This remake will be entirely rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 by Ballistic Moon. Improved animations and environments should add to the thrills and chills of the Until Dawn experience. The inconsistent frame rate of the PS4 version should be amended here as well, making for the definitive way to experience Until Dawn. 

An Autumn release window will hopefully mean that this title will be available for the Halloween season. I mean, that makes sense right? Combined with an upcoming film adaptation it’s clear that Sony have high hopes for this horror series, so hopefully a new game will follow at some point. For now, like the best horror films, let’s look forward to revisiting this.

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Once upon a time in China

Be prepared for Wuxia Wonder as Where Winds Meet is now confirmed to be coming to Sony’s flagship console! While no specific release window is given, that the title is definitely having a console release is incredibly exciting for fans of martial arts action.

Set in ancient China in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, this game promises a huge open-world RPG set that journeys across the East. The wire-fu physics will enchant fans of genre films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as they embark on quests and solve puzzles across a vast, gorgeous world.

Players can choose a swordsman or swordswoman to play as to master weapons such as swords, spears, glaives and bows to battle enemies. Most exciting is the recently revealed battle umbrella! These will come in handy against some truly intimidating, striking and creepy bosses. The River God, a gang leader pretending to be a fishmonger looks to be a promise of how bonkers and frightening these encounters will be.

A Touch of ZenBeralt Lyu, Producer at Everstone Studio says “We are so excited to be bringing Where Winds Meet to PlayStation 5. We can’t wait for PlayStation fans to get to grips with our thrilling oriental adventure, to travel the ancient world as a young sword master and to steep themselves in Chinese martial arts!”

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Across six worlds and eighty levels, Astro Bot will be an adventure across land, sea and sky. Brand new power-ups will take advantage of the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the controller. Anyone who’s played Astro’s Playroom will know how creative and fun these abilities are, so the more the merrier!

References to other Playstation mascots and franchises are in abundance of course, Uncharted, God of War, Ico and more playfully teased. It seems like these may have a larger function than cute cameos so hopefully Astro will be hacking apart enemies with Kratos’ magic axe at some point. I could be quite context with some Bot-borne nods too… a man can dream!

Astro Bot launches September 6th 2024 with pre-orders starting June 7th. It couldn’t come sooner!

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Developers Firewalk showed off an extensive story trailer, setting the tone of the world of the Freegunners. The Freegunners are a band of mercenaries who band together to pull off heists and form the crew of the Northstar. Each of the 16 launch characters will have their own weapons and abilities, so any team formation will be radically different in a multiplayer match. Taking inspiration from fighting and strategy games will push these clashing character types into exciting matches while weekly new cinematics will provide lore and backstory.

Post-launch new characters, maps and modes will be added, hopefully making this a flagship multiplayer title for PS5 and PC players alike. Concord will also be having a pre-launch beta this summer, so stay alert for your chance to join the Freegunners as early as possible!

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Outlaws will allow players to step into the shoes of a galactic smuggler. This new character is trying to make a name for themselves in the criminal underworld with the help of their furry companion. No, not Han Solo and Chewie but a brand new duo of scoundrels. Kay Vess and her pal Nix will be playable in this open-world game that combines action, stealth and space combat.

Taking place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi players will be thrust into the middle of the Galactic Civil War. You’ll be taking missions from various factions. Chubby slug icon Jabba the Hutt, post-Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke (remember the solo Solo movie?) and more will hire Kay to pull off various heists and cons.

Being a Ubisoft title, various editions will be available at launch. They will each have different additional goodies. The standard edition will include ship and speeder cosmetics. While the ultimate edition will have the season pass, early access and more. With a long pedigree of excellent Star Wars games, this will be the franchise’s most ambitious videogame outing to date and the first truly open-world title so far.

Will Watto appear? Only time will tell.

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2024-04-26

Battlefield Earth

Flooded, devastated cities, violent mutated bug monsters, a general sense of hopelessness… no, not modern Britain but the premise of Stellar Blade! Stellar Blade is an action adventure game that borrows from many sources, with admittedly few of its own tricks. As a new first-party exclusive published by Sony and developed by Korean developer Shift Up, this follows Rise of the Ronin as a refreshing change of pace for Sony. Far from their cinematic third person output, this is very much a video game of moment to moment action rather than narrative emphasis. This is a godsend as the narrative is probably the ropiest aspect! So does Stellar Blade live up to its name or is it about to be cut down to size?

Stellar Blade Running

At first then combat comes across as quite basic, the standard attack, counter attack then punish loop. Quickly though you’ll unlock new moves and different types of counter attack opportunities that make fighting monsters a much more engaging process. Every slash feels visceral, the super moves you charge up landing with an exceptional oomph. These moves can break shields and interrupt combos so timing their use is essential. The counter is also very satisfying, not as unforgiving as recent similar games. Knocking enemies into a staggered phase never gets tired. Despite some really wacky enemy designs their attacks are very readable, truly mitigating the usual frustrations of these systems. Exploring the environments for health and attack energy upgrades leads to some interesting traversal opportunities and challenging combat encounters, so going off the beaten track is definitely recommended. Unlocking Souls-style shortcuts to earlier areas is always pleasant, bringing you closer to base camps where you can purchase items , upgrade abilities and save. 

Click to view slideshow.

A Cut Above?

Graphically this is a real tale of two (flooded) cities. The world and monsters look superb, the post-apocalyptic world being a mix of realism and a kind of maximalism seen in classic depictions of Gotham City. However, the human characters… are just plain creepy. Eve and her fellow space-warriors all share a bizarre plastic quality. This, combined with their cartoonish proportions give the impression of playing as an expensive sex doll. Initially decked out in the tightest wet suit it’s a relief when you finally unlock alternate costumes. As opposed to a Bayonetta or a 2B, Eve is just a wet blanket which only adds to the visual awkwardness . A very odd miss for a game with otherwise excellent visuals. The music is mostly melancholy pop-songs with repetitive lyrics. They oddly fit the tone of the game but could be incredibly off-putting for the less musically-forgiving.

Despite some rough edges, Stellar Blade is a rock solid adventure with an addictive gameplay loop. If you look past Eve’s screen-hogging bum, you’ll find a world of downtrodden splendour with alien freaks to battle and side-quests to discover.

If nothing else it’s inspiring to see a fairly new development team create a title this polished and simultaneously large-scale. Indeed, this may be the Eve of something great.

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2024-03-22

Once upon a time in the Far East

The samurai fantasy is one of gaming’s most enduring, maybe just behind being a ninja. How ironic that Team Ninja, despite their name, has seemingly jumped ship. Nioh and now Rise of the Ronin each provide a very different take on a Japanese adventure, so what’s the angle with their new Playstation exclusive?

Set in Japan during the tempestuous period as they relaxed their isolationist policies, Ronin assigns players the role of a custom-made samurai duo. Following the extensive character creator, the opening level seems to promise a Souls-styled adventure – relatively linear encounters as you storm a foreign ship and then make a hasty retreat from your burning homestead. Following this, you’ll be thrust into an open-world Japan, opening up an adventure of epic proportions. Exploring this world on foot, horseback, an anachronistic paraglider and using a grapple hook 

This is katana

Most striking is the vast combat options available. With over eight weapon types available, each with multiple stances and unique martial attacks to unlock, choosing a preferred playstyle is incredibly difficult. Unarmed is a particular favourite, there’s little more satisfying than parrying an enemy swordsman with your bare hands and throwing him to the ground karate style. While there is a strong focus on parrying attacks, the timing for this can be incredibly precise and obscure. Thankfully, with so many options of approach, you can cheese battles in incredibly funny and satisfying ways. Why bang your head against a wall fighting a horde of bandits when you can find a nice vantage point to use your rifle to explode their heads? 

While initial comparisons to Sony’s other open-world samurai game Ghost of Tsushima seem obvious, the tonal differences are day and night. Where Tsushima took a reverential, somewhat po-faced approach to samurai history, Ronin delights in the absurd. While the game is deeply invested in the real-world history of the period, it never allows itself to be restrained by it. Robot arms, flying machines, collecting cats and sending dogs as envoys to other players, the lunacy never ends! With many comedic side-quests such as finding a mugged British coal-merchants clothes, Ronin has a wonderful streak of the Yakuza series.

Click to view slideshow.

You’ll make a wide range of allies along the way who will assist you during certain missions, or you can find players online to join in too. These NPC allies have certain political allegiances in the story too, so you’ll have to pick sides during story beats. Upgrading your speechcraft will give you more conversational options, allowing certain brawls to be circumnavigated entirely. From reformed bandits to geisha madams, your allies are varied

Last (thoughts) of the samurai

With so much to see and do, Rise of the Ronin may be the biggest samurai epic since Kurosawa’s movies, albeit one remixed with the wackiness of a Takeshi Kitano joint. It may not be the prettiest PS5 title but it’s ludicrously packed with bizarre and fantastic details and sights to see. Forgive some rough edges and you’re in for a strange and wonderful trip. Despite being set almost two hundred years ago, this title makes it feel like the samurai are stronger than ever. 

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2024-03-04

Once upon a time in China

Dark Souls has left such a footprint on the world of videogames but now it has made its most cerebral crossover yet: Chinese history. Set in 184 CE during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty provides a truly unique sense of place and time. However, does this Souls-like find a soul of its own?

Wo Long is truly merciless. At first, enemies are relentlessly aggressive, slicing through your health bar before you even realise you’re in a combat encounter. The parrying mechanic is incredibly satisfying but unbelievably finicky. The slightest movement of the analogue stick can ruin a perfectly timed riposte, leading to total decimation. Boss battles especially have no patience for newcomers. The first boss you encounter is a total nightmare, players will be sweating all the way through multiple attempts to annihilate their health bar. Then the SECOND health bar appears. Cripes!

At least veterans of the Nioh series will find themselves in a comfortable position. Well, as comfortable as you can be in a world where EVERYTHING wants you dead. Unlike the Souls series, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a linear experience. No interconnected intricate world but a series of smaller zones and levels, each with plenty to discover to assist with the brutal end-of-area boss battles.

The big innovation here however is the “morale” system, where your morale level versus your enemies will reward you with better rewards if you can defeat them, and increase your health and damage given and taken. As this starts at zero every mission there’s a great sensation of becoming more powerful constantly, a consistently rewarding feedback loop. Less satisfying is the glut of loot constantly rewarded, developers must realise at some point that comparing numbers and percentages in menus is unbelievably tedious. Right?

So long, Wo Long

Though punishing, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a beautifully realised game. A great historical setting combined with a deeply unhistorical plot makes more of a great time. Though more could have been done to help new players acclimatise to this world (this edition does include better starting equipment) and the addition of helpful Divine Beasts and online co-op can be useful, it would be no surprise for new players to really bounce off. Despite streamlining some of Nioh’s more obtuse complexities, this is far from dumbed down. As it stands, this game doesn’t feel like a fallen dynasty but rather a dynasty beginning a powerful new reign.

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Found on the official KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS YouTube channel, the series provides a direct line of communication from the studio. With updates on Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, OD and PHYSINT to come, there’s plenty of gaming excitement on the horizon. Of course, Kojima being Kojima there’s also his upcoming documentary HIDEO KOJIMA: CONNECTING WORLDS and A24’s film adaptation of Death Stranding on the way. Phew!

A Home Hideo Release

This first episode of the rebooted series covers all this as well as a chat with guests Risa Unai and Kenjiro Tsuda. Not content with his own self-branded channel, Kojima will be appearing as a guest on TBS TV’s Youtube as well in the near future. If nothing else, at least there’s a good chance an actor or musician you love will unexpectedly appear if Kojima’s Instagram is anything to go by.

You can catch the almost hour-long initial episode of HideoTube here.

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Everyone loves a good heist, right? Slick, thoroughly planned affairs to steal from the rich, the sexiest of all crimes. It’s such a fun concept, sadly infrequently used within video games. Thankfully Teardown is on the scene, a game that could be described as Danny Ocean’s Minecraft.

Presented in fantastic blocky visuals, Teardown puts you in the role of a demolition worker who has fallen on hard times. Luckily(?) you begin receiving emails offering increasingly dubious jobs of a less-than-legal nature. These involve destroying buildings, stealing computers and escaping in your getaway car with your ill-gotten loot. These levels are incredibly destructible sandboxes with endless possible ways to tackle your objectives.

Armed with a sledgehammer, fire extinguisher and spray can with additional unlockable tools and weapons, you’re given incredible freedom to experiment within the rules of each level. You can also hop into vehicles for additional destructive capacity. Sometimes the physics can puzzle an entire story of a building suspended only by a thin chimney in one memorable instance. Such Looney Toon logic is part of Teardown’s charm, not a detriment. When robots enter the mix, the cops and robbers element really sings. The stealth isn’t particularly deep but adds a much-needed sense of urgency and danger to the goofy heists.

Click to view slideshow.

A Smashing Success

The campaign is nice and meaty with many more narrative twists and turns than the simple presentation suggests. However, the sheer volume of user-created content is where the game becomes truly endless. Other players have poured countless hours into creating new jobs to pull off so it would be rude not to check them out. Just be warned: you will lose countless hours digging in. The short nature of missions means you can easily become wrapped up in them, polishing off dozens like Quality Street chocolates. Short but very sweet!

This quickfire gameplay could be a weakness for some players looking for a deeper heist experience. For the budding cat burglar, greedy arsonist or swindle-happy domestic terrorist the Teardown method will be a total… well, blast. With a vibrant community, you’ll soon find fellow felons to share missions with. Borderline infinite levels? Teardown is a steal.

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