The Blazing Blade returns.
Update :
It’s been an incredibly exciting week in the world of Nintendo with all sorts of new game announcements at the latest Direct presentation, and now to top it off, we’ve got the release of Fire Emblem on the Switch Online service.
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We have so much to talk about on this milestone episode! We recap some of the games we saw and played at Summer Game Fest, then discuss how Xbox is absolutely STACKED with AAA exclusive first-party RPGs for the next several years, then pour one out for the Xbox One as Microsoft officially stops making games for it, and THEN we finish this extra-long episode digging into all of the crazy revelations that are coming out as we speak during Microsoft’s trial against the FTC regarding the Activision-Blizzard acquisition. Enjoy!
Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out my recent interview with Todd Howard, who discussed the realization of his vision for Starfield after eight years, how Red Dead Redemption 2 was something of an inspiration, what his future holds, and more!
For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
The June Nintendo Direct was announced just a day before its air time, and as soon as it was official, everyone rushed to bring out their predictions and “leaks.” Nintendo definitely gave us everything they promised, which was around 40 minutes of info on games mostly coming out this year, as well as new Pikmin 4 info. The biggest surprises of the show for most people were the announcements of Super Mario RPG for Switch and a new 2D Super Mario game by way of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. We covered the show live, and you can check out the reactions of our NVC panel, but we also wanted to share our reactions to the Nintendo Direct in writing.
Seth Macy
As far as Nintendo Directs go, the announcement that got me most excited was actually for a collection of games, the youngest of which is nearly 20 years old. I’m of course talking about the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1, which bears a striking resemblance to the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection released for the PS3 (minus a few games). They aren’t even remakes or remasters, it looks like we’re just getting the original versions of the first 3 MGS games, and honestly, I’m fine with that. They hold up surprisingly well, and I love them all a lot, so being able to drag them along with me on my Switch means more chances to play Metal Gear, and that’s a good thing. Other than that, I felt the Direct was pretty decent.
Definitely didn’t expect to see remakes of Super Mario RPG and Luigi’s Mansion 2, and I’m still processing Super Mario Wonder, the newly-announced 2D Mario game with a new elephant power-up. It looks so weird! But it also looks really interesting, probably because it is so weird. The animations and personalities were the real stars of the reveal trailer. Sure, we got some gameplay stuff, but it was mostly to show off just how bizarre this game is, as well as give us a look at the surprisingly expressive animations of the characters. It’s almost like Super Mario directed by Chuck Jones. I’m very excited to see how it all comes together.
As decent as the Direct was, I didn’t get what I was really hoping for, acknowledgment of the existence of Switch versions of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, but that’s fine. We can’t all get what we want, and besides, I’ve been saying for a while I wished MGS games were on Switch, and now I can close that chapter of my wish book. We also didn’t hear a peep about Metroid Prime 4, which isn’t surprising at this point, but I felt like there was a chance we’d get some kind of update. Maybe Metroid Prime 4 is going to do for the Metroid series what Tears of the Kingdom has done for Zelda (and honestly, all open-world games). I have a feeling that’s not the case, though. A sad feeling.
Brendan Graeber
This particular Nintendo Direct left me feeling pretty whelmed, which isn’t a bad thing! Perhaps it’s due to already getting some great first party games earlier this year, but I wasn’t expecting any huge shocking announcements other than some really good ports. Even then, I’m pretty stoked to finally have another side-scrolling Mario out in a few months that can finally break free of the “New” format, and appears to be going absolutely bonkers in its visual style. I also feel just a little bad for Everybody 1-2-Switch!, whose bare-bones marketing the day before the direct got absolutely punted aside by the superior WarioWare: Move It!
As far as unfulfilled dreams go, I’m no longer shocked by the lack of Metroid news, and am becoming more inclined to believe that Metroid Prime 4 on Switch is no longer a thing, and may have been quietly reworked to become one of the leading launch titles for whatever Nintendo’s next console is.
Peer Schneider
I enjoyed the Direct, but it was missing one or two major announcements to make it truly feel like a Nintendo summer showcase of old. My expectations were raised by Metroid Prime’s excellent Remaster release in February – it seemed like Nintendo was getting fans ready for the sequel this holiday, which would’ve made a June reveal very likely. On top of that, we haven’t seen a truly original Nintendo game reveal in a while – think something along the lines of Arms or Splatoon to join the ranks of Nintendo classics like Mario, Zelda, or Kirby (or not, in the case of Arms). And since I’m being greedy now, a new hardware announcement is way overdue. Setting aside the much-anticipated next iteration of the Switch hardware, Nintendo’s surprised us with micro consoles, Game & Watch units, and even cool experiments like LABO before. Nintendo seemingly knew it needed a few more tasty morsels for Nintendo fans, as it dropped in a premature reveal of Princess Peach’s next standalone adventure. The all-too-short glimpse seemed at odds with the rest of the Direct. I would’ve preferred a more fully-featured reveal at a later date, but it’s clear Nintendo wanted to acknowledge Peach’s move to the forefront of its character roster based on her much-lauded appearance in the Super Mario Bros. movie.
But with all that out of the way, I have to say that what Nintendo did show was absolutely delightful. I’m so ready for a new 2D Mario game, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks very, very promising. While it was the star of the Direct for me, I only narrowly beat out the reveal of Super Mario RPG. I had somehow convinced myself that the original game and characters like Geno were locked up in some ancient Square/Nintendo partnership limbo that made it too complicated to bother with a remake. But that’s exactly what we’re getting: no pixel remaster or Nintendo Switch Online release, but a full polygonal reworking of an underplayed classic, with updated music by Yoko Shimomura on top of it all! Add to that Vampire Survivors Switch, a new WarioWare, and returning favorites like Pikmin 1 and 2, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, and a Star Ocean The Second Story R remake, and we’ve got a pretty solid lineup.
Miranda Sanchez
I’m one of a handful of folks out there absolutely elated to finally see Detective Pikachu Returns. And it’s quite the return, considering the sequel was announced in 2019 with no word of it since! Other than that, I was a little surprised to see how Mario-focused the Direct was generally. Those games look generally cool, and while I play to play Super Mario RPG, I do wish we got a platform adventure Mario game rather than a side-scroller. The latter are the classic, but I like my Mario games with enough space to triple jump in any direction of my choosing. I’m also a little surprised we didn’t see another very specific Miranda and friends game, Fashion Dreamer. That’s out later this year and we still don’t have a release date for it. Overall I thought the direct did a good job setting up the rest of the year and a little bit of early next year.
Pieces of a superstar remake.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on the SNES is hugely important for many reasons. We would’ve been happy to see it get a simple rerelease on Nintendo Switch Online, but Nintendo has jumped way above our expectations and is giving us a remake.
Now with the shorter title, Super Mario RPG, Nintendo and Square Enix’s (formerly Squaresoft or Square) collaboration will be available to a wider audience on 17th November 2023. It’s not just getting a digital release, either. It feels like a different era — a Mario RPG is a tentpole release in Nintendo’s schedule.
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Hello! We’re so pleased to be launching Harmony: The Fall of Reverie on Xbox Series X|S today. It’s a narrative adventure with two colorful worlds, a cast of eclectic characters, and a captivating story we hope you will all enjoy!
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie was born out of a single concept: being able to see forthcoming narrative branches and acting on them accordingly through your desired choices. From this mechanic came the idea of dreams as fuel for future actions, a lens through which to see and dissect the complex world we live in, and care for. We knew from the beginning that the game would be set in a slightly futuristic world, close enough to ours to let us tackle contemporary issues yet distant enough to lend us more creative freedom.
Building Reverie, the home of ancient godlike beings known as Aspirations, was the next logical step to tie together the gameplay mechanics and narrative intention, but it was also the hardest one. Reverie and the Aspirations were meant to give Polly (and you) a broader, almost metaphysical view of the world.
But we didn’t want this realm to feel overly divine: it needed to be fragile, withering in the face of capitalism’s dreamless system. It was also our solution to bridge the gap between this far-reaching gameplay, suited for big choices and even bigger consequences, and the intimate story we wanted to tell.
We decided to paint Brittle (the real world) as a bright, vivid world where social issues are hidden from plain sight. On the other hand, Reverie’s lands are cold, arid, and scattered with ruins akin to our past civilizations, echoing the absence of dreams in Brittle. It all serves the idea that dreams are where hope can be found when all seems lost, where great things can be born from emptiness. Thus, Reverie serves as a set of paths to help Polly navigate her complicated life, and the Aspirations as guides to help her find her own voice.
We based the Aspirations off a few mythological and psychological theories, amongst which are the Spiral Dynamics and pop culture classics like “Sandman” and “Inside Out.” They needed to be broken and feel real, not like omnipotent Greek gods. It helped give them more character and pen them as magical, erratic beings who, despite being immortals, are still struggling with their own community. Their struggles mirror what happens in Brittle and help bind Polly’s quest with that of the Aspirations.
We found it difficult to flesh out two worlds simultaneously with our narrative system. The difficulty lay in balancing narration between Brittle and Reverie, and it took some iteration before we decided to make Brittle the main setting of the game. So, on the occasions when Reverie’s story takes the stage, it feels important – weaving threads that affect humanity – and intimate, tied as it is to Polly’s personal history.
We hope you enjoy the story and draw as much inspiration from it as Polly does from Reverie throughout her journey. You can play Harmony: The Fall of Reverie starting today on Xbox Series X|S.
DON’T NOD
In the very near future…
When Polly returns home after a few years abroad to look for her missing mother, she quickly realizes that her hometown has drastically changed. A megacorporation named MK is using its power to control the population, and her community is in danger.
She soon discovers that she has a gift of clairvoyance that connects her to Reverie, the realm of the Aspirations of Humanity: Glory, Bliss, Power, Chaos, Bond, and Truth.
In this world, Polly becomes Harmony, an Oracle who has the power to choose the Aspiration that will ultimately rule over Reverie and restore the delicate balance between the deities’ world and ours.
The fate of humanity is at stake. To which destiny do you aspire?
DECIDE YOUR DESTINY
As Polly, or Harmony, each action you take will affect both worlds and send you down sprawling narrative paths. See into the future and explore the consequences of possible choices in the Augural, a game board and visual representation of Polly’s gift of foresight.
In pursuing whichever destiny you desire, you’ll also bond with and obtain crystals from the Aspirations. These will unlock different paths at important crossroads that will change how the thread of the story unravels, and ultimately the fate of humanity.
FIND THE NEW HEART OF HUMANITY
Whichever Aspiration comes to lead Reverie, with Harmony’s help, will also become the heart of humanity. Their personality and style of rule will change Reverie while also giving the people of our world a new direction too: when the link between worlds is stronger, Reverie has a bigger influence on the state of our world.
Glory, Bliss, Power, Chaos, Bond, and Truth are all wildly different entities with their own distinct personalities, goals, and opinions on how to make things better. You’ll get to know each of them as visit Reverie in your dreams as Harmony, but only you know best – as Polly – what your world needs.
A COLORFUL WORLD
As you play, revel in artistic direction that is bright, vibrant, and futuristic. Immerse yourself in the daily life of a Mediterranean city and get to know its people, with a cast of characters who are fully voiced and animated. Enjoy an enchanting soundtrack by award-winning composer, Lena Raine.
Related:
Since the end of The Callisto Protocol’s main game, things have gone from bad to worse inside the penitentiary. The virus that’s been wreaking havoc inside is threatening to escape the prison and it’s up to you to retrieve Mahler’s data and transmit it off-world. It’s not going to be a walk in the park. You’re going to have to fight tooth and nail to make your way through monster-infested corridors, where new abominations await.
When it comes to battling Biophage, players need reliable tools to survive. The Stun Baton is a great blunt instrument, but new threats call for new gear. According to Lead Systems Designer, Paul Guirao, the team behind The Callisto Protocol listened to fan feedback and decided to add a new melee weapon to the game. “We wanted to give players something more powerful than the Stun Baton,” Guirao explained.
The result is the all-new Kinetic Hammer. With its design and shape, you can feel the power and weight behind every swing. It has light and heavy melee attacks that hit harder than the Stun Baton, but that’s not all – Guirao explains, “Holding down the heavy melee button produces an even more powerful attack. But mastery of the heavy charged mechanic can be tricky… you become the ultimate badass once you’ve mastered it. It’s one of our favorite weapons because it obliterates everything it touches.” As a bonus, a successfully executed charge attack also creates a powerful area-of-effect.
However, the thrill of wielding the Kinetic Hammer is only fully realized when pitted against worthy adversaries. Final Transmission introduces a new enemy type and boss for players to square off with.
With twistedly agile corruptors and brutally powerful two-headed brutes lurking around every corner, not to mention the hard-to-kill Security Units, Black Iron Prison was always a treacherous place. But now a new enemy is stalking its halls: the Biophage Robot, or the Biobot as the developers affectionately call it. This terrifying foe is a combination of Biophage and UJC Security Units, and a deadly reminder that Black Iron is still as dangerous as ever.
“In the main game, the security robots are only seen a couple of times,” Guirao tells me, “With the final chapter, we really dug into the idea of what happens when the Biophage starts taking over machinery.”
Visualizing the Biobot as a grotesque and intimidating bio-mechanical enemy was an iterative process, “We worked closely with the Concept Art team to create a look that fits in TCP’s universe. It took several iterations to establish the look. We went in both extremes, too robotic and then too organic,” Guirao explains. The more robotic iterations felt too much like the existing Security Units and lacked the gruesomeness the team was looking for. On the other hand, the more organic versions appeared too fragile and didn’t do enough to differentiate the powerful new enemies from their Biophage brethren. Eventually the team “found that sweet spot.”
Affectionate nicknames aside, the Biobot is not an enemy to be taken lightly. According to one of the Senior Systems Designers, “Security Unit Robots were big, daunting enemies that couldn’t really be beaten up and would only go down from precision headshots.”
Guirao adds, “we’re not a tactical cover-based game, so making the Biobots a melee unit made more sense for us. We have an in-your-face style of combat and did not want to deviate from that.”
Guirao and the team at Striking Distance watched hundreds of hours of streamers playing The Callisto Protocol, “there was a lot of feedback on how all our NPCs felt the same and it was something that we needed to address.” To survive, players need to employ new tactics to take down Biobots, however, once players get the new melee weapon, they’ll have the chance to exact satisfying and well-deserved revenge on the bio-mechanical enemies and “finally get their chance to smash them apart.”
The Biobot isn’t the only new enemy you’ll encounter in your return to Black Iron. Without giving too much away, the final boss in Final Transmission is truly something special. “Our goal was to showcase the Kinetic Hammer’s power and make players strategize on the best ways to beat the boss; deciding when to use melee or ranged attacks and utilizing the arena to their advantage,” Senior Systems Designer Quinlan Richards reveals, “we’ve given the boss similar mechanics as Jacob, switching seamlessly between hard-hitting melee and aggressive ranged attacks. And to keep things interesting, we’ve given the final boss an ability that goes beyond anything Jacob can do.”
We can’t wait for you to return to Black Iron Prison to face the new horrors lurking its halls. PS4 and PS5 players get exclusive 48-hour early access to The Callisto Protocol: Final Transmission starting on June 26 at 9:00pm PST.
Bethesda’s Pete Hines has spoken about Xbox exclusivity in the years following Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax, saying that developing for fewer platforms has streamlined the process in some cases.
During today’s trial between Microsoft/Activision and the Federal Trade Commission, Hines was asked about developing games like Redfall and Starfield as Xbox console exclusives. Hines said developers can hold more rounds of quality assurance testing when a game is on fewer platforms, which he called less of a risk than developing for many platforms. Hines spoke on Starfield, saying it wouldn’t hit its September date if it was a multiplatform title.
“We would not be putting [Starfield] out in nine weeks if we were supporting an entire additional platform, in my opinion,” Hines said.
That being said, Hines also implied that he was blindsided by Xbox’s commitments to bring Activision games like Call of Duty to PlayStation and other platforms, while Bethesda games remained strictly Xbox exclusive. Hines said the messaging surrounding Call of Duty confused him, since it was “the opposite of what we were just asked — told — to do with our other titles”.
Hines said no one at Xbox gave Bethesda a heads up about the Call of Duty decision, and that he thought Phil Spencer would explain in an interview why the multiplatform approach is acceptable for Activision games like Call of Duty, but not Bethesda games like Starfield of The Elder Scrolls VI.
Exclusivity has been a big topic at today’s trial, as we also learned that MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones title is also set to be exclusive to Xbox and PC. We also know that Arkane’s Harvey Smith said the studio canceled the PlayStation 5 version of Redfall following the Xbox acquisition. Interestingly, Xbox’s Matt Booty has said a decision hasn’t been made on a PlayStation version of The Outer Worlds 2.
To follow everything from the ongoing legal battle, check out our article on how to watch the trial and our coverage so far.
Additional reporting by Rebekah Valentine.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over seven years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
MachineGames’ upcoming Indiana Jones game was originally set for a multiplatform release, until Xbox’s ZeniMax acquisition changed plans.
During today’s trial between Xbox/Activision and the Federal Trade Commission, Bethesda’s Pete Hines revealed that Disney had an agreement with ZeniMax for a multiplatform AAA Indiana Jones game. After the acquisition, the agreement with Disney was amended to transition the Indiana Jones game to an Xbox and PC exclusive. The game is currently set to hit Game Pass on day one.
Developing…
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan wrote in an email “I’m pretty sure we will continue to see Call of Duty on PlayStation for many years to come” in response to the news Microsoft intended to buy Activision Blizzard.
The revelation came as part of the ongoing hearing in which lawyers representing Microsoft and the United States’ Federal Trade Commission are fighting for the future of the proposed $69 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard.
The email, viewed by IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine in court today and dated January 20, 2022 – two days after Microsoft announced its intent to purchase Activision Blizzard – reveals Ryan’s relaxed attitude to the deal at that time, and counters Sony’s public-facing concern about the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation that emerged in the year-and-a-half that followed.
“It’s not an Xbox exclusivity play at all,” Ryan wrote in the email, “they’re thinking bigger than that, and they have the cash to make moves like this. I’ve spent a fair bit of time with both Phil [Spencer, boss of Xbox] and Bobby [Kotick, boss of Activision Blizzard] over the past day. I’m pretty sure we will continue to see COD on PS for many years to come.
“We have some good stuff cooking. Keep your eyes peeled. I’m not complacent and I’d rather this hadn’t happened, but we’ll be OK, more than OK.”
In March, Activision Blizzard EVP Corporate Affairs and CCO Lulu Cheng Meservey took to Twitter to claim Ryan had commented on Sony’s true motivation in a behind-closed-doors meeting in Brussels. “In his words: ‘I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.’ “
The CEO of SIE answered that question in Brussels.
In his words:
“I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.”
— Lulu Cheng Meservey (@lulumeservey) March 8, 2023
This was reportedly in response to Microsoft’s offer to Sony of a 10-year agreement that would guarantee PlayStation long-term access to Call of Duty. Sony has so far failed to sign any such deal.
It’s crunch time for Microsoft and the Xbox brand, as company leaders are heading to federal court to defend their proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard against the FTC.
The legal battle between Microsoft and the FTC began last December, when the agency announced plans to block Microsoft’s enormous purchase of the company behind Call of Duty, Diablo and Candy Crush. Last week, a federal court in California issued a temporary restraining order requested by the FTC that basically blocks Microsoft and Activision Blizzard’s deal for the time being.
This week’s trial will see the FTC attempt to impose a preliminary injunction on Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. If successful, it would mean Microsoft and Activision Blizzard can’t complete the acquisition while the FTC’s review of the transaction’s compliance with U.S. antitrust law is ongoing.
The future of Call of Duty is one of the key talking points, with Microsoft at pains to insist it will continue to release the shooter on PlayStation if it buys Activision Blizzard, and the FTC attempting to show why this may not be the case.
IGN has comprehensive coverage of the Microsoft’s battle to buy Activision Blizzard. Keep an eye on our Coverage So Far page for updates.
Can it be stopped?
The latest Japanese charts are in from Famitsu (via Gematsu) and surprising absolutely nobody, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom once again lands in first place with another 31,151 copies sold. This marks the sixth consecutive week that Link’s latest has held onto the top spot, and it leads by some margin this time.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has managed to pull into second place, with 7,489 sales this week, while last week’s runner-up Diablo IV has dropped down to fifth, selling 4,902 copies. This has been enough to push Breath of the Wild out of the running after it previously appeared in the top ten, benefitting from some spill-over in interest from TOTK.
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