A Broadway actress who played the role of Young Nala in “The Lion King” a decade ago has been murdered, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Imani Smith, 26, was discovered with multiple stab wounds inside her Edison, New Jersey home on Dec. 21.
She was rushed to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Smith was one of two actresses playing the role of Young Nala on Broadway between 2011 and 2012. Those who worked with her said she had a great voice and brought tremendous energy to the character.
Online tributes to Smith have been appearing, including one on Playbill.com.
Jordan Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison, is facing several charges, including first degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon. Edison Police said the two knew each other and “it was not a random act of violence.” His initial court appearance was postponed, Smith’s family members said.
Smith’s parents tell CBS News New York Jackson-Small is the father of their daughter’s 3-year-old child.
“Nobody deserves to lose their life in that way, no matter who you are. Especially someone who is so young, has so much promise and has a beautiful little boy. She called, she calls him ‘Bub.’ Amazing parents. And she is unfortunately the second Young Nala we’ve lost, both under very different circumstances,” Jessica Arnold, a child guardian at “The Lion King,” said.
Smith’s mother also worked on “The Lion King” in the hair and wig department, as well as on other Broadway and television shows.
Elder millennials, our favorite childhood Disney movie based on a 17th-century Shakespeare play but with lions turns 30 years old this year.
And what better way to celebrate The Lion King than with a little treat at Disney World? Starting June 10, Disney’s Animal Kingdom park will have new sweets and drinks inspired by the 1994 film’s 30th anniversary.
Eight Spoon Cafe
The Simba: Mango-flavored slushy with grenadine and gummy candies.
Isle of Java
Timon’s Luau: Layers of vanilla chiffon cake, passion fruit curd, guava jam, vanilla chantilly cream, mint and edible tropical flower.
Tiffins Restaurant
Rafiki’s Squash Banana shake: Blended with squashed bananas, baobab fruit, vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom.
“Remember Who You Are” The Lion King 30th Anniversary Dessert: Kenyan coffee mousse filled with caramelized bananas, chai chantilly, banana-caramel sauce, chocolate-coffee crumble, chocolate decoration and a sugar sun.
Tamu Tamu Refreshments
Zazu Ice Cream Sandwich: Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two blue cake-coated sugar cookies with a Zazu chocolate medallion on top.
Harambe Market
You Follow Old Rafiki Cheesecake: Passion fruit-mango cheesecake with a coconut-lime crust, vanilla bean chantilly and a chocolate medallion featuring a meditating Rafiki.
Restaurantosaurus
Shenzi Strawberry Lemonade: Minute Maid Lemonade and Strawberry Smoothie with blue curaçao syrup with a souvenir glow cube.
Rightful Ruler Cupcake: Scar-themed red velvet cake with cookies and cream cheesecake filling, chocolate icing and topped with a chocolate medallion on chocolate rocks. Also available at Pizzafari.
Trilo-bites
Zazu Dole Whip Lime and Coconut Float: Dole Whip Lime swirled with Sprite, coconut and blue curaçao syrup, topped with a white chocolate medallion.
Outdoor food carts throughout the park
Simba Paw Cookie: Paw-shaped and paw-sized sugar cookie.
These items are available at Animal Kingdom through Sept. 9. With The Lion King officially marking 30 years on June 24, more anniversary merchandise and experiences will likely come throughout the summer.
The prolific Nathan Lane will receive Signature Theatre’s Sondheim Award at The Anthem on Monday, April 29.
WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews Nathan Lane’s Sondheim Award at The Anthem (Part 1)
He’s dazzled us on stage and screen from “The Lion King” to “The Birdcage” to “The Producers.”
Nathan Lane will receive Signature Theatre’s Sondheim Award at The Anthem on May 29. (Courtesy Signature Theatre)
Nathan Lane will receive Signature Theatre’s Sondheim Award at The Anthem on May 29. (Courtesy Signature Theatre)
The prolific Nathan Lane will receive Signature Theatre’s Sondheim Award at The Anthem on Monday, April 29.
“You start to feel really old, you start to think this was the kind of thing they gave Angela Lansbury,” Lane told WTOP. “[Stephen Sondheim] was a hero to me and I was very lucky over the years to work with him many, many times, so it has a real significance on a personal level too, just to be getting this. Somewhere Steve is laughing, but yeah, it’s a lovely honor and I’m happy to be coming to Washington.”
Lane won his first Tony Award for the 1996 revival of Sondheim’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” They teamed up again on Sondheim’s 2004 adaptation of “The Frogs,” in which Lane starred and revised the book.
“He was drawn to really interesting and surprising subjects,” Lane said. “He’s sort of known for being brainy, an intellectual and sophisticated, but I think he writes about what people are going through: the longing and the loneliness. He writes about the human condition. … His musicianship, his lyric writing was extraordinary and has made him the person who has truly changed the face of musical theater.”
Lane will enjoy tributes from past co-stars, including Faith Prince, who won a Tony across Lane in the Broadway revival of “Guys & Dolls” (1992); Krysta Rodriguez, who starred with Lane in Broadway’s “The Addams Family” (2010); James Caverly, who played his son in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” which won Lane an Emmy; and Susan Stroman, who directed Lane to his second Tony win for Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” (2001) on Broadway.
“‘The Producers’ was just that once in a lifetime phenomenon,” Lane said. “It was a zeitgeist hit. For some reason that’s what the audience really wanted. It was a throwback to old-fashioned musical comedy with an emphasis on comedy. … Whenever we did it, people just went crazy.”
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of “The Lion King” (1994), in which Lane sang “Hakuna Matata” as the meerkat Timon to Ernie Sabella’s warthog Pumbaa.
“In May, we’re doing this Elton John and Hans Zimmer ‘Lion King’ 30th anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl, so Ernie and I will be singing ‘Hakuna Matata,’” he said.
WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews Nathan Lane’s Sondheim Award at The Anthem (Part 2)
Hear our full conversation on the podcast below:
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The 30th anniversary of the original animated film version of “The Lion King” will be celebrated at the Hollywood Bowl next month with a live-to-film concert/screening that will include cast members from both the movie and theatrical versions — and beyond — including Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Billy Eichner, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver and Bradley GIbson.
The shows will take place at the Bowl May 24-25 and be produced by Disney Concerts, Fulwell 73 Productions, AMP Worldwide and Live Nation-Hewitt Silva.
The general on-sale begins Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster, with an American Express cardholder presale starting Tuesday at 10 a.m.
“Disney’s The Lion King 30th Anniversary – A Live-to-Film Concert Event” will feature a full orchestra performing the Oscar-winning score composed by Hans Zimmer for the 1994 classic, conducted by Sarah Hicks. But the long tail that film has cast will be part of the celebration as well. The cast members who’ll sing the musical numbers written for the film by Elton John and Tim Rice will be drawn from the realm of the hit Broadway adaptation that kicked off in 1998 and the 2019 movie remake, as well as the initial film.
Coming to the stage from the 1994 version will be Irons (who originated the sinister role of Scar), Lane (who played the comical Timon), Ernie Sabella (the first Pumbaa) and Jason Weaver (who played Young Simba). Gibson will represent the Broadway incarnation (he played Simba on stage), and Eichner will bring memories of the 2019 remake (he voiced Timon on screen).
Hudson has not previously been associated with the various incarnations of “The Lion King,.” But even though any voice cast will be mostly male, the opening number calls for a strong female voice, so it’s not difficult to begin the guessing game of where she might fit in.
It’s especially easy to make some educated guesses about what she’ll do knowing that Hudson sang “The Circle of Life” when she came to fame competing on “American Idol” during season 3.
Additional celebrity performers will be announced, reps for the concerts said. Other performers will be drawn from current versions of the stage production, on top of a full choir. Costumes, set design and puppetry will also be borrowed from the Broadway/touring version.
The event precedes the release set for this coming Dec. 20 of a prequel from Walt Disney Studios, “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which like the 2019 version is being described as “live-action” (which, in this case, means a particularly photorealistic brand of animation — not actual singing lions). Eichner is reprising his role as Timon from the five-year-old remake in the forthcoming prequel; Barry Jenkins is directing. The trailer was described as going over well last week at CinemaCon.
Disney and Fulwell 73 previously teamed for “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium,” a livestreamed concert on Disney+ that went on to win an Emmy, and “Disney’s Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl,” a 2022 concert at the venue that was also turned into a Disney+ special. It would seem likely similar plans might be in the offing for May’s “Lion King” anniversary concerts, although no filming intentions have been announced.
MINNEAPOLIS — An incredible blend of acting, artwork and engineering is bringing the stage to life at a Minneapolis theater.
Disney’s “The Lion King” is amid a five-week stint at the Orpheum Theatre. The story is iconic, but the performance has become legendary. WCCO got an exclusive backstage look to see how the magic happens.
For more than 25 years, “The Lion King” has set a standard for pushing the limits of the audience’s imagination as actors and their puppets turn into life-like characters made famous from the film.
It’s a visual spectacle that Michael Reilly proudly helps orchestrate as the show’s puppet supervisor for more than two decades.
In the basement of the Orpheum, he gave us a tour of his workspace. Several puppets, many of them masks and headpieces, were displayed. Simba’s mask was done in a Roman style he said, with the jowl cut out where it meets the actor’s head, and took 120 hours to make. Mufasa’s mask is much larger and sits fully stop the actor’s head in a Grecian style. It took 50 hours to make. Both have markings and designs inspired by the Maasai people of Africa.
“I put so much work and love and patience into the puppets, they feel like they’re real,” said Reilly.
The captivated audience would agree. The actors must juggle lines and animal-like movements, then project them through their puppets.
“You don’t want to treat the puppet-like it’s a hat. So, even if it’s just a mask you’re wearing on your head, you really have to embody that,” said Reilly.
There’s a team of six people that not only create the puppets but work with the actors on how to embody them. A dance supervisor helps teach the movements for each puppet, some of which completely drape the actors like a costume. Other directors ensure the actors know where to stand on stage and how to make their puppet properly interact with other puppets, like making eye contact.
The movements of the puppet worn by Scar have kept fans guessing as to how it works. The mask starts above the actor’s head, then lunges down in front of his face for dramatic effect, hiding the actor and allowing the villainous lion’s face to steal the scene.
“I hear bungee system. I hear gravity. I hear some kind of lock that releases, but it’s none of those things,” said Reilly. The mask is controlled by a motor. A cable runs to a switch that the actor can hide in his hand. A quick flip of his thumb across the switch and the mask darts down to scowl at other characters on stage.
If you’re thinking their necks must be sore, the masks and headpieces are made of carbon fiber. Scar’s mask weighs only nine ounces.
While some puppets need a motor, others require good old-fashioned handiwork, like Mufasa’s ornery sidekick Zazu, a red-billed hornbill. The actor must control the bird with both hands. One hand holds a trigger mechanism that controls Zazu’s eyelids and beak, the other hand keeps the bird level and flaps the wings.
There’s 230 puppets in the show, all with intricate and highly detailed designs that take dozens of hours to create.
They also aren’t immune from the occasional snap, break, and tear. That means Reilly and his crew must be repair-ready with glue, zip ties and tape. That’s on top of drawers upon drawers on tools.
“We’re on radio, so anything that happens we run to where the puppet is and figure out what’s wrong with it, do that triage and then fix it, all before that next scene. So, there’s some pressure there,” he said.
The payoff is worth the pressure to ensure the show must go on.
The puppets’ organic look, made to appear like wood and marble, while honoring African cultures are one of a kind. Much like the experience on stage wowing audiences for years to come.
“I just hope that we stand the test of time. I hope that this show is as magnificent as it was (over) 25 years ago when it was here,” he said.
The Lion King’s run at the Orpheum goes until April 28.
There are shows Tuesday through Sunday with two performances on each weekend day.
Tickets start around $39 dollars. To buy tickets, click here.
Jeff Wagner joined the WCCO-TV team in November 2016 as a general assignment reporter, and now anchors WCCO’s Saturday evening newscasts. Although he’s new to Minnesota, he’s called the Midwest home his entire life.
Music in the background of a movie is often crucial to how we experience the film. In some cases, it can become as memorable as the movie itself. Think of the screaming violins in “Psycho” or that haunting tuba in “Jaws” – the latter written by John Williams – who for more than a generation was Hollywood’s leading composer.
But over the years as directors and studios began to look for edgier scores, they have – as we first reported in January — increasingly turned to a German-born composer named Hans Zimmer. If you’ve been to the movies in the past 40 years, you have heard a Hans Zimmer score.
Action, drama, comedy, romance, blockbusters – he’s done them all.
Including the 1994 film, “The Lion King,” for which he won an Oscar. With its opening Zulu chant, sung by Lebo M., a South African musician who was working at a car wash in Los Angeles when Hans enlisted him.
Hans Zimmer: That’s how that opening song came about, literally. Microphone in the room, not in a booth or anything like this.
Hans told the executives at Disney that he wanted to say right off the bat this is not a typical Disney movie; it’s a father-son story that takes place in Africa.
Hans Zimmer: And they said, “Exactly. That’s good. Do– do what– do what you do.”
He showed us what he does at his studio in Los Angeles, where he composes his scores on this keyboard and computer. For example, the music for the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.
Hans Zimmer: So, if you have “Pirates,” which is basically this sort of a thing, there’s a jauntiness, right–
Lesley Stahl: Yeah.
Hans Zimmer: And it’s– The music is really big. And he’s in a little rowboat with a little sail, and you hear this huge orchestra. Because that’s the music he hears in the– in his head, because he’s the greatest pirate that has ever lived in his imagination. So when you listen to the Joker [from “The Dark Knight”], he’s quite the opposite. It’s like, you know, a bow on a bow and arrow. And you stretch it.
Lesley Stahl: Ooh. Oh my god.
Hans Zimmer: And it’s– it’s not pretty.
Hans Zimmer
Lesley Stahl: It’s very emotional inducing. I can’t even express why. I wouldn’t know– be able to put words to it. But—
Hans Zimmer: That’s the idea. At my best, words will fail you because I’m using my own language.
Since the 1980s, Hans Zimmer’s language in his scores, like last year’s biggest hit, “Top Gun: Maverick,” has defined not just the characters but has helped tell the stories of chest-thumping action films and sci-fi epics. Like “Dune,” which he won an Oscar for in 2022, in which he used juddering drums and electronic synthesizers.
Lesley Stahl: So you’ve been called a maverick. You’ve been called a visionary. How would you describe yourself?
Hans Zimmer: I would describe myself as somebody who’s deeply in love with music, and deeply in love with movies, and playful. I love to play, like, as any musician does, as in any language. It says, you know, you play music.
His choices have been unpredictable. For every “Man of Steel,” there’s a “Kung Fu Panda” and a “Sherlock Holmes,” in which he used a broken piano and banjos for the 19th-century detective turned quirky action hero.
Lesley Stahl: How important is the instrument to getting what you want?
Hans Zimmer: Vastly important. I mean, because instruments come with baggage. You know, for instance, the definition of a gentleman is somebody who knows how to play the banjo but refrains from doing so.
Lesley Stahl: Whoa. (LAUGH)
Hans Zimmer: Why that banjo worked, right? Because it was funny.
He has used banjos, bagpipes, buzzing electronics. And this, a good old-fashioned orchestra.
Think about the composer of “The Dark Knight” writing something this delicate.
Hans Zimmer: Really good. Can we just have one more to, you know, protect the innocent?
He invited us to watch him record the score of a new movie in a London studio last summer. It’s about a young girl coming of age based on a Judy Blume book, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” that was released in theaters this spring.
Hans Zimmer: Like the sound?
Jim Brooks: Mmm-hmm.
Academy Award-winning director Jim Brooks is a producer of this movie. This is the eighth film they’ve worked on together.
Jim Brooks
What’s unique about Hans, says Brooks and other directors, is how deeply involved he gets in more than just writing the music. His process typically begins with a conversation with the director long before a single frame of the movie is shot.
Jim Brooks: You talk about what the movie’s about. The story of it. What the scene’s about. You don’t turn to a composer for that.
Lesley Stahl: So he becomes almost a partner in the–
Jim Brooks: Absolutely–
Lesley Stahl: –writing and the directing–
Jim Brooks: Yeah, yeah, yeah–
Lesley Stahl: –every phase?
Jim Brooks: Yeah, yeah.
On “Gladiator,” he partnered with director Ridley Scott. He says he told him that he thought this movie should be about more than just a man in a skirt going into battle.
Hans Zimmer: And I felt right at the beginning we needed to set up the possibility that in this movie we could have poetry.
Lesley Stahl: Can we listen just to a bit–
Hans Zimmer: I mean–
Lesley Stahl: –of the music that you wrote for the–
Hans Zimmer: It starts off just with this note.
Lesley Stahl: And you see the hand.
Hans Zimmer: And you see the hand. And you’re already in a different world.
Lesley Stahl: And there’s— no one is talking–
Hans Zimmer: You left the 20th century. You don’t expect the tenderness.
Lesley Stahl: I mean, you are setting a mood.
Hans Zimmer: It’s a cry. It’s a cry.
Lebo M. jams with Pedro Eustache and Zimmer
His love of music, his obsession, grew out of his childhood in West Germany. While other kids liked to play games, he liked to play the piano.
Lesley Stahl: So did you take piano lessons?
Hans Zimmer: Absolutely. It was two weeks of absolute torture.
Lesley Stahl: Two weeks?
Hans Zimmer: Well, yeah, because he then went to my mother and said, “It’s either him or me.” And, luckily, my mother made the right choice. She kept me, you know? (LAUGHTER) No, no–
Lesley Stahl: No, no. Tell me about piano lessons–
Hans Zimmer: I drove– I drove him crazy. You know, I’m six years old. So my idea was a piano teacher is somebody who teaches you how to– the stuff that’s going on in your head, how to get that into your fingers. That’s not what they do. They make you do scales. They make you play other people’s music. And I didn’t wanna do other people’s music.
Lesley Stahl: Right from the beginning.
Hans Zimmer: Right from the beginning. But I promise you, I know my Beethoven and my Brahms inside out.
He learned about them from his mother, a classically-trained pianist.
Hans Zimmer: And there is the other side, which was my dad who was an extraordinarily appalling jazz clarinetist, but with great enthusiasm. In the middle of his work day, he’d get out the clarinet. I’d be banging around on– and– and we’d be jamming, you know? So that’s where I got the joy.
Instead of college, he became a rock-n-roller, performing with the Buggles.
Zimmer in the Buggles’ music video for “Video Killed the Radio Star”
He was the young guy in the black jacket on the synthesizer. They made pop history in 1981 with the first music video to air on MTV, “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
He began composing scores for low-budget films. One of which in 1988 caught the attention of the Hollywood director Barry Levinson, who showed up one night out of the blue at what was then Hans’ London studio.
Hans Zimmer:And so he said, “Would I mind coming to Los Angeles and maybe doing his movie?” So, off I went to Los Angeles. And I got nominated for an Oscar.
Lesley Stahl: First movie, really.
Hans Zimmer: First movie. I didn’t win, but it didn’t matter because everybody wanted to meet me.
That film was no less than “Rain Man,” which led to “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Thelma & Louise,” “Black Rain,” and more than 140 other films that began to push the sound of movie music into a new direction.
Hans Zimmer: I love the idea that electronics let you shape sounds in a way that go beyond the way an orchestra can.
He became a pioneer in fusing electronics with orchestral music, using his secret weapon: a digital library that he built himself, with original computer code. He painstakingly recorded each instrument in a real orchestra, note by note, using world-class musicians and the finest instruments, and loading it all into his computer.
Lesley Stahl: Take a violin. And you have the violin play middle C. And then you have that instrument play middle C loud, soft, and all different–
Hans Zimmer: Oh, yeah. Look, look. It can play pizzicato. It can play short, you know.
Lesley Stahl: So, you’re not making it piccato. They played it that way.
Hans Zimmer: They played it that way.
Lesley Stahl: And you’re bringing that up? Whoa. That must’ve taken months. Years?
Hans Zimmer: No, it’s actually taken years.
And millions of dollars. He doesn’t write out his compositions on paper, his computer does it for him, and it helps create the “unconventional sounds” you find in his scores.
Lesley Stahl: Scraping metal.
Hans Zimmer: Yeah.
Lesley Stahl: And electronic thuds. Music?
Hans Zimmer: It can be. Everything can be made to be a musical instrument in one way or the other.
Pedro Eustache
He often collaborates with Pedro Eustache, a world-class flautist, who has built contraptions that produce unusual sounds that Hans thinks up for his movies.
Pedro Eustache: This is an ostrich egg, okay?
Lesley Stahl: That’s an ostrich egg! You put the holes in.
Pedro Eustache: Yeah, and I put all that there. And, it’s a musical instrument.
Lesley Stahl: So you made–
Pedro Eustache: Yeah.
Lesley Stahl: –an ocarina out of an ostrich—
Hans Zimmer: Lemme explain.
Lesley Stahl: Yes, please.
Hans Zimmer: When he’s not stealing eggs at the zoo, (LAUGH) he is a very good customer of Home Depot. And– (LAUGH) and– (CLAPPING) and so many of his instruments made out of PVC piping.
Pedro actually used PVC piping to come up with the 21-foot-long horn that Hans wanted for “Dune.”
He’s currently working on “Dune: Part Two.”
And now he goes on tour with a 38-piece orchestra and band to perform his movie scores.
Lesley Stahl: How have you changed? You’ve been working at this for 40 years.
Hans Zimmer: I tell you what. So, when you start out, you have all that stuff that you’ve never done before. Every movie had every idea, every device, every chord change, every– whatever in it. Now, I think it’s more of figuring it out what to do new. But it becomes harder and harder, because I’ve used up so much ammunition in the past.
He told us that after more than 150 films, he lives in constant fear of the day his phone will stop ringing.
Lesley Stahl: Even after 150? Do you think you’re motivated by that fear–
Hans Zimmer: But it’s only 150, do you know what I mean? (LAUGH) It’s like, what if 151 is a complete disaster? (LAUGH)
Lesley Stahl: Oh, wow–
Hans Zimmer: You know, I’m still alive. You know, I’m 65 years old now and people are going, “Are you gonna retire? You gonna go and put your feet up?” And I’m going, “No, I’m full of ideas. I’m just getting started.”
Lesley Stahl: Do you really think that?
Hans Zimmer: I really think that.
Editor’s Note: Due to a labeling error by the media company that provided us with the photograph, 60 Minutes regrets that the image of film director Barry Levinson used in last week’s report, “A Hans Zimmer Score,” was, in fact, not a photograph of Mr. Levinson. The story has been updated to correct the error.
Produced by Richard Bonin. Associate producer, Mirella Brussani. Broadcast associate, Wren Woodson. Edited by Richard Buddenhagen.
As the rest of Team Kotaku are off chasing turkeys through their local Macy’s (I’ve done more research about what a Thanksgiving is this year), once more I have the keys to the site, have locked everyone out, and then immediately lost those keys. While I’m stuck here, I figure I should tell you about some awesome-looking indie games that are coming soon.
Look, it could be worse. I was trying to work out some sort of feedline for the phrase, “May Seize Day Per Raid.” [Ghost of Ari sweeps through Kotaku HQ’s dusty halls] A better use of all our time would be if I let you know about a whole bunch of ace-looking indie games that you’d be in danger of not hearing about otherwise. Let’s get them on wishlists, push up their YouTube views, and then tell all the other kids about them at recess.
As always, I am not personally vouching for these games. These are randomly selected from a vast pile of emails that I’ve received following a clarion call, and unless I say so, I haven’t played them. It’s all about grabbing the opportunity to use this huge platform to highlight the sorts of games the gaming media usually ignores. So let’s get going!
Microtale
Heart Of Muriet
See, this is what it’s all about. House Of Muriet is a voxel-based RTS, which entirely eschews micromanagement in favor of strategic play. It’s about wizards, building settlements, researching magical abilities, and making stuff explode. Also, OMG, watch that trailer. Normally when I read “voxel” I worry, but not this time. It looks like someone made a stop-motion film in Minecraft, and the result is absolutely spellbinding.
A Cold War-era spy sim, that lets you pick a nation’s intelligence agency, and then play as them from 1946 to 2020, across a world map. The video above is an absolutely incredible example of how to present a game that’s otherwise primarily a picture of a map, making it look thrilling. With 74 playable countries, and the claim that it’ll let you rewrite history Paradox-style, this is enormously ambitious.
Released last month, I’m most annoyed with myself for still not having made time for Harmony’s Odyssey. Just based on colorfulness alone, it qualifies for anyone’s attention. It’s a gorgeous-looking action-adventure, packed with puzzles where you rearrange reality in a series of dioramas. I’m so glad MythicOwl emailed, because it’s the reminder I needed to finally get on and play this.
No, you can’t move for “roguelike deckbuilders” right now, so it’s something that Jupiter Moons caught my eye, and for a second time! We’ll be a mecha pilot, fighting off pirates and bandits from the moon colonies of Jupiter, but because it’s now, we’re using cards to do it. This is a case of the trailer really selling it within a crowded market, that combination of intricate build-outs for your mecha, and then the fast pace of action, despite being done by flinging cards around the screen. Also, I really like the look of the art. And it was already wishlisted.
You can immediately see why Wholesome Games recently got excited about Gourdlets. It’s a city-building sandbox, except, it really means it. So many city-building games that say “sandbox” just mean, “you can put the buildings where you want, while ticking off this list of objectives.” Not this: there are apparently no goals, no objectives, just the pleasure of building a cute little city, and then watching the gourdlet vege-people move in, and interact with what you’ve created. Which sounds just so very lovely.
I will be honest: When I read Luis G. Bento’s blurb for the apparently yelled CORPUS EDAX (which I think is Latin for Body Eater…), claiming he was making an immersive sim in the vein of Deus Ex and Fallout, my out loud response was, “No you’re not.” Because a person can’t do that. And then I watched the trailer, and…blimey. He might be. Now, that footage above is described as “pre-pre-alpha,” and it’s not just you, it has no sound, but come on! It looks impressive, right? Also, you’ll note there are no guns in this “retro-futuristic” (no) RPG, where instead you fight only using objects you find lying around. Like in real life.
If you’re of a certain age (it’s called: Old) you’ll remember the heyday of 2D Disney platformers. There was Aladdin, The Lion King, and er that’s it. But both were adored, combining a half-decent platform game with Disney’s animation style. That’s what developer Valhalla Cats aims to do with Stars In The Trash. You can see in the footage that it looks lovely, if more ‘80s Euro-animation than Disney. I really don’t like that title, but the game itself looks like it could be lovely.
Developer Spritewrench has two projects on the go, the first for next year being the brilliantly named On the Peril of Parrots. It looks to be an intriguing puzzle game, where the trailer’s familiar-looking puzzle type then rather surprised me with the menu option to “Destroy all humans.” But grabbing me further is 2024’s Duppy Detective Tashia, a Caribbean-set detective game in which you’re helping the titular Tashia to find her stolen phone and, well, shadow. It’s based the region’s folklore, where “duppy” is a form of ghost, sometimes a malevolent spirit, and the basis for many an excellent tale.
Another bellowed game name, although this time a word that requires it. This is a tower defence (remember them?) with FPS elements! Goodness me, there was a time in the last decade where I wrote, “a tower defence with XXX elements” so many times, but it was never “FPS.” The trailer is bloody brilliant, and makes the whole thing look spectacularly bonkers, even if I’m most confused about how the genres overlap. We’ll find out in a couple of months!
You could argue I randomly picked this game because it’s called Chicken Journey, and on most other days you’d be right. But after watching the footage, I discovered a pixel platformer that reminded me of when I was a boy, and sprites clung to vines properly. The whole thing looks adorable, with a bunch of puzzle solving and amiable chatting, and really looks like a thing I wish I were playing right now.
