cérémonie de signature qui a eu lieu ce vendredi 14 janvier 2022, a été précédée d'une session de travail au cours de laquelle ces organisations et le SPONG, à travers (...)
- SociétéLa 33e Coupe d'Afrique des nations bat actuellement son plein au Cameroun. Une forte délégation burkinabè y séjourne actuellement. Des journalistes sportifs font également partie de la délégation. Pour saluer leur travail, le président du Comité national olympique et des sports burkinabè, Jean Yaméogo, et celui de l'Union nationale des supporters des Etalons, Ousséni Tougouma, ont rendu, les 14 et 15 janvier 2022, une visite de courtoisie aux envoyés spéciaux des différents médias.
Deux jours, deux (...)
Tous les déplacés internes sont vulnérables. Parmi ceux-ci on dénombre encore d'autres qui sont encore plus vulnérables surtout les femmes qui ont tout perdu derrière elles. Ce 15 janvier 2022 à Dori, celles-ci au nombre de 20 ont bénéficié des habits, du savon et des vivres. Le geste provient de l'association Femmes dynamiques du Sahel par l'entremise du réseau Paix, sécurité pour les femmes de l'espace CEDEAO, antenne Burkina Faso.
Cette cérémonie sobre mais plein de sens à connu la présence des (...)
Communiqué de Presse
Le Ministre d'Etat, Ministre auprès du Président Faso, chargé de la Réconciliation Nationale et de la Cohésion Sociale, informe tous les membres du Conseil National d'Orientation et de Suivi (CNOS) de la Réconciliation Nationale et de la Cohésion Sociale, que la cérémonie officielle d'installation des membres du CNOS, aura lieu le jeudi 20 janvier 2022 à 16 heures dans la salle polyvalente de la Présidence du Faso.
La cérémonie est placée sous la Présidence de Son Excellence (...)
Une importante société ayant son siège à Ouagadougou recherche des candidatures pour le recrutement d'une (01) secrétaire-comptable.
Niveau d'étude : Technicien / BAC+2.
Un BAC PRO ACC de base pourrait être un atout.
Type de contrat : CDD d'un (1) an renouvelable avec période d'essai
Missions du poste :
► Gestion du secrétariat :
• Assurer l'accueil physique et l'orientation des visiteurs ; • Gérer les appels téléphoniques ; • Gérer le courrier entrant et sortant ; • Assurer les travaux de saisie et (...)
Une société de la place souhaite recevoir des candidatures pour le recrutement d'un (01) assistant commercial chargé des d'appels d'offres
I. RESPONSABILITÉS DU POSTE
Sous la responsabilité du gérant, l'assistant commercial chargé des appels d'offres est chargé de :
• Définir la stratégie commerciale et marketing la mettre en œuvre ; • Faire la prospection ; • Construire un portefeuille client solide,
• Mettre en place un système de veille concurrentielle ; • Assurer le suivi commercial et la fidélisation (...)
19 janvier 2021 – 19 janvier 2022
Déjà un an qu'il a plu à Dieu de rappeler à Lui notre regretté
Diango Charly HEBIE, Conseiller économique à la Chambre de Commerce, à la retraite.
A cette occasion, ses enfants, la famille HEBIE et les familles alliées demandent à tous ceux qui l'ont connu et aimé d'avoir une pensée pieuse pour lui.
Des messes de requiem sont prévues selon le calendrier suivant : A Ouagadougou :
• Le 19 janvier 2022 : 18h00 à l'église Sacré Cœur de Dapoya ; 18h00 à Saint Camille ; (...)
Sa Majesté El Hadj Karamoko Sanogo Chef de Canton de Lanfièra (Sourou) Sa Majesté EL Hadj Issouf Djibo Chef de Canton de Kougny (Nayala) El Hadj Sanogo Amadou grand Imam de Lanfièra El Hadj Sanogo Moussa Magistrat à la Retraite El Hadj Abdoul Ouahab Djibo Imam de Kougny La grande famille SANOGO à Lanfièra, Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso, Banfora, Abidjan, Bouaké. La grande famille Sissoko à Abidjan, Bamako et Magnina (Mali) La grande famille Djibo à Kougny, Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso, Abidjan, (...)
- NécrologieMadame KABORE Marie née YAMEOGO,
ses enfants et petits-enfants, remercient les grandes familles KABORE, KAFANDO, TAPSOBA et les grandes familles YAMEOGO, OUEDRAOGO, ainsi que toutes les familles alliées, parents et amies, pour votre générosité, votre soutien et surtout votre présence à leurs côtés, lors du décès le 18 janvier 2021, de leur époux, père et grand-père,
KABORE AIME ANDRÉ PHILIPPE dans sa 78e année.
Que Dieu tout puissant vous (...)
Rainbow Six Extraction is a spin-off of Ubisoft’s flagship competitive multiplayer hit, Rainbow Six Siege, set in an alien-infested depiction of the United States. This three-player cooperative shooter borrows its predecessor’s roster of operators and weapons and recontextualizes them inside a more approachable player-versus-environment setting – often to fun results. The operator advancements offer exciting rewards for players willing to invest the time, though the climb to unlock the best rewards is steep. Additionally, a persistent health system creates meaningful consequences for players who fail to best Extraction’s many challenges by carrying over operators’ injuries from match to match. However, Rainbow Six Siege casts a substantial shadow, and despite its best efforts, Ubisoft’s latest shooter struggles to fully emerge from beneath it.
Extraction is technically well-crafted. It’s polished and enjoyable. Though, I don’t find it nearly as compelling as the shooter it spins off from. Even during the most exciting scenarios, I couldn’t help but wish I was playing Rainbow Six Siege. Each incursion in Extraction begins like a match in Siege. Your team picks their operators and equipment load-outs and then prepares to fight an onslaught of AI enemies across four brand new locations: New York City, San Francisco, Alaska, or Truth And Consequences — which isa real town in New Mexico. These maps are divided into multiple sub-maps that offer ample cover and verticality, though none of them are particularly memorable outside of a few exceptions. More interesting locations, like a UFO-themed diorama or an abandoned casino, are covered in parasite nests and dark slime textures, making them difficult to memorize.
You and your crew complete a random selection of goals in each area. These range from stealth-based challenges like Biopsy, which requires you to obtain alien tissue samples with a knife, to attack-oriented objectives like Hunt and Decontamination, which serve as standard-fare kill quests that remain somewhat satisfying. Siege fans may recognize missions like Sabotage and Rescue, which mirror the Bomb and Hostage modes featured in Siege. My favorite objective type is Specimen, which requires your team to lure one of the powerful Archaeans – the parasitic antagonists tormenting the darkened hallways of every environment – into a trap to capture it alive. This objective is hilarious, and my teammates and I often laughed as one unlucky person had to serve as bait.
Airlocks separate each city’s three sub-maps, serving as safehouses filled with supplies like med-kits and (hopefully) ammunition. The deeper your squad ventures into the incursion, the harder it is to successfully extract as enemies increase in difficulty and variety, ranging from low-level grunts to terrifying behemoths capable of smashing through walls. I enjoy the variety, but you’ll have to increase the difficulty level to encounter the best ones. If you manage to fight your way through all three areas, you earn extra experience points, unlocking perks like increased movement speed or new abilities like Sledge’s charged hammer swing. These operator advancements are the highlight of Extraction’s progression loop, and I wanted to keep playing to obtain them. You also receive new operators, equipment, and cosmetics through advancing your player level by completing matches and level-specific challenges. While there are exciting rewards to unlock, and I appreciate the operator-specific upgrades, in particular, progression feels unnecessarily slow overall.
Every weapon handles differently, but I enjoyed using them all equally. Silenced rifles are my go-to weapon type. They trade raw stopping power for the ability to execute discrete kill-shots on all kinds of Archaeans. Shotguns reliably blow enemies – and walls – to pieces but attract lots of attention. Extraction also introduces stealth takedowns, offering a discrete method to complete your objectives when ammo and health are scarce. Nothing feels better than quietly clearing a perimeter with your team. However, the game fails to adequately convey when you’re at risk of being detected, so my attempts at subtlety often devolved into panicked shoot-outs.
Click image thumbnails to view larger version
While Extraction borrows a lot from Siege, it introduces a new feature I love: persistent operator health. Suppose you previously played as Vigil and exited the mission with only four health. In that case, he’ll start the next game injured unless you let him recover by completing incursions as other characters. Depending on your performance, several operators could have an injured status, or even worse, be missing in action until you rescue them during another mission. This system encouraged me to experiment with operators across the roster, resulting in white-knuckle encounters.
Rainbow Six Extraction converts much of Siege’s content library into an approachable co-op shooter, providing a tense environment for players of all skill levels. However, in a series of industry-defining hits, this installment feels incredibly safe and markedly less gripping than its predecessor.
Summary:An approachable spin-off of a competitive multiplayer hit, this co-op shooter struggles to emerge from beneath its predecessor's shadow.
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Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series has a name and it’s a touch on the nose, if not overly redundant – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The Lord of the Rings is already a great title. The Rings of Power isn’t bad, either, but putting the two side by side is an odd choice, but you know what, it’s the one Amazon is going with. Fortunately, the teaser released today announcing that title is much more interesting than the actual title it reveals.
A new age begins September 2, 2022. Journey to Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. #LOTRonPrime #LOTR #LOTRROP pic.twitter.com/KWAokaVeWW
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) January 19, 2022
As you can see in the video above, it features some very Lord of the Rings-esque music and the molten creation of the rings at the center of this Middle Earth story. The rings are being created on top of what appears to be a map that features some mountains covered in mist and other terrain. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will hit Amazon Prime Video later this year on September 2.
Over in a story on The Hollywood Reporter, the publication has more details about what to expect in this show. Specifically, the series will follow the forging and creation of the rings of power that the series title refers to.
“This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics,” showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay told THR. “The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-Earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Numenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Until now, audiences have only seen onscreen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many…and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.”
While waiting to learn more about this series, read about how the first Lord of the Rings movie just turned 20 last month (which is kind of wild) and then check out this trailer from the upcoming Middle Earth game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
What do you think of the series’ title? Let us know in the comments below!
Season 2 of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific has been delayed.
Originally set to land February 1, Season 2 will now begin two weeks later on February 14. As for why, it’s to allow Sledgehammer Games and the other teams behind Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific more time to iron out issues players are experiencing across those two titles, and Modern Warfare as well.
Click here to watch embedded media“We feel your frustrations and hear you loud and clear,” a Call of Duty blog post released today reads. “To date, we’ve deployed a number of dates, but more needs to be done. For this reason, we have decided to reschedule the start of Season Two across Warzone Pacific and Vanguard to February 14. We will use this additional development time to deliver updates, including optimizations to gameplay, game balancing (including weapon and equipment balancing), to fix game stability and bugs, and to ensure an overall level of polish to improve the experience for players across Vanguard, Warzone Pacific, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare.”
Upcoming updates will feature quality-of-life improvements and adjustments to the core gameplay loop, mechanics, and balance as well.
“Going forward, you can expect to hear from us more often regarding Call of Duty’s state of play,” the blog reads. “Studios remain focused on continuously improving your game experience, and we greatly value our community feedback. More frequent and detailed communication updates will be posted here and across Call of Duty social channels.”
As for when these updates the blog post mentions will come, no dates were mentioned although the start of Season Two on February 14 will likely feature a big one. While waiting for that, read about how Vanguard was the best-selling game of 2021 and then check out this Levi Ackerman bundle coming to the game in a new Call of Duty x Attack on Titan crossover. Watch this video discussion about whether or not Call of Duty becomes an Xbox exclusive after recent news that Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard.
Are you happy with Season One of Vanguard and Warzone Pacific? Let us know in the comments below!
Blue Isle Studios is bringing its new shooter, Leap, to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 along with a PC release. Check out the trailer below showing its wild, fast-paced action... in action.
Click here to watch embedded mediaLeap features 60-player matches where players take on roles determined by which exosuit they choose to utilize. The four currently available are the Pathfinder, Titan, Wraith, and Tech Ops, each with different playstyles, armor types, and skills. Some let you fly in the air with a jetpack, while others let you stealth or play the support role. Personal vehicles or PVs let players mount up on their preferred ride, including a mechanical moose, what looks like a snow tube, or my favorite: the hoverboard. I definitely prefer cruising into battle like a gun-toating Silver Surfer.
Check out the Leap site to sign up for a chance to play in its beta which begins on January 19.
Dying Light 2 Stay Human is slated to parkour its way to PlayStation and Xbox consoles as well as PC on February 4. It was also supposed to come to Switch via cloud streaming that day, but that will no longer be the case.
Techland has delayed the Switch version to an unspecified later date. The team’s reasoning is simply to, in their words via a press release, “provide fans with the gaming experience at the level they deserve and Techland wants to provide.” Techland promises the game will arrive on Switch within six months of Dying Light 2’s release, so (hopefully) expect it no later than July.
Dying Light 2 is a massive and ambitious game and getting it to perform well on Switch is likely no small feat, even if they’re utilizing cloud streaming instead of cramming it onto a traditional cartridge (which Techland did accomplish with the first game). That's a bummer for those hoping to enjoy the adventure on a handheld, but at least Dying Light 2 is only a couple of weeks from hitting other platforms. To get prepped, check out the final episode of Dying 2 Know centered on its four-player co-op and the full list of PC requirements.
My uncle bought me Final Fantasy XII for my birthday in 2006. At 10 years old, a lot of the combat mechanics and branching plotlines were confusing. Regardless, I was enamored with the game’s vibrancy: I specifically recall marveling at hair and garments fluttering in desert winds as well as azure sparks flashing from clanging swords and shields. To this day, it remains my favorite Final Fantasy.
The game was originally released as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, but in the past few years, a remaster called, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC with performance enhancements, deeper job customization, and various quality-of-life changes. More recently, Square Enix released the remaster on PlayStation Now. If you’ve never experienced Final Fantasy XII, this is why you should jump at the chance as soon as possible.
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Like most installments in Square Enix’s beloved series, Final Fantasy XII chronicles the lives of heroes rising against a greater antagonistic force. Where other entries employed moody, often unrelatable caricatures to drive their plots forward (that’s right, I’m talking about everyone’s favorite heroes, Cloud and Squall), Final Fantasy XII is less about individual motivations and more about the sum of its ensemble parts.
Street urchins Vaan and Penelo call the impoverished slums of Rabanastre home. While Penelo attempts to find silver linings in their plight, Vaan looks to the sky with dreams of owning an airship and living freely. After many chance encounters with shady folk, the two youths are flung into a world of political intrigue and clandestine coup d’états. Even so, they learn to find companionship in others: Ashe, a forsaken princess, Basch, an exiled soldier, and Balthier and Fran, wanted bounty hunters.
Despite their oddball mix, each member of Final Fantasy XII’s main cast shares similar insecurities – cowardice, loneliness, unresolved grief, and doubts of self-worth. Vaan and his ragtag team of outcasts remain some of the greatest characters in Final Fantasy lore because they’re so easy to root for. Despite struggling with personal shortcomings, they continuously discover ways to defy fate.
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Like Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII’s narrative takes place in the Kingdom of Ivalice. Most of the continent is filled with the unexplored ruins of ancient dynasties. But when your party is not traversing every labyrinthine fortress checkered throughout the expansive backdrop, you’re navigating breathtaking metropolises and townships. As Vaan, you start within the cluttered cityscape of Rabanastre, filled with diverse districts including bazaars and palaces. But beyond the opening hours, players discover larger areas with increasingly exotic fauna including waterways with flaming stallions, badlands with roaming tyrannosaurs, and misty jungles with green chocobos.
Each setting in Final Fantasy XII is aesthetically unique and teeming with secrets. Some areas, like the Skycity of Bhujerba, can only be reached via airship; that’s as simple as purchasing a one-way ticket. Other locations must be discovered on foot, but hubs are small-scale and (in some cases) linear, meaning that traversal is simple. What’s more, Ivalice houses various ethnic groups. For instance, Fran, with her rabbit-like ears and seven-foot stature, is a Viera who hails from Eruyt Village. Other races like the Nu Mou – bipedal canines – are religious nomads. Despite being a cultural melting pot, Ivalice’s racial tensions make intermingling increasingly difficult. To see this negativity reflected in the way strangers react to Fran (and the rest of your human party for even associating with her), makes the game world feel organic and lived-in.
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Fans of traditional as well as modern Square Enix RPGs will find that Final Fantasy XII displays a healthy mix of turn-based and real-time combat: ATB gauges (or cooldowns) from older games make a welcome return, adding an urgency to attack input and party positioning. And a dynamic camera with real-time action makes battles feel intuitive and streamlined.
Rather than unlocking nodes on a static skill tree, progression in Final Fantasy XII is an immersive minigame. Upgrades are recorded through job licenses – spaces on a sprawling checkered board that unlock ultimates, weapon and armor sets, and stat augmentations. These licenses correlate with assigned jobs (or classes). Each job has its own board, but some may share licenses that, when purchased, overlap. For example, my Balthier is a White Mage and Machinist. Both job boards have “swiftness” licenses which lessen cooldown timers. By buying one swiftness node on the White Mage board, I can access adjacent abilities on the Machinist board.
Players can make a plethora of job combinations to stack overlapping skills and take down the game’s most fearsome bosses. With the added benefit of “gambits” – a customizable command system that programs characters to perform important actions like healing low HP allies or attacking specified targets – battles become relaxingly automated, removing the need for frustrating micromanagement.
My favorite RPGs always focus on what matters most: character-driven stories with vibrant locations and fun, captivating gameplay. In 2006, Final Fantasy XII met those standards and it continues to be one of my fondest gaming experiences. The Zodiac Age expanded upon on all the features that made the original great. And now that it’ll be available to every console player in a few weeks (PlayStation Now accessibility means PS5 owners can finally dive in!), I can’t help but be excited to explore its world once again. If you love intuitive gameplay as well as the age-old “Final Fantasy formula” done right – an eccentric cast of relatable characters, an epic-scale odyssey, and grand boss fights – then Final Fantasy XII is for you!
If you’re excited about the remaster too, watch our video detailing four things you need to know about the game in preparation for its re-release.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is out next Tuesday and if you’ve managed to stay away from spoilers this long, you might want to consider muting some terms on Twitter and staying away from Reddit. That’s because copies of Pokémon Legends: Arceus are out in the wild in the hands of some fans and as expected, screenshots, story details, and more from the upcoming RPG are being shared online.
Click here to watch embedded mediaWe won’t spoil any of that here, but just to contextualize the kind of leaked information that’s now floating out there, we’ve seen the title screen, multiple characters, different cosmetics, a small snippet of an earlier cutscene, story details about the Hisui region, and we’ve even seen two recordings of songs from the game. As people with copies already continue to play, we expect even more spoilers to pop up online, too.
If you’re active on Twitter or video game-centric subreddits, you’ve no doubt already seen that copies of Pokémon Legends: Arceus are out in the wild and based on what we’ve seen leaked, you really don’t want to accidentally stumble upon some of these. Doubly so if you’re someone who doesn’t want to know a thing about the new take on Pokémon before it hits shelves next week.
All of this is to say: Be careful out there.
In the meantime, why not check out some officially released things about the game? Last week, Nintendo released a 13-minute trailer for Pokémon Legends: Arceus that gave us our best look yet at the upcoming game and it’s worth a watch if you’re still wondering what gameplay is actually like. Read about how Hisuian Voltorb is still a Pokéball somehow after that and then check out the Hisuian forms for Zorua and Zoroark in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Are you excited for Pokémon Legends: Arceus? Let us know in the comments below!
The Battlefield franchise is no stranger to bugs and post-launch fixes. However, 2042’s launch was marred by an abundance of game-breaking issues that left many fans questioning the staying power of their favorite FPS franchise. In past months, DICE responded to the widespread scrutiny, promising a batch of upcoming updates to remedy an assortment of issues while implementing fan-favorite, currently-absent features. The details surrounding these promises were unpacked in an extensive Twitter thread posted by the official Battlefield Direct Communication account. An upcoming batch of Battlefield 2042 updates will refresh the in-game scoreboard, address cross-platform VOIP, and amplify/stabilize overall performance.
Let's talk about the next set of updates coming to #Battlefield2042 and what to expect in the coming weeks
— Battlefield Direct Communication (@BattlefieldComm) January 19, 2022
Here's a thread with news on upcoming patches, Portal XP Changes, and updates on requested features like Scoreboard & Cross Platform VOIP 🧵👀 pic.twitter.com/bxkutjh97S
The Twitter thread (see above) states that the first update, 3.1, is scheduled to go live tomorrow and “delivers a handful of small fixes and improvements to the game focused around stability.” Moving forward, February is slated to see a bevy of larger-scale changes, including a “Scoreboard Refresh. A WIP screenshot of this can be seen below and offers a glimpse at imminent quality-of-life features like ribbon progression, match stats, and more.
Additionally, matchmaking preferences across the All-Out Warfare game mode and cross-platform VOIP (voice over internet protocol) are being tackled. “No updates on these two today,” one thread comment reads. “But we wanted to reassure you all that these are still front of mind and we’ll have more to show and share on these topics further down the line.” According to Battlefield Direct Communication, there’s still much to be done, but players can rest easy knowing the team is hard at work.
In his review, Game Informer video producer Alex Van Aken gave Battlefield 2042 a 7 and concluded, “Battlefield 2042 is an easy recommendation for existing fans or players looking for a modern war game, but I struggle to fully endorse it due to its current lack of polish. As long as DICE continues to publish hotfixes and patches as they have, Battlefield 2042 could eventually become a go-to online shooter, but it’s a shame it was released like this.” Hopefully, this incoming set of fixes can help revitalize the latest chapter in the beloved franchise.
Are you looking forward to the Battlefield 2042 updates? Let us know what your in-game experience has been like in the comments below!
If you fancy yourself a duelist, then this is an exciting day because Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel launches across consoles and PC (with mobile versions coming later). The free-to-play title lets aspiring and experienced players face off in the popular card game in what Konami bills as the “definitive” Yu-Gi-Oh video game.
Master Duel boasts over 10,000 cards, and players can even craft new cards by disassembling unwanted copies. Duelists from around the globe can battle each other no matter the platform thanks to cross-play, and Master Duel will host tournaments and events in various formats. The game also features cross-save, meaning you can access your profile whether you’re playing in front of the TV or on your mobile device.
An extensive tutorial helps show newcomers the ropes, and a solo mode lets players journey through different stories surrounding the lore of the cards themselves. Check out the comprehensive launch trailer below for a rundown of what Master Duel entails.
Click here to watch embedded mediaYou can pick up Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC. It will launch on iOS and Android at a later date.
Have you already begun racking up victories in Master Duel? Feel free to brag down in the comments!
We're inching closer to Horizon Forbidden West's February 18 release date. Up until now, Guerrilla Games has kept much about the narrative under lock and key, but the latest trailer (which you can view above) is full of teases for Aloy's next adventure. It provided glimpses at some returning characters alongside new faces who are sure to shake up Aloy's journey – for better or worse.
Guerrilla left fans with a lot to dissect and unpack in this new showing. Thankfully, we chatted with narrative director Benjamin McCaw and senior writer Annie Kitain to gain more clarity and context about what we saw.
The trailer reiterated the tremendous plight in front of Aloy. "The land is dying, people are suffering, and soon they'll starve," Aloy says as a deadly storm makes its presence known in the background. "And the machines meant to help us are out of control." Apparently, the Forbidden West holds the answer to Aloy saving the world, but it also hides great dangers. As a new face named Kotallo puts it: "In the West, war is the rule – peace the exception."
The trailer makes no qualms about a rebel leader and her dark side. Named Regalla, she's introduced to us with a brutal fighting style and even harsher words to describe her. Regalla "seeks to slaughter all those who have wronged her" and "will kill anyone who gets in her way."
"She's deadly," Kitain says. "She has this army of machines and rebels. And she really is driven by this hatred for the Carja tribe. She's bent on this sort of destruction towards that tribe and she's really willing to basically burn the world down to get the vengeance that she wants."
When we asked if Regalla would be one of Aloy's primary antagonists, McCaw says: "Absolutely. Aloy's going to fight Regalla's forces throughout the game and she will fight Regalla, as well." McCaw also revealed that esteemed Hollywood actress Angela Bassett (Black Panther, What's Love Got To Do With It, Malcolm X) portrays Regalla.
But perhaps the real kicker about Regalla is the trailer's revelation that she answers to a higher power who supplied her with troops, weapons, and even the ability to control machines … and then it pans to wandering researcher Sylens, who Zero Dawn players know all too well.
This isn't the first confirmation we've had that Sylens would be back, as he made an appearance in previous Forbidden West trailers. However, this is the first hint we've had at the role he'll play in the game, and it's not looking too good, as he's directly involved with a rebel tribe. The latest trailer confirms he's the one giving Regalla a lot of her power. We asked Guerrilla to share more on Sylens' relationship with Regalla.
"As for how [Regalla's] connected to Sylens, Sylens is always somewhat of a mystery and [full of] secrets," Kitain says. "We know from Zero Dawn he was helping Aloy. But now in the Forbidden West, he definitely has his own agenda. And while a lot of that is something we look forward to players discovering, part of that is arming Regalla and her rebels with this ability to control machines. Why? And what those connections are? That's something that Aloy will discover."
The latest trailer touches on that aspect, as we hear Aloy say, "Whatever secrets he has, he's keeping to himself." And it appears she's talking about Sylens in that regard. From Horizon Zero Dawn, we know Aloy's relationship with Sylens has been complicated, and anything can happen as he's proven himself to be a wildcard.
If you played Zero Dawn, you might have noticed a few familiar faces in the trailer, particularly, Erend and Varl. Guerrilla Games confirmed in our cover story interviews that part of Aloy's journey will be realizing she can't save the world alone and that her relationships are of the utmost importance.
Aloy built some connections in Zero Dawn, but Guerrilla is bringing back some characters for her to get to know on a deeper level. Both Erend and Varl will play a significant role in the game and are among Aloy's first companions as she heads west. "The amount of time you spend with particular companions will be affected by your particular playthrough," McCaw says. "But we can confirm that Varl and Erend are people that you encounter pretty early in the game, and you spend a lot of time [with them]."
Guerrilla has talked a lot about bringing back Erend for Forbidden West, but this is the first extensive glimpse we've had at Varl. "Varl, at the end of Horizon Zero Dawn, he, like many others in the Nora tribe, sees Aloy as the anointed – a figure from their religious beliefs," Kitain says. "So he feels this duty to help her just from that angle. But more than that, he's someone who got to know her in Zero Dawn, and he's really worried about her as a person, and the burden that she faces as she heads out into the Forbidden West."
While it's nice to see some old friends, part of every adventure is meeting new people, and Aloy will have her share of new allies in the Forbidden West. Guerrilla was happy to dish on some of the new faces from the trailer. Pictured above is Kotallo, a fierce and loyal warrior from the Tenakth tribe. Kitain teased that his story is "very personal" and "closely tied to Aloy's own journey." The next new character we spot is Alva, who comes from a mysterious tribe Aloy will encounter. Alva appeared in one of our cover story demos, to which McCaw described her as "bright and curious, but a little unsure of herself." Last, we see Zo, who hails from the Utaru tribe. "She's a grave singer, and she has a bit of a tragic past," Kitain says.
The ending of the trailer left a strong impression with GAIA (confirmed by Guerrilla) imparting these words to Aloy: "We will find the answers but be aware, we're not the only ones who seek them." The shot then focuses on a new character donning white and gold. Guerrilla identified her as Tilda, and beloved actress Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix, Momento) brings her to life. "She is a mysterious and complicated character with a special connection to the ancient past," Kitain says. "She's someone who we look forward to players unraveling the secret of what she's all about."
Feeling a little overwhelmed by all the returning faces for Zero Dawn? Don't be. Guerrilla says the team went out of the way to ensure the sequel was newcomer-friendly and had plenty of callbacks for fans. "That was something that we were really conscious of when we were working on the story," Kitain says. "We wanted to make sure that fans from the first game come into this and recognize the characters... they see Aloy as they remember her but also growing. But we also wanted to make sure that new players could come into this and get up to speed."
However, if you want to refresh your memory on some characters before the game, McCaw and Kitain gave us the ones to focus on. "To brush up on Varl, Erend, and Talanah would be a good start," McCaw says. "But, to reiterate, it's not needed. We're going to tell you everything you need to know to play this game if you're a beginner."
Kitain also adds that Talanah's story from the recent Horizon comics will continue into Forbidden West. "You don't need to read the comics because one of our goals is that you are brought up to speed," she says. "But if you have, you kind of have that extra knowledge of like, 'Oh, okay, I know what they're talking about and I experienced that part of her journey in the comics, and now see how that plays out in the Forbidden West.'"
Want more on Horizon Forbidden West? Check out our cover story hub below to learn more about the new machines and Aloy's personal struggles.
Update, January 19, 2022:
Nintendo announced last month that Banjo-Kazooie would be joining its Nintendo 64 library lineup by way of the company's Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service. However, Nintendo merely said it would be coming in January at the time. Now, we know when.
Revealed on Twitter, Nintendo says Banjo-Kazooie will hit Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on January 20, or in other words, you can play this classic Nintendo 64 game starting tomorrow! Here's a trailer released by Nintendo to celebrate the news:
Embark on a wild quest with an unlikely pair! The adventures of Banjo and Kazooie begin here!
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 19, 2022
Banjo-Kazooie is coming to #NintendoSwitch for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members on 1/20! #Nintendo64 pic.twitter.com/R349r8gbvD
The original story continues below...
Original Story, December 10, 2021:
The Nintendo 64 library of the Switch Online Expansion Pack gets a dose of Rare next month when Banjo-Kazooie joins the service.
The game joins the service sometime in January, but there's no exact date as of yet. The 1998 platformer is widely remembered as a standout game for the N64 (especially for third-party games) and among the most beloved games of the era overall. While the emulation of the Expansion Pack hasn't been universally loved, it's cool to see Banjo-Kazooie making its way back to the house of N. Given that Microsoft owns Rare, the only way to play Banjo was on Xbox, such as in the Rare Replay collection.
Banjo’s on a mission to rescue his sister from the envious wicked witch Gruntilda!
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) December 10, 2021
Foil her selfish plan to snatch the beauty from Tooty in Banjo-Kazooie, available to #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members in January! #Nintendo64 pic.twitter.com/pvPD4aRvwr
As a reminder, Paper Mario joins the Expansion Pack library today.
With Microsoft’s bombshell acquisition of Activision Blizzard announced this morning, on top of its other big purchases in recent years, the Xbox family is well beyond stacked. With its competition’s first-party lineup growing and subsequently shrinking selection of big third-party partners, Sony has a challenge ahead of it, to say the least. However, instead of staying toe-to-toe with Xbox by acquiring studios to keep up, it’s more important right now for Sony to develop a rival to Microsoft’s biggest boon this generation: Xbox Game Pass.
On paper, Microsoft has the option to wall off franchises like Warcraft, Diablo, and Call of Duty as Xbox console exclusives. Instead, in reality, every existing game from those massive names is up for grabs to use in Game Pass, as demonstrated by the Bethesda absorption in 2020. PCs, consoles, cloud streaming through browsers and mobile; all can deliver a classic Modern Warfare campaign or matches of Overwatch. It’s easy to compare how many studios and IP are now at the disposal of Xbox compared to Sony, but Microsoft’s real and considerable advantage is the ease of access the average consumer has to its games.
Fortunately, Sony already has a lot of pieces in place to implement a Game Pass-like service, and if rumblings around the industry are to be believed, it might happen sooner than later. Games should, of course, be the core offering, and PlayStation Now is a near-decade old way to deliver those games to a wide audience. Through this subscription, you can already stream games to PlayStation and PC. Unbeknownst to many people, a lot of PS Now games are downloadable, though only PS2 and PS4 titles work this way. Ideally, this would change.
Sony has one hell of a back catalog of classic games that would convince people to subscribe to an all-access PlayStation subscription service. An essential piece of making a Game Pass competitor work is figuring out the lingering backward compatibility issues holding Sony back from making PS1 and PS3 games available on current hardware. Once that’s possible, the sky is the limit for what enticing products to put on the service. Nostalgia is a powerful weapon, and letting folks play all of the generations of God of War, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, and, if the license is available, Final Fantasy with one subscription is awfully enticing.
Next would be an expansion of the PlayStation Plus Collection to include the library of PlayStation Now games and wrapping them into PlayStation Plus pricing. It is no longer acceptable to pay for online play on its own, and that feature should be absorbed into a super service with one cost and one expansive digital library with games that can be streamed or downloaded. A reasonable simplification of the disparate pieces Sony already has available.
And we’re haven’t even talked about Sony’s secret sauce for this revamped PlayStation Plus. Remember, Sony isn’t just a games company. Sony movies, TV shows, and music will be the x-factor, bringing the breadth of its content to entice potential subscribers. Catch the latest Spider-Man flick because it happens to be wrapped in the cost of your game sub. Funimation and Crunchyroll, two popular anime companies, are already under the Sony umbrella and could be easily used to flex the unique entertainment available with a membership. It’s not just about games anymore, and Sony should have the foresight to use everything on hand to differentiate itself.
All of the pieces are there to compete without spending billions buying another game publisher: A potential killer catalog, game streaming, movies, anime, music. A few technical hurdles and great licensing partnerships may be the few obstacles that stand in the way of having a functional and distinctive Game Pass competitor. Sony’s not out of the game because it may not have Call of Duty in a few years, but it needs to adapt the services it provides before it’s left in the dust.
Microsoft announced today that it is buying Activision Blizzard for a colossal $68.7 billion, and in doing so, it quickly launched itself to the higher end of expensive acquisitions. This brings franchises almost as big as that price tag, such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Diablo, and World of Warcraft into the Xbox family. The future of these franchises and whether or not they become exclusive to Xbox consoles remains uncertain and is just one of the many unanswered questions following today’s news.
What’s to become of Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard who reportedly knew for years of the company’s history of sexual misconduct and harassment? Which Activision Blizzard franchises might Xbox revive? Which games will remain multiplatform, and which will become Xbox exclusives? For now, we all must wait and see; and there’s a good chance we won’t get these answers until the transaction closes in fiscal year 2023. However, one known thing is the price - costing Microsoft $68.7 billion, this acquisition quickly rocketed up to some of the biggest in history. But just how big is it compared to others in video games? What about compared to those made in other mediums such as movies?
Here’s a quick look at how this acquisition compares to similar purchases:
Microsoft announced back in September of 2020 that it was acquiring ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. That deal was finalized in March of last year, and now, Xbox is the home of franchises like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Wolfenstein, and Dishonored. It’s also going to be the exclusive console home for new games like Starfield, and while the price to purchase Bethesda’s IPs was quite high, $7.5 billion pales in comparison to today’s acquisition.
Just last week, Take-Two became the company behind what was the most expensive acquisition in video game history. It did so by acquiring Zynga for $12.7 billion. While Zynga might not be the most recognized name on the console and PC side of gaming, it’s a giant in the mobile gaming market. Perhaps second only to King, which Xbox now owns after today’s Activision Blizzard purchase. Take-Two’s purchase of Zynga was smart, though – it positions the company to be a leader in the mobile gaming market, which also happens to be one of the largest in the world. The $13 billion price tag was historic, but only for a week due to today’s news.
Sony announced in 2012 that it had purchased Gaikai Inc, a cloud streaming company home to the technology that now powers Sony’s PlayStation Now service, for $380 million. At the time, that number seemed incredibly high, and it still is a massive number, but as you can see, it’s child’s play compared to capital-B Billion acquisitions. Still, Sony acquired a great cloud streaming service that allows gamers to play older generations of games and download new ones with ease (depending on your internet connection). And it didn’t cost them billions, which it might view as a win in and of itself. Today, there are rumors that PlayStation Now might be folded into a new Xbox Game Pass-like service codenamed Spartacus, but for now, that remains a rumor. Only time will tell how far Sony takes that original $380 million investment.
Sony announced in August of 2019 that it had acquired Insomniac Games, the studio behind franchises like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Ratchet & Clank, and others. In February of 2020, it was revealed that Sony paid $229 million to bring Insomniac into the PlayStation family (thanks, CNET) of first-party studios. While that number might seem low for a studio that continually releases great games year after year, it was a rare look at the cost to bring studios into a larger umbrella. Many individual studio purchases occur without a public reveal of costs paid. For example, how much PlayStation paid to acquire Housemarque or Firesprite isn’t known, nor is the price Microsoft paid for Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, or Double Fine Productions.
Those are many of the video game-centric acquisitions that have happened in recent years, but when you widen the pool to include ones in the entertainment industry, $68.7 billion doesn’t seem as wild, although it’s still easily one of the largest costs paid. Disney shook up the entertainment landscape in 2012 when it announced that it had bought Lucasfilm, the fabled movie studio behind franchises like Indiana Jones, The Land Before Time, and Willow, for $4 billion (thanks USA Today). Oh, and Star Wars too. At the time, $4 billion seemed monumental but when Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens hit theaters and soared past the $1 billion box office line, that $4 billion felt a lot smaller. For the price Microsoft paid to acquire Activision Blizzard, it could have purchased 17 Lucasfilms, or in other words, it could have purchased the Star Wars franchise more than a dozen times over.
It took a lot to find an acquisition in an entertainment medium that cost more than Activision Blizzard’s price tag (mind you, wayyyyyy bigger ones have happened in other industries such as Heinz’ purchase of Kraft for $100 billion in 2015 or even AOL’s purchase of Time Warner for $182 billion in 2000)...but we did it: Disney’s 2020 purchase of 20th Century Fox for $71.3 billion (thanks, BBC) cost more. Arguably one of the most historic entertainment acquisitions of all time, this brought everything that features the iconic 20th Century Fox brass spotlight theme at the start of it into Disney’s wheelhouse. There’s been plenty of speculation as to how and why this one came about, and we aren’t so sure it wasn’t just so Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige could bring the X-Men to the MCU, but one thing is certain: we likely won’t see an acquisition this expensive for a very long time.
Are there any large-scale acquisitions we might have missed? Which costs seem too low to you and which costs seem too high? Let us know in the comments below!
Now that Microsoft is set to acquire Activision Blizzard for an eye-splitting $68.7 billion, it’s starting to feel like the software and gaming giant owes nearly half the game industry. At the very least, Microsoft could make use of Activision Blizzard’s wealth of underutilized intellectual property. Here are some of our favorite Activision/Blizzard franchises that we’d love to see Microsoft resurrect in the near future.
It's time to bring back Blizzard's classic cinematic platformer. While there's a lot of "you had to be there when the original title was relevant back in the ‘90s,” Blackthorne is a brand ready to get back into the game with some fresh perspective and the benefits of plenty of genre slots to fill in. Think about making a third-person shooter RPG with Kyle "Blackthrone" Vlaros dishing out justice. Let's do it, Microsoft! – Daniel Tack
Bizarre Creations’ 2005 arcade shooter Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved was one of the early Xbox Live Arcade hits, and it helped prove there was a market for “small” downloadable games. The market has obviously changed a lot in the last decade plus, but top-down multi-directional shooters are still a rush to play. We haven’t seen much from this series since the release of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions in 2014. I’d love to see this series reinvented for the modern console market. Flashier graphics, persistent upgrades, and customizable ships would be good, but I’m also open to a back-to-basics approach. Either way, it’s time for those classic shapes to do battle once again. – Ben Reeves
The 2015 release of Guitar Hero: Live was the last we heard of the franchise. While Live did some interesting things, it missed the mark on a lot of what made the rock rhythm games special in the first place. With Activision now under the Xbox umbrella, there’s a chance for a special revival and one only needs to look at the current Guitar Hero community to see what’s needed: a return to form. People aren’t interested in realistic takes on guitar chords while music videos play in the background – they want an arcade guitar experience that prioritizes fun over realism.
Ditch the black and white buttons and bring back everyone’s favorite mix of green, red, yellow, blue, and orange. Round up some modern rock anthems to play alongside the classics and toss in “Through the Fire and Flames” for good measure. Give us the stylized visuals of the original three entries and include more ways than ever before to customize the band. Add in a little star power and Xbox could easily have a new classic in its hands. – Wesley LeBlanc
I’m a sucker for a good Western and prior to Red Dead Redemption, 2005’s Gun fulfilled my cowboy fantasies. It featured many ideas Rockstar would improve upon such as a large wild west to roam, plenty of side quests and mini-games, and a no-nonsense protagonist in Colton White. I loved Gun in its day, but I have no idea how you match the bar set by Red Dead (especially after 2). However, with original developer Neversoft gone with the wind, that’s on a fresh studio to figure out. The point is: we don’t get enough triple-A western games for my liking so let’s dust off Gun for one more ride. – Marcus Stewart
It’s hard to look at the line-up Microsoft has cultivated and pinpoint a game archetype that’s not already covered. With the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox may have just covered a base Sony has had locked down for over a decade: a blockbuster treasure hunt. With Pitfall, Microsoft could have an Uncharted competitor with decades of history and old-school name recognition. Follow Pitfall Harriette, a smarmy explorer with immedicable charm, on a quest to find an elusive, otherworldly artifact. Harriette will be obligated to swing across a river of crocodiles on a vine, of course. It really writes itself. – John Carson
While StarCraft sits with the pantheon of Activision Blizzard franchises, it's somewhat dormant compared to the others. Sure, there have been updates to multiplayer and characters added to the StarCraft II package, but the narrative has been complete for quite some time. My choice for the next direction to take the space fantasy series is a revival of a game that never saw the light of day. I say hand the keys of StarCraft: Ghost over to the Gears of War team at The Coalition. The studio has plenty of chops making third-person shooters with a sci-fi bend and could nail the feel of the guns used by the Terran soldiers. Set the story in the past and play out a critical mission as Sarah Kerrigan before becoming the Queen of Blades. Give us a look at what it's like being a stealth operative in an interstellar war against advanced space psychics and ravenous mutations. Given how pretty Gears 5 looked last gen, I can only imagine how stunning the worlds and set pieces would be in this hypothetical Kerrigan’s Ghost adventure. – John Carson
Bring back Zork as an idle text MMORPG. Most people remember Zork. The text. Going North. Being eaten by a Grue. Trying to open trophy cases and wandering into the basement. Now it's time to play Zork: The Idle MMORPG. You basically set it and forget it and your bags fill with loot, but you can watch procedurally generated movement, storytelling, and combat as it plays! I can't wait to check my phone for a ton of go south commands and mailbox openings! – Daniel Tack
Let us know what Activision Blizzard franchises you think Microsoft should bring back in the comments below!
The Artful Escape is a trippy and profound musical romp that emerged as one of our favorite indies of 2021. It’s been Xbox console exclusive since launch (and available on PC), but the ballad of Francis Vendetti will soon find a new audience.
That’s because the game is launching on PlayStation consoles and Switch on January 25. If you’re unfamiliar, The Artful Escape spins the yarn of Francis Vendetti, a musician and the nephew of a famous folksinger who finds himself pigeonholed to expectations of following in his uncle’s stylistic footsteps. It’s not until an alien ship arrives and whisks Francis off to an intergalactic space odyssey does he begin to discover his true voice. The gameplay itself consists of simple side-scrolling platforming, but the real stars are the killer soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, and top-notch performances from names like Carl Weathers and Lena Headey. There’s a reason it earned an 8.5 review score from us.
Click here to watch embedded mediaWill you be picking up The Artful Escape on PlayStation or Switch? Let us know in the comments!
Yesterday, 343 Industries announced that starting this week, it would be making some changes to the Halo Infinite price store. Specifically, the studio was going to make changes to how it packages and prices items in the store. The store was updated today, just like it is every Tuesday, and as promised, those price changes are evident.
The most notable change is the general decrease in price, especially for large bundles that feature cosmetic coatings for armor, weapons, and vehicles. That’s evident with the 1200 credit-priced Neon Superfly bundle, which will cost roughly $10. In weeks past, a bundle like that would have cost roughly $17.
The vehicle coating bundle called Zodiac River, which gives warthogs and more a rainbow-esque coating and adds new tires to roll in the battlefield, is also available for what appears to be a cheaper-than-usual price at just 500 credits.
That same type of bundle might have cost a couple of hundred credits more in previous weeks. The boost and swap pack, which gives players Double XP boosts and Challenge Swaps for 200 credits, is the same price as usual.
There’s also a Neon Beat bundle that includes an Epic Mythic Effect set, a purple visor, and more for 1000 credits. Plus, the Keep It Clean bundle that costs 500 credits is available and it includes a nameplate, an AI, and more.
Both it and the Neon Beat bundle appear to be priced similarly to weeks past, but the bigger Neon Superfly bundle is undoubtedly cheaper than it might have been had it gone live on the Halo Infinite store in a previous week.
For more about the game, check out the Game Informer Halo Infinite hub and then keep an eye on our story about what’s available in the Halo Infinite shop, which is updated weekly.
Are you excited about these new prices or do you feel they could be adjusted even further? Let us know in the comments below!
With 2021 behind us, there’s still plenty of year-end sales numbers coming out as it relates to video games, and today, the NPD Group, which tracks sales figures for games, consoles, and gaming accessories, released both its December and 2021 round ups.
Coming out on top of 2021 was the Switch, which the NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella revealed was the best-selling hardware in both unit and dollar sales in the U.S. today on Twitter. Switch was also December’s best-selling platform in units sold, and in terms of dollar sales, it tied the PlayStation 5 last month. That means more Switch consoles were sold since even the cheapest PS5 costs more than the most expensive Switch model. Of course, it's important to note that buying a Switch right now is much easier than buying a PS5 due to the ongoing chip shortage.
US NPD HW - Nintendo Switch was December 2021's best-selling hardware platform in units sold, while Switch and PlayStation 5 effectively tied for dollar sales leadership in the month. Nintendo Switch led 2021 hardware in both unit and dollar sales.
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) January 18, 2022
Overall, December hardware dollar sales declined 3% compared to December of 2020, dropping to $1.3 billion. However, despite that drop, full-year 2021 hardware spending reached $6.1 billion, which is up 14% compared to 2020.
On the games side of things, Call of Duty: Vanguard, the latest in the long-running Activision Blizzard, err soon-to-be Xbox, franchise, was December’s best-selling game. This led to Call of Duty becoming the best-selling video game franchise in tracked dollar sales for a 13th consecutive year, according to Piscatella. Halo Infinite was the number two best-selling game of December 2021, which is quite the feat considering many players didn’t purchase the game as it was available to download on Xbox Game Pass.
Coming in at third was Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which was not only December’s best-selling game on Switch, but the best-selling Switch game of 2021.
Here’s a look at the top 10 video games in December in the U.S.:
And here are 2021’s top 10 video games in the U.S.:
For a look at the top 20 for these lists, as well as platform-specific lists and details about December 2021 accessory spending, be sure to check out Piscatella’s full thread here. For more, check out the top 10 digital PS5 and PS4 games in 2021, and then check out the top December digital downloads on PlayStation 5 after that.
With so many amazing indie titles released last year, you’d think it would be tough for 2022 to measure up. But somehow, this year is just as ridiculously stuffed with awesome-looking experiences. Independent creators are bringing their triple-I-games with titles that range from an action-packed Kung Fu epic to an unsettlingly cute community builder. Presented in chronological release order, here’s our list of the indie games we are most looking forward to in 2022.
February will be a wild time for video game releases as Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Horizon: Forbidden West, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, and Elden Ring, to name a few, drop throughout the month. However, we hope to spend much of the front half of February dodging punches and fighting our way through the stunning criminal underworld of Sloclap’s Sifu.
What do you get when you mix a small fox, a sword and shield, one gorgeous world, and deadly combat? One of our most anticipated games of 2022: Tunic. The game’s official March release date was revealed during The Game Awards, leaving fans only a few months to wait. Tunic’s previous demos have shown off its cleverly designed world and tough fights, and we hope to find more to love in the full game.
Though it was initially set to launch in January, Weird West is still coming sooner than later. The action RPG meets immersive sim twin-stick shooter sets you in a dusty realm of cowboys, undead, and more. The game seems determined to earn its title with expected Western tropes tossed together with bizarre horror elements. We walked away from our hands-on preview intrigued and ready to dive further into Weird West.
Endnight Game’s 2018 title, The Forest, stitched together compelling survival mechanics with a disturbing world and story. With its upcoming sequel, Sons of the Forest, it looks like the developer is ready to give players even more gruesome fun to look forward to. Details on the follow-up have been scarce, with trailers showing off glimpses of new building possibilities, disturbing mutant enemies, and some powerful weapons. It seems like we’ll have to wait until release to discover what unnerving narrative twists await players in Sons of the Forest.
If you prefer your woodland building experiences to lean more cozy than grotesque, then check out Bear and Breakfast. You’ll play as the ursine protagonist, Hank, who, on discovering a run-down inn in the woods, becomes inspired to build up his very own bed and breakfast. It’s your job to turn the dilapidated establishment into the finest house of hospitality you can with your own two paws.
Gaze upon our fleecy leader and rejoice! Cult of the Lamb will have you bringing a community together, gathering resources to build much-needed structures, and venturing into a captivating hand-drawn world. The only catch is you’re the head of a dark cult, performing rituals to appease shadowy deities and fighting other cult leaders to gain more authority. This quest to become the Mighty Lamb is coming sometime this year and, while it is currently only slated for PC, we hope to see Cult of the Lamb release on other platforms too.
A painterly walk down memory lane, Dordogne follows Mimi as she relives her childhood spent in southern France. A recent extended gameplay trailer shows the player walking down a leafy country lane, examining the plant life, photographing a beautiful watercolor vista, recording the sound of distant church bells, and then recording all of these experiences in a well-worn notebook. With its watercolor aesthetic, undemanding gameplay, and personal story, Dordogne looks like a touching and tranquil title.
From its colorful world to its anthropomorphized protagonist, Lil Gator Game exudes joyful energy with a touch of irreverent humor. The game released a short demo that caught our attention last year in which you embark on a child-like quest to get your sister to ignore her homework and play with you. Traversing the world, defeating cardboard enemies, and interacting with quirky NPCs was a pleasure, and shot this game up to one of our most anticipated indies of the year.
Last seen during Sony’s October State of Play, Little Devil Inside is slated to release sometime this year. Billy, the game’s hero, sits on a train platform, looking a little out of place. Though the setting suggests we are in a mundane, 20th-century station, Billy sits with a pack, gear, and armaments that would fit more comfortably in a fantasy realm. Something about the odd juxtaposition carries on through the game, giving it a bizarre tone. This fascinating combination, along with its distinctive art style and hints of a wild story, make Little Devil Inside a must-play.
It’s not often when you find a game that makes the puzzles part of the action, but Loot River has managed to do this in a really clever way. While you venture out onto the river teeming with hostile creatures and fast-paced conflict, you’ll propel yourself from combat to combat by shifting the world itself. Floating on the water’s surface are Tetris-like blocks that you’ll move with one hand while striking at enemies with the other. But even the best player should expect to die frequently, finding themselves in a hub world where the dark-feeling narrative will unfold.
The surprising follow-up to Night School Studio’s hit Oxenfree is making its way to PC and consoles later this year. The game was originally set to launch Fall of 2021, but there is still very little we know about the sequel. However, it promises to tread in a similar supernatural space as its predecessor. The main character, Riley, sets off to investigate unexplained radio waves in her hometown, but things will soon go off the rails. As you progress, you’ll make decisions that will affect how everything plays out.
Now with composer Takeshi Furukawa, who previously worked on The Last Guardian, Planet of Lana is rising up the ranks of our must-play games in 2022. The sci-fi story centers around a girl and her helpful companion as a horde of cold machines threaten her magnificent world. But it doesn’t seem like violence is the key to overcoming that threat, as what we have seen of Planet of Lana so far shows off puzzle challenges and stealthy traveling.
There may be earth-shattering events going on around you and astonishing alien tech choking the horizon, but Somerville’s true focus is much smaller. Don’t expect to stave off the invasion single-handedly or become Earth’s last superpowered defense. Somerville examines how this larger-than-life situation affects ordinary people. Your task in this game will be to mend your family in the aftermath of the unbelievable circumstances and unravel some of their mysteries.
We’ve been waiting to see what this little lost cat will get up to in a cyberpunk, robot-filled world ever since Stray showed up two years ago. Publisher Annapurna revealed a little more about the game during its first dedicated showcase. We saw the feline hero make friends with a helpful droid, meet questionable NPCs, and navigate a treacherous world. Stray is coming in 2022, but we hope to get another trailer and the exact release date for this title soon.
In a year filled with beautiful games, Trek to Yomi catches the eye with its filmic quality and cinematic-looking combat. The game follows a young Samurai named Hiroki who must deal with the consequences of breaking a vow to his now-dead master and failing to protect his town. This classic redemption story will see you journeying through feudal Japan, fighting some epic-looking duels, and confronting supernatural forces.
The year has only begun, and hopefully, some of the awesome projects we have our eyes on will announce 2022 release dates. In the meantime, let us know what upcoming indie titles you’re excited about in the comments below!
Today history was made. Microsoft announced it's purchasing Activision Blizzard for a reported $68.7 billion, and the face of the video game industry is entirely different. Join Alex Stadnik, John Carson, and Wes LeBlanc as they discuss the implications of this landmark deal and what it could mean for the future of video games.
First up in our video, we recap the news from the morning and bring you up to speed with the important details surrounding the colossal acquisition. We break down the aforementioned price point but also contextualize it with some of Microsoft's (and Disney's) previous purchases that seemed outrageously expensive at the time.
From there, we list all the franchises Xbox owns, from large AAA titles to the long-forgotten but beloved mascot platformers and all the rest. It's one thing to hear that Microsoft now owns 30+ studios in-house. It's another to look through a list of all the actual titles now under its umbrella.
Next up, the boys move on to how they think the Microsoft acquisition will change the industry at large. Will Sony react by buying up studios for itself? Or will the publishing giant be content with a year filled with God of War, Horizon, and more? What about the other companies such as Netflix or Amazon chomping at the bit to finally strike big in an industry where success has eluded them thus far? It's equal parts fascinating and terrifying, and we do our best to brush off our crystal balls and discuss the future.
Finally, we say goodbye by discussing what positives this situation can create and what we're excited to see from the merger, such as the de-annualization of Call of Duty and the return of some long-lost Activision properties.
If you enjoyed this chat, we have plenty more on the Xbox Activision acquisition. Be sure to check out Wes' complete overview of this morning's news, Bobby Kotick's letter to the company, and more later this week!
Microsoft/Xbox rocked the game industry today by announcing its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. Activision has been embattled with numerous sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits, multiple employee walkouts, and a strike at Raven Software with CEO Bobby Kotick at the center of it all.
Today’s acquisition immediately raised questions on whether or not Kotick will remain CEO in the wake of these ongoing controversies, with Microsoft confirming he will still lead Activision for the time being. Kotick himself has not explicitly discussed his future post-acquisition, but it’s worth keeping in mind that, generally, such management changes can’t be openly disclosed until after the deal is finalized. Kotick did, however, pen a letter to Activision Blizzard employees rationalizing the sale and how Microsoft can improve the company.
One important detail Kotick points out is that the transition will take some time to complete. He points to Microsoft’s fiscal year of 2023 ending on June 30 as the estimated timeframe for the full approval process to wrap up. Until then, Activision will continue to operate independently.
Kotick hopes Microsoft’s expertise in technologies such as cloud computing and AI machine learning will support Activision's existing plans. Kotick previously cites the growing competition around the metaverse concept, alluding that Microsoft will be a big help making their mark in that space.
In terms of Activision’s cultural problems, Kotick also points to Microsoft’s philosophy of employee caring as another selling point and hopes it will help inspire to continue to improve its own internal issues. Xbox head Phil Spencer alluded to a similar mantra of helping problematic studios be better instead of only punishing them when he was recently interviewed about the state of Activision.
You can read the full letter below:
Team, Today is an incredibly exciting day. As we continue our journey to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment, we will eventually do so as part of Microsoft. I am certain that our incredible talent and extraordinary games combined with our shared commitment to the very best workplace will enable us to grow in an increasingly more competitive race for leadership as gaming through the metaverse evolves. How we got here and where we’re going When you reflect on what we’ve built together, we have so much to be proud of. For the last 31 years, we’ve continuously shaped gaming through our commitment to deliver joy, fun, and the thrill of accomplishment. We’ve transformed games into social experiences and enabled players to find purpose and meaning through the most engaging form of entertainment – our games. By doing so, we’ve created and entertained communities of hundreds of millions of players. Connecting these communities together is the next step. Facebook, Google, Tencent, NetEase, Amazon, Apple, Sony, Disney – and many more – have ambitions for their own gaming and metaverse initiatives. Established and emerging competitors see opportunity for virtual worlds filled with professionally produced content, user generated content and rich social connections. Our talent and our games are important components of the construction of a rich metaverse. We have always attracted the very best game makers and built the very best games, seizing opportunity with passion, inspiration, focus, and determination. A partnership to define the future As investments in cloud computing, AI and machine learning, data analytics, and user interface and experience capabilities are becoming more competitive, we believe this partnership will better enable our ambitions. In considering possible partners, all roads ultimately lead to Microsoft. Like us, they have been making games for a long time. Microsoft has already distributed games to hundreds of millions of the world’s computers and computing devices and has technologies and innovation that will support the next generation of games. Microsoft also will support our journey to further strengthen our culture. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, has been a passionate advocate for caring as the currency of leadership. Inspiring people through empathy is a powerful motivator, and one we embrace as we renew our resolve – and in the work we are now doing – to set a new standard for a welcoming and inclusive workplace culture. Importantly, Microsoft wants you – your talent, your creativity, and your dedication to each other. Activision Blizzard’s success throughout the years can be directly attributed to each of you. Microsoft recognizes the commitment to excellence and creative independence that sets us apart, and we anticipate minimal changes for our workforce following the close of the transaction. Microsoft’s diverse operations will give us access to valuable expertise, technology, and tools and provide even greater opportunities for learning and development. No organization’s culture, including ours, is without need for improvement, and thanks to your input, we are making strides in improving ours. My commitment is to continue evolving our culture so that come closing, Microsoft is acquiring an exemplary workplace. What’s next Transactions like these can take a long time to complete. Until we receive all the necessary regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions are satisfied, which we expect to be sometime in Microsoft’s fiscal 2023 year ending June 30, 2023, we will continue to operate completely autonomously. I will continue as our CEO with the same passion and enthusiasm I had when I began this amazing journey in 1991. Of course, this announcement will give rise to so many questions. We will host numerous forums and events to make certain we address your concerns. I am incredibly proud of this company, you, and the work we have done together. Now it’s on to our next chapter and the endless possibilities this transaction represents for us. I couldn’t be more appreciative of your efforts, focus, and the dedication to connecting the world through joy and fun. With gratitude, BobbyKotick's future with Activision has been a big question mark since it was revealed he reportedly obsurced years worth of employee abuse reports from Activision Blizzard shareholders. At one point, he himself stated he would consider stepping down if company culture didn't approve, although employee petitions and a minority of shareholders have called for him to resign as well.
Cuphead and his trusty drink-holding brother will hit Netflix next month.
This news was announced today with the first official trailer for the series, which is called The Cuphead Show. This new trailer comes seven months after our first sneak peek at the show and as that peek indicated, The Cuphead Show will be about the titular character and his brother, Mugman, traversing the Inkwell Isles.
Click here to watch embedded mediaUnlike the game, which tasks players with wiping some debt owed to the Devil, it seems that the show is less about a central story such as that and more about episode-to-episode adventures that may or may not be hijacked by some devilish deeds from the Devil. However, the trailer reveals quite a few of the locales visited in Cuphead as well as many of the bosses our heroes face in the game.
“Based on the award-winning video game that smashed onto the scene with a gorgeous retro animation style, The Cuphead Show is a character-driven comedy series following the unique misadventures of loveable, impulsive scamp Cuphead and his cautious but easily swayed brother Mugman,” a press release from Netflix reads. “As the two scour their surreal homeworld of the Inkwell Isles in search of fun and adventure, they always have each other’s back.”
As you might expect, the show retains the same retro style of animation as the game and it features the same 1920s-esque antics and comedy seen in it as well.
Click here to watch embedded media“The Cuphead Show combines nostalgic delights, side-splitting gags, and a healthy dose of the heebie jeebies – espeically when a ridiculously weird nemesis, The Devil himself, arrives on the scene to toy with our heroes.”
Netflix Animation is producing the 12-episode series, and each episode will run for 12 minutes. Cuphead creators Chad and Jared Moldenhaur from Studio MDHR are executive producers. The voice cast includes Tru Valentino (Psychonauts 2) as Cuphead, Frank Todaro (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) as Mugman, Joe Hanna (Dishonored 2) as Elder Kettle, Luke Millington-Drake as the Devil, Grey Griffin (Batman: Arkham City) as Ms. Chalice, and Wayne Brady (Who's Line Is It Anyway?) as King Dice.
The Cuphead Show was announced back in 2019, and you can read about that original announcement here. Check out our thoughts on the video game that the show is based on in Game Informer’s Cuphead review after that and then read about how Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, which features the same Ms. Chalice seen in The Cuphead Show, launches this June.
Are you excited for The Cuphead Show? Let us know in the comments below!
The everchanging world of Fortnite received a significant update today. As the weather heats up and spring approaches, frozen sections of the game's map are thawing. One such area has melted to reveal the return of Titled Towers, a popular location filled with towers that was a part of Fortnite's first battle royale map.
The great thaw also has awakened new life in the form of giant dinosaurs called Klombos. These peaceful beasts are roughly the size of a bus and are roaming the world looking for things to eat, especially Klomberries. When they consume something, their color changes. You can interact with these beasts. Try running up a Klombos tail and see what happens when you reach the blowhole on its head. If you shoot a Klombo, it will attack you. That blowhole is also a weapon. So far, you can find two Klombos on the map – one to the northwest of the Daily Bugle and another to the west of Titled Towers.
In a few matches I played this morning, Titled Towers proved to be a popular destination with what seemed to be half of players descending upon it to see what has changed. You may want to arm yourself and shield up before landing at this fun spot. If you collect characters, you'll find two have been added to the game in slots 21 and 22.
More significant changes will likely be on the way to Fortnite in a few weeks, as The Foundation and Haven Masks battle pass rewards unlock in 16 days. The item shop also updates daily at 6 p.m. CT. It'll be interesting to see if Epic Games ties in any character skins and items with the return of Titled Towers. Maybe a Klombo trainer? We'll find out later today.
Last October, Nintendo revealed that Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix would be heading to Switch. If you’ve been waiting with bated breath to enjoy Sora’s adventures on the go, mark February 10 as the date you’ll get to do so.
It’s important to emphasize that these are cloud versions, meaning you can only stream them over the internet. The games will not be available as traditional physical or digital releases. If you’re unsure if your internet connection is up to the task, free demos of each title are now available to test out.
If this will be your first foray into the Kingdom Hearts series, figuring out the differences between these confusingly named collections can be headache-inducing. Below is a simple breakdown of which each one entails. To follow along with the series from start to finish, you’ll want to play the collections/games in this order:
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind
As an added perk, those who purchase Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind standalone or as part of the bundle receive the exclusive Advent Red Keyblade to use in that game.
2022 marks the 20th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts and Square has promised to celebrate with a special event on April 10. During this Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event, there will be a mini concert, a chat and Q&A with the development teams behind the series, an exhibition, and "much more." A video version of it will be made available after the event.
For more on these games, follow the links to read our reviews on Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts 2.8, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix, and Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix.
Earlier this month, Xbox revealed the first wave of January Game Pass titles which listed Bioware’s beloved reupholstered trilogy, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, several indie darlings like Spelunky 2 and Outer Wilds (among other games), and a preview project called The Anacrusis. According to VGC, the end-of-month Game Pass lineup was recently revealed and includes hits like Rainbow Six Extraction, Hitman Trilogy, and more.
You can get a look at the upcoming catalog in the image above. More details are available in the form of a blog post on the official Xbox website. The assortment is as follows:
We’ll also update this story if and when Xbox adds to the “What’s Leaving Xbox Game Pass” catalog this month. In the meantime, read up on everything that dropped in December 2021. As for any info about the new games dropping later this month, check out our Rainbow Six Extraction New Gameplay Today footage or read about how Pupperazzi might help scratch your New Pokémon Snap itch.
In other seismic Xbox news, Microsoft announced this morning that it acquired Activision Blizzard.
Personally, I’m looking forward to trying out Death’s Door. But are there any upcoming games you’re excited to dive into? Let us know in the comments section below!
[Source: VGC]
Microsoft announced that it acquired Activision Blizzard, the studio behind franchises like Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and more.
This news was announced today amongst rumors that such an acquisition was happening. It seems Xbox head Phil Spencer, who wrote the blog post announcing the report, was looking to get ahead of said rumors, and now, it's official: Xbox is the new home of Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, and all of Activision Blizzard's other franchises.
The deal is worth $68.7 billion, which is significantly more than the $7.5 billion Microsoft spent on its acquisition of Bethesda back in 2020. For more context of this nearly $70 billion price tag, just last week, Take-Two announced one of the most expensive acquisitions in gaming history when it revealed it was buying Zynga for nearly $13 billion.
"As a team, we are on a mission to extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet," Spencer's Xbox Wire blog post reads. "We all know that gaming is the most vibrant and dynamic form of entertainment worldwide and we've experienced the power of social connection and friendship that gaming makes possible. As we pursue that mission, it is incredibly exciting to announce that Microsoft has agreed to acquire Activision Blizzard."
Here are some of the teams this acquisition places in the Xbox family: Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, Beenox, Demonware, Digital Legends, High Moon Studios, Infinity Ward, King, Major League Gaming, Radical Entertainment, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Toys for Bob, and Treyarch. Microsoft will have 30 internal game development studios following the close of this deal. There's no word on if games developed by these studios will be exclusive to Xbox platforms or if those currently seen as multiplatform titles like Call of Duty will remain as such.
Spencer says that Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently until the transaction closes, which is expected to happen in fiscal year 2023 (July 2022 through June 2023). When that happens, Microsoft will become the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. Activision Blizzard will report to Spencer as the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming after the transaction close of this acquisition. Here's a look at the Microsoft Gaming Leadership team (see below).
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who has been central in the ongoing controversy surrounding the company including calls for his resignation, will remain CEO.
"Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company's culture and accelerate business growth," a press release from Xbox reads. "Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming."
Kotick said today that "for more than 30 years, our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games" and that "the combination of Activision Blizzard's world-class talent and extraordinary franchises with Microsoft's technology, distribution, access to talent, ambitious vision, and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry."
"Upon close, we will offer as many Activision Blizzard games as we can within Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, both new titles and games from Activision Blizzard's incredible catalog," Spencer's post continues. "We also announced today that Game Pass now has more than 25 million subscribers. As always, we look forward to continuing to add more value and more great games to Game Pass."
Spencer says this acquisition will accelerate Microsoft and Xbox's plans for Cloud Gaming, and the companies plan to support cloud streaming for Activision Blizzard games moving forward.
The Microsoft Gaming CEO also lightly touches (without directly speaking to it) on some of the controversy surrounding Activision Blizzard amongst reports of harassment, failure in leadership and management, and more, which you can read about here.
"As a company, Microsoft is committed to our journey for inclusion in every aspect of gaming, among both employees and players. We deeply value individual studio cultures. We also believe that creative success and autonomy go hand-in-hand with treating every person with dignity and respect. We hold all teams, and all leaders, to this commitment. We're looking forward to extending our culture of proactive inclusion to the great teams across Activision Blizzard. "Around the world, there is no more exciting venue for fun and connection than video games. And there has never been a better time to play than right now. As we extend the joy and community of gaming to everyone, we look forward to welcoming all of our friends at Activision Blizzard to Microsoft Gaming."What do you think of this news? Let us know in the comments below!
Nobody Saves the World is as charming and funny as Drinkbox Studios’ Guacamelee series. Bolstered by wonderfully challenging dungeons, Nobody’s core pillars of body swapping and ability customization go a long way to making this a memorable adventure, though a paper-thin world and underwhelming rewards keep this Nobody from being the best Somebody possible.
Within the amusing story, only one wizard has the power to shut down the disgusting fungal calamity that’s devastating the kingdom. Unfortunately, that guy is nowhere to be found. Instead, a pale, featureless wimp takes up that mage’s powerful wand. With it, this Nobody can shapeshift into useful forms like a bodybuilder, robot, or rat; each comes equipped with a special attack and passive ability, with more to be unlocked. I found the process of leveling up forms and gaining new ones to be a blast. Completing skin-specific challenges levels up that form, revealing more to unlock and becoming available as certain ranks are achieved.
Nobody Saves the World’s progression hinges on the constant loop of completing these quests. Every quest grants precious experience along with stars, a currency used only to unlock the five legendary dungeons. Unfortunately, those rewards are the same for any side missions I picked up from NPCs, making most quests feel like just another drop in the XP bucket. While constantly filling progress bars feeds a primal dopamine drip, I wish there were additional passive abilities or stat boosts as rewards to some of these activities. However, those are relegated to unsatisfying gold sinks from vendors.
Nobody’s top-down, hack-and-slash gameplay reminds me of an amalgamation of a classic 2D The Legend of Zelda and The Binding of Isaac. Some character forms at Nobody’s disposal wield more traditional weapons like swords and bows, while others use streams of lighting, tears from a slug, or a swift kick from a horse. It’s not afraid to tread well into goofy and mildly disturbing territory. Abilities from any form can be slotted in to be used by another, enabling an enjoyably deep system of mixing skills to mold the perfect dungeon slaying creature. I love how many quests rely on equipping non-native abilities. It forces me to switch up my strategy, sometimes at the cost of combat effectiveness, though it always teaches me a neat combo to use down the road. One of my favorite concoctions involves the Magician, who already swarms baddies with rabbits and tigers, and equipping him with an attack that infects enemies who join my army as zombies upon death.
The most fun and challenging action unfolds within the dungeons. These castles, beached sea creatures, UFOs, and corporate office buildings each house a few floors of monsters to slay. However, there’s a catch—every dungeon sports a dangerous modifier, which often upset my preferred loadout. You’ll usually be forced to build something special to clear them. For instance, one dungeon modifies damage from any attack to deal 9,999. Puzzling out solutions to survive through trial and error was fun since I had the right tools at my disposal; I just had to find which ones to use. The various modifiers made me appreciate the breadth of customization and experimentation for every form. Figuring out which build will work best is incredibly satisfying.
The world outside the dungeons, while beautifully drawn and visually diverse, lacks an exploratory pulse. The overworld rarely provides the same complexity or challenge I enjoy in the dungeons, save for a couple of guild quests scattered about. The world feels flat and uninteresting as a result. Traversal only gets as deep as using certain forms to swim through bodies of water or fit into some tight corridors. The excellent Jim Guthrie soundtrack does make everything more bearable, though.
Despite its minor shortcomings, Nobody Saves the World kept me enthralled from start to finish as I leveled my way through form ranks for the next body or ability to work with. It's most fun when unleashing devious yet approachable combat scenarios, keeping me on my toes to find the best solution to survive. Thankfully, it gave me plenty of those unrelenting loops throughout, justifying the time to save this funny little world.
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Summary:Drinkbox Studios delivers a funny and challenging adventure that's not afraid to get weird and encourages clever customization.
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Those out there who are looking for a reason to buy and play Ys IX: Monstrum Nox have a few new features to look forward to when you finally pull the trigger. Seriously, though. Play Ys VIII and IX!
Coming in a major update to the Steam version of the game is local co-op. In the trailer above you can see the feature in action, which lets a second player take control of someone as long as multiple playable characters are present in the scene. In the Steam post announcing the update, it talks about the changes from co-op in the previous Ys title, saying, "the second player is largely equivalent to the primary player in terms of capabilities in Ys IX, including movement and combat abilities, using Monstrum Gifts, discovering and triggering landmarks, enemies and events, opening chests, picking up collectibles, and initiating dialogue. Only interacting with menus and the map is restricted to player one." Pretty impressive for shoehorning multiplayer into a decidedly single-player experience.
Also joining the game is 16:10 support, which allows for slightly narrower displays to be supported. One of those displays sporting that aspect ratio is the upcoming Steam Deck handheld device, which the developers luckily had on hand to snap a picture of the game running on it.
Topping off the update are some bug fixes to clean up some issues from launch. You can check out the full developer post right here.
Have you played Ys IX and does multiplayer sound like a way you'd want to play it? Let us know in the comments!
Deck builders are played with cards, but all too often, they’re lumped into core card games like Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone, Legends of Runeterra, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or others. While certainly there are some awesome competitive tabletop deck builders to check out (Dominion rules, folks), in games today they’re often roguelike dungeon crawls, allowing players to unlock new options, distill their decks down to only the best cards, and try out a wealth of strategies. In fact, you don’t have to like card games at all to enjoy a good deck builder, as they’re more akin to a mechanics-focused turn-based RPG in style and spirit. Anyway, do yourself a favor and check out one of these titles for a great look at what the genre has to offer.
While not the first deckbuilding game by any means, Slay the Spire has been a huge contributor to the genre’s popularity in recent years. Slay the Spire features near-infinite replayability, which is nice, but the gameplay is stellar and sublime.
As you lose dozens of hours to Spire crawling, you’ll unlock all kinds of new strategies to experiment with. Whether it’s by brute force, the incremental tick of poison, or with tons of lightning, there are hundreds of ways to take on the monsters and bosses in Slay the Spire. Creating a perfect cyclical deck is a pleasure, and random elements each run create interesting variables that make each attempt different and special. If you haven’t played this deck builder yet, you’re missing out.
Imagine taking a trip to Hell… To reclaim it for your horrifying legions! Monster Train is an excellent choice for folks who like to command giant monsters. Instead of controlling a single hero character like Slay the Spire, players must command and position various troops from complex factions.
Sure, you can play with basic hard-hitting demon spawn, but things get exciting as you attempt to make your way through the gauntlet with more nuanced factions, like a collection of candle creatures that possess immense power – but burn out over time. Players must also manage careful positioning for each unit placed on the train and augment battles with spells. This ride is an awesome one and one I highly recommend getting a ticket for as soon as possible.
If you’re looking for all the core mechanics of the deck builder with a dash of story and the ability to talk your way out of a mess, Griftlands might be the right fit for you. In Griftlands, while it’s likely you’ll specialize in either combat or chatter, you command two different decks – one for direct combat and one for negotiation.
Winning an argument by infuriating the opponent and browbeating them into submission or by persuading them through savvy social skills is an offbeat choice for a roguelike deck builder, but it works well here. Recruit allies, experiment with different characters, and make your way through the lively days and nights of the Griftlands!
Currently in Early Access, Across the Obelisk tasks you with forming a group of adventurers to head out into lands teeming with dangers. Experimenting with different takes on classic archetypes like healers, tanks, hunters, and rogues, assembling the perfect mix of abilities, equipment, and skills is super satisfying, even in this pre-release stage. While deck builders are everywhere these days, Across the Obelisk is brimming with promise and panache and is worth a look.
Inscryption is one of those games that it’s best not to talk too much about before playing, as much of the game’s discovery, exploration, and bizarre curiosities can be easily spoiled. However, I’m comfortable saying that the deck-building aspect of the game is fun and exciting, even if it’s not as in-depth as many other genre offerings. It’s a blast to break the rules by moving abilities from card to card, and there’s no shortage of atmosphere and style as you battle in the confines of a dimly-lit cabin.
While the internet may be more familiar with fantasy sports such as football or baseball, that doesn't mean the gamers of the world can't have a little fun too. From God of War to Red Dead Redemption II and everything in between, join Game Informer as we pick the best games of 2018 and form the ultimate fantasy teams.
But how does the process work? The panel of Ben Reeves, John Carson, Kim Wallace, Alex Stadnik, and Alex Van Aken have assembled to select five games apiece from 2018 to create the most robust roster possible. After randomizing the draft order, each person will have time to decide. At the end of the round, the order reverses, and the fun continues from the fifth person back to the first.
Sounds pretty standard, right? You can fill your list with as many great games as possible and create the video game equivalent of the 1990s Chicago Bulls. That's where you're wrong. If you've played fantasy sports before, you're well aware that picking players in the late rounds can get rough. In that spirit, each panel member in today's video must select one title off Metacritic's list of the worst games of 2018. In a year of such high highs, it's incredible how low the lows can get.
But why are we drafting games like this? Just for fun? Why no, for the community validation, of course! That's right, folks. You get to vote on who has the strongest list. Be sure to head over to our Discord to select the editor with the strongest list, and we'll read the results on this week's episode of The GI Show! Thank you so much for your participation and please let us know what you thought of the segment in the comments below!
While fans were hopeful about Halo Infinite, not many could have predicted the dominant return Master Chief would make at the end of 2021. The multiplayer suite blew players away with a joyous amalgamation of pitch-perfect combat and some of the best multiplayer maps the series had seen in a long time. The campaign refocused in scale and featured some of the most emotional character moments we’ve seen from Master Chief and Cortana. Not only that, but 343 Industries opened Zeta Halo to players in ways unheard of in a Halo game, creating a delightful semi-open-world experience that features some of the greatest movement the series has ever seen.
But it wasn’t all perfect. Multiplayer staples such as Slayer and Free For All weren’t included at launch. Forge and cooperative play are still months off. The battle pass system was a complete wreck. But those issues haven’t stopped 343 from iterating and improving on one of 2021’s biggest games, and the studio shows no signs of slowing down. But how will the company build on its momentum in the new year? Here are five ways Halo Infinite can build upon its momentum in 2022. Spoiler warning: we discuss the story implications for a lot of Halo's main characters while keeping actual details vague.
Stick with me here... Dog ears. You cat sickos got what you wanted, let me have this.
It’s funny what playing Call of Duty: Warzone for two years will do to you. The FPS juggernaut is celebrated and maligned for many things. Still, whether or not you like the busy menu screens, it has mastered the art of making the battle pass and cosmetics more accessible to its users, something Halo Infinite desperately needs. There have been plenty of times I’ve gone to the battle pass, wanting to equip my shiny new helmet, only to have to dig through the customization menu and scourer multiple Spartans to find the one new cosmetic item.
As much as I don’t love how cluttered the COD menus can get, I do appreciate seeing my new unlocks marked in a way so I can find them easily. I’d love for this feature to come to Halo so that equipping my new shoulder pad and getting back to the slaying is no longer a hassle. It’s a small change, to be sure, but one that could alleviate a myriad of headaches and allow players to bask in the glow of their new snazzy armor before dirtying it with the blood of their enemies.
Halo multiplayer always comes with certain expectations for additions to the current iteration, with fans hoping for some of the most iconic maps in multiplayer history to come back into the fold. The same is true with Halo Infinite. Seeing maps such as Lockout, Valhalla, and Blood Gulch would be a tremendous treat for longtime fans, especially with Infinite’s new coat of paint. What’s more tantalizing, though, is the chance to sprint and grapple around these hallowed halls of multiplayer madness. Can you imagine racing up to the top of the base in Beaver Creek, using the grapple shot to snag rockets, and scoring a multi-kill? 343 has a treasure trove of old maps to reintroduce to a new player base, and I’m chomping at the bit to see what they choose.
But while the prospect of playing on familiar battlegrounds excites me, I think for the first time in over a decade, I’m more excited to see what 343 will create from scratch. Halo Infinite includes some of the best maps the series has seen in a long time. Playspaces such as Live Fire, Streets, and Recharge are symbolic of the iconic close quarters combat the series made its name with, and Big Team Battle maps such as Fragmentation walk the perfect balance between scale and keeping players in the fight. It’s abundantly clear that the team at 343 has learned a lot of lessons since taking over the mantle of Master Chief, and I want to see them go all out when it comes to the play spaces that bring out the best of what Halo Infinite’s combat has to offer.
Speaking of the best of Halo Infinite’s combat, creative game modes have been at the heart of the Halo series, and I’m looking forward to their resurgence in 2022. While this is a series that popularized the mainstay multiplayer modes of the last twenty years, it’s the Grifballs, the infection modes, and more that brought a creative light and a refreshing twist on the iconic suite, something Infinite is lacking as it stands. While I want these game modes featured, I’m more interested in the fresh experiences 343 has up its collective sleeves. The Cyber Showdown event could be a step in this direction, but I also want 343 to take inspiration from another pillar of the Halo Infinite package.
The beauty of the campaign is the exuberant way it pushes you to explore its sandbox, especially regarding equipment usage. The grapple shot isn’t a fleeting resource; it’s a tool to use freely and is one of the highlights of my time on Zeta Halo. I want to see the multiplayer suite reflect that as well. No, I’m not talking about adding a starting grapple shot into Slayer and ranked. Imagine a mode where you can freely use your newfound swinging abilities while being equipped with an unlimited supply of fusion coils. Pure, unadulterated, chaos and I’m here for it. Halo Infinite’s most outstanding quality is its knack for not only understanding the iconic combat dance of the series but adding contemporary layers to make it one of the best multiplayer shooters on the market today. The more it can embrace those pillars, the longer it can hold that claim.
Halo Infinite’s tale of Master Chief, The Pilot, and The Weapon wonderfully sets up the future of the series. What it also does is leave plenty of room for story exploration that doesn’t involve John and his newfound fight against The Endless, which has me the most excited I’ve been for Halo stories in quite some time. Halo Infinite is a platform, thus a space to expand not only in the multiplayer realm but with more single-player content as well.
If you’ve played the campaign, you’re familiar with the audio logs that are scattered across Zeta Halo that lightly fill in the story between Infinite and the events of Halo 5. The beauty of these peeks and teases is how open-ended they are. We know characters such as The Arbiter, Locke, and more are out there. We just don’t know where they are now. The same can be said for most familiar faces that haven’t been seen since the last fight against Cortana. This ambiguity is exciting not only from a storytelling perspective but a gameplay one as well. The playbook is entirely open for 343. Do they want to tell a more intimate story similar to Halo 3: ODST? Place Captain Lasky on Zeta Halo after the Infinity crashes and tell the tale of his quest to save the UNSC without its most crucial soldier. Do they want to tell a more familiarly bombastic story with new and familiar weapons not found on Zeta Halo? Check-in with Fred, Linda, and Kelly for a more co-op-focused adventure.
Therein lies the beauty of what 343 has been able to accomplish with Halo Infinite’s story. Without spoiling too much of the ending, Halo Infinite’s closing moments make it clear the slate is clean. And while that’s exciting for Chief and company, it’s almost more exciting for the characters around him. It frees up 343 to give arcs and endings to the Bucks, Lockes, and Lasky’s of this world, including or killing off familiar faces as they see fit. AAA video game storytelling can be predictable at times, with every game trying to be a new franchise. 343 has the opportunity to buck that trend and continue what they started with Infinite: Acknowledge the past without being beholden to it.
What else would you like to see added to Halo Infinite in 2022? Be sure to leave a comment below on what you're excited about in the new year. If you want more Master Chief goodness, be sure to check out our https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/12/22/every-mainline-halo-game-ranked…; target="_blank">ranking of the best games in the Halo franchise, our https://www.gameinformer.com/haloinfinite"; target="_blank">exclusive coverage hub of one of 2021's best games, and our ranking of the https://www.gameinformer.com/feature/game-informers-top-10-games-of-202…; target="_blank">greatest titles from last year! Thank you so much for watching!
Changes are coming to Halo Infinite's store starting this week, according to a series of tweets from Jerry Hook, the head of design at 343 Industries.
Users have had concerns about the pricing in Infinite's shop since it launched in late November, and it looks like this week will finally see a change in course for what is offered and for how much. Jerry Hook starts his mini-thread announcing the impending update, saying, "We’ve been monitoring the discussions on the Shop, bundles, and pricing closely since launch. Using data and community feedback, we’re going to begin rolling out changes to how we package and price items in Halo Infinite – and it all starts next week." His thread continues, "Starting Tuesday, the Shop experience will vary week-to-week. We are focused on reducing pricing across the board, providing stronger values in our bundles, starting to put individual items outside of bundles, and more."
We’ve been monitoring the discussions on the Shop, bundles, and pricing closely since launch. Using data and community feedback, we’re going to begin rolling out changes to how we package and price items in @Halo Infinite – and it all starts next week.
— jerry hook (@hookscourt) January 15, 2022
With the week-to-week adjustments being made, it seems like the in-game store will be evolving and changing based on trends over the coming months. Hook speaks to that in his third tweet, saying, "We will be trying new things throughout the rest of the season so that we can continue to learn and improve for the future. Please keep the feedback coming during this process and I hope to see you all next week for the Cyber Showdown event!"
What the changes are, we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully you can get your Spartan Cat ears or space pickle charms on the cheap going forward. If there are any interesting developments in the Halo Infinite shop, we have a story that we keep updated just about every week to reflect the deals on offer. Check there tomorrow afternoon to see if anything substantial has taken place.
When titles like The Secret of Monkey Island became rarer, so too did Jamie Ottilie’s time with the adventure genre, and, like many, he moved on to other increasingly popular types of games. But then, Telltale Games was formed – roughly a decade after the golden age of adventure games – built from the ashes of LucasArts by a number of former employees, piquing Ottilie’s interest immediately.
Ottilie enjoyed the studio’s first handful of games, but his interest reached new heights following the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, the game that most agree put the studio on the map. And from there, the Telltale of old was born – a studio seemingly destined to create excellent stories in pre-existing universes such as The Walking Dead, and later Game of Thrones and Batman.
For some time, Telltale’s signature formula worked well. Until it didn’t. Overburdened with work leading to widespread crunch in a market oversaturated with the Telltale name, the final blow to the studio came when investors from AMC, Lionsgate, and Smilegate pulled funding. The company began its shutdown in September 2018. It was brutal, coming as a surprise to most everyone there. It was also a massive shock to an industry already weary of crunch and the lack of safety nets for employees.
By the time Telltale shut down, Ottilie’s interest had grown into a full appreciation – he was truly a fan of the studio’s work. Following the studio’s closure, he began to look into what went wrong and how the studio could return. About a year later, he would be the new CEO of Telltale after buying the company, or what was left of it, in 2019.
Ottilie watched Telltale’s shutdown as a game developer and studio consultant, having worked in the industry since the 1990s, leading multiple studios, such as Galaxy Pest Control, Abandon Interactive Entertainment, and more.
“I started asking around and a colleague mentioned that he knew some of the former team at Telltale and we knew about the public assignment [company collapse and asset auction],” Ottilie says. “So we went through and we did the evaluation. It looked interesting and it was something we felt worth saving. It wasn’t a good fit for the company that I was consulting for, which was disappointing.”
“I couldn’t get it out of my head,” he continues. “After mulling it over for a bit, I decided to try to take it on myself and set about trying to raise some of the funds from my network of industry friends. It seemed like a great opportunity – good brands and a great game genre and legacy that should continue.” He created a holding company, LCG Entertainment, to formally make the purchase. With his love of Telltale and his experience as a studio lead, Ottilie felt confident he could bring the studio back.
Stabilizing the Telltale catalogue was priority one. With many of its original titles pulled from storefronts, the new Telltale brought them back. The next step was developing a game. This would chart the path for Telltale’s new future, one where Ottilie and the leadership team would try to prevent the problems that once plagued the studio’s original iteration, problems that ultimately led to its demise.
Telltale’s first big reveal happened at The Game Awards 2019: a trailer for The Wolf Among Us 2, which was technically in development at old Telltale before the shutdown, as reported by VG247, but was back again as a completely different sequel. It was intriguing, but when your catalogue includes franchises as large as Game of Thrones, choosing to return with a sequel to The Wolf Among Us, a much smaller IP, comes off a bit odd. The choice to do so, though, was clear as day for Ottilie.
“Wolf is a smaller IP, yes, but it’s also one of the more successful titles of former Telltale... and this sequel is something fans have been wanting for years,” Ottilie says. “It’s also a good connection point to what Telltale was, right? We should communicate with the audience that’s out there and let them know, ‘Hey, we hear you, and we can’t do everything you’re asking us for, but this thing that you’re asking for, we can do this,’ and so we did.”
The Wolf Among Us is based on Vertigo Comics’ series Fables. Similar to the comics, the game centers on Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown in New York City. As the name suggests, Fabletown is a community where characters from fables and fairy tales reside. However, when the relatively quiet community becomes home to grisly murders, players must guide Bigby through the investigations across five episodes.
Wanting to do right by the first game and the fans that loved it, Ottilie reached out to AdHoc, a company formed in 2019 by former Telltale creative directors, cinematic directors, and writers, many of whom worked on the first Wolf. AdHoc became collaborative partners on the sequel. The new Telltale, which today is made up of nearly 50-percent former Telltale employees, is developing Wolf 2 – handling game design, programming, mocap, and more – but Ottilie wanted AdHoc on board as the creative team.
“When we joined the project, one of the first things we agreed on is that we didn’t want to reboot things,” AdHoc COO and co-founder Nick Herman says. “There’s plenty that will change, but it’s always in service to the original vision for the project. As much as we love Season One, we remember all the pieces that fell short or were not pursued due to a variety of technical or creative constraints. With new studio leadership and an upgraded engine, we’re able to revisit a lot of those conversations and take bigger swings.”
There were still many questions on the table, however. Art style? Keep it similar to the first, Ottilie says. Story? The team opted to pick up six months after the end of Wolf 1 and set it in winter. Characters? Bigby Wolf, of course, and Snow White, from the first game. The engine? It was time for a change.
Zac Litton has nearly eight years of Telltale development under his belt. He started as a technical director at the former iteration of the studio before becoming Telltale’s first vice president of engineering. After Telltale was purchased, Ottilie reached out to Litton to chat, and it wasn’t long before Litton was back, this time as CTO.
Litton quickly got to work helping the new Telltale rediscover and reconfigure its pipeline, something he says is critical to studio success.
“It was like, ‘Hey, what’s our pipeline going to be?’ And it’s not just the engine, but the pipeline is everything,” Litton says. “It’s how the writers are going to write; it’s how the engine is going to perform; it’s how you handle editing and updates... it’s everything, really.”
In the past, Telltale developed games using its own proprietary engine. And while that worked well in some respects, at the new Telltale, the decision was made to also utilize Epic’s Unreal Engine. Using Unreal as a foundation and adding in layers of Telltale’s custom engine on top of it has changed everything, Litton says. Not only is Unreal an engine used industry-wide, which means finding people that can develop Telltale games is significantly easier than it’s ever been, but it’s open, too, meaning Telltale can use it alongside its own engine to great success.
This ultimately leads to a smoother pipeline, which Ottilie and Litton both believe to be one facet of removing crunch.
“A lot of things didn’t get out as clean as we would have liked them to at [old] Telltale because of time.” Litton says. “You can have a wonderful engine with lots of capabilities to provide really smooth content, but if you don’t have the time to utilize those tools to the maximum extent, you’re not going to get the product you want out.”
Add in Telltale’s old episodic nature to those difficulties, where the studio immediately shifted to working on the next episode after pushing the one before it live, and the work begins to pile up. That’s when crunch can occur, but Litton and Ottilie say they are working hard to ensure the studio has the right tools in place to avoid that.
Ottilie is quite open about Telltale’s former barriers and challenges – he, of course, wants to be, but he also must be. Creating a staff that’s almost 50 percent former Telltale employees doesn’t happen by telling people who were messily laid off that said studio is back. It happens by explaining why Telltale needed to come back and how the new company is going to avoid its former fate.
Beyond a better engine, Telltale has adopted a distributed development model to smooth things out and (hopefully) avoid crunch. Instead of rounding up 400 employees in a studio located in an expensive city like San Francisco, the new Telltale is utilizing the work of developers around the world.
“The world’s changed,” Ottilie says. “[Distributed development] is about ease. What are easy things to outsource? Art. Everybody outsources art at this time, right? We’re doing 80 percent of our work externally across a couple of different teams, and we’re getting great quality out of it. I’m stunned at some of the projects that the teams and individuals from outsourced companies we work with create … and so why wouldn’t we work with them? Distributed development is really about creative freedom in that way … and it’s about keeping our costs manageable.”
Ottilie says Telltale’s stance on crunch extends to outsourced work as well, stating that the studio employs “the same planning and iteration workflow on all of our projects and endeavor to partner with companies who share our view that a healthy work-life balance is important.”
With new studio leadership and an upgraded engine, we’re able to revisit a lot of those conversations and take bigger swings.
If one thing is clear, Ottilie isn’t concerned with saturating the market with Telltale games. He just wants people to be excited about a game with the Telltale name behind it, even if those games don’t come out as often as they used to. That starts with the script and finding the right people to write it. It’s why AdHoc is helping develop Wolf 2.
“We can do a lot of [script] iteration when we’re not paying 400 people to kind of contain that,” Ottilie says. “It’s so helpful in terms of the process... because we don’t want to move forward until we’re heading in the right direction with our story.”
Perhaps one of the biggest changes with new Telltale is the way its games will be released. Previously, Telltale would release an episode and spend however much time it needed to get the next one out, but, history shows that approach often led to crunch. That resulted in waning interest over time.
Ottilie says players can expect Telltale games to be essentially done when the first episode is released. This means players won’t need to wait months to see what happens next in the story. Telltale will announce its release schedule ahead of time, and fans will only have to wait a couple of weeks in between episodes. Much like prestige television, Ottilie foresees Telltale releases better capturing the zeitgeist with this new model.
AdHoc CTO and co-founder Dennis Lenart says having an entire season written – in this case, Wolf 2 – before production begins is very new, and it’s something the AdHoc team greatly appreciates.
“This completely changed how high-level decisions were made and allowed us to better plan on the design side – especially for aspects like choice cadence and pacing of gameplay, of which there is more this time around,” he says. “It’s especially hard when you’re accounting for player choice, but now that we have more than eight weeks to create an episode, we can prioritize things that previously would have been a luxury.”
Ottilie says this new release schedule format is another thing that will help keep crunch out of Telltale. Put bluntly, Ottilie says “no crunch” is a core belief for the new studio. He wants to avoid micromanagement, choosing instead to empower employees to work during work hours and go home and enjoy their lives when their shift is up – “you’re a better person that way,” he says.
Months of pre-production work culminated in the Wolf 2 trailer that aired at The Game Awards 2019. Ottilie called it a defining moment for the studio.
“That night was pretty special,” Ottilie says. “It’s the night where we all felt like we are in the right place and the right time, and we are going to make this happen.’ It went so well – we got a standing ovation. It was a moment of vindication. It was a moment where this journey had really paid off.”
Now, two years later, Wolf 2 is in full production. The script is finalized, and mocap is underway. Ottilie says fans can expect Wolf 2 to answer some dangling questions, but not all as some are better left ambiguous. AdHoc expanded a bit on what players can expect, though.
“Wolf 2 takes place after Snow White steps in as Deputy Mayor of Fabletown, which gets us closer to where the comic starts, but Bigby is still struggling to make the transition from the typical fairytale villain to Sheriff and protector,” Herman says. “This season explores more of the nuances and difficulties of hiding in plain sight, dealing with mostly new Fables and taking place all over New York. The city at large definitely plays a bigger role this time around.”
“Creatively, it’s had the most time in the oven out of any Telltale game ever, so we hope that comes through in the final product,” Herman adds. “Personally, I’m excited for fans to have a chance to explore its new themes. Without revealing things, it’s even more about the human experience of being a Fable, which, like the comic, strips away the fantasy and leaves the player with a lot of uncomfortable and messy decisions to make.”
Telltale is also developing a game based on The Expanse, the popular book-series-turned-Amazon-TV-show set in a solar system colonized by humans as they spread out into space. Similar to how it opted to work with AdHoc on Wolf 2, Telltale is working with Deck Nine, the studio behind 2021’s Life Is Strange: True Colors, on its Expanse project. Telltale views it as a co-development deal, with Deck Nine doing a lot of the heavy lifting using Telltale’s engine and tools. It’s a Telltale story told using Deck Nine’s voice.
“We visited Deck Nine early into the reboot of Wolf 2 to discuss possible co-development, but we quickly realized that we wanted to give this talented team more room to run on a project that didn’t have limitations and expectations predetermined by being a sequel,” Ottilie says.
Deck Nine game director Stephan Frost says it’s been a “solid partnership” and especially unique in that it gives the two teams a chance to learn from one another. As for where it belongs in the timeline, it’ll be a prequel in the same universe as Amazon’s series.
“We were pretty nervous about pitching [a prequel] to the creators, and then we specifically picked a character they hadn’t done a backstory for because we wanted to do something canon or something that could become canon for the character,” Ottilie says. “And so we really liked [Camina] Drummer.”
Drummer is unique in that she’s not from Earth, nor is she from Mars – she’s a Belter (someone born in the Asteroid Belt, or outer moons or planets) and with that comes a lot of characteristics that Deck Nine and Telltale say they are excited to play with. Frost says Drummer is aboard a scavenging vessel named The Artemis in the game.
... it’s important to this new iteration of the studio to place the tracks before the train, and it seems that’s exactly what Telltale is doing.
“There’s a mixed crew of high personality Inners and Belters,” he says. “Players will work with that crew, explore various locations beyond the belt, and, of course, need to make life or death decisions that will affect the crew.”
“She’s also unique as a Belter,” Ottilie says. “She’s a little bit more moral, but very black and white, really angry, but not in an unjustifiable or irrational way, right? She’s very controlled and focused and introspective in terms of how she makes decisions as a character, and we wanted to explore how she became that person … and that story didn’t exist yet. None of the novellas tell that story, and there were no plans to go and tell that story [in the TV series]. Drummer doesn’t really exist in the books. She’s an amalgamation of different characters … and we like that because it means there’s a lot of room to have an interesting story develop around her. In our game, the show exists in a microcosm. We put you in the universe you expect to be in.”
Drummer actress Cara Gee will be voicing the character in the Telltale game and providing motion capture for Drummer’s unique movement as well. Frost says there are “other actors from the show written into the story,” but that the teams can’t yet talk about them.
“Who she follows or respects changes based on their actions,” he says, expanding on what else players can expect in the game. “Consider that she used to work with Anderson Dawes, and the extremist faction of the Belt, but then turned away from him and ended up trying to build something new with Fred Johnson, a moderate. What precipitated that change? How does she unite her fierce loyalty to the Belt with her well-earned cynicism for powerful men who claim to have all the answers? These are questions we think players will love exploring with us.”
For now, The Expanse joins Wolf 2 in the “we’ll share more when we’re ready” chamber, which, in a way, speaks to this new Telltale. Litton says it’s important to this new iteration of the studio to place the tracks before the train, and it seems that’s exactly what Telltale is doing.
If one thing is clear, the people we spoke to at Telltale are excited about what’s to come, which Ottilie says will feature new territory for Telltale while respecting the name’s legacy.
“That legacy is why we’re doing this,” Ottilie says. “The journey will continue. We will not fall into the trap of replicating what was there. Wolf 2 will be the closest thing we do to what people are familiar with [with] Telltale, and that’s the reason we’re doing The Expanse with Deck Nine. It’s a totally different voice, completely different aesthetic and pacing. We’re going to continue to work with internal and external teams, and we’re going to match creative leadership to the IPs we pick and give people the opportunity to tell interesting and compelling stories.”
“That’s really the best part of what we’re doing, right? We get to tell these stories and take risks and do new things and surprise people. It’s all kind of fan service. Telltale tells stories in universes we all love. [That fan service] is part of our brand.”
Ubisoft isn't the only publisher with its hands on the Avatar franchise. This weekend, Disney and Tencent unveiled plans to release Avatar: Reckoning, an MMO role-playing shooter slated for iOS and Android. Development duties are for Reckoning are being handled by Archosaur Games.
The press release announcing the title gives us some info on what to expect. "Avatar: Reckoning will transport players to never-before-seen parts of Pandora where they will meet new Na’vi clans fighting to defend their home, battle powerful RDA troops seeking to exploit the resources of the moon, and encounter spectacular alien creatures." Players will be able to take on challenges solo, co-op, or in "dynamic multiplayer matches." You'll level up and equip your Na'vi with weaponry throughout the story mode experience.
Avatar: Reckoning is being developed on Unreal Engine 4 and is set to release sometime this year.
The other adventure taking place on James Cameron's Pandora is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, developed by Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment. Using the Snowdrop Engine that powers The Division 2, its debut trailer from last summer is a stunner. Go check out that footage to see how Ubi is translating the film franchise onto consoles and PC.
Never judge a book by its cover. That’s a great lesson in general, especially for video games, but even more so for a select batch of games that are far more than they appear on the surface. While many games feature narrative and mechanical twists, these particular titles go the extra mile to hide their true natures, intentionally so, to surprise players.
I love games that subvert expectations like this, but they can be hard to seek out or suggest to others. For one, they may initially appear out of your wheelhouse. If you don’t play visual novels, then Doki Doki Literature Club, for example, may pass you by even if the things it’s really going for would be up your alley. That also makes these sorts of games hard to pitch to skeptical friends without giving away what truly makes them special. Plus, if you decide to investigate these games before playing them, you may expose yourself to blatant spoilers. So how to discuss?
Here’s my solution. Each game listed will have two entries: The Premise and The Twist. The premise explains what the game appears to be on the surface. After all, simply popping up on this list indicates that something’s up, and that might be enough to spark your curiosity to give it a shot.
The Twist, which will be obscured with spoiler tags, is the section for those wanting to know how the game changes. Though it won’t blatantly reveal every single thing that happens, it will provide a general overview of a game’s true form, if you will. However, you’ll still have to play it yourself to get the whole picture.
You’re trapped in a cabin by a mysterious stranger. You can’t see his face, but you can earn your freedom by defeating the stranger in a series of card games. This deck builder tasks you with traversing a world map and engaging in card battles and other challenges, then facing a boss at the end. Slay the Spire players, in particular, will feel right at home. The stranger acts as both the opponent and a sort of Dungeon Master, governing the rules and conditions while also role-playing the bosses himself. Can you defeat the stranger and escape the cabin?
Inscryption is a deck builder, but it’s also a horror and puzzle game. Players are free to explore the cabin to solve environmental puzzles vital to unlocking new cards while also learning key clues about their captor. Inscryption’s presentation and storytelling methods routinely evolve, even shifting genres, including an old-school JRPG and even elements of FMV games. Inscryption’s sinister tendrils may even stretch beyond the confines of its card game roots.
Learn how fractions work in this kid-friendly edutainment game that’s free to play on PC.
Hoo boy, where to even begin? Frog Fractions drops its guise pretty quickly (which, honestly, it barely tries to maintain). What starts as an innocent game about eating flies warps into a silly space odyssey, a ridiculous business simulator, and other destinations and gameplay mechanics far beyond its initial concept. The best part? Every second of it is hilarious.
You control a high school student coerced into joining the new literature club! While you’re not much of a reader, the fact that beautiful girls run it entices you to stick around. This bubble gum visual romance novel lets you get to know the club’s four members – Sayori, Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika – as you help them get this club off the ground. You can also flex your poetry chops to impress your favorite club member and maybe even spark some romance! The original 2017 game is available for free on PC, but existing fans can fall in love all over again with last year’s Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. This expanded (and paid) edition features new scenes, extra side stories, and updated visuals.
Doki Doki Literature Club keeps a straight face better than most games on this list, but things eventually take a turn for the bizarre and flat-out terrifying. Let’s just say the game is more self-aware than you realize and brilliantly turns its concept against you to become far more sinister and meta than a cutesy romance simulator. The “disturbing content” warning upon booting up the game is the first tip-off that something is amiss, but it’s easy to forget about it given how long (and, frankly, enjoyable) its initial facade is. Do take the warning seriously, though. There’s some messed-up stuff involving, among other things, depictions of physical harm and suicide.
Test your mettle in an innocent old-school arcade game about ponies in another joint by Inscryption creator Daniel Mullens.
Despite the name, ponies have little to do with Pony Island. This devilish (quite literally) game has you navigating the cursed programming code of this broken arcade game in a variety of ingenious ways. Like Inscryption, Pony Island’s gameplay regularly shifts while challenging you to think outside the box thanks to its fourth-wall-breaking mechanics. Better figure it out quick, though. Your freedom, and life, may depend on it.
You control Stanley, a mundane office worker going through the motions of a boring 9-to-5 job! You’ll explore your strangely empty office building, perhaps in search of some purpose. If that doesn’t excite you, maybe the fact that the expanded edition, The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe, is slated to launch sometime in the near future.
What starts as a seemingly boring office romp quickly becomes an intelligent, hilariously written analysis and deconstruction of well-worn video game design tropes and player behavior. A humorous narrator guides and instructs you on what to do, but the story seamlessly responds if you decide to go left instead of right, leading to several endings.
Do you enjoy old-school Ninja Gaiden? The Messenger is a great love letter to that series and other hard-as-nails action sidescrollers. You play a ninja tasked with delivering an important scroll to the top of a mountain to help stop an invading Demon King. The 8-bit action sees you cutting down all manner of threats while platforming across various deadly environmental traps.
The Messenger’s shift isn’t as dramatic as the other games on this list, but it’s still a cool one. Midway through, the game transforms from an 8-bit 2D sidescroller into a Metroid-style 16-bit game. Although developer Sabotage Studio revealed this style change before launch (which is why I’m saying it here) it still surprised many players. However, what wasn’t disclosed ahead of time was The Messenger’s surprisingly fleshed-out narrative that features a fair share of mind-bending twists. It also packs an unexpected amount of well-written humor that reveals it doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously as you’d initially expect.
Over the weekend, the yearly Awesome Games Done Quick speedrunning marathon concluded, breaking records along the way, including the amount of money the event has ever collected for charity during one event.
🏁TIME 🏁
— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) January 16, 2022
#AGDQ2022 has raised a total amount of $3,416,729 for @preventcancer! This is officially the most we've ever raised in the history of @GamesDoneQuick - ANOTHER WR🏆
Thank you to everyone who made this marathon possible, and thank you all for your generosity & support❤️
Taking the top spot in donation totals for any Games Done Quick event, at the time of the marathon ended the grand donation sum clocked in at $3,416,729 with even more money sent in after the fact. The prior record sat around $3.1 million, with the new total handily surpassing that number.
Awesome Games Done Quick and its aptly-named summer event sibling Summer Games Done Quick are week-long stream marathons where speedrunners show off their quickest times to complete games and collect funds for a deserving charity. This year's AGDQ featured some very fun exhibitions of games like Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories, a blindfolded run of Sekiro, Eternal Darkness (played for the first time at AGDQ), and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. Capping off the show was a 1 hour 21 minute "All Bosses" playthrough of Metal Gear Solid. Check out any of the runs from this past week at the Games Done Quick YouTube page.
Congratulations to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the staff of Games Done Quick and runners involved in ADGQ, and those who donated for a great cause. If you're interested in bolstering the donation total even more, it looks like the AGDQ page is still accepting submissions.
Imagine waking up to find the little-known passion project you have been working on for years has rapidly become popular beyond your wildest expectations. It's the kind of success developers dream of, but so few achieve. Even if a game has a fantastic story, inventive mechanics, and a unique style, there is no guarantee it will prosper. The competition is fierce, with tons of games releasing every day, and it’s a struggle to catch people’s attention. And yet, there are success stories of developers who managed to overcome all these hurdles and make unexpected sensations, like Darkest Dungeon, Stardew Valley, and Valheim. These games' creators are unanimously grateful to their fans for giving them a shot, and they acknowledge the creative freedom their success provides. However, they also spoke about the intense amount of work it is to maintain the next biggest hit, as well as their struggles with doubt and finding purpose when moving on to new projects.
When asked about how they envisioned the future when they started their Vancouver-based company in 2013, Red Hook Studios co-founders Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman answered almost in unison: “We didn’t.” The duo left their previous employers behind to launch the Lovecraft-inspired studio, but, as Sigman explains, “it was always about the game, it was never about the company.” The game he’s referring to is Darkest Dungeon, a gothic, dungeon-crawling RPG where your party’s mental status is just as vital as their physical one. And, though the project has now surpassed 5 million copies sold, and its hotly anticipated sequel recently entered Early Access on Epic, the first step to getting there wasn’t what anyone would call glamorous.
“It was three of us in a room, in another studio that they were letting us borrow,” recalls Bourassa. “There were rats in that building and human poop on the doorstep the first day we went to take possession as it were – and I use that term in the broadest possible sense. We would listen to the other studio argue, sometimes explosively, about games, and we just kind of put our heads down and were trying to work away.”
Similarly, Eric Barone, creator of Stardew Valley, didn’t begin by thinking about a development studio. In fact, he didn’t even begin by thinking about a game.
“It started out as kind of a practice to get better at programming,” Barone says, talking about the earliest inception of his mega indie hit. Unable to land a job out of college, he decided to increase his skill set by making a small title in the C# programming language. The initial plan, Barone explains, was to make something he could put on his resume to impress possible employers.
Employment is no longer a concern for the developer. Stardew Valley recently crossed the 15 million units sold milestone, with sales showing no sign of slowing down even years after the Harvest Moon-like farming simulator first launched in 2016. But back in the early days of development, it would have been difficult to guess that the training exercise would become a household name.
“It was very scrappy,” says Barone. “It was just me in the corner of our studio apartment on a cheap IKEA desk and my budget computer, just working on it. It never crossed my mind to get an actual studio or anything like that – especially because I was a completely solo developer … It’s kind of a miracle that the whole thing came together because I really had no idea what I was doing.”
Henrik Törnqvist, co-founder of Iron Gate Studio – which is making Valheim, a Viking-influenced, open-world game that stitches together base-building, resource collecting, life simulation, survival, exploration, and boss-battling action – vividly recalls having a tough time coming up with the studio’s name and navigating the paperwork required to get the company set up in 2019. However, filing a mountain of forms and frustrating brainstorming sessions are a small price to pay for what became an almost overnight blockbuster.
Valheim is still technically unreleased, being an Early Access title, but the 2021 sensation was already on the way to selling 8 million copies last summer. Its development began in 2018 when Richard Svensson, Iron Gate’s other co-founder, started playing around with the Norse-inspired world. Impressed with the game and ready to move on from his previous employer, Törnqvist joined Svensson a year after development began. Despite being confident in the game’s potential and having the backing of publisher Coffee Stain Publishing, Törnqvist says, “Honestly, we were just developing the game we wanted to make, and we were hopeful, but realistic, about the prospects of a lo-fi Early Access survival game made by mostly one person [Svensson]. We thought it would appeal and resonate strongly with a very niche audience, but we had no idea it would resonate with millions of people.”
Darkest Dungeon’s Kickstarter campaign launched in 2014, and the developers watched in disbelief as the project flew past its goal in the first 24 hours. “Is this not the best of things?” Bourassa asks when thinking about that time in the title’s history. “The game that you care about has an audience.”
He and his studio co-founder explain they were careful to keep a sense of perspective even as the pledges continued to pour in. “We didn’t start losing our heads with fantasies of a massive, sprawling game and a huge audience,” he says. However, Bourassa did succumb to the immediate surge of joy at Darkest Dungeon’s later successful Early Access release, at least for a moment.
“It was the first time I kissed a man,” Bourassa says. In response, his fellow founder, Sigman, raises his hand, declaring, “I received it.” The euphoria faded fast, however. Sigman says, “[The success] changed it immediately from, ‘Okay, I think this game will have been worth doing, and we’ll be able to pay ourselves something,’ to ‘Oh, s---, we have a tiger by the tail.’”
The first fruits of overwhelming success were hard to process for the Valheim and Stardew Valley developers as well. “It was a bit of a blur!” exclaims Törnqvist when asked about his reaction to Valheim selling one million copies in its first week of Early Access. “At Iron Gate, we were so focused on development and scale-proofing the game that it didn’t really register; I still don’t think it really has.”
On the other hand, Barone remembers Stardew Valley’s “surging popularity” and the feeling that “everyone’s talking about” his game. But his most dazzling memory from that time is meeting his inspiration, Yasuhiro Wada, who began the Harvest Moon series, which then evolved into Story of Seasons. “Mr. Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon, or his people, reached out to me, and he wanted to meet me,” Barone says. “I mean, that was one of many moments where my mind was blown. And it really sank in as to how big this actually was. That I had just achieved way beyond anything I had ever dreamed of and just being seen in the same kind of arena as Harvest Moon – the game that inspired me to do all this – was kind of mind-blowing. And I’m still kind of shocked and amazed by that, in many ways.”
Party poppers litter the floor, and empty champagne glasses clutter tables, but the teams don’t rest after their triumphs. Actually, their work grows more intense. According to Barone, the time after launch “was probably the busiest time of the entire four-and-a-half years that it took to make the game.” Echoing this sentiment, Törnqvist says, “We had so many incredible opportunities coming in, and suddenly such a big community, and trying to respond to everyone, let alone move these opportunities along, is a full-time job!”
It took a few months for the Darkest Dungeon team to feel the change, but with a game in Early Access where you build a title in full view of the community, it was bound to come. “I think expectations, and managing those expectations, became much more of a clear and present danger during Early Access,” explains Bourassa. This shift came after players had put hours into Darkest Dungeon and began to hold opinions of their own on what the game should be. “And we’re much more conscious of having this really big player base, and we want to do well by them,” says Sigman. “But we also know that the way we got there was by being really true to our own sense of the vision. So, there’s a little more weight now because you can anger 5 million people overnight.”
For Barone, he remembers the public attention becoming conspicuous earlier on in Stardew Valley’s development, right after the project was greenlit on Steam. “That was when the amount of attention increased a lot,” he recalls. “Which, of course, can be kind of a shock and can be challenging when that happens, especially for someone who has no prior experience. And I’m a very solitary person in many ways. I’m used to being, kind of, just in my own private bubble working. But it was also exciting because I was thinking this game could actually be a successful game.”
After his hit game was released, Barone found moving on more difficult than he expected. “I feel like my next game has to be better than Stardew Valley,” he explains. “Because, you know, I want to be seen as someone who’s getting better. I’m improving. The trajectory of my career is going up, not stagnating, or going down – God forbid.”
For Sigman at Red Hook, Darkest Dungeon’s accomplishment also brought on an unexpected result. “It sounds funny to say,” Sigman states, “But I think no matter how much you succeed, it’s always easy to benchmark yourself against someone who’s literally twice or three or five or ten times as successful. It’s funny that your mind can create gnawing doubt, no matter how fortunate you are.”
Each project was staggeringly fortunate, so much so that the Valheim, Stardew Valley, and Darkest Dungeon teams could all afford to scale up their operations immediately after launch, but they didn’t. Törnqvist believes subtle adjustments and refinements have helped Valheim continue to thrive. “We’ve grown with a couple of new additions, but we took our time making sure the team is growing in the right direction and with the right people,” he says.
Iron Gate recently passed a huge milestone by releasing Valheim’s Hearth & Home update. The game’s fans had been waiting on the new content almost since the original Early Access release, but the team found itself unable to work on it. Overwhelmed by the pressure that millions of unanticipated players placed on the core experience, Iron Gate delayed its expansion, spending months just keeping the base game stable. “There’s always pressure to introduce big changes,” says Törnqvist, “and add a bulk of new content – and we will – but we want to make sure that there’s a good foundation there first.”
Even as Red Hook’s Sigman and Bourassa discuss changes in the company’s structure, it’s clear the core of the studio – the relationship between its co-founders – has remained unaltered. During our chat, the two often finished each other’s sentences, went off on good-natured, teasing tangents, and even began chatting amongst themselves for long periods. Similarly unchanged from the company’s early days, the duo is still putting their project first. “We grew to make the game – to make Darkest Dungeon II – the way we wanted to make it,” Bourassa says. “We weren’t growing to fulfill an org chart. So, Red Hook as an entity continues to be second fiddle to the project itself.”
“That’s when the company became of value,” says Sigman, “and we realized that to do this game, we should hire more employees directly.” While the two needed to increase the team to tackle their next project, the allure of the early days lingers. “It’s been a massive, massive shift,” Bourassa says. “It’s only something you can really perceive in hindsight, I think. Because you add, like, one or two people, and it still feels like a ragtag crew, and then you turn around and realize you’ve added like 15.”
“I’m just thinking of the Stardew Valley developer,” says Sigman, who didn’t realize Eric Barone was talking with us for this article, “He could grow to a team size of 200 if he wants, probably, with the cash flow he’s generated, but it’s a conscious choice of what you want to be. And so, we were like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna grow, but we’re gonna still do one project right now.’”
Incidentally, Sigman isn’t far off the mark regarding Barone’s thoughts on expansion. “My original idea, actually, was that I would get a team and hand off Stardew Valley to them, and then I would work on my next game. But that didn’t really pan out because I just realized really quickly that I was not going to be okay with just handing off the game to other people. I’m very particular about Stardew Valley, you know? It’s my baby.”
The first time Barone worked with a team to develop any part of Stardew Valley was on an update that launched in 2019. “It was definitely a big change for me,” Barone says. “We got an office, so I was going into a different place every day. I was spending business hours with the other team members, discussing with other people what we were going to do in the update … it took a while to get used to it and then have a flow that worked. I do think the 1.4 update was a good update; it was successful. And it was kind of a good training for how to work with the team … but, I definitely think there’s a part of me that loves working alone, and having that 100-percent responsibility for every aspect of the game.”
“It is kind of difficult when you have achieved all of the goals that you’d ever dreamed about,” Barone says. “You’re in this position of, ‘What do I do now? Why am I even making another game? Why am I doing this?’”
This seems to have been one of the biggest challenges facing the now well-known developer who only started down this path to find a job.
“I don’t want to just retire,” Barone says. “I want to work; it gives my life meaning. But many of the factors that drove me to work so hard on Stardew Valley are now – you can kind of check them all off. I want to keep making games because I want to share my ideas with the world. I want to create a legacy for myself.”
And that’s exactly what he is doing. Barone has been working on two new titles. One is ConcernedApe’s Haunted Chocolatier, which recently caused a flurry of excitement when Barone dropped an unexpected, early gameplay video on social media. “[Haunted Chocolatier] is another completely solo game, kind of like Stardew Valley, where I’m doing literally everything,” he says. “That one will probably come out first.” His second game is a collaborative work, which will give Barone the ability to flex his muscles developing as part of a team. Working simultaneously as a lone developer on one project and with another developer on a second one has given him “the best of both worlds.”
Despite the freedom he has to pick his projects, Barone recognizes his first hit will follow him throughout his career. “I’m not trying to make the next big indie hit,” Barone says. “I realize and appreciate that, when my next game comes out, I’m going to have a lot of people who play the game, just because it’s from the guy who made Stardew Valley … I was almost considering – it might be interesting to release the game under an alias. And people don’t even know it’s me, and then to see if it could actually just be successful on its own merits. But I feel like that’s a bit disingenuous; I’m not going to do that.”
For the Valheim crew, the focus is still on their Early Access title, and there is still plenty in the works for the game, according to Törnqvist. “[The Hearth & Home] update was always meant to be the foundation we can build on with subsequent content updates – with the Mistlands update our next major one – but the process has taught us that big updates can snowball,” he says. To combat that effect, Törnqvist and his team want to focus on gradual changes, and less dramatic content drops that hit in between large expansions.
Red Hook’s co-founders have made more progress with their follow-up project than either Barone or Törnqvist. Darkest Dungeon II entered Epic Games Store Early Access on October 26, though the full release may still be some ways away. While the sequel has mixed up the game’s art style and gameplay features, Sigman insists, “it’s also a Darkest Dungeon game. I’m really excited about what we are doing in [Darkest Dungeon II], you know? Like fleshing out and getting deeper into the heroes themselves. We’ve had a chance to honestly improve in various ways.” Like Barone as he moves on to his next project, Bourassa also notes how important it was for Red Hook not to simply chase success.
“We could have just added Metroidvania elements to the dungeons,” says Bourassa recalling the earliest brainstorms for the sequel, “and called it Darkest Dungeon II, but it didn’t feel like we could get as excited about that. What’s most important, and the way we found success the first time, was to channel our passion and excitement and our fear into this product. So, by taking the risks, we’re actually delivering something closer to the feeling of the first game, without delivering the exact same game.”
While the success of the studio’s first game certainly casts a long shadow, Sigman takes some comfort from it as well. Even if players don’t take to the sequel in the same way, he says, “At the end of the day, nobody can take away Darkest Dungeon now.”
Turtle Rock Studios helped define the cooperative squad-based genre with Left 4 Dead and its recently released spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood. 10 Chamber Collective, a small group of ex-Payday developers, was undoubtedly inspired by the acclaimed zombie-slaying franchise. In truth, the studio’s debut project, GTFO, is Payday meets Left 4 Dead, but with a deliciously dangerous learning curve. GTFO’s satisfying mix of tactical action and all-encompassing uneasiness will likely appeal to FPS fanatics yearning for an electrifying challenge. And now that its two-year Early Access period has ended, 10 Chamber Collective’s survival horror shooter might reach a wider audience. So, how does the full version of the game hold up? Despite a repetitive loop, GTFO smartly differentiates itself from its predecessors while still being an approachable thrill ride.
My four-player crew is held captive by an entity called “The Warden,” who forces us into an underground facility known as “The Complex” to retrieve miscellaneous items that help uncover the truth behind a devastating virus consuming the Earth. It’s immediately apparent that GTFO’s best quality is its oppressive tone. Rundown 6.0, the latest series of available expeditions, is an all-out assault on the senses. From the claustrophobic plummet at the start of each mission to The Complex’s discombobulating layout of laboratories and dig sites, every component of GTFO’s gameplay is inundated with high-stakes tension. Early expeditions (listed in increasing difficulty by the lettered tiers A-D) offer vague tutorial details – locate the objective, proceed to the specified zone, survive an alarm-raising door scan. These tutorials become virtually nonexistent as I press deeper into The Complex. Fleshy, grotesque humanoids, sensitive to light and sound, sleep in the darkness. Any sudden movements or flashlight misclicks can lead to doomsday scenarios. I appreciate these severe constraints. Clear communication and kit experimentation feels more gratifying this way, especially when extraction becomes harder on higher rundown levels.
Click here to watch embedded mediaI spent copious amounts of game time preparing for upcoming expeditions. Loadout balancing is essential in GTFO, and it’s a good thing that each prisoner can come equipped with two firearms, a melee weapon, a heavy-duty tool, and double-edged buffs called “boosters.” GTFO rewards stealthy approaches and meticulous planning, so I usually bring a knife to silently take down unaware “sleepers” while also referring to my bio tracker tool to record enemy positions. Other gear includes blunt weapons and cool gadgets like foam launchers for slowing rampaging targets/gluing doors shut or auto sentries for buffeting pesky flankers with tungsten rounds. Booster effects, such as increased damage and specified resistances, make each prisoner feel like a one-person army. Vanquishing monsters with synchronized melee attacks to establish fortified defenses for mowing down incoming adversaries is never easy. Even so, when each player is attentive and utilizing equipment effectively, GTFO’s squadrons of disparate parts suddenly feel like well-oiled machines.
Launching expeditions with friends is the best way to experience the terrifying mayhem, and GTFO’s team-centric exploration mechanics are proof of this. I’d share medical packs and munitions sprinkled throughout the map with less fortunate companions – that one shotgunner always taking hits on the frontlines or the distant sniper consistently low on ammo. Moreover, tools satisfyingly pay off when paired together. Mines deployed on foamed gateways would exterminate entire armies, allowing the team to save resources for creatures with bigger health pools. Hollering in unison as swarms clamber into a once-empty room and breathing a sigh of relief when the team somehow emerges unscathed rank among my favorite moments in GTFO.
I only wish there was more to do. Scouring predominantly pitch-black settings to collect artifacts (boosters) or locate far-off terminals and other bland objectives grows tiresome. An array of enemy types with wormlike appendages, energy blasts, and tentacled wings keeps the action fresh early on. Still, after you memorize important coordinates, most of that terrifying magic is stripped away. Some interesting environmental puzzles emerge in command consoles (interactive parsers) which let me search for and ping vital items like key cards. But experienced players often ignore these computers, rendering them useless in most cases. And when matchmaking, trolls and/or quitters make playing through hours-long expeditions infuriating. Rundown 6.0 implements competent bots that can be given orders and merciful checkpoints to help remedy these issues. However, there’s nothing more disheartening than watching a trigger-happy stranger queue into a D-level mission with the intent of getting their whole team killed. Finding success is downright punishing if you don’t have a dedicated group.
GTFO might grow stale the more hours I pour into it, but 10 Chamber Collective’s rundown updates function like seasons and are guaranteed to introduce new levels and primary/secondary goals to complete in the coming months. The gunplay leaves a lot to be desired as the catalog of assault rifles, SMGs, pistols, and shotguns feel the same, but stealth runs are satisfying to plan out with others. Guttural screeches of enemies are bloodcurdling during engagements, while dark and complicated backdrops limit sightlines and keep me on my toes. GTFO isn’t for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, the fear of death means that re-strategizing and improvising are commonplace, which is a metagame that feels disappointingly absent in most cooperative shooters as of late. If you’ve been craving an FPS that tests your critical thinking and mechanical skills, then GTFO might just be the perfect hidden gem to satiate that ravenous hunger.
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Summary:Despite a repetitive loop, GTFO smartly differentiates itself from its cooperative shooter influences while still being an approachable thrill ride.
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Mario Kart is a fantastic franchise – one of Nintendo’s best, easily – but it’s time for it to come to an end. Now, that’s a bit of a loaded phrase, but I wholeheartedly mean it: we don’t need another Mario Kart game. What we do need, however, is a brand new exciting kart game from Nintendo. It should feature not just Mario (can’t leave behind the Kart King like that) and the gang, but Link, Zelda, and other Hyrulian characters, too. We should still be able to race with the Inklings from Splatoon, but if I want, let me race as Protagonist from Astral Chain or even Lappy.
What I’m proposing is the end of Mario Kart and the beginning of Nintendo Kart.
Click here to watch embedded mediaMario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch is the pinnacle of the franchise – it features more tracks than any other entry, the most characters, the smoothest racing, the best mechanics, and one of the most banging soundtracks in all of games. I can’t see a world where Nintendo tops it. It might create Mario Kart 9, a game equally as good as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but surpassing it? How do you even do that while remaining within the confines of the Mushroom Kingdom (and the few non-Mario characters and tracks featured in Deluxe)? I don’t think you do, and that’s why Nintendo should blow off the lid with Nintendo Kart, a new kart franchise with a Super Smash Bros. inspiration.
Super Smash Bros. had humble beginnings on the Nintendo 64. It featured just a handful of characters, tame mechanics, and significantly fewer stages than later entries would contain. It was so dang fun, though, and at the heart of that fun was watching Mario beat Kirby up right after Kirby laid into Link, who just took Ness’ final stock. Seeing these characters interact in a new way was fascinating, and it provided the groundwork for what would become one of Nintendo’s most successful games. I’m not saying Nintendo Kart needs to immediately jump to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate status – just focus on Nintendo characters for now and keep the roster small.
Make each racer unique and keep them heavily inspired by the franchise they’re from. Pick the most iconic locations from their games and create exciting playgrounds for players to race and battle on. Mix up the formula with new items and maybe even throw in some character-specific mechanics. Imagine if Astral Chain’s hero could throw a chain around a racer ahead of them and use it to pull themselves up? What if Link could use the Sheikah Slates’ magnesis ability to latch onto another racer and trail behind them for a couple of seconds? As creative as Nintendo gets with most of what it develops, the possibilities for these abilities could be endless.
Click here to watch embedded mediaAnd yes, I expect upbeat jazz renditions of every racer’s theme, but don’t stop there: bring in some of the more metalcore-inspired music from Astral Chain, utilize the Ocarina of Time, juice up races with some Splatoon-inspired funk rock, and toss in the Pokémon theme song for good measure. Just get wild with it.
Personally, I’m tired of racing around on Mushroom Kingdom tracks. Shaking the formula up with tracks from each racer’s franchise and sticking to said franchise’s art, rather than trying to blend it all together into the colorful and bubbly style of Mario Kart, would provide the fresh coat of paint Nintendo’s kart racing efforts need.
What’s best about the idea of Nintendo Kart is that it’s just the start. From there, you develop a sequel and take the series to new heights, much like Super Smash Bros. Melee did on GameCube. Eventually, Nintendo Kart Ultimate can become a reality. While its Smash Bros. counterpart lies dormant for a couple of generations (Sakurai deserves the break, y’all), let this be the flagship Avengers Endgame-esque team-up kart racer that every Nintendo console needs.
Click here to watch embedded mediaNintendo Kart Ultimate could carry the flag of advertisement that Smash Bros. has always been for various Nintendo IPs. All the while, it could give fans a new way to interact with beloved characters like Mario, Ganondorf, Shulk, Olimar from Pikmin, and eventually, Sora, Master Chief, and others (maybe Waluigi if Nintendo’s feeling nice).
I love Mario Kart. It’s been a Nintendo staple in my life for as long as I can remember. But rather than try to improve upon Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which seems nearly impossible, let that series end on a high note and rev up the engine of a new one with Nintendo Kart.
What direction do you want to see the Mario Kart series go in with the next iteration? Let us know in the comments below!
After tackling Metroid in Season 1, the second season of Game Informer's Video Gameography podcast moves on to one of the biggest shooter franchises in existence: Halo. This week, we examine Bungie's swansong for the Halo franchise: Halo Reach.
Halo Reach launched on September 14, 2010, for Xbox 360 and served as a prequel to Halo: Combat Evolved. Set on the doomed planet Reach, players control a new member of the Spartan Noble Team as they valiantly defend the human-occupied world from a massive Covenant invasion. The time and setting gave Bungie creative freedom to introduce new characters and flesh out an event that had only been referenced in books, while the multiplayer introduced new (though divisive) mechanics such as armor abilities.
Join hosts Ben Reeves (@BenjaminReeves) and Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), and Polygon's Mike Mahardy (@mmahardy) as we unpack the history and impact of Halo's most emotionally charged entry to that point. And for more Halo, be sure to check out our definitive ranking of every Halo game.
Check out the rest of our podcast on the Video Gameography hub. If you'd like to get in touch with the Video Gameography podcast, you can email us at podcast@gameinformer.com. You can also join our official Game Informer Discord server by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the Video Gameography channel under "Community Spaces."
After a slow news week to kick off 2022, the world of Nintendo is firing on all cylinders, so this episode of All Things Nintendo is all about catching up on the new looks at Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Not only that, but Game Informer's Alex Van Aken also came ready to chat about the all-new Analogue Pocket and The Nintendo Tapes, his new collaborative EP of Nintendo remixes (two of which you'll sample during this episode!).
If you'd like to follow the people from this episode on Twitter, hit the following links: Brian Shea (@brianpshea), Alex Van Aken (@ItsVanAken)
The All Things Nintendo podcast is a weekly show where we can celebrate, discuss, and break down all the latest games, news, and announcements from the industry's most recognizable name. Each week, Brian is joined by different guests to talk about what's happening in the world of Nintendo. Along the way, they'll share personal stories, uncover hidden gems in the eShop, and even look back on the classics we all grew up with. A new episode hits every Friday!
Be sure to subscribe to All Things Nintendo on your favorite podcast platform. The show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
00:00:00 – Introduction
00:01:34 – First Nintendo Game/Favorite Nintendo Game
00:14:02 – Hosting the Game Informer Show
00:15:52 – The Nintendo Tapes
00:19:25 – Alex's Culinary Training
00:23:18 – Kirby and the Forgotten Land Preview
00:32:31 – Teases of 30th Anniversary Activities For Kirby
00:33:29 – NES Classic Switch Controllers Restock/Price Drop
00:36:39 – Pokémon Legends: Arceus Preview
00:47:41 – Pokémon Converse Collaboration
00:51:50 – Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Free to Play This Week
00:53:48 – Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection Coming to Switch
00:56:42 – E3 Going Virtual... Again/Nintendo E3 Memories
01:03:04 – Analogue Pocket Review
01:29:52 – Definitive Ranking: Nintendo Handheld Form Factors
01:36:19 – eShop Gem of the Week: A Short Hike
If you'd like to get in touch with the All Things Nintendo podcast, you can do so by emailing AllThingsNintendo@GameInformer.com, tweeting to Brian (@BrianPShea), or by joining the official Game Informer Discord server. You can do that by linking your Discord account to your Twitch account and subscribing to the Game Informer Twitch channel. From there, find the All Things Nintendo channel under "Community Spaces."
For more Game Informer podcasts, be sure to check out The Game Informer Show, which covers the weekly happenings of the video game industry, and Video Gameography with host Ben Reeves, which explores the history of video games – one series at a time!
Last November, Q-Games announced that its shuttered collaborative multiplayer game The Tomorrow Children would be rising from the grave. We still don't know when players will be able to resume building islands as unsettling doll-like characters, but players have a chance to contribute something new to the experience thanks to a new contest.
Q-Games' contest invites players to design an island of their own from scratch. You see, The Tomorrow Children is all about working alongside players to rebuild the world, known as The Void, after a neo-Soviet experiment goes awry. Landmasses take the form of islands and, to promote the game's spirit of contribution, one of these could be custom-made by you.
No game development experience is necessary. If you have the imagination and some decent artistic chops, you're as qualified as any other entrant. Your concept can be a drawing, a 3D model, or whatever visual representation you prefer. There are some rules to note, which you can read in full here. The major stipulations are that the winners won't be paid for this, and they'll surrender claims to any intellectual rights their creation. Winners will be included in the game's credits, however. It probably goes without saying that designs featuring plagiarized elements or are overtly violent and/or sexual will be disqualified.
You can submit entries beginning today by visiting the contest's website. Submissions close on February 1, and Q-Games will announce the winners on July 15. Given that timeframe, it's likely The Tomorrow Children won't be relaunching during the first half of the year. We'll have to see if it makes it out again before the end of 2022 and if it will remain a PlayStation exclusive now that Q-Games has regained the rights.
What do you think of this contest? Are you interested in entering? Let us know in the comments!
Last month, due to the overwhelming queue times to access Final Fantasy XIV servers, digital game sales and certain services were suspended until things calmed down. Now, Square Enix is preparing to allow fresh accounts to be created in a couple of weeks.
According to a developer blog post, January 25 will be the date digital sales of Final Fantasy XIV will be resumed. The move coincides with the already-planned opening of a new Oceanian data center, bringing five new worlds into existence, hopefully alleviating congestion on other worlds. This also means the suspended Home World Transfer Service will also be brought back on January 25, letting players bring their character to these new servers, or elsewhere barring any limitations imposed on still-overpopulated worlds. The often-memed free trial for FFXIV will continue to be frozen for the time being.
Also on the docket is the Data Center Travel System, which expands players' ability to visit other worlds to play with friends or quest/etc. Currently, a similar functionality is present in game, but only allows you to visit worlds that share a data center with your character's home world. However, with the new Data Center Travel System, you'll be able travel to servers housed within a different data center. There are some restrictions however, as listed on the blog post.
FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida says in the post, "there are just about no restrictions. Be it undertaking quests, forming parties, or using the Duty Finder, you'll be able to play the game as usual." Some communication services won't be available when traveling to another data center, though, so arrange for another means of chatting with your Free Company or home world friends if necessary.
Other data centers around the globe also have updates planned in the coming months and years, letting even more people play at the same time. You can read all about those expansions in the developer blog post here.
Have you been playing FFXIV: Endwalker? What do you think about the latest expansion? Let us know in the comments!
A not-so-long time ago in the same galaxy we all reside in, Respawn Entertainment deviated from its first-person shooter roots to create Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This third-person action game was the studio’s first stab at tackling the coveted Star Wars license, crafting an original adventure set five years after Revenge of the Sith. It stars Cal Kestis, a padawan turned junker (played by Shameless star Cameron Monaghan) that managed to evade the Jedi purge of Order 66. After he’s outed by the Sith, he embarks on a quest to recover an artifact capable of locating force-sensitive children while also avoiding capture by the Inquisitors, who are elite Jedi hunters.
The game features a blend of lightsaber combat and a suite of Force abilities. Borrowing inspiration from FromSoftware’s Soul series, encounters are challenging, requiring a strategic blend of blocks and parries to outduel opponents. Meanwhile, the various planets take on a Metroid-inspired progression with players unlocking abilities to backtrack to previously inaccessible areas.
Click here to watch embedded mediaFallen Order was released November 15, 2019, and was a critical and financial success. It also served as a saving grace for single-player fans, providing proof to an increasingly multiplayer-focused EA that linear story-driven experiences can still make the big bucks. With a sequel reportedly in the works, we’re revisiting this gem of the Star Wars video game pantheon.
Join Marcus Stewart, Daniel Tack, Andrew Reiner, along with TikTok and Twitch star Louie Benson (@TeamLouie) on Twitch today at 2 p.m. Centralas we journey through the entirety of Cal Kestis’ adventure. Expect plenty of laughs, deaths, and general nerding out over all things Star Wars. We encourage you to hang out with us in chat. Just as a reminder, subscribing to Game Informer on Twitch rewards access to the official Game Informer Discord channel where you can interact with our lovely community as well as the editors. See you in chat!
In what feels like a rare positive update regarding supply in the tech sector, Valve has announced its delivery estimations of the Steam Deck are currently on track. The update, which was posted on the Steam Community site, gives the good news that the first batch of handheld PCs will ship in late February.
By now, we're all well versed in supply chain issues, challenges presented by working remotely during the pandemic, and chip shortages, some of which did delay the Steam Deck once from its original launch window. Valve says that's not going to be the case again, at least for the first batch of devices, saying, "it looks like we'll be able to start getting these out the door by the end of February." If you happen to have a preorder down on a Deck, you can check your personal delivery date on the Steam Deck store page here.
Work on identifying which games will work best on the Steam Deck is also well underway. The blog post says, "In parallel, work and testing for the Steam Deck Verified program has been underway. You’ll soon be able to see Deck Verified status for a growing set of Steam games. We’re checking four major categories: input, seamlessness, display, and system support." Knowing which games will work on your shiny new hardware will be invaluable, especially for early adopters testing the limits of their Steam library, so it's nice to see this filtering feature isn't a post-launch afterthought.
If you're curious what the Steam Deck is, we have you covered! Check out this quick rundown of the specs announced for Valve's upcoming portable device.
The reveal of Dune: Spice Wars was an unexpected treat during The Game Awards 2021. The upcoming game reunites the long-running (and newly relevant) sci-fi property with the genre it helped popularize: 4x strategy. Fans have patiently waited for more details about the game and got their wish thanks to a developer FAQ on the game’s Steam page.
Developer Shiro Games answered some common questions about the title. It clarifies that Spice Wars is a combination of 4x and real-time strategy elements that includes, among other things, base-building. The game has been developed from the ground up, meaning it won’t feature any elements from Shiro’s previous strategy game, Northgard. Maps will also be procedurally generated and sport a variety of unique traits players can tinker with.
Shiro Games previously announced two playable factions: House Harkonnen and House Atreides. It plans to have two more factions at launch and a 5th house during Early Access. Shiro wants to remain faithful to the book series first and foremost, stating that houses that appeared in prior Dune games but not in the source materials, such as House Ordos, aren’t guaranteed to return in Spice Wars.
Click here to watch embedded mediaOther nuggets include confirmation of multiplayer and plans to add a campaign at some point in Early Access. Shiro is also open to the idea of adding mod support depending on the level of demand.
Dune: Spice Wars is slated to launch in PC Early Access sometime this year, but Shiro will be eyeing other platforms after launch, so don’t rule out an eventual console release.
Be sure to visit the full FAQ to see if your burning questions have been addressed. If they haven’t, don’t despair. Shiro Plans to provide additional gameplay updates throughout the coming months.
In gruff moments of fatherly instruction, Kratos repeats the phrase “be better” to his son, Atreus. This happens in different contexts, but the lesson remains consistent: Your decisions are not bound by precedent, and the choices of others are not examples to follow – they only set standards you can strive to exceed. In developing the latest God of War, Sony’s Santa Monica studio apparently took this message to heart. While previous games in this series established a successful formula of stylish action and epic setpieces, the team used this opportunity to be better; with surprising changes on every front, God of War forges a new identity and surpasses even its most acclaimed predecessors.
As a longtime fan of the series, this entry captivated me for completely different reasons. The narrative is one of them, despite its simple premise: Kratos and Atreus need to reach the top of the highest mountain in the Norse domain. They encounter detours and surprises along the way, but the precise story beats are less important than how they are conveyed. God of War brilliantly presents a desolate journey in a gorgeous world, all through the lens of the relationship between a distant father and his eager son.
The interactions of Kratos and Atreus range from adversarial to compassionate, and these exchanges have ample room to breathe and draw players in. Atreus wonders what he might say to his departed mother if given the chance – an exercise Kratos finds pointless. When Kratos artlessly paraphrases the fable of the tortoise and the hare, Atreus mocks his lack of storytelling prowess. These quiet moments are interesting, slowly and believably closing the distance between two characters – a focus that contrasts sharply with previous games. In terse responses and long silences, Kratos conveys more than he ever did cursing Olympus at the top of his lungs.
Click here to watch embedded mediaThat isn’t to say God of War has sacrificed its ability to deliver incredible spectacle. An early encounter (against a mysterious enemy called the Stranger) sets the bar absurdly high, and a cathartic sequence later on stands out as my favorite moment in the series to date. Between those points and beyond, the adventure is punctuated by a steady flow of enormous beasts, ancient architecture, and intense boss fights. The environments and characters look fantastic, and a new cinematic camera angle brings you close the action and never cuts away – a decision that proves immensely rewarding during big moments by giving you an intimate view. Despite this more grounded approach to presentation, the action’s scope and ambition is stunning in cutscenes and combat alike.
The Greek world may be gone, but Kratos is still a god of war, and his skill on the battlefield is appropriately divine. He fires off magic attacks and performs brutal executions in his attempts to defeat a clever assortment of foes from Norse myth. The ice-infused axe Leviathan is a drastic departure from the iconic Blades of Chaos Kratos once wielded, but it is a well-balanced and entertaining tool of destruction. I like how it emphasizes a more calculated style of combat; instead of zoomed-out, combo-driven encounters, Leviathan makes you a tactician. You can’t cut through huge swaths of enemies with it, so you need to consider how to manage your foes. You can freeze one from afar by throwing your axe, then use your fists to stun and grab another, then recall Leviathan for an area-of-effect ice burst. This kind of strategy gives many fights – especially one-on-one bosses – an engaging duel-like quality. Plus, the “thunk” of Leviathan magically flying back into Kratos’ hand is satisfying every time.
During the first few hours, I had doubts about the axe-and-shield emphasis. In those opening segments, crowded melees are difficult to navigate due to off-screen attacks, which encouraged me to keep my distance – at least until I got more comfortable with key mechanics like parrying. After that, I quickly came around; the combat system’s gradual unfolding in God of War is a joy. Though it may feel restrictive at first, before long you are rapidly alternating between all the tools and skills at your disposal, including your fists, Spartan Rage, Leviathan, and more. Cooldown-regulated runic attacks provide a diverse and unique array of special moves, like a freezing beam or a stunning blast, and I had fun experimenting with them and seeing which ones I wanted to cycle into my regular rotation.
You spend experience to unlock cool new techniques, and they aren’t just damage or range improvements; several have a significant impact on your options, like Kratos assuming a secondary stance from which additional attacks are possible. I also leaned on Atreus for assistance, since his arrows are crucial for incapacitating many creatures. Some of these concepts are introduced too slowly, but on the other hand, I relished how God of War’s battles avoid stagnation through constant evolution.
Underlying all of your combat endeavors is a surprisingly involved gear system that gives you an avenue to customize your arsenal, but also dangles aspirational goals in front of you. Many of your deeds provide materials and equipment as rewards, and like an RPG, you see the numbers next to your stats increase as you build and equip new items. You also see materials you don’t have for pieces of gear you want to craft, which adds to the excitement when that item finally drops after finishing a sidequest or beating a tough foe. This layer of upgrading may be less exciting than learning new moves to chop up monsters, but it still provides a powerful incentive to explore.
While not strictly open-world, the game has a large lake with various shores and islands available for free exploration. I loved systematically checking out new locations and acquiring crafting materials, enchantments, and other rewards. These excursions are largely optional, but they are the best way to ensure that you have everything you need for equipment upkeep. As a bonus, these diversions flesh out the world with some interesting NPCs, in addition to offering some fun (but not too challenging) puzzle-like scenarios. They can provide a nice break from the main story, but they’re always available, so you don’t need to invest in them at the expense of the narrative pacing.
God of War’s momentum rarely falters, and when it does, the inconvenience is brief. For example, you have the freedom to explore, but the map isn’t especially helpful for tracking your position relative to the things you are interested in, and the fast-travel system is weirdly cumbersome and opens up too late. This is more frustrating if you plan on being thorough with collectibles and post-game objectives (no new game+ this time around), but that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for climbing cliffs and delving into ruins long after the 30 hours I spent finishing the main story.
Years ago, Kratos killed the deities of Mount Olympus in a gory rampage. Now, in the Norse realm, he has remade himself into a different kind of god. He is quieter and more deliberate, affected by his history but not constrained by it. Kratos’ reinvention serves as a narrative hook, but it also parallels the series’ evolution as a whole; where God of War once relied on bombast and bloodlust, now it leaves space for strategy and nuance. It still has superb action and plenty of jaw-dropping moments, but it supports them with a new level of depth and maturity. God of War learns from its past while clearing an exciting path for the future, and emerges as one of the best games of this generation.
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Summary:God of War forges a new identity and surpasses even its most acclaimed predecessors.
Concept:A sublime reinvention of the God of War series that adds new layers of depth in gameplay and storytelling without sacrificing epic moments
Graphics:The world and characters come alive with fantastic design and gorgeous visuals. A more intimate camera ups the intensity of moments big and small
Sound:From the quiet tracks to the thunderous climaxes, Bear McCreary’s score supports the action and establishes an interesting tone
Playability:Despite a variety of different attacks, the controls make it easy to strategize in combat and use your full array of abilities
Entertainment:An enthralling experience from beginning to end, with a mixture of great narrative moments and engaging encounters. God of War is a well-paced adventure that knows when to let the action simmer and when to make it boil over
Replay:Moderately High
From small personal stories to bombastic god-fighting adventures, RPGs can provide compelling journeys with the potential to draw you in for hours, days, or weeks at a time. Not only do they stretch our mathematical skills with min-maxing stats, but they also dazzle our imaginations with wondrous worlds, fantastical magic or technology, and magnetic characters. 2022's upcoming slate of RPGs is looking great so far, so we're sharing a handy list of ones you should keep your eye on throughout the year.
Keep in mind that the list below is not ranked but rather ordered chronologically by release date. That way, you'll know which games are just around the corner. We're expecting this list to change as the year goes on, with games being removed as they are released, and more exciting titles added as launch dates are announced. So keep checking back in the coming months to keep tabs on the RPGs we think should be worth your time. Without further ado, here are our most anticipated RPGs set to send us on grand adventures in 2022.
A stark departure from traditional Pokémon titles, Legends: Arceus lets trainers in on the action of Pokémon battles. Catching and battling happen seamlessly in the semi-open world, and in some cases, your character can find themselves on the receiving end of a ‘mons devastating attack. Taking place over 100 years ago, you explore the lands of the Hisui region, or what we now know as Sinnoh, to complete the region’s first Pokédex with help from the ancestors of familiar characters and the mysterious Galaxy Team organization.
The long-awaited sequel to the Dying Light is almost upon us, and the evolution of this open-world zombie series is looking great. Taking place 20 years after the original, you play as new protagonist Aiden Caldwell, parkouring in and around The City, a last bastion of sorts for humanity after the zombie infection has taken hold of much of the world’s population. Dying Light 2 offers plenty of drama with branching narrative paths and characters that can be your best friend or worst enemy, depending on the decisions you make. Expect plenty of thrills running, jumping, gliding, and crafting as a means to survive this second foray into Techland’s zombie jungle gym.
Former Persona developers are cooking up another stylish high school drama centered on Daemonic entities known as Monarks and the seven Pactbearers they’ve partnered with. As one of the students who has teamed up with a Monark, you wield a power known as Ego against the other Pactbearers to free Shin Mikado Academy from a “madness-inducing Mist.” The premise and visuals seem pretty familiar, but Monark injects an additional layer of strategy to stand out from its Atlus-developed inspiration with its tactical combat skirmishes.
Square Enix's latest title utilizing its beautiful HD-2D art style is a throwback tactical JRPG called Triangle Strategy. If you're a fan of Final Fantasy Tactics, this is a game you'll want to keep an eye on. The triangle referenced in the title comes in two different flavors. First, the story centers on three nations, all struggling for control of quickly depleting resources of salt and iron in the continent of Norzelia. Your actions throughout the game affect the other titular triangle, the three convictions: Utility, Morality, and Liberty. Whichever of these traits you favor or don't will guide how the narrative plays out, which could change the course of history for entire nations.
First released in Japan in 2010, this follow-up to the Trails in the Sky trilogy takes place a handful of months later in the region of Crossbell, years before the events of the Trails of Cold Steel series. Why be excited about a decade-old RPG? Trails From Zero is the first of a couple of missing links in The Legend of Heroes saga that were never localized in English. These games all take place in the same world and timeline, so we’re pumped to add more pieces to this ever-evolving narrative puzzle when Tales From Zero finally hits later this year.
Bethesda Game Studios is taking its tried and true RPG formula to interstellar locales with the late 2022 release of Starfield. As a member of a space-exploring collective known as Constellation, you explore alien worlds in a pocket of the Milky Way galaxy set in the year 2330. If Starfield shares any DNA of Fallout or The Elder Scrolls, expect to be embroiled in fierce faction conflicts and flush with a bevy of engaging side activities that will have you gleefully exploring every nook and cranny of each planet you land on.
Developer tri-Ace returns with a new edition to its seminal RPG series, bringing Star Ocean to new open expanses and ratcheting up the action. Star Ocean The Divine Force stars Raymond, a sword-swinging, star-faring hero with the sickest ’80s hairband ‘do we’ve seen in quite some time. Raymond teams up with “many playable characters,” one of which is an uncrowned princess named Laeticia, whose kingdom is at the center of one of the narrative’s conflicts that could end up having galactic ramifications.
Like its predecessor, The Messenger, Sabotage Studio’s newest project and prequel of sorts, Sea of Stars, takes heavy influence from games of a bygone era. Instead of falling back on the action platformer genre, Sea of Stars gives us serious Chrono Trigger vibes that immediately caught our attention. The story centers on two kids, Valere and Zale, who wield the powers of the moon and sun. Combining them creates Solstice magic, a powerful force they’ll utilize in their battle against a disgustingly-named threat known as The Fleshmancer.
DeskWorks' stunning RPG takes papercraft and hand-drawn art to the next level. RPG Time: The Legend of Wright is about a student named Kenta who dreams of becoming a game designer. However, because Kenta doesn't have a computer on which to make his games, he takes to his trusty notebook to doodle out epic adventures. Using other objects like straws, stationary, cardboard, and more, The Legend of Wright and Kenta's imagination come to life in incredible and charming ways.
PlayStation invites you to take a lap around the Daytona International Speedway in this new in-game footage of Gran Turismo 7.
Polyphony Digital is a master of details, and this sub-four-minute clip is full of them. Starting out in a first-person driver view, we take in the little odds and ends around the dash of the vehicle, including the actively-updating stats on the steering wheel display. The shadows and light, both direct and bounce lighting, are on full display in this view as well, not to mention the materials and textures of objects like the driver's gloves and the various metals and plastics in view.
Pulling out to camera shots outside of the car, we see the models of the vehicles themselves and how they move and interact with the road they're peeling across. The subtle weight shifts are noticeable if you watch the body of the cars closely as they turn, speed up, or hit the breaks. We also get a great look at the reflections on the windshields and side windows, and light reflections and flares off of shinier materials on the vehicles. Other details to look out for are the crowd density in the stands and the overcast skies.
Sony's newest entry in its impeccably detailed driving simulator hits PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on March 4.
How's Gran Turismo 7 looking to you? How do you think it stacks up to other recent racers we've seen in the past couple of years? Let us know in the comments!
“This is the run where I make real progress,” I tell myself. “Last time I got careless, but this time will be different.” With that self-assurance, I descend into the caves of Spelunky 2 for the umpteenth time. Masterfully dodging booby traps and whipping bats, spiders, and snakes before they can steal my health, I make it through the first level with ease. My confidence rises as I pick up a crossbow from the shopkeep. Everything is going according to plan, when suddenly a horned lizard rolls into me, knocking me back and setting off a glorious chain reaction featuring skeletons, arrow traps, and eventually, a spike pit that triggers my demise. I’m frustrated my best-laid plans fell apart so fast, but as soon as the option to start a new run appears, I can’t select it fast enough.
Despite the many times I’ve yelled as my character’s body bounces around like a pinball from scenarios such as that, Spelunky 2 is unceasingly fun. Maintaining the same formula as its predecessor, the engaging roguelike action-platformer drops you into a procedurally generated cave system and dares you to get further than you did last time. The engrossing difficulty and randomization of the world effectively combines with that very desire to do better, providing the drive to take on another round. As you dig deeper into the caverns, you uncover new biomes, like an aquatic-themed area with killer fish and octopuses that are all too willing to end your run. While starting over at level 1-1 can make the experience tedious, multiple visits to the deeper areas grants you the ability to start your run at that point instead. The procedural generation provides nearly endless levels to play through, and the distinct worlds introduce new elements and challenges to keep the experience fresh as you progress deeper into the caves.
Click here to watch embedded mediaThis time around, you can chart your path depending on the challenges you want to encounter. After completing the first area of the cave, do you venture into a lush jungle flooded with monkeys and man-eating plants? Or do you want to brave the volcanic foundry full of explosive robots and fire-spewing ladybugs? I love getting to decide which world to tackle as I reach these new areas, and I’m continually impressed at how different each biome feels from the others.
In addition to being able to choose your path through the caves, Spelunky 2 adds new secret areas you can duck into for treasures, challenges, and even new characters to rescue and add to your community back at base. It’s fun seeing the people you save appear at your camp, but too often these passageways lead to nowhere, causing me to sometimes disregard them since they’re usually wastes of time. This further highlights the main pitfall of procedural generation: While skill clearly plays a large role in your overall success, luck is also a factor as some runs are significantly easier than others. Still, no run is impossible, as Spelunky 2 ensures there’s a clear path to each level’s exit, so I tried to make sure I took advantage of the times fortune favored me.
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While descending into the caves alone is a blast, you can enlist help in the form of NPCs, who are often so aggressive that the best you can hope for is they’ll take down a few enemies en route to causing their own demise. You can also discover helpful mounts like a turkey that can headbutt enemies and glide, a fire-breathing dog, or a lizard that spits bubbles. However, the better company to keep comes from multiplayer, which can now be played locally or online. As you might expect, chaos reigns supreme as you add more players into the mix; don’t expect to make better progress with your friends, but it sure is fun.
Spelunky 2 is as addictive an experience as I’ve played this year. Two-minute-long runs stack to turn into consecutive hours of gameplay, and “just one more try” easily turns into an afternoon of exploring, dying, and trying again. Spelunky 2 is at once captivating, stressful, and exciting, and even now, I can’t wait to once again test my mettle within the cave’s ever-shifting walls.
Note: This review is based on a pre-release build in which online multiplayer was unavailable.
Summary:Spelunky 2 is an addictive and chaotic experience that builds on the already exciting formula of the original.
Concept:Dive back into the shifting cave system of Spelunky, this time with branching paths, new enemies, and mounts to ride
Graphics:Beautiful environments are a treat to behold, and improved physics make water and lava look great as they slip through holes and cracks in the world
Sound:Helpful audio cues hint at nearby side-objectives, while a solid soundtrack accompanies the on-screen chaos
Playability:Despite its high degree of difficulty, Spelunky 2 is easy to pick up and play thanks to simple and tight controls
Entertainment:No matter how many times I yelled in frustration, I couldn’t wait to jump right back into the ever-shifting caves
Replay:High
The 25th annual DICE Awards takes place next month and will honor the best and brightest titles to release in 2021. Unlike The Game Awards, which is a bit more mainstream and consists of votes from both media and the general public, the DICE Awards (which stands for Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) is helmed by The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. It's also an industry-only event generally viewed as the most prestigious award ceremony in the business. Today, we found out this year’s event honors 59 nominated titles across 23 categories.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart leads the pack in terms of the number of nominations with nine. Deathloop doesn’t lag far behind, garnering eight nominations. Academy members, which consists of a jury of industry peers, begin voting today. IGN will livestream the ceremony, hosted by Discovery’s Jessica Chobot and Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller, on February 24. The nominees are as follows:
Game of the Year
Outstanding Achievement in Animation
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction
Outstanding Achievement in Character
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design
Outstanding Achievement in Story
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Action Game of the Year
Adventure Game of the Year
Family Game of the Year
Fighting Game of the Year
Racing Game of the Year
Role-Playing Game of the Year
Sports Game of the Year
Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year
Immersive Reality Technical Achievement
Immersive Reality Game of the Year
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game
Mobile Game of the Year
Online Game of the Year
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction
It’ll be exciting to see who walks away with what, but in the meantime you can view last year’s DICE winners here.
