Category: Video Gaming

Whether you need a helpful clue for today’s Wordle, would love someone to provide the answer to the October 15 (483) challenge as quickly as possible, or were hoping to find a guide designed to explain the internet’s hottest puzzle game to newcomers, you’ll find it all here.

I’ve been making myself use new openers and follow-ups every day this week as a little word-based exercise, and it’s helped a lot. Not necessarily in getting to the answer in fewer guesses, but it has made me actually look at each puzzle in a new light and remind me of connections I’d been glossing over.

Wordle hint

Today’s Wordle: A hint for Saturday, October 15

Overwatch 2 has reached over 25 million players in its first 10 days and it has already achieved a “daily player base spread near-even across EMEA, Asia, and the Americas that’s nearly triple the previous daily player peak from the original Overwatch.”

Blizzard announced the news in a press release and it arrives following a rough launch for the free-to-play game. Despite the issues, players have continued to show up in droves.

“The launch of Overwatch 2 has been such an important moment for Blizzard. We’re thrilled to bring new players from around the world into Overwatch’s vibrant universe while welcoming back the existing Blizzard community,” said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “This is only the beginning—there are so many possibilities to explore in the world of Overwatch, and we cannot wait for players to experience everything the team is building for the live game.”

As for that rough launch, Blizzard also detailed a bit about how they will be making it up to players for the issues that have arisen. In addition to gifting all players who log in from October 25 through the end of Season One the “all-new Cursed Captain Reaper Legendary skin and a Health Pack Weapon Charm,” Blizzard also confirmed the dates for the upcoming double match XP weekends. They are as follows;

• Starting October 21 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending October 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT
• Starting October 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending October 31 at 11:00 a.m. PT
• Starting November 24 at 11:00 a.m. PT, ending November 28 at 11:00 a.m. PT

After announcing a four-player co-op mode will be coming to Gotham Knights next month, Warner Bros. Montreal has shared another piece of less exciting news: The game will run at 30 frames per second on console with no performance mode option.

The announcement was made via the official Gotham Knights Discord server by the game’s executive producer Fleur Marty. She confirmed that the game will not provide an option to switch between a high-quality graphics mode and a performance mode which will raise the frame rate.

“Due to the types of features we have in our game, like providing a fully untethered co-op experience in our highly detailed open world,” Marty writes, “it’s not as straightforward as lowering the resolution and getting a higher frame rate.” Marty continues by confirming that Gotham Knights “does not have a performance/quality toggle option” and will run at “30 FPS on consoles.”

The news follows the confirmation of a four-player co-op mode, called Heroic Assault, which will be added to the game for free on November 29. Heroic Assault will feature 30 levels of enemies and objectives for up to four players to challenge, joining the game’s two-player co-op story mode.

Gotham Knights launches October 21 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power wrapped up its first season with seismic shifts and room for expansion. The billion-dollar show, which has already been greenlit for five seasons, found room for explosive moments and almost-shocking revelations, and even a reworked map of Middle-earth. But it was still table-setting — the Lord of the Rings we know is still far down the timeline.

With the first season finale released to the world, here are the major questions about what exactly happens next in season 2 and beyond. And thanks to The Rings of Power writer Gennifer Hutchison, we already know a little about where Sauron, Galadriel, and the Stranger are headed.

Is the Stranger actually Gandalf?

Since the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) showed up his identity has been a mystery, spurred on by the cast and crew of Rings of Power making reference to him as a “familiar” character to fans.

After eight episodes the answer seems to be… maybe. Though the finale gives some compelling evidence: The White Robes decide he’s not Sauron, and instead call him “Istar,” which Tolkien fans will recognize as a singular form of Istari, the elven word for the wizards of Middle-earth. He turns them into swarms of moths — a move certainly associated with the Gandalf of the Peter Jackson movies. He picks up a staff to do this magic (or whatever we’re calling it), which seems to evoke a certain type of gray and later white wizard. And now that he can speak in full sentences he’s certainly sounding more like Gandalf, even cribbing from a lot of stuff Gandalf said in the Jackson movies.

Where are the Stranger and Nori headed?

After confronting the White Robes, with the Stranger deciding that he is absolutely not Sauron, he decides it’s time to go east to Rhûn to discover more about himself. Nori, ever eager to get off the harfoot path, decides to go with him while Poppy stays behind.

In Rhûn they’ll be able to see the constellation the Stranger has been chasing all season, which is called “The Hermit’s Hat,” and hopefully get the answers the Stranger’s been seeking all season about his identity, powers, and what he should actually do in this world.

What happens in Númenor now that the king is dead?

Without getting into spoilers about what happens to the Númenóreans canonically, suffice it to say the island nation is in a tricky place. Queen Míriel and Elendil have returned home to enlist the country in a fight against the orcs residing in the newly created Mordor (not that anyone can call it that), to find that the king has died. Pharazôn is continuing to rally the residents on a more conservative future of Númenor and fear of outsiders/elves.

What will Eärien do with the palantir?

Before Númenor’s king dies, he lets Eärien into the secret passage with the palantír. While we don’t see what happens after — whether she makes it to the room or touches the crystal ball — but considering what Míriel has seen with the palantír, it seems like whatever happens to Eärien in that room could have consequences for Númenor. And when we spoke to Rings of Power writer Gennifer Hutchison, she agreed completely.

While Eärien’s father, Elendil, is aligned with those faithful to the elves, Hutchison said via Zoom, she’s the member of the family who represents the more isolationist Númenórean point of view. “She’s been left behind,” said Hutchison, “and introducing her into that very intimate space with the king allowed for us to hint at how there might be some conflict, which we’ve been building so much in Númenor — and to make it more intimate, with characters that are directly part of the story.”

Is Isildur dead?

Photo: Prime Video

Listen: No. He very much shows up later in the canon in a big way. But for now, no one in the show knows that except for his horse. Godspeed, horse!

What does Galadriel do with the knowledge that Halbrand is Sauron?

Halbrand got his final bit of manipulation in the eighth episode of The Rings of Power as he convinced Celebrimbor to make some rings (maybe even of power), and it was right about this time that Galadriel finally realized what many have theorized and known for weeks: Halbrand is Sauron.

Though she rejects him and his offer of power, Galadriel does not reveal to anyone what she knows, essentially following the guidance laid out by the Finrod in her vision (slash the Finrod that Sauron put in her vision) to do nothing to stop Sauron’s plan. So with Halbrand/Sauron’s ring plan moving forward (with the crucial — maybe? — addition of a third ring) and Galadriel looking like a goober at having palled around with her sworn enemy for all this time, it’s not a great look. Though it certainly sets up some tension for season 2, especially since…

What does Elrond do now that he knows Sauron is Halbrand?

Photo: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

Though Galadriel doesn’t share her news, Elrond is suspicious and wanders out to find the genealogy scroll that leads him to figure out that Halbrand is Sauron. Unfortunately, he finds this news too late, arriving back at the workshop just as the elven rings (the rings of power) are being completed.

Elrond has spent much of this season running around trying to more directly help Celebrimbor and Gil-galad figure out how to save the elves, harness the power of mithril, and generally do good in the world. The question that remains is: Will Elrond keep his promise to trust Galadriel and not reveal what he knows?

Hutchison said that the challenge of Galadriel and Elrond’s friendship was framing a strong connection, even when the characters shared so little screen time.

“When they come back together [in this episode] it is such a such a big moment for them —he sent her away, and now she’s back. He’s between his guilt, ‘I should have trusted you,’ and he’s also just so happy to see her. It’s been a hard time, now your friend’s back. We tried to really invest that in that scene with the two of them, talking together about what’s happened. Luckily, those actors are so wonderful and incredible that I feel like they can really play those subtleties.”

That dilemma was among the important pillars of the episode. “I think it’s pretty clear at the end that there’s a bit of conflict in that moment,” Hutchison said. “She’s made a big ask of him. We really did want to have that. ‘This is the true test; you said you’ll trust me.’ We really wanted to make sure that came through.”

What happens to Durin IV and his dwarven succession?

Something we all know is that dwarves rule and there should be more of them in the world. Durin’s plot to (maybe) overthrow his dad, King Durin III, so he could keep mining for mithril. Sure, there’s a balrog in the mix there too, but I care more about watching dwarves rip and generally bring the party.

Cyberpunk 2077 was no flop, but it certainly disrupted CD Projekt’s forward momentum, causing it to postpone Cyberpunk DLC in favor of fixes, and hurting its share price. But the past year of Cyberpunk launch atonement is not part of a long-term scaling back, we learned last week. If anything, CD Projekt’s ambition has multiplied: The company says it’s going to make a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, release three new Witcher RPGs over the course of just six years, make a new game set in a new world, and more.

At the same time, joint CEO Marcin Iwiński said he’d be stepping down and taking a new role on the CD Projekt supervisory board. These announcements inevitably led to speculation that CD Projekt might be an acquisition target. The theory goes that its super-ambitious roadmap is either an attempt to attract big investors, or a way to deter a takeover by increasing its share price.

The untitled Avatar movie has found its production company.

The world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is slated to return to the big screen, but it won’t be under the rains of M. Night Shyamalanthis time. The next feature film will instead be a 2D animated film (with some CGI thrown in for good measure) from the Australian animation studio Flying Bark Production (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel What If…?).

While an official plot synopsis wasn’t released, the film will follow Team Avatar as young adults. Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino will serve as producers for the film, while Lauren Montgomery, who previously served as a storyboard artist for the show’s 3rd season, will direct the film.

In an interview with if.com.au, the Director of Production for Flying Bark, Alexia Gates-Foale, said that the team is “thrilled” to bring a new story to the Avatar world to life. “With a company full of creatives and super fans, the Avatar feature is a dream project for the team at Flying Bark,” Gates-Foale says.

Paramount Animation executive vice president Mark Bakshi added by saying that they are “so excited to be working with one of the premier and long-standing animation studios in Australia, Flying Bark.”

This unnamed Avatar project is expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2024 and is just one of three Avatar movies in production. A live-action series is currently in the works at Netflix.

This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian invites one of his best friends and former games journalist, Keith Mathias, to chat about his experience as a brand new Switch owner 5 and a half years into the system’s lifecycle. Brian also gives his impressions of two new games on Switch, No Man’s Sky and Lego Bricktales. The two also answer some community questions.

If you’d like to follow the people from this episode on Twitter, hit the following links: Brian Shea (@brianpshea), Keith Mathias (@KWMathias)

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
00:01:10 – First Nintendo Game/Favorite Nintendo Game
00:06:53 – Pokémon-Themed Splatoon 3 Splatfest
00:07:21 – No Man’s Sky Impressions
00:12:20 – Lego Bricktales Impressions
00:17:55 – Super Mario Movie Discussion
00:21:28 – Listener Q&A: Zelda Movie
00:25:53 – Listener Q&A: Virtual Console
00:36:20 – Listener Q&A: Nintendo Game Informer Cover Stories
00:40:02 – Listener Q&A: Double Dipping on Games
00:48:32 – What Took Keith so Long to Get a Switch
01:00:02 – Keith’s Thoughts on Breath of the Wild
01:06:31 – New Switch Owner Recommendations
01:44:14 – Definitive Ranking: Franchises Keith is Excited to Have Access To Again
01:51:09 – eShop Gem of the Week: Death’s Door

If you’d like to get in touch with the All Things Nintendo podcast, you can email 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 Game Informer’s other podcast, be sure to check out The Game Informer Show with host Alex Van Aken, which covers the weekly happenings of the video game industry!

It’s been a long week, hasn’t it? You’ve gotten up every morning. Washed your face. Brushed your teeth (we hope). Gotten dressed. Grabbed a bit of breaky on the go. And then hopped into your car or made your way to the train, bus, or subway. And you dealt with others doing the same before arriving at work to do exactly what you did last week, and the week before, and so on.

It can get a bit tedious.

But put that all behind you now. It’s 4pm, which means the weekend has started. Unless you work odd hours. If so, we apologize for getting your hopes up. But, for the majority, it is indeed time to throw off the crosspiece fastened over your neck, and as Frankie would say, relax.

This weekend, we will be relaxing by playing a few games in between other fun things. Here’s what we’re getting into:

Connor Makar, Staff Writer – REDACTED

This weekend, I’m playing something under embargo. Great news for me, but, admittedly a bit dry for this particular article. When I have the time, I will be logging back into WoW to wrap up some raids, and I will also be trying out a variety of smaller titles on my phone. A recent title I played for an interview has piqued my interest a little bit more on the platform, so I will give that another go this weekend (what this space on Monday).

It’s not a game, but I will be playing The Bear on Disney Plus from start to finish for the fifth time this weekend, undoubtedly. It’s just amazing, there’s no real way to say it differently.

James Billcliff, Guides Editor – FIFA 23

For my sins (and they are numerous), the FIFA 23 is still young, so this weekend I’ll more than likely be digging further into my new Career Modes, along with grinding out any new, shiny challenges I can to get some sparkly special FUT cards.

As I said in my review, FIFA 23 is a white-knuckle goal-fest, so I’ll definitely be entertained – if I can survive the heart palpitations from playing online, that is…

Kelsey Raynor, Guides Writer – Valorant

It’s been a long week playing lots of gory horror, aka Scorn, and having my patience tested by it. That said, I’m going to push my patience to the absolute limits and play some Valorant this weekend.

I’m yet to try out the new Agent, so I’ll be spending some time messing around on the preview build, seeing what Harbor is all about. When I inevitably get tired of having a negative K/D, I’ll more than likely spend the rest of my time between playing Pokemon TCG and watching Chainsaw Man.

What about you? What are you getting into this weekend?

EA Sports was once synonymous with golf through its Tiger Woods series of golf sims, but that partnership ended, with EA later trying to revive the series with Rory McIlroy as the cover star. That didn’t work out so well, and EA hasn’t released a golf game on console since 2015. But that’s about to end, as EA Sports PGA Tour is coming in Spring 2023, promising a lot.

This is all happening with the backdrop of the upheaval in professional golf with the controversial LIV Golf tournament series taking aim at the PGA Tour and stirring things up. EA Sports PGA Tour is going ahead despite all of this, and fans are hoping it’s a return to form.

We still don’t know too much about EA Sports PGA Tour–only a very brief gameplay trailer has been released thus far–but it’s never too early to get excited for the new golf game. Here are are rounding up everything we know about EA Sports PGA Tour.

Release Date And Platforms

EA Sports PGA Tour is set for release in Spring 2023 across “next generation platforms,” EA said in an official FAQ. This likely means PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but whether or not the game comes to PC, PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch remains to be seen.

All Four Majors

EA Sports PGA Tour separates itself from PGA Tour 2K23 in part by offering all four Majors. This means EA Sports PGA Tour is the only new golf game to feature The Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open, and The Open. EA Sports PGA Tour also includes The Players Championship, which is known by many golf fans as the unofficial “fifth major.”

The Masters And Other Events

Speaking of Majors, EA Sports PGA Tour will understandably lean into one of its biggest draws: The Masters. The game will feature a “Road to the Masters” event at launch that allows players to compete at the Masters to try to win their own green jacket. There will also be “additional experiences” that are exclusive to Augusta National, though EA hasn’t announced these yet.

EA Sports PGA Tour will also feature multiple amateur events, including the US Amateur that EA Sports designed and developed in partnership with the USGA.

What’s more, EA Sports PGA Tour lets players take part in LPGA events, including one of the most prestigious events, the Evian Championship.

Confirmed Courses

EA Sports is promising “world famous” courses for EA Sports PGA Tour, and the courses announced so far definitely live up to the hype. Augusta National, the site of The Masters, leads the way in terms of prominence, while Pebble Beach, Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course, and Torrey Pines are also part of the mix. EA will announce more courses later this year.

• Augusta National Golf Club
• Pebble Beach Golf Links
• Southern Hills Country Club
• Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s Ocean Course
• Torrey Pines
• The Country Club in Brookline, Mass
• The Old Course at St Andrews Links
• Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France
• TPC Southwind
• Wilmington Country Club
• East Lake Golf Club

Playable Pros

The first trailer for EA Sports PGA Tour featured the likeness of Jordan Spieth, so he’s probably a confirmed playable character. LPGA pros are in the game, too, including Lexi Thompson and Jin-Young Ko. EA hasn’t provided a full list of names yet, but promises that players can “play against and as some of the biggest names in professional golf.” It’s possible EA is holding back player announcements due to the ongoing PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf drama. LIV Golf has lured a number of top-flight pros like defending Open champ Cam Smith, multi-major winning star Brooks Koepka, and Dustin Johnson, among others. These players are banned from the PGA Tour, so it’ll be interesting to see what the final cut of pros for EA Sports PGA Tour looks like.

Career Mode

EA Sports PGA Tour will have a career mode where they set out on a journey to become a “legendary player.” This career mode, which hasn’t been fully detailed yet, will have players competing all the way up to the Players Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs. All three legs of the Playoffs, including their host courses, will be featured in the career mode.

So that’s all we know about EA Sports PGA Tour so far, but keep checking back with GameSpot for more details as we learn more before the game arrives in Spring 2023.

Back around 2006, if you asked a cinephile what Park Chan-wook’s deal was as a filmmaker, the answer would have been nice and simple: “He’s the Korean revenge-movie guy.” Park’s “vengeance trilogy” — the unrelated but simpatico dark thrillers Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance — crossed international borders during an era where it was rarer to see America fielding breakout hits from other countries than it is today. Twisty plotting, intense violence, and stunning action sequences like Oldboy’s famous “hammer and a hallway” fight helped put Park’s name on the map, but these three films (not his first, but at the time his most famous) also pigeonholed him as a director with very specific interests and tastes.

Park has become harder to pin down since then. His 2009 horror movie Thirst is a bleak vampire love story with more than a touch of sly comedy. Park’s English-language debut Stoker is an oddball misfire that pits Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, and Nicole Kidman against each other in a kind of lush drawing-room psychodrama balanced between horror story and period piece. Park got into spy action with The Little Drummer Girl, rom-coms with I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK, and literary historical crime drama with The Handmaiden. And his latest, the immaculately crafted Decision to Leave, is both a police procedural and a love story, the kind of film that drifts lightly from one genre to another, and doesn’t fully land until the final devastating moments.

Decision to Leave does clarify a specific agenda for Park’s highly divergent filmography: He’s a man obsessed with obsession. Over and over, his protagonists get a compulsive idea into their heads, then doggedly chase it, no matter what it costs them. And it often costs them everything. In Oldboy, it’s a man obsessed with finding out who locked him up in a makeshift cell for 15 years, then dumped him on the street without explanation. In Thirst, it’s a vampire bent on self-destruction. In his love stories, people become obsessed with each other, in ways that pull them off their previous tracks and onto new ones. And in Decision to Leave, it’s a man obsessed with solving a murder, even if it destroys him and the woman he loves.

From the start, the film presents police detective Hae-jun (Park Hae-il, from Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder) as a man who doesn’t fully know how to exist outside of his job. He lives in the city on weekdays and visits his wife on weekends for decorous sex and subdued, friendly time together, but he always seems like his mind is elsewhere, especially at night, when insomnia takes hold of him. It takes a while for Park and co-writer Jeong Seo-kyeong to reveal exactly where his mind goes in the darkness.

When Hae-jun is called out on what seems like an accidental-death case, he meets the dead man’s soft-spoken widow, Seo-rae (Lust, Caution’s Tang Wei). Carefully, he probes at the idea that she might have staged a particularly clever, well-plotted murder. At the same time, he becomes gently obsessed with her. The two pursue a cautious, non-physical relationship — Park has said one of his major inspirations on the film was David Lean’s 1945 melodrama Brief Encounter, about two married people carrying on an emotional affair that never has the chance to go beyond kisses. In the process, though, Seo-rae begins to get under Hae-jun’s carefully crafted shell, exposing the obsessions he doesn’t reveal to anyone else.

Decision to Leave takes some huge narrative turns, but they never feel like the kind of Surprise! Plot! Twists! that leave audiences gasping and trying to catch up. It’s a slow-burn movie, paced more like a Wong Kar-wai romance (In the Mood for Love comes to mind often throughout this movie) than like Park’s early potboiler thrillers. At 138 minutes long, it’s paced for patient viewers who want to linger in the quiet spaces that grow between detective and suspect, and ponder each new bit of evidence in the murder case as it surfaces. It’s a particularly rich version of a whodunit, but it still follows the form, with one clue building on another as Hae-jun’s suspicions coalesce.

Photo: MUBI

Decision to Leave eventually goes to the kind of shocking extremes Park is known for, but first, it courts an audience who can enjoy careful craft and elegant world-building. Early on, Hae-jun learns that Seo-rae is from China; when she meets new people, she apologizes for her “inadequate” Korean, though the subtitles never suggest she speaks clumsily. But when she’s positive she wants to be understood, she speaks into a translator app on her phone, and stares Hae-jun down as the device explains things to him in frank but poetic language. Seo-rae spends her downtime caring for elderly women in their homes, which Hae-jun winds up doing as well as he follows her tracks. That leads him to the classic Korean song “Mist,” which defines his relationship with Seo-rae. The movie returns over and over to the idea that Hae-jun has his clothes carefully tailored to add extra pockets, which are full of everything a person might need — something both his wife and Seo-rae casually take advantage of.

All these little grace notes feel like distractions for the film, until they resurface enough times to come clear as defining character traits, ways of understanding who these two people are. Both of them are hiding a great deal from the world and from each other, including their feelings for each other. But Park and Jeong have their leads reveal themselves through side details, and make both characters sharp and incisive enough to translate what those details mean. At first, Decision to Leave may not seem like the kind of swoony fantasy romance that builds fandoms. But as these small character angles gradually build toward a larger portrait, it becomes clear that it’s a different kind of fantasy altogether, about people who care enough — and can see clearly enough — to fully understand each other, even if they rarely verbalize that understanding.

That isn’t all that’s on Park’s mind with Decision to Leave, which ultimately lays out a second murder mystery that complicates the leads’ romance all over again, before crashing to a stunning ending. But while the procedural story takes up a fair bit of screen time, the emotional story is the center of the film, and the one that’s likely to stick with audiences longest and most clearly. As a story, it lacks the verve and dynamism of his early action films. As a portrait of obsession and regret, it’s remarkably sophisticated and satisfying. Park still cares about obsession, driving anger, and suppressed sadness — all the things that preoccupied him as a younger filmmaker. He just expresses those interests differently now, with soft conversations in memorable places, instead of with the blunt end of a hammer.

Decision to Leave, South Korea’s 2022 submission for the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category, opens in America in limited theatrical release on Oct. 14, with a wider rollout beginning Oct. 21.

We talk with Director of Operations at Ebb Software Miroslav Mićević to learn more about what to expect when we take our first steps in Scorn.

Starting today, Game Pass members on Xbox Series X|S and Windows can enter the surreal and nightmarish world of Scorn. From its unnerving surroundings, mysterious world, and frightening creations, Scorn has been one of our most anticipated games to experience as well as one of the most mysterious: What does it play like? Is it a shooter? Will I need a security blanket?

Before diving into its intriguing world — and to answer some of our most burning questions — we had a chance to talk with Director of Operations at Ebb Software Miroslav Mićević to learn more about what to expect when we first set foot in the game, some of the inspirations behind its incredible art design, and what was it like to create a soundtrack for something that’s so… slimy.

Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us to talk about your recently released game, Scorn. To kick things off, can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the creation of the game’s world?

Thank you very much for the opportunity to discuss Scorn with you. Scorn is inspired by art, philosophy, literature, and movies. We could say that the roots lie in existentialist philosophy, the artwork of H. R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, movies of Cronenberg, Lynch, and the like. All of these might be considered influential to the creative process of Scorn’s Game Director Ljubomir Peklar.

Scorn has been described as an “atmospheric first-person horror adventure.” Would you say that puts in the same vein as others in the genre like Dear Esther and Gone Home? Were those games, or others, inspirations behind the creation of Scorn?

Maybe a better description would be a “surreal nightmare adventure.” It’s hard to find direct references among video games, but it is like you are in a gallery observing a dark surrealist painting. Now, imagine yourself jumping straight into that painting making a live surrounding out of it. That’s basically what Scorn is.

Clearly the works of H.R. Giger (“Alien”) were inspired by the look of the game — and it looks incredible from everything we’ve seen. Did you collaborate with other artists related to his artform to bring the world of Scorn to life? What was the most challenging part of replicating that artform into the environment design?

Thank you very much. The biggest challenge was to create each asset in the game since every one of them is uniquely handcrafted. Most of the time you don’t use that method when creating video games. But Scorn, as you said, is a kind of replication of artform. The whole team of sculptors was engaged in a precise reconstruction of a truly horrible nightmare. Not a pleasant task at all.

When working with such muted colors, what is the trick to making key points of interest pop to the player?

Lighting. Sound. Music. Players should open their senses up and the game will mesmerize them and lead them to where they need to be. The lighting team really did a great job in enhancing the experience and giving guidance to poor souls stuck in the world of Scorn.

Aside from the H.R. Giger influence, are there other masters of body horror that the team is inspired by? Are there any fears from the development team that you brought to life in Scorn?

Mostly it is a fear of being a human. Let’s say Cronenberg’s “The Fly,” Lynch’s “Eraserhead,” or even Kafka’s “Metamorphosis.”

Beyond the visuals, which are incredibly striking, can you talk about the game’s audio design? What was it like to create sound for something that’s so… slimy? What were some objects you used as a reference point?

Our sound designers are a crazy bunch. The team did a lot of epic recording sessions which involved the destruction of all sorts of things. Vegetables, wood, bark, cardboard, chairs, pipes, meat, stones. You name it, they probably obliterated and recorded it.

Related to that, can you talk to us about the choice of music for the game? What went into the decision-making process to help find a soundtrack that hits on the mood of this world.

We were very lucky with that since Lustmord, a brilliant composer of dark ambient music, found out about the game and reached out to us. He knew Scorn was the perfect fit for his creation. And it just happened. Also, Aethek, another great composer, had similar feelings. Scorn lures people to itself, you can’t resist the inner urge.

What excites you the most about releasing your game on day one with Game Pass?

That fact itself is amazing! So many players with Game Pass on Xbox Series X|S and Windows will have the opportunity to play the game on day one. We couldn’t have imagined a better start than that. The whole team is super excited about that.

Thank you again, Miroslav, for taking the time to talk to us about this amazing game. Scorn is available now for Xbox Series X|S, Windows, as well as with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.

Scorn

Kepler Interactive

☆☆☆☆☆
498

★★★★★

$39.99

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Scorn is an atmospheric first-person horror adventure game set in a nightmarish universe of odd forms and somber tapestry.

It is designed around the idea of “being thrown into the world”. Isolated and lost inside this dream-like world, you will explore different interconnected regions in a non-linear fashion. The unsettling environment is a character itself.

Every location contains its own theme (story), puzzles and characters that are integral in creating a cohesive world. Throughout the game you will open up new areas, acquire different skill sets, weapons, various items and try to comprehend the sights presented to you.


GAMEPLAY FEATURES

Cohesive “lived-in” world
Scorn takes place in an open-ended world with different interconnected regions. Each region is a maze-like structure with various rooms and paths to discover. All the storytelling happens in-game, with no cut-scenes to distract you from the grisly reality of the living, breathing world you’re in. But keep your eyes open – the game won’t show you any sympathy if you miss something important on your uneasy travels.

Full body awareness
Players will experience better immersion being aware of the character’s body and movement. Interaction with the world is realistic – objects are picked up with your hands (instead of just floating in midair), machines and instruments are operated by grabbing the controls, etc.

Inventory and ammo management
Your loadout is defined and limited. This plays a big role in keeping the player in an even greater state of awareness throughout the whole game. Players will have to think about when to fight and when to take cover and how their actions affect the world around them. Different play styles will be needed to advance.

While Gotham Knights‘ campaign will only support single-player or two-player co-op, a new mode called Heroic Assault will launch for free on November 29, 2022, that will let up to four players team up in arena-based challenges.

WB Games Montréal announced the news on Twitter and on Gotham Knights’ FAQ page, saying, “Gotham has thrown down a new gauntlet. Heroic Assault, the free 4-player co-op experience, is coming to #GothamKnights November 29, 2022.”

“Heroic Assault is an upcoming gameplay mode that is separate from the main story campaign,” Gotham Knights’ FAQ reads. “The standalone mode supports up to four players in online co-op and provides a dedicated arena-like environment with specific objectives to complete and enemies to defeat on each floor (30 floors total).”

For those hoping this would also bring four-player co-op to the main story campaign, WB Games Montréal has not said it is planning to bring four-player co-op to anything beyond Heroic Assault. Things can always change, but it doesn’t look to be in the cards at the moment.

Hello everybody! I’m Hernan Lopez from Epic Llama Games and I’m happy to share the great news about the release of our new adventure game Unusual Findings with you and all fans of the 1980s! Looking back at all the work done, I would like to give you some insight into the game’s background.

Making Unusual Findings took a lot of effort. I mean a lot! The game script alone is humongous and it is full of scripted stuff and unique events. Yet it was so much fun to make it!

In case you have no idea what the plot of the game is all about, I will sum it up for you. It’s Christmas Eve in a calm little town, where three kids are desperately trying to watch a pay per view adult TV-channel using an illegal signal decoder. In a sudden turn of events, they had stumbled upon a killer alien from outer space. So, they had to catch him, obviously! Rest assured nothing will go according to anyone’s plan… things are going to get wild and stakes are going to soar!

You see the bulk of our team was born in the mid-1980s, so we grew up surrounded by that vibe. Although we were too young to “truly” experience the 80s since we barely lived in that time, we grew up consuming the 80s pop culture. When we were kids/teenagers, we were obsessed with the popular TV shows like Viaje a lo inesperado, Cine de trasnoche disco, El mundo del espectáculo. I’m sure you have no idea what I’m talking about here, as those were extremely local TV shows (We are from Cordoba, Argentina). For all that I’m also quite certain, that you grew up (if you are over 30 years old) watching pretty similar stuff. Those shows used to be like this: a host talks a bit about the movie that was about to come next, and then… the movie!  It could be a horror or it could be an action (depending on time of the day), but usually it was some movie of 80s. Sometimes they showed a big blockbuster like The Goonies or Aliens, but you could also see more obscure ones like: Krull, Batteries Not Included’ or Explorers.

In Unusual Findings we wanted the players to feel like they are in one of those movies. Even more than that! Immerse them into a quintessential 80s movie that has the best elements of the narrative of that decade in it. Let them explore, visit, re-visit, play around, talk with interesting characters, experiment with stuff and try to solve the mystery behind the Unusual Findings. So to achieve this we had to do a lot of homework. In addition to all the 80s pop culture that we have already consumed back then, we made ourselves watch at least one 80s movie or TV show episode per day during the GDD (game design document) and script development phase!

Unusual Findings is not all about the 80s though. Of course, one of the main themes here is nostalgia, and I am not talking only about nostalgia for 80s. For instance, one of our main characters, Vinny, is a huge fan of the 1940s and black and white movies of that era.

Other big themes of Unusual Findings arefriendship andfacing the unknown. That is exactly what constantly happens during the game in very different ways. I am not going to spoil that for you, anyway.

To emphasize the “facing the unknown” point we had to add some unusual findings, I mean features, to the usual point and click game loop. So instead of having just one main character walking around and investigating everything, we came up with a group of three friends… walking around and investigating everything! While the player is still in control of just one character, Vinny, Nick and Tony tag him along, share their opinions or help Vinny directly if they can. It plays way better, since now the main character is not “monologuing” around, but is rather having an organic talk with the rest of the team.

We wanted Vinny, Nick and Tony to be real teen friends supporting each other during their adventure. They are constantly making jokes and sometimes arguing with each other.

As the player chooses between different dialogue options, the trio reacts accordingly. It is not just a nice narrative feature, but also a game gimmick, since the player truly influences how the things unfold, and a lot of puzzles change in the process, sometimes in radical ways! To give you an idea, the last chapter is essentially three different chapters which don’t share a single location or item (all the puzzles and dialogues are unique). So, this feature boosts the replayability significantly, even though the game is quite long anyway.

Location-wise these three friends are going to visit some places iconic for horror movies (woods in the night, the lovers’ lane, a junkyard, a secret lab, sewers) and some places full of nostalgia like an amusement arcade, a VHS store or a treehouse.

Another feature we are extremely proud of is the game art. Not only of the pixel art with particles, smokes and modern enhancements, but also of the music! We are so extremely proud of the sound in the game: we were able to get the #1 hit You Spin Me Round (like a record) from Dead or Alive – the real kings of synth pop! You would not believe how much effort is needed for a small studio like ours to get them into the OST! Not to mention how much it means for us to have a real piece of the 80s in the game, but apart from that mind blowing fact, we also have music from some new retro wave stars like Robert Parker and Midnight Fighters. The cherry on top of all this is our original OST composed by LATAM Grammy nominee Tomas Ferrero!

Unusual Findings pays tribute to all those iconic movies we watched, to all those toys we played with, to all that wonderful synthesizer oozing music we still listen to and, on the whole, to that wonderful era that shaped us… I hope players will enjoy the game as much as we enjoyed making it for them!

Unusual Findings

ESDigital Games

☆☆☆☆☆
5

★★★★★

$19.99

It’s the 80s and the Christmas is coming, Vinny, Nick and Tony are young and their new cable signal descrambler just arrived. That same night while trying to decrypt a pay per view adult channel, they pick up the distress signal of an alien spaceship crash-landing in the woods near their town… Things only get weirder as they realize that the towering alien is killing very specific members of their community!

Explore the world oozing with nostalgia, check the Video Buster Store for clues, challenge other kids at the Laser Llamas Arcades, go learn a new trick at The Emerald Sword comic store, try to get along with the punk looking Lost Guys at their hideout or even dare to ask THE BULL, the quintessential 80s Action hero, for some help!

Follow the story that pays tribute to 80s classics like The Goonies, The Explorers, Monster Squad, The Lost Boys, They Live, Terminator, and Aliens among others and a gameplay that combines mechanics of Point and Click masterpieces like Full Throttle with its own unique twist and more.

Your decisions do matter, and the way you make these three friends interact with each other increasingly affects their friendship and the whole story, changing the way they solve the game puzzles, the locations they visit, the answers they find, the story, everything.

Uncover the truth hidden behind the alien invasion… well sort of. Why here? Why is it killing locals? How can the boys stop it? Will they tune in the adult channel after all? The answers to these and other questions… in Unusual Findings.

The entire Dyson Sphere Program team is so happy that Dyson Sphere Program is now available with PC Game Pass! Here’s the right new place to begin with – from cutting trees to mining, you can build a galaxy-wide industrial empire and create your own Dyson Sphere!

Seriously, What is a Dyson Sphere?

The game was inspired by an idea for a gigantic cosmic structure proposed by physicist Freeman Dyson in the 1960s: Imagine harnessing the immense energy of a star using a sphere that envelopes it, creating enough power to power entire civilizations. Even though the idea of Dyson Sphere is considered a hypothetical and impossible to materialize, a five-member indie game company, Youthcat Studio, has reimagined it for the virtual world.

Featuring elements of adventure, exploration, and factory automation, Dyson Sphere Program offers unique gameplay experiences for sci-fi, space, management enthusiasts and all other kinds of players.

OK, So Why Do We  Need a Dyson Sphere Here, in the Game?

If this is your first time to Dyson Sphere Program, let me introduce you what’s going on in the universe: in a distant future, the survival of an advanced human civilization will depend entirely on virtual computing, but the supercomputer responsible for their existence – the “CentreBrain” – is not able to handle the demands placed upon it due to a lack of electricity. You, as a space engineer, must control a light industrial Mecha named Icarus and build a Dyson Sphere to save the CentreBrain and the civilization that depends on it. Starting from humble beginnings, you will cut trees, mine, build small factories, lay down production lines, plan interstellar logistics, build an industrial empire that spans the galaxy, and finally, build your own Dyson sphere.

I’m an Experienced Player, What Can I Expect?

You can try out some new modes from our recent patch if you’re not new to the Dyson Sphere Program. As well as the classic factory automation management mode, we’ve also added a Minimal Resource Mode for an additional challenge and a Sandbox Mode so you can experience the later stages of the game quickly and freely. You can also take a step back and admire the galaxy lit up by global players in Milky Way and find your own twinkling light within the cosmos.

The Dyson Sphere Program‘s DIY systems are a must-see if you like creative works. One of them is the Dyson Sphere design system. You’ll see it when you get very close to the ultimate destination of the game. Unlike its namesake, your Dyson Sphere doesn’t have to just be a round sphere, you can build it in any shape you want:

Another DIY system available now is Mecha Customization. This system allows you to unleash your inner fashionista and customise your Mecha to your heart’s content, the only question is what colors and shapes are you feeling today?

What is to Be Expected in Future Updates?

As of now, Dyson Sphere Program is regularly updated with new features and changes, and we will continue to do so. But Dyson Sphere Program won’t stop there: The combat system is scheduled to launch in 2023, taking the game in a brand new direction compared to its current form. Players will face a hostile force with the ability to rapidly expand across the universe at frightening speeds: the Black Fog. Aside from maintaining the CentreBrain, players must also build defenses and arm the Icarus Mecha against enemy attacks. We are looking forward to the release of this update that our entire team is hard at work on.

There’s so much more to Dyson Sphere Program that awaits you, and we can’t wait to see you join our team of Dyson Sphere engineers! For more advice or to meet likeminded players, feel free to join our Discord community and start exploring the universe.

Dyson Sphere Program (Game Preview)

Gamera Game

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

This game is a work in progress. It may or may not change over time or release as a final product. Purchase only if you are comfortable with the current state of the unfinished game.

Dyson Sphere Program is a sci-fi simulation game with space, adventure, exploration and factory automation elements where you can build your own galactic industrial empire from scratch.

In the distant future, the power of science and technology has ushered a new age to the human race. Space and time have become irrelevant thanks to virtual reality. A new kind of supercomputer has been developed – a machine whose superior artificial intelligence and computing capability will push humanity even further. There is only one problem: there isn’t enough energy in the whole planet to feed this machine.

You are a space engineer in charge of a project launched by the space alliance COSMO, tasked with a massive undertaking: constructing Dyson Spheres (a megastructure that would orbit around a star, harnessing all its power and energy) to produce the energy that humanity needs. Only a few decades ago, Dyson Spheres were considered a hypothetical, impossible invention – but now it’s in your hands… Will you be able to turn a backwater space workshop into a galaxy-wide industrial production empire?

Full details on the latest status of the game, how you can give feedback and report issues can be found at https://twitter.com/DysonProgram