Manor Lords brings its in-depth medieval city-building to early access in just two days, so publisher Hooded Horse took the time to explain why it hasn’t announced pricing information yet.
While many players would’ve expected to see some sort of update by now, it’s still not clear how much Manor Lords will actually cost to purchase. Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender explained why fans have been left waiting in a Reddit post. He explains that the issue is a matter of managing expectations.
“Manor Lords, like all other games on Steam, will not have one price,” he says. “It will have regional prices that distribute across the world. These aren’t just different currencies — there are large regions of the world where Steam uses US Dollar pricing but in a different way.”
He continues: “For example, parts of Southeast Asia, many CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) regions, Turkey, many Middle Eastern countries, Argentina, many South American countries…all have prices in US Dollars but different from that of the US in order to provide some help for local customers be able to afford the game given the prices and wages in their country (though inflation is making that more and more difficult when local currency cannot be used).”
Hooded Horse says these examples are why it wants to stray from announcing price before launch arrives. If the US price were to be announced before Manor Lords launches, players in other territories may fear that they won’t be able to afford it. The company worries that too many potential buyers would “lose hope and feel the game won’t be affordable in their country” even if it was to attach disclaimers to a price announcement.
However, this is only one of a few major concerns Hooded Horse has tied to pre-release price announcements. Bender also references the company’s fear of scammers that may try to take advantage of excited fans who want to pre-order Manor Lords.
“They don’t have any keys, and they aren’t going to be getting any from us,” he says. “But they are attempting to capitalize on the hype, and, despite our stance that we are NOT doing pre-orders because we don’t want to take your money until after release, they are claiming to take pre-orders for key sales. They have no idea what the price will be, so they are taking their wild guesses and probably figuring they can get a key through some questionable means later (or just leave the customer not getting what they paid for if not perhaps). We don’t want players to get scammed or cheated by such sites, and giving them a definite price to plan around would probably just increase their proliferation and marketing of these ‘pre-orders’.”
Hooded Horse doesn’t want Manor Lords players worried about what the price will be, as the post explains that it has “never done AAA pricing on a game” and has no plans to start. Furthermore, Bender reminds that, in the past, it has offered launch discounts that range from 10-25% for the first few weeks.
“We’re not trying to squeeze every last dollar out of people, we won’t be putting up 5 editions with a spreadsheet needed to understand them or locking up content into Day 1 DLC or any of that crap,” Bender adds. “There’s going to be a fair price there at launch with a fair discount.”
Manor Lords is Slavic Magic’s highly-anticipated medieval city management game. Despite what many had started to believe, it’s not an RPG or a Total War competitor but instead a grounded city-building strategy experience that aims to give fans an immersive world to play in. We reviewed the early access build and gave it a 7/10, saying, “Manor Lords is a gorgeous medieval city-builder that kept me occupied for hours building my perfect, cozy hamlets, but it definitely feels very early in its Early Access development.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
Amazon is offering an excellent deal on this Arzopa 15″ 1080p USB Type-C portable monitor. It’s normally $129.99, but Amazon Prime members can get it right now for $60.79 shipped after a 20% off clippable coupon. That’s the best price we’ve ever seen for this particular model, and the lowest price compared to other legit 15″ USB Type-C monitors on Amazon. This is a great portable display for your Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, or ASUS ROG Ally gaming handheld.
Note: You will need to be logged into your Amazon Prime account to see these prices.
Arzopa S1 15″ 1080p USB-C Portable Monitor for $60.79
Amazon Prime member exclusive
This 15″ 1080p monitor works as a secondary display for your laptop, tablet, phone, gaming console, or pretty much any device that has either a USB or HDMI output. If your device has a USB Type-C output with Power Delivery, than you may only need a single USB Type-C cable (included) for both power and data. If your USB Type-C output doesn’t support Power Delivery, then a USB Type-A to Type-C cable is also included for additional power. If your don’t have a USB Type-C port at all, an HDMI cable is included, however you will need to supply your own USB wall charger to provide power to the display.
The monitor is designed to be portable. It weighs only 1.3 pounds and measures 0.3″ thin. It sports a sturdy metal frame and even includes a smart cover that doubles as a stand. The 15″ display boasts a 1920×1080 resolution with 60Hz refresh rate, an IPS panel that offers respectable viewing angles and color gamut, and an anti-glare matte surface. It even has built in speakers.
Because this monitor can connect via USB or HDMI, it supports a lot more devices than your typical monitor. You won’t need to install any app or drivers, either. It’s definitely worth the price if you want an inexpensive second screen to boost your productivity without weighing you down.
Upgrade to the Arzopa Z1FC 16″ 144Hz Monitor for $99.99
Amazon Prime member exclusive
The higher end Arzopa Z1FC is also on sale at Amazon. It’s normally $169.99 but a $50 clippable coupon drops the price to only $119.992. The Z1FC’s upgrades include a larger display (16.1″ vs 15.6″), a higher refresh rate (144Hz vs 60Hz), and a 100% sRGB color gamut. The larger display and better color reproduction makes it a nice upgrade for Switch and Steam Deck gamers, however because the Z1 uses a bit more power than the S1, you’ll need to keep the Z1 plugged into a wall charger since neither gaming system can power the monitor by itself. This monitor is a perfect complement for PC and laptop gamers who will be able to take advantage of the 144Hz refresh rate. I have this monitor and can confirm that the image quality is great. It’s also extremely thin and lightweight, with a nice solid metal chassis. The little flip out stand works well and retracts out of the way when not in use.
An Excellent Portable Monitor for Your Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck Gaming Console
This monitor works quite well with both the Steam Deck or Switch consoles. I’d recommend using the wall charger to power the monitor, otherwise you’ll be draining the gaming system pretty quickly (you can use the one provided with your Steam Deck or Switch console). The 1080p and 60Hz specs on the monitor is more than good enough, since neither the Switch nor the Steam Deck supports refresh rates higher than 60Hz. If you’re looking for other USB monitor options, check out our picks for the best portable monitors of 2024.
Looking for more deals of Switch and Steam Deck accessories?
Many games can get away with slightly sketchy performance if the gameplay experience is a bit more laidback and relaxed (or ‘cinematic’, if you like). Others, however, like Slave Zero X, which focus on blistering combat and stylish visuals, can be almost impossible to recommend if their performance isn’t up to scratch. Sadly, this is exactly the case with publisher Ziggurat Interactive’s retro action game, which honestly has the potential to be one of the most respectable hack ‘n’ slash/beat ‘em ups in recent memory, but for now, squanders this on Switch with a dreadful frame rate.
This is genuinely frustrating because the core gameplay is exceptional – truly. And for a short period as we worked our way through the game’s opening level, we thought to ourselves, “Good lord, this is great!” Unfortunately, while the introductory level boasts reasonably stable performance to complement the non-stop action, the frame rate tanks after you beat the first boss and move onto the second stage. It got so bad that we had to swallow our pride and eventually call it quits before the end, defeated by the poor optimisation on Nintendo’s console. The publisher says there’s a patch on the way which should alleviate this, but the game came out nearly two weeks ago at the time of writing, and the damage is done.
Gran Turismo players! Now more than ever, technology is developing in ways that creates endless possibilities. This month’s GT updates features a glimpse of what the future would hold through two vehicles, the coveted ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo and AFEELA Prototype 2024 .
Update 1.46* for Gran Turismo 7 will be available as of Wednesday, April 24 at 11:00pm PST / April 25 at 7:00am BST / 3:00pm JST.
Three new cars added this month
ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo
A single-seater all-wheel drive EV from the distinguished Czech manufacturer.
Drawing on the rich heritage of Škoda Motorsport, the Škoda Design Team has created a visionary study of a single-seater, all-electric racing concept car: the ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo. Created exclusively for Gran Turismo, this concept represents Škoda’s first inclusion in the Gran Turismo series. Inspired by the Škoda 1100 OHC Spyder racing car from 1957, a vehicle originally developed for the prestigious 24-hour Le Mans race, the Vision Gran Turismo is a modern tribute to this legendary racing car and promises an immersive and responsive driving experience.
The ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo project began in 2019 when the design team revisited the iconic Škoda 1100 OHC. Initially, the team was debating whether to restore the original 1100 OHC or create a futuristic iteration for the digital age. After consulting with Chief Designer Oliver Stefani, the Škoda Design team opted for an innovative approach, creating a fusion of past and future.
This racing concept pays homage to its legendary predecessor as well as incorporating the defining features of Škoda’s Modern Solid design language, as seen in its T-shaped headlights. What’s more, the Vision Gran Turismo showcases two distinct liveries: one reflecting the heritage of the famous Škoda 130 RS racing car from 70́s, and the other inspired by the Vision 7S concept car, which embodies Škodás Modern Solid Design philosophy.
The ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo boasts a sleek exterior with crisp, clear lines and pronounced edges, mirroring the aesthetics of current Formula E racers. Its design is optimized for superior handling through active aerodynamics. Features like the aerodynamically sculpted body, and the striking, adaptive two-piece rear wing, all work together to dynamically adjust to driving conditions and boost performance. The vehicle incorporates independent wishbone push-rod type suspension system, mounted to a carbon monocoque like those found in Formula E cars, improving high-speed stability, reducing body roll, and lowering the vehicle’s center of gravity.
Efficiency and excellent driving dynamics are at the heart of the ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo design. It is equipped with two 200 kW (268.2 BHP) electric twin motors, one on each axle, delivering a combined power output of 800 kW (1,072 BHP). The inclusion of all-wheel drive with intelligent torque distribution across both axles ensures a balanced and responsive driving experience. This is complemented by a smooth, single-speed transmission, providing seamless acceleration.
The design of the ŠKODA Vision Gran Turismo harmonizes the exterior and interior, giving the driver the feeling of merging with the car ‒ especially once they take a seat in the cockpit of the cutting-edge carbon monocoque chassis.
AFEELA Prototype 2024
A revolutionary ‘mobility device’ set to change how we spend time moving.
“Move people, through the pursuit of innovation with diverse inspirations.” Embrace cutting edge technology and create a new kind of joy in movement to inspire others. This is the purpose for which Sony Honda Mobility was founded in 2022. This new company, born from the collaboration between 2 very different companies, unveiled their AFEELA Prototype 2024 BEV at the beginning of CES® 2024.
On the exterior, the car uses an orthodox hatchback sedan shape with a smooth aerodynamic look. There are several sensing devices across the car, including the LiDAR unit at the front of the roof and other image and radar sensors. The highly accurate data from these devices are used to provide more natural driving assistance.
The doors open automatically as the user approaches so there is no need for door handles. Looking towards the front grille, you will find the customizable ‘Media Bar’, a digital display which allows for both self-expression and communication from outside the car.
However, the real appeal of the AFEELA lies within its cabin. The interior features a vast array of features to ensure passengers are never bored.
The most obvious feature as you board the vehicle is the wide dashboard display spanning almost the entire width of the car. This screen provides not only information from the car itself, but several entertainment options which can also be shown on the seatback displays for the rear seats. As well as music and movies, passengers can also view a real-time 3D representation of the car’s surroundings taken from the sensor arrays and allows them to enjoy the scenery around them as if playing a game.
The appeal of the car is not only visual either. The AFEELA also features a personal agent feature which allows passengers to interact with the car through natural speech. Additionally, a combination of Honda’s extensive experience in mobility and Sony’s audio knowhow has resulted in an innovative noise cancelling system to reduce road noise. Isolated from the drone of the outside world, the interior’s numerous speakers provide an unparalleled audio soundstage.
The AFEELA transforms the process of moving around from simply waiting, to enjoying the time spent in the car. This 2024 Prototype is critical milestone in the process of bring the AFEELA to market production.
Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 Sport Coupe ’70
Popular in drag racing; sporting incredible power from a massive engine.
Introduced in the 1964 model year, the Chevelle was Chevrolet’s first intermediate model. With an SS sports grade model in the line-up and an option for a 327ci high output V8 engine, the Chevelle carried all the hallmarks of a muscle car.
In the following year of 1965 however, the Chevelle SS was transformed into a full-blown high-performance car, with a 396 ci, OHV V8. From then on the Chevelle SS was only offered with this 396 ci unit, drawing a clear line between it and the previous SS.
In 1970, the Chevelle SS went on to be called the most powerful intermediate model on the market. The engine line-up that was only available in 396 ci was upgraded, offering an enlarged 402 ci model. In addition, a 454 ci, enlarged version of the 427 ci, was offered as well.
The option codes for the two types of 454 ci models offered, were the LS5 and LS6. The former produced 355 BHP with a compression of 10.25:1, and the compression of the latter was raised to 11.25:1, and combined with high cams and high flow headers, it produced approximately 449.7 BHP. This was the most powerful catalogue model engine in the history of American cars in its day.
The LS6-equipped Chevelle SS454 was immediately recognised as a very special model, with its wild power output unlikely for a road-legal car. Equipped with a straight exhaust and carburettor settings, it is said to have easily exceeded 493.1 BHP, and was the big contender in stock class drag racing.
Café / Extra Menus
The following Menu has been added:
Extra Menu No. 38: ‘Ferrari 12-Cylinder Engines’ (Collector Level 38 and above)
World Circuits (Event)
The following new events have been added to ‘World Circuits’:
Japanese Clubman Cup 550: Alsace – Village Reverse
American FR Challenge 550: Trial Mountain Circuit Reverse
Vision Gran Turismo Trophy: Grand Valley – Highway 1
Scapes
‘San Diego’ has been added as a featured curation in Scapes
*Internet connection and Gran Turismo 7 game required for update.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – aka the game that inspired and then was overtaken by Fortnite’s Battle Royale mode – is seemingly borrowing a leaf from its cartoony cousin’s playbook by resurrecting its original map.
As a somewhat deflating example of the money-churning might of GTA Online becoming the sole focus of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5 efforts over the last decade, the actor who played Trevor in the ridiculously well-selling crime epic has teased some details of planned story DLC that would have turned the controversial protagonist into a James Bond-style spy. The pack supposedly got as far as shooting with the actors, only to end up cancelled and folded into a GTA Online heist.
Although it has been teased for a little while now, Gameloft has today revealed that Daisy Duck will be stepping into Disney Dreamlight Valley in the game’s next free content update, ‘Frills and Thrills’. What’s more, we can expect this update to land next week on 1st May.
The valley’s newest arrival was showcased in today’s Disney Dreamlight Valley developer update (above), where the team shared a first look at what’s to come over the next season. Aside from Daisy, the next content update will also bring with it new park rides in the upcoming ‘A Day at Disney’ Star Path, new ways to snap up selfies and new items thanks to Daisy’s boutique.
Developer FromSoftware minted a new genre when Demon’s Souls first released on PlayStation 3 back in 2009. The “Soulslike” genre was born, inspiring developers across the globe with its risk/reward mechanics, thoughtful melee combat, and connected world design.
Aggro Crab is one such developer. I recently went hands-on with their game Another’s Crab Treasure, which charts a different course through the genre. The PS5 game, out tomorrow, April 25, eschews grim, crumbling kingdoms in favor of colorful underwater lands. Instead of grim lore, it injects cheeky humor overflowing with references to Soulslike games and other properties. While at its core it still plays like a Soulslike, it introduces unique mechanics such as equippable shells with distinct properties.
Not your typical Soulslike vibe
On the surface, Aggro Crab’s Soulslike resembles a cheerful, simple adventure based on children’s cartoons. Beneath the surface lies controls and combat encounters familiar to fans of FromSoftware’s third-person action-RPGs.
The game begins with snail protagonist Krill being evicted from his shell, as a result of not paying taxes. Naked and vulnerable, he ventures deeper into the ocean to speak with the local matriarch to reclaim his home.
Aggro Crab’s tongue is firmly in cheek throughout the colorful adventure. For example, experience points are represented by environmentally devastating microplastics. Magic power manifests as mystical “Umami.” Trash litters the sandy sea floor, including fun and groan-worthy puns (see above used popsicle stick joke). One of my favorite details is a castle guard holding a straw and plastic soda cup lid like a greatsword. Aggro Crab’s sense of humor and colorful aesthetic serve as an entertaining antithesis to the familiar melancholy Soulslike tone.
Raise shell against your enemies
Of course, the main hook of any Soulslike lies in the gameplay, and Aggro Crab remains faithful to the genre with some fun twists. Krill’s moveset includes light and heavy attacks mapped to R1 and R2, respectively. The Circle button is sprint, Square casts Umami magic, and L1 blocks with your makeshift shell. Locking onto enemies like aggressive crabs is key to studying their movements, blocking and dodging until the perfect opportunity to strike. Holding R1 unleashes a satisfying charge attack, oftentimes causing defeated foes to drift off with the ocean currents.
Krill’s shell is where Another Crab’s Treasure distinguishes itself from many Soulslikes. As the game’s name suggests, Krill is in the market for temporary homes while he reclaims his original shell. These come in the form of soda cans, bottle caps, banana peels, party hats, you name it. Each “shell” acts as a shield and offers unique stat boosts, like tradeoffs for attack, Umami, defense, etc.
Some enemies are especially vulnerable to Umami magic, which means unleashing shells’ unique magical abilities is key. I particularly enjoyed the soda can’s proximity-based attack bubbles and the tin can’s electricity field. Shells have limited durability, however, so you’re always scanning for Krill’s next defensive flophouse. I was initially hesitant about the durability factor, but I ultimately appreciated being forced to try out the myriad shells.
3D platforming fun
Many Soulslike games keep players’ feet planted firmly on the ground, which is another area where Another Crab’s Treasure swims against the current. The X button jumps, and holding it down makes Krill do a cute little glide-swim. These nimble traversal options blend well with the cheery, classic 3D platforming aesthetic. One location might hide a path behind breakable glass bottles, revealing a light platforming challenge. Another may entice players to climb to a vantage point and glide to a far-off collectible.
Krill eventually discovers a grappling hook that adds a new dimension of verticality to the mix. Holding the L2 button in mid-air slows time and allows Krill to grapple onto specific points like fishhooks and climbable nets. These traversal options encourage players to carefully study the vibrant environments for hidden treasures (once the enemies are taken care of). Pacing is key in Soulslike games, I appreciated the palate-cleansing platforming sections after tough fights.
A knowing wink to Soulslike fans
Another Crab’s Treasure reminds me of musician and national treasure Weird Al Yankovic, it delivers a humorous parody of a well-known topic yet delivers entertainment beyond the surface-level goof. For example, I was tickled by the first boss encounter, featuring a mounted knight-like sea creature charging down a hill as its name and health bar filled the top of the screen. After I was done chuckling, I had to buckle up for a genuinely challenging-yet-rewarding fight.
Based on my hands-on time the homage runs deeper than its fun references, and the unique cartoony vibe and shell-swapping mechanics freshen up the formula. Dive into Another Crab’s Treasure when it releases on PS5 April 25.
Today we’re looking at Stellar Blade, the new PS5-exclusive action-adventure game from Korean studio Shift Up. Starting at the main menu we have three modes, and from a player perspective, they are nigh on perfect. Each does what it states: Resolution mode focuses on the highest pixel counts, Performance mode targets the smoothest and highest performance, while the best, and default, is the Balanced mode that aims to provide the best compromise of both.
The differences are small – in side-by-side comparisons, the only changes I noticed are that depth of field and screen space reflections are of a slighter lower quality in Performance mode, with the focal depth being shallower in Balanced and Resolution mode. Additionally, the hair quality of the main character Eve, as well as other characters, is also reduced, specifically in real-time cinematics, as you move from Resolution mode down to Balanced and then Performance. Aside from this, the biggest changes are frame time, resolution, and thus texture sampling. Resolution mode is capped at 30fps and appears to target a full 3840×2160 with dynamic resolution scaling (DRS) possible but not necessary. Performance runs at 60fps targeting 2560×1440, and again DRS is possible but no counts were found below this. Both modes use a spatial upscale, which could be Unreal Engine’s own TAAu spatial pass or AMD’s FSR1. This results in some instability in the image on thin elements and oblique textures to the camera.
The best image stability comes from Balanced mode.
Surprising for some, the best image stability comes from Balanced mode, which also targets 60fps and a 3840×2160 ceiling. It uses a temporal reconstruction pass which may be Unreal’s own TAAu solution or FSR2. This looks to be dynamic, or at least, reconstructed from a 2880×1620 to 1920×1080 base, which again demonstrates why pixel counts are not that important. You can see in the video that thin edges, specular highlights, light sources, volumetrics, and certainly hair is far more dithered, noisy and unstable in Performance mode, and even Resolution mode, as compared to Balanced mode. This does come at the cost of the required pixel blends that soften high-frequency details in textures and such, but here the trade off is worth it – in normal play, this mode looks close enough to Resolution mode at a higher framerate to not be worth the cost of dropping to 30fps. This is due to Resolution mode having great per-object motion blur, but the fast locomotion and action, along with input latency impact, can take a while to acclimatise to. Due to the game’s reliance on fast timing-based combat, this is a high cost, for me, over the small image reduction balanced costs.
Performance Modes Compared
When it comes to performance, as I stated, these modes are nigh on perfect. The Resolution mode is, from all my tests and almost completing the entire game, a fully locked and perfectly paced 30fps. Running through the world, climbing buildings, or fighting hulking genetic monsters, the game holds a flat line on the required 33ms and thus 30fps readout. Likewise, the Performance mode runs an equally locked 16ms frame time target giving us a locked 60fps. From my long sessions of play and testing, I could not find any areas that cause a deviation from that target at all. Even if they did, it would likely be single frame dips into 33ms, but this never happened in my performance captures.
Balanced is the only mode that can fall below the designed 60fps rate, with it often hovering into the mid 50s during play. Vitally, it always keeps within the next refresh cycle of 33ms when it does, giving us a small but noticeable level of micro judder during exploring and combat. The worst case was the high 40s when heavy alpha and particle effects had filled the screen, hammering bandwidth and fill rate, but these instances are very brief. Anyone with a variable refresh rate (VRR) monitor or TV will have a much smoother time as the game is often just shy of the 16ms frametime required. The PS5 supports a 48-120Hz range in its VRR mode, and these dips often fall within a 20-25ms frametime, making them end up feeling as smooth as the Performance mode, but with better image quality and the best input latency, which is vital for cutting through the trouble in style.
Size and Scale
Stellar Blade is big in all aspects: large levels, a vast cast of characters, and tons of enemies, locales, and hulking bosses with which to do battle. What starts as a linear combat/exploration game opens up and out significantly, and as you continue through this derelict and desolate world you see a wide variety of beauty. From the sun bleached beach of the start through crumbling Greek-like cities, underwater tunnels, lush green outskirts, and the dense town of Xion, you will see some gorgeous sights throughout your playtime.
Powered with Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, it is an impressive looking game with strong visuals, lighting, and cinematography. Character models are a highlight, with Eve herself being front and center, with soft and fleshy skin tones and long, physics-based hair – a key character trait which folds, self collides and moves with grace with Eve’s motion. Animations are fast and fluid, and expand with a wide variety of moves, weapons, skills and outfits. All characters have an equally high-construction quality, with soft sub-surface scattering on skin, deep parallax eyes, and a good balance of polygon count bolstered with texture and normal map details. A big reason for the human-like quality is that many of the characters are based on digital scans of real people, which alongside the brilliant physically-based lighting and material systems provides a borderline photorealistic look – but with just enough artistic change and ethereal design to never stray into the uncanny valley.
The Naytiba enemies are equally lavished with effort and style, with general cannon fodder having a mutated but organic style. You have spider-like robots, mutant hermit crabs, horse-meets-hammerheads, and giant pyramid head fleshy bosses galore. The animation and fluidity of all the enemies is a big reason why things often look the best during gameplay. As you slash, flip, slide, and topple colossi throughout the game, everything feels as alive and physical as you do.
Adding to this is the brilliant use of lights, shadows, alpha, and particle effects. Whenever you block an attack, slice into an enemy, or teleport behind a beasty, you are greeted with GPU-accelerated particles, via splatters across the floor and even yourself. Enemies can also dish out the effects with liquid projectiles flying across the screen, splatting and spreading on the floor or clouding the air with a poisonous haze temporally.
Underwater the sense of depth and light propagation is very good, with a clear split of above and below the sealine helping make these sections atmospheric. The use of post effects is again central to the look and feel, and a high quality per-pixel motion blur is included, which works well across the three modes. High quality sprite-sampled bokeh depth of field is used during gameplay and the real time cinematics. This aids the high CGI quality these sections have, making them look close to offline renders at times due to the composition and consistency. They are also used to focus your gaze on important areas or frame the shot as per standard cinematography ques, and though some of these are longer than I personally liked, it helps drive the story and character development well – in between all the butt kicking.
That said, not everything is roses in this garden, as the scale of the game and high quality it achieves can be contrasted by some weaker aspects. Textures, as a whole, are good but not great, with some lower-quality mips used on incidental objects and walls, causing them to lack much detail. Colour schemes can be a little too beige in some of the city sections, and the dreaded yellow painter man has run ahead of you to clearly mark the path forward. Although I understand the benefits this offers, it does, in my opinion, become redundant on the exploration aspect to have these yellow breadcrumbs rather than using light, design and architecture to draw you through. The issue is not exclusive to this game, but I must say it felt at odds with Stellar Blade’s otherwise focused art design.
Animation of characters outside of action can be a little wooden and, ironically, robotic, with some sections having very stiff movement and limited facial expressions, which can vary from great to ok depending on the scene. Sound is also very good, but the voice acting on some scenes and over reliance on the same combat sound bites of Eve can become repetitive a few hours in. More variety here would go a long way. Polygon counts can also be low with some signs of the old, cross-generation base the game started with. Similarly, some sections of volumetric light and water surface effects are not always up to the same high standard. Most of these are small complaints though, and they do not distract from a vast, enjoyable, skill-based and above all, gorgeous-looking game that delivers on its aims.
Summary
For a brand new studio, Shift Up has certainly lived up to its name. The quality, variety, scope, and size on offer is exemplary for such a small studio. It has grasped and overcome the challenges of Unreal Engine and not fallen afoul of any of the common streaming stutter or performance hiccups that can blight other teams. The choice of performance modes is commendable, with options available for those who prefer a locked 30 or 60 fps, as well as a balance for those that want the apple and the branch along with it. As a PS5 exclusive it will likely be a game that has legs far beyond the final credits, offering up a visual and gameplay experience that is quite welcome in the gaming garden.
