System Shock ‘Goes Gold’ And Releasing On PC 31 May 2023
Sydney, Australia, 10 May 2023 : Prime Matter and Nightdive Studios announced today that the full-fledged remake of the ground breaking System Shock from 1994 has ‘gone gold’.
In 21 days, players will be treated to developer Nightdive Studio’s stunningly-faithful recreation of the classic shooter/immersive sim — launching digitally for Windows PC on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store on May 31, 2023 at 01:00 AEST [May 30, 2023, at 08:00 PDT].
The System Shock remake combines the cult gameplay of the iconic original game with all-new HD visuals, updated controls, an overhauled interface, and all-new sounds and music. Never-before-seen enemies, quality-of-life gameplay tweaks, a revamped hacking system, and visceral new combat options featuring a brutal dismemberment system also await players new and old.
A legion of hostile and mutated creatures — created and controlled by the delightfully villainous SHODAN herself — await players as they make their way through Citadel Station’s all-new areas, flexing their puzzle-solving skills and hacking prowess to reach new sectors of the station.
Players will also encounter traps, puzzles and secrets in their pursuit of (hopefully) defeating SHODAN once and for all. A combination of stealth, cunning, and futuristic weaponry will be required to survive. When the System Shock remake arrives, players’ puzzle-solving and survival skills will be put to the test.
Nightdive Studios worked closely with many of the members of the original System Shock team, including the voice of SHODAN, Terri Brosius.
The PC edition of System Shock is available to pre-order via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store and includes a free copy of the upcoming System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition for all early buyers.
Console editions of System Shock will release on PlayStation 4|5 and Xbox One and Series S|X in due course; more details will be shared in the future.
About Prime Matter
Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Prime Matter the premium gaming label dedicated to delivering a range of diverse and immersive games from amazing gaming development talent all around the globe.
Working across projects of all styles, scopes and sizes, single-player, co-op to live ops, from producing to publishing, from ambitious teams taking their first step that need full support without compromising their dream to larger established successful studios searching that next step in the global market and building of brands.
Prime Matter looks to lead through creativity, expression and passion, with games that will grip and enchant with enthralling story-telling, winning an audience with its incredible moments and larger-than-life experiences. Prime Matter is a proud member of PLAION.
About Nightdive Studios
Nightdive Studios believes that classic video games should never be abandoned or forgotten. They should be available to play at any time, run out of the box without the hassle of installing outdated drivers, or using obsolete hardware. We know there are countless games that are still unavailable, and we’re doing our best to bring them back from the depths to be treasured once more..
Today we are opening the doors of Park Beyond to players for the first time! The Closed Beta Test is accessible on PC from May 9th to May 19th for those who registered, allowing them to take their first steps into this amusement park management simulation game with a great dose of fun. The Park Beyond Closed Beta Test is a small part of the content that will be available for Park Beyond at release on June 16th.
Available in this Closed Beta Test are the first two missions of the campaign, which will introduce the colourful cast of character guiding the players through their visionary creations but also train them with all the knowhow needed to manage a successful park.
The Sandbox mode is also included with one of the many maps from Park Beyond. This is the perfect place to put everything learned from the missions in practice, test out possibilities, management strategies, and push creativity with the modular building, allowing for full customization of elements as well as coasters. Impossification is also a part of this mode: amaze you visitors and watch as rides and shops get crazier, and staff gets upgraded beyond your imagination!
Watch the trailer here:
Registrations to participate are still open, participants to the Closed Beta Test purchasing the game will receive the bonus golden Omnicar to add to their coasters. Register today: https://bnent.eu/BetaPB
Park Beyond will release on June 16th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
The fight against the Thargoids escalates in this next chapter of the Elite Dangerous narrative.
Cambridge, UK – 9 May 2023. Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV, ‘Frontier’) released today Update 15 for Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, marking the next stage of the Thargoids’ war against humanity. Commanders will uncover the mystery of what’s inside each of the eight Maelstroms, as they enter the giant caustic gas clouds that arrived with Update 14 and face an unprecedented level of Thargoid aggression. Update 15 also brings significant new features to the game, including a brand-new class of Thargoid ship and additional on-foot mission elements.
By equipping their ship with the new Thargoid Pulse Neutraliser module, Commanders will be able to prevent the Maelstrom’s shutdown pulse from affecting their ship, allowing them to journey deeper into the cloud. Waiting for them within is an extraordinary spectacle along with new discoveries to be made – not to mention scores of Thargoid ships.
Among their number is the Glaive, the first Hunter-class Thargoid vessel added to Elite Dangerous, and a formidable presence. This aggressive and nimble vessel behaves differently to other Thargoid combatants, deploying measures that prevent human ships from making a quick getaway. This addition to their fleet means Commanders will need to rethink their strategic approach to numerous encounters in the game.
In addition, this update brings a new on-foot mission type to Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. Commanders will find these in starports affected by the Thargoid War, with the objective taking players to an abandoned settlement where they’re tasked with restoring the power to help in the ongoing conflict. Once they arrive, they’ll contend with a mysterious new variant of Thargoid Scavenger called the Revenant, a powerful enemy sentry that requires more than just a straightforward run-and-gun approach in combat.
As Commanders will soon discover when they venture into the Maelstrom for themselves, the Thargoid War is only just getting started.
All players who own a copy of Elite Dangerous on PC and are playing in Live Mode will have access to the wider narrative experience in Update 15, regardless of whether they own a copy of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. All on-foot content requires players to own a copy of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey.
Note: In order to play Elite Dangerous: Odyssey players must also own a copy of the Elite Dangerous base game.
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About Elite Dangerous
Take control of your own starship in a cutthroat galaxy. Some may know you as an ally; others will call you a pirate, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, an explorer, an assassin, a hero… Fly with friends, fight for a cause or go it alone. Your actions change the galaxy around you in an ever-unfolding story. Explore a detailed 1:1 model of our real galaxy, and be the first to discover one of 400 billion star systems. Start with a small starship and a handful of credits, and do whatever it takes to earn the skill, knowledge, wealth and power to stand among the ranks of the Elite.
About Frontier
Frontier is a leading independent developer and publisher of videogames founded in 1994 by David Braben, co-author of the iconic Elite game. Based in Cambridge, Frontier uses its proprietary COBRA game development technology to create innovative genre-leading games, primarily for personal computers and videogame consoles. As well as self-publishing internally developed games, Frontier also publishes games developed by carefully selected partner studios under its Frontier Foundry games label.
‘Elite’, the Elite logo, the Elite Dangerous logo, ‘Frontier’, the Frontier logo,’ are registered trademarks of Frontier Developments plc. All rights reserved.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – May 9, 2023 –SnowRunner, the blockbuster open-world off-roading game from Saber Interactive, is revving up to reach new heights with the game’s debut on Mac via the Mac App Store, Steam, and the Epic Games Store later this year. The title will feature MetalFX Upscaling for accelerated performance and high-quality visuals, along with full crossplay with consoles and PC plus controller support. Players can jump into the driver’s seat of some of the world’s powerful vehicles and prepare to conquer extreme environments with the most advanced terrain simulation experience.
Choose from 40 authentic branded vehicles from real-world makers like Ford, Chevrolet and Freightliner to help you trek across untamed mud, torrential waters, snow, and frozen lakes. Expand and customize your fleet with realistic upgrades and accessories, including an exhaust snorkel for heavy waters, chain tires to battle the treacherous snow and much more. Tackle the toughest contracts and missions as you play on your own or with others in four-player co-op, and take the journey even further with a variety of community-created mods.
SnowRunner is coming to the Apple silicon Mac lineup and will be available for $29.99. All previously released DLC, as well as the Premium Edition and Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 Passes, will be available for purchase separately.
SnowRunner is also available on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. For the latest information, follow all the action on Twitter.
About Saber Interactive
An Embracer Group company headquartered in the U.S., Saber Interactive is a worldwide publisher and developer consisting of over 20 studios in the Americas and Europe. Creating games for all major platforms based on original and licensed IPs, Saber’s titles include Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, World War Z, SnowRunner and Evil Dead: The Game. Founded in 2001, Saber is known for two decades of development partnerships with AAA publishers, producing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Nintendo Switch, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Crysis Remastered, and many others.
Surprise July 24th content update reveal promises three crossover maps each for Motorways and Metro
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – May 8, 2023 –Dinosaur Polo Club, the award-winning team behind Mini Motorways and Mini Metro, the best-selling minimalist strategy traffic management sims with nearly 12 million combined players, commemorates the 10-year “Miniversary” today with the reveal of six crossover maps and new features releasing Monday, July 24, 2023.
Last month, the community cast their nominations from 30 iconic Mini Metro maps they’d most love to see cross over into Mini Motorways. Ultimately, the vote was knocked down to four powerhouse cities: London, New York City, Paris, and Hong Kong. After a heated vote among the community, New York City was crowned to join the roster of crossover maps coming to Mini Motorways!
The only thing mini about the 10-year Miniversary is the name, as additional surprises await. The cities of London and Mumbai will also line up for a fresh coat of roundabouts and highways in Mini Motorways. Dedicated Mini Metro fans can rejoice as well, with Tokyo, Warsaw, and Lisbon maps on the way, awaiting adaptable railway systems and offering fresh challenges.
In addition to these new urban playgrounds, Mini Motorways will also embrace a highly-requested feature in its three new maps: trains. Plan the perfect routes for a happy, bustling city, now factoring in a rail system. Everything in this jam-packed update will be coming to players in July, as Dinosaur Polo Club has a long road trip ahead.
Dinosaur Polo Club celebrates its 10-year anniversary since first diving into the wondrous world of Mini during a Ludum Dare Game Jam, where Mini Metro was created in its first iteration back in 2013. The recent community vote offered an opportunity to reflect on the last decade of work alongside such passionate players. Based in gorgeous Wellington, New Zealand, Dinosaur Polo Club was founded by brothers Peter and Robert Curry with a mission: create games giving simple everyday concepts, designed for everyone.
Mini Metro spiraled upwards into a BAFTA-nominated project and generated enough momentum for a sequel, Mini Motorways, that garnered similar critical acclaim and accolades, including the IndieCade Choice Award and the Independent Games Festival Audience Award in 2022.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since Mini Metro first came into the world! To see how this Mini-vision has expanded into something truly massive has been indescribable, and we owe a massive thanks to our incredible community of players,” said Ben Emerson, Marketing Coordinator, Dinosaur Polo Club. “Our players have shared so many special moments with us, from connecting families during hard times to easing anxiety after a long day and even a marriage proposal. It’s a special milestone to celebrate with our players and bring so many exciting crossover maps and features into both games for everyone to enjoy. I think players will really like the addition of trains into Mini Motorways too, it’s been a long time coming, and this has felt like the perfect time to introduce such a highly requested new feature to this game. Here’s to another 10 years of Mini!”
The Miniversary Update will be available on Monday, July 24, 2023 as a free content update on the following platforms:
Mini Motorways for Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, as well as Windows PC and macOS via Steam, supporting Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish, and Turkish languages.
Mini Metro for Apple Arcade, App Store, Google Play Store, Windows PC and macOS via Steam, Nintendo Switch, and more, supporting English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain), Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Russian, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Hungarian, Bulgarian, Danish, Turkish, Arabic, Swedish, Thai, and Ukrainian languages.
Dinosaur Polo Club is an independent game development studio based in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand. Founded in 2013 by brothers Peter and Robert Curry, the studio first made waves with their award-winning and BAFTA-nominated debut Mini Metro. Created in collaboration with Disasterpeace and Jamie Churchman, Mini Metro explores relaxed and minimalist subway design. The second game developed by Dinosaur Polo Club introduces a brand new type of city management with colorful road-building and resource management found in Mini Motorways. Combined, Mini Metro and Mini Motorways make up two parts of an expanding Mini-series with more to come.
With an inclusive and supportive culture that believes in giving back to its creative community, the studio has grown and is now home to nearly 30 dinos as it works on new titles with relatable simplicity.
Terracotta also solves spiritual puzzles on Nintendo Switch the same day
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — MAY 8, 2023 —Hello Goodboy, the non-linear adventure game from developer Rolling Glory Jam, explores the afterlife on PC and Nintendo Switch on Thursday, May 25, 2023. On the same day Terracotta, an action-puzzle adventure from developer Appnormals, defends fellow warriors in the hereafter on Nintendo Switch thanks to publisher Freedom Games.
Journey through the familiar but unknown throughout Hello Goodboy. Guide Iko, a newly departed boy as he meets fellow souls on their own adventures through the heavens. With no memory of what brought him to the world beyond, rely on Coco, a strangely familiar dog to solve the mysteries of this new existence. However, mind the time: there’s only so much left.
Explore a fairy tale atmosphere with a heartwarming story, as Iko and Coco make their way through the afterlife. Befriend and pay it forward to the dozens of denizens amongst the heavens including a lost, lonely child, an anxious couple, an overworked lumberjack, among other sympathetic spirits.
In Terracotta rescue the remnants of the Qin dynasty warriorsafter an ancient curse freezes almost all of them to icy stone. As the last living Terracotta army soldier Channel the power of Qi to master the realms of light and darkness.
Switch between Yin (dark) and Yang (light) to solve dual-sided puzzles while avoiding treacherous foes across both versions of the world. Set up kinetic solutions to problems in the shadowy Yin and take advantage of new opportunities created on the flip-side of the sunlit Yang.
“Developing Hello Goodboy has become a therapeutic experience, both in reconnecting with our lost canine companions and reminding us of the beauty of genuine human connections,” said Petrus Narwastu, creative director at Rolling Glory Jam. ”Spreading this message of human kindness is vital in today’s world, and we are happy to take part.”
“The Nintendo Switch was a platform we were dedicated to bringing Terracotta to,” said Iñaki Díaz, Studio Co-Founder of Appnormals Team. “We are incredibly happy that we can mark off that goal off of our long list for the studio. Now a whole new audience can experience the majesty of the Qin Dynasty!”
Hello Goodboy will pull your heartstrings on PC and Nintendo Switch on Thursday, May 25, 2023 for $14.99 with English and Chinese (Simplified) language support. For more information on Hello Goodboy, visit Rolling Glory Jam’s official website, follow the team on Twitter and TikTok, search #HelloGoodboyGame on social media, and connect with new companions on their Discord server.
Terracotta will return the Nintendo Switch to the Qin Dynasty on Thursday, May 25, 2023 $19.99 with English, Spanish, as well as Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) language support. To learn more, visit Appnormal’s official website, join the community on Facebook and Twitter, and search #TerracottaGame on social media.
About Freedom Games
Freedom Games is a publisher dedicated to offering best-in-class services to partners and providing players around the world with unique and memorable experiences. With over 50 years of combined industry experience at the executive level, Freedom Games seeks to leverage its expertise to facilitate great games and even better publishing experiences.
Biggest PAX West to date to showcase new Summit expansion of Seattle Convention Center
SEATTLE – May 8, 2023 –PAX West, the West Coast’s most attended gaming event, prepares for literally its biggest iteration yet, taking place Labor Day Weekend Friday, Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 4, at the newly expanded Seattle Convention Center, with badges going on sale Wednesday, May 31. Show organizers ReedPop and Penny Arcade will take full advantage of both the new Summit and original Arch buildings, as the convention hosts Nintendo Live 2023, a celebration of Nintendo’s games and worlds.
Set to take place in a special section of the Seattle Convention Center, Nintendo Live 2023 will feature fun Nintendo Switch gameplay, live stage performances, exciting gaming tournaments, memorable photo ops, event merchandise and more. Families are welcome and encouraged to join in the fun, as the event is designed for people of all ages and gaming experience. For more information about Nintendo Live 2023, visit https://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-live/.
PAX West badge holders with a Nintendo Account who also want to attend Nintendo Live 2023 will have a chance to register for a free ticket to Nintendo Live through a separate promotion on the official PAX West website. The promotion for Nintendo Live will be offered during the PAX West badge checkout process from when badges go on sale on Wednesday, May 31, until Friday, July 7 at 11:59 PM PT. (One ticket per person maximum, regardless of entry method). Please note that a PAX West badge alone does not guarantee entry.
Setting the stage for the fall gaming calendar after PAX East 2023 sold out of all badges, PAX West will take full advantage of the new Summit building of the Seattle Convention Center. This new venue offers more space than ever for exciting exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest titles, PAX Arena tournaments featuring beloved content creators and upcoming esports stars, and vendors with must-have goodies.
The original Arch building, located just a block and a half away from Summit, will still play a major role in PAX West, hosting many of the events and activities fans have come to expect. The four-day event will feature panels with beloved gaming figures and industry luminaries, concerts of video game-inspired music, tournaments in classic and modern games, tabletop sections, and numerous other activities. The full list of exhibitors and schedule will be announced in the coming weeks and months.
“A single building could never contain everything we’ve got planned for PAX,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder, Penny Arcade and PAX. “And we think families especially will love this year’s collaboration with Nintendo.”
After West, PAX will wrap up its 2023 events schedule with the return of PAX Unpluggedto the Philadelphia Convention Center from Friday, Dec. 1, through Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023,.The most attended tabletop gaming convention on the East Coast will once again welcome communities from across the world to experience both beloved and unannounced titles, watch expert panels, and enjoy a massive show floor expo with the biggest names in analog gaming.
Badges go on sale for PAX West 2023 on Wednesday, May 31, with panel registration opening up in mid-May, and media/content creator registration opening up at a later date. PAX Unplugged 2023 badges go on sale later this summer. For more info, check out the PAX West website, and follow PAX on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Instagram.
About PAX
PAX, or Penny Arcade Expo, is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. First held in Seattle in 2004, PAX has nearly doubled in size each successive year, with PAX Prime 2014 selling out of tickets in a matter of minutes. Connecting the world’s leading game publishers with their most avid and influential fans, PAX expanded with a second show in Boston in 2010, and a third in San Antonio in 2015, making it the three largest gaming shows in North America. The first international PAX was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2013. In 2017, Penny Arcade established PAX Unplugged, its first tabletop-focused show, held in Philadelphia.
About ReedPop
ReedPop is a boutique group within RX – one of the world’s leading events organizers. Launched in 2006, the group has become the number one producer of pop culture events across the globe as well as a full service digital content provider and media company. Delivering once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences curated specifically for localized audiences, ReedPop currently features events in North America and Europe, including: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), PAX West, East, and Unplugged, Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), Star Wars Celebration, MCM Comic Con, Eurogamer Expo (EGX), Star Trek Missions and more. In addition to organizing and managing events, ReedPop also runs and operates the Gamer Network and its portfolio of leading gaming websites including Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun and GamesIndustry.Biz. The staff at ReedPop are a fan-based, globally focused group of professionals that are uniquely qualified to build and serve the communities with whom they share a common passion.
About Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade has been the world’s most popular webcomic for over 20 years, with over 3.5 million readers. Started in 1998 in the living room of Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins, it has grown into a media empire encompassing multiple beloved properties such as Lookouts, Automata, and beloved D&D live-play series Acquisitions Incorporated. Penny Arcade was responsible for the creation of Child’s Play, a gaming charity that has raised over $45 million dollars for children across the world. They are also the founders of PAX, the number one consumer gaming festival in North America, with hundreds of thousands of loyal visitors every year.
Although Capcom gave everyone a small taste of Street Fighter 6‘s story mode and a bit of training mode a few weeks ago and the game itself is set to be released in a little under a month, fans of the fighting game won’t have to wait that long to get another taste. The company has announced that they will be holding an open beta test for Street Fighter 6 on May 19th at 12AM PT that will run through May 22nd at 12AM for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
This open beta will feature all of the same content as the second closed beta test and will offer eight playable characters in the form of Chun-Li, Guile, Juri, Kimberly, Ken, Jamie, Ryu, and Luke as well as access to nearly all types of online matches, avatar creation, cross platform play, and even a bit of the game’s commentary mode.
The trailer announcing the open beta can be found below while Street Fighter 6 is currently set to be released on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, and PC on June 2nd.
There hasn’t been a bigger repertoire of games than those from the Star Wars franchise. The first officially licensed Star Wars game came out in 1979 and for more than 40 years we had a steady stream of Star Wars game releases. Some were bad, some good and some were so bland that are not even worth mentioning. for me, all of that changed once I got my hands on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order in 2019.
Although a bit straightforward, it was a well-made adventure RPG with rich lore, great gameplay, and superb voice acting. So what we have here is a direct continuation of the previous game, we just need to see if it’s more of the same or if Star Wars Jedi Survivor is bringing something new to the table.
Story
When I said direct continuation, I meant it. This game basically starts exactly where the previous game ended although with a minor time skip. If you haven’t played Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, you’ll have no idea who is who. Luckily, there is a convenient story recap from the previous game right on the main menu so you can be up to speed. Cal is still on the run from the Empire, although he is a bit more calculated and experienced this time. All the characters from the previous game are back, along with some new friends and antagonists.
Gameplay
So what new do we have in store this time? Way more exploration, an open world, companies that react to your orders, a bunch of sidequests, and an insane amount of collectibles. What’s funny is how the world is so efficient at sucking you in. After I finished the main story, I realized that I clocked in at 28 hours and I only did a small portion of optional content.
I also like how the developers avoided that old gimmick of a character having amnesia or something as an excuse for starting from scratch and having zero skills. We also have a bunch of new moves, side weapons, and lightsaber stances. Even wanted to use a blaster with your lightsaber? Now is your chance. What about swinging Kylo Ren’s lightsaber? Crossguard stance will take care of that. Now you just need to finish the game and in the new game plus you can select a red lightsaber color for full dar side cosplay.
Speaking of cosplay, the character customization in Star Wars Jedi Survivor is brought to a whole new level. you can finely tune Cal’s hair and beard, every piece of his clothing and there is a really extensive lightsaber customization this time.
Visuals
This game has finally made me face a harsh reality – it’s time for an upgrade. While it still runs great on my rig, I think the ever-rising requirements are slowly creeping up on me and in the near future even things like raytracing will not be optimal for a full enjoyment. Still, Star Wars Jedi Survivor still looks great even on medium. Every planet is a world on its own, with an insane number of shortcuts and optional areas to explore. It actually reminded me of Elden Ring in terms of connectedness and labyrinthian but approachable level design.
However, there is a dark side to this story (heh, get it?). At the time of release, Star Wars Jedi Survivor has been an absolute mess in terms of optimization and stability. Some patches minimized the damage while more quality improvements are on the way. I had a few occasional crashes at first but random slowdowns and fps drops were far more common. We all know that first impressions are what matters the most so this was not a good first impression.
Audio
At least this segment doesn’t disappoint. The voice acting is still top-notch with a stellar performance of Cameron Monaghan and Tina Ivlev. The soundtrack still retains that feeling of grandeur while acting as a clever companion for action-fueled sequences. What I also like is how every lightsaber color comes with its own distinctive sound while swinging. A great level of detail also went into the atmosphere of the planets regarding its fauna, the occasional small talk of the stormtroopers as you sneak around them or hang over their heads.
Overall
There is a good game somewhere under this. This is the most expansive Star Wars game to this date, with a well-crafted story, loads of side content, and great attention to detail. It is well worth the price but not the state it is currently in. My advice is to wait a bit for a few well-needed performance improvements and quality fixes and then give it a go.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
When it comes to creating a game centered around a supernatural being, there are three classic examples that often are used. These are the ever popular zombie, the werewolf, and finally the vampire and while the former often sees itself as an enemy for players in games, the latter two often see players taking on the role of the beast, often battling against humans or their own kind. Rarely do games see players taking on the role of a human battling against werewolves or vampires but that is what Arkane Studios’ latest title looks to explore by pitting four different humans against an island filled with bloodsucking vampires. So, after a few delays, Arkane and Bethesda’s Redfall has arrived but does this game shine as bright as a UV light or does it deserve a stake to the heart?
Story
The idyllic island town of Redfall, Massachusetts has fallen to the clutches of blood sucking vampires and their cult-like human followers who are willing to sacrifice their neighbors as long as they can stay alive. In an attempt to flee the vampire invasion a number of survivors, including four with unique abilities, attempt to flee on the last remaining ferry only for an extremely powerful vampire to transform the sea into a solid impassable wall of waves, trapping anyone still alive on the island. As the members of the boat are feasted upon, the apparent vampire leader leaves the player alive with a cryptic message. With no choice left but to return to the island, the players liberate a firehouse where other survivors have holed up from the vampire’s cult and utilize it as their base of operation and launch their efforts to take down the head vampires and maybe find a way off the island, all while hopefully finding out what happened along the way.
Arkane has managed to create some rather interesting lore for Redfall and a lot of it comes from the world itself as the team remains incredibly talented when it comes to environmental storytelling, be it the unique layout of a location, various notes that players can read in an area, or even psychic visions left behind either by defeated vampires or objects of importance nearly every time players find something related to the greater plot at hand, it is usually worth reading as it explains a lot about the lead up to the game and other survivors. Unfortunately the game fails to capitalize on these story elements most of the time and a lot of it boils down to focusing on making the game as co-op friendly as possible. The main plot is presented through stylistic still-image cutscenes similar to what Arkane has produced in the past but unlike before, most of what is shown is simplistic at best and often doesn’t do the story justice while also limiting it to only highlighting the player’s chosen character and only a little at that. Along these same lines, the numerous characters that players meet in safehouses and main bases of operation also receive very little in the way of interaction or character development at all, making these characters simple quest givers and little else. In fact, it doesn’t take long before players find themselves repeating mission types with how little variation there is in safehouse missions.
This level of disappointment also carries over to the way the storyline ultimately plays out as well. There always feels like there is a lot of potential with what Redfall has to offer but everytime players feel like the plot is about to thicken, the co-op looter shooter nature and lack of any real development for the characters, especially in regards to the player character as the game opts to avoid developing the player’s chosen hunter in any meaningful way since they could be playing any of the four hunters, get in the way of making the story more memorable in any way. Considering the various factors at play in the story, with players facing off against a vampire force of unique origins, a cult built around them, and a mysterious security force seeking to cover things up, there is a lot of potential left untapped. Combine this with the lackluster way that the player’s chosen character interacts with the world, often repeating the same dialogue throughout their adventures, and players will find themselves quickly growing tired of combing through locations, even when playing with friends.
Sure, hunters in co-op can build “trust” which is a bit difficult between hit and miss progression issues and lack of drop-in drop-out grouping tied in with the co-op gameplay and lack of matchmaking. It is also worth noting that playing through the game in co-op can also make it incredibly difficult to locate and read every note without needing to rely on the menu, especially since the game does not pause while reading, leaving players vulnerable as the world moves around them. These attempts to try and create a balancing act does Redfall a disservice as a result, making what could have been an intriguing storyline that could have had so much more depth something generic and ultimately forgettable in the end.
Gameplay
As players begin the game they will be given the choice of selecting one of four vampire hunters to play as with each of the characters catering to a different playstyle. Jacob is a more stealth focused character capable of turning invisible to sneak past and attack enemies while also using his mystical Raven to highlight nearby enemies before finally using his ultimate to summon a powerful sniper rifle to take down any enemies in his path. Layla can make use of a telekinetic shield to block incoming attacks as well as summon a psychic lift that will launch herself and any teammates into the air for easier navigation and can utilize her ultimate to summon her vampire ex-boyfriend to attack enemies. Devinder serves as another character capable of helping players move quickly through locations with a teleportation mechanic and electric javelin, plus his powerful UV light ultimate can turn any nearby vampire to stone, allowing for a simple melee attack to dispatch them. Finally we have the support oriented Remi that can draw enemy attention, create healing areas for her allies, and even throw down powerful C4 explosives to lay waste to her foes.
In practice most of these characters work well whether the player chooses to play solo or through co-op, though characters like Jacob will have an easier go going through the story solo compared to Remi who shines best as part of a group. Regardless, each character can use any type of weapon though their main difference comes from their aforementioned special skills and skill tree upgrades. As players progress through the game completing missions, fighting any type of enemy, closing vampire nests, and more, they will gain levels that can upgrade various abilities for their chosen character. Unfortunately this skill tree system is incredibly anemic and is also littered with a number of useless unlocks such as carrying more ammo or, in complete detriment to those playing through solo, upgrades that only take effect when playing in co-op. As such, players will unlock every useful upgrade long before hitting the level cap, not that most players will notice much of a difference anyways since enemies scale to the player’s level in every way.
The guns that players can make use of come in mostly expected forms, be it standard pistols, machine pistols, assault rifle variations, shotguns, and sniper rifles with many of these weapons having special “legendary” versions that offer small benefits such as a silenced pistol etc. These mostly generic weapons work well enough but often feel a bit lacking, especially since there is no customization besides applying a skin, thankfully there are a couple of unique weapon types best designed to take down vampires. These include powerful stake guns that can drop and kill vampires from a distance as well as UV guns that fire beams of light capable of turning any undead to stone and allowing players to shatter them with a single melee attack. Facing down these vampires often feels quite satisfying, especially when it comes to staking one down as the only way to properly dispatch a stunned vampire is with a stake lest they recover. Of course, using fire from an explosion or the aforementioned UV lights also do the trick as these undead are far from invulnerable.
The vampires that players fight have a decent amount of variety as well. For the most part players will take on generic vampires capable of swift movement and powerful melee attacks but there are also a number of other types that players will eventually encounter. These include weak but dangerous exploding types, some capable of creating shields around themselves and allies, and even others capable of blinding the player, siphoning their health away, or even grabbing them from long distance and delivering massive damage once they are reeled in. Unfortunately the human enemies are far less interesting and make up the bulk of the enemies players encounter. The real unfortunate aspect here is that enemy AI, especially for human type enemies, is incredibly poor. Enemies will often completely ignore a player standing in the open during a firefight or find themselves completely stuck on an obstacle leaving themselves wide open and even when they do take cover they often leave themselves massively exposed making even the most lopsided firefight often one the player can easily win with some minor maneuvering. That is, of course, as long as the enemies don’t make use of explosives or the damaging red mist that circulates through many areas. The reason for this is that explosions seem to always damage the player through walls, meaning cover is often useless and the red mist that is expelled by destroyable vampire founts and from cultist grenades also damages players completely outside of the range of said mist, especially if they happen to be above it.
One rather interesting element that appears randomly as players spend time in Redfall are vampire nests. These nests spawn over time and strengthen every vampire within their radius until they are destroyed. To destroy a nest players must enter a glowing door only to find themselves locked into a twisted space featuring various locales meshed together and filled with vampires protecting a crystal heart within. Once this heart is destroyed the nest will collapse, giving players a limited amount of time to loot equipment that was hoarded inside. These nests are often quite enjoyable thanks to how unique the layouts can be but, as before, most of the rewards are mediocre at best.
As mentioned before, thanks to Arkane’s skill at environmental storytelling, exploring the world of Redfall is often enjoyable thanks to the number of uniquely designed buildings and interesting locations to explore. Unfortunately even this element is half-baked thanks to the fact that it is often completely worthless. Redfall’s design as a looter shooter is incredibly lacking as most of the actual loot players get is complete garbage and rarely worth the time to check out. Players can gather various bits and bobs such as toilet paper, jeweled eggs, and disinfectant that automatically converts to cash but the cash has almost no purpose besides purchasing extra lockpicks or hacking tools. Weapons and other pieces of equipment level as the player levels, meaning that a favorite gun will quickly become useless only to be replaced again with no way to level match or even customize gear. Along these same lines, the game features a forced point of no return that completely locks away the first map, meaning any collectables including lore and bonus unlocking Grave Locks, are lost forever until New Game+. Of course, given that defeating the final boss automatically kicks players into this mode with yet again no way to return to the second map by choice this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
One of the first elements that Arkane introduces in Redfall is being able to approach most situations however they see fit and while some locations can offer a bit of freedom these are few and far between. Not only is stealth a rather mundane way to explore the world, especially since there are no unique stealth takedown animations or even a sign that players will insta kill an enemy with their stealth attack but the game often forces players to throw stealth out the window most of the time. This is because there is often no way to actually locate a specific mission objective without utilizing a lockpick or hacking tool and, in a number of cases, many locations require a key anyways. Ironically, even the choice of tackling missions with multiple objectives is often forced to be played a certain way as well, with some missions requiring players to do one objective before the other unless they wish to find themselves suddenly stuck against a lock in the second location. It also doesn’t help that, thanks to the Redfall’s insistence on co-op, many of the movement and stealth abilities are split between characters. Think taking Corvo from Dishonored and stripping him of all abilities except for one before handing his abilities out piecemeal to allies.
When playing in co-op the gameplay is handled rather smoothly most of the time with no issues in connection but the poor enemy AI struggles even further with four players running around the map. This makes combat often a run and gun experience that is far too simplistic and, considering players won’t actually be progressing their own storyline while playing in someone else’s world, there is little actual reason to play with others. Combine this with the fact that the game lacks drop in drop out multiplayer and the fact that the lobby often closes entirely should someone drop out, which is a problem given the game’s multiple instances of crashing to the home screen, and co-op is often frustrating when it doesn’t work and even when it does it strips what little spirit of Arkane’s design exists in parts of Redfall.
Visuals & Audio
Shortly before release it was revealed that Redfall would be releasing on console with only the 30FPS quality mode available and while this is a disappointing limitation it rarely feels like much of an issue during combat. The action remains mostly fluid with only noticeable slowdowns during large explosions, characters using multiple ultimates at the same time, or the few instances of large objects crumbling. That being said Arkane’s unique art style comes through quite well in Redfall especially when it comes to the various locations players explore and a bit of the character designs. Many of the main characters look well enough though there is a bit of a dated look to many of the standard characters and quest giving NPCs players will meet. It is also worth noting that while the cutscenes are presented only through slideshow images, these images fit Arkane’s usual stylings quite nicely.
The sound design throughout Redfall is handled quite well with players often being able to hear vampires feasting on victims through walls or being taunted by the various vampire overlords that rule each location. Voice work is handled well enough with most characters having enough voice lines to keep things feeling fresh even when exploring for long periods of time. As for the soundtrack the game features some fitting background themes that work well for the once picturesque town of Redfall that has fallen to ruin.
Overall
Playing through Redfall it quickly becomes evident that the development team’s focus must have shifted multiple times throughout the game’s creation between single player, co-op, and then a looter shooter stuck in-between. Redfall has all of the potential to try and tell an interesting story with some solid enemy designs and a great location to explore but between terrible enemy AI, mundane “play your way” implementation, boring loot, and splitting powers between characters in an attempt to force co-op Redfall falls flat in many areas and loses track of most of its potential.
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