Sony is shuttering Firewalk Studios in the wake of its disastrous release of Concord, the PS5 shooter that lasted less than two weeks before being shuttered. The news was first reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.
Firewalk Studios’ closure follows the reported departure of director Ryan Ellis, who stepped down after Concord was taken offline. Sony Interactive Entertainment publicly posted the internal email from Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst with a statement on the closure, which you can read below. Hulst wrote that SIE had “spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options,” but ultimately decided to sunset the studio, which it had acquired in April 2023. The email also announces SIE’s decision to close Neon Koi, a German studio working on a mobile action game.
Dear Team,
Today, I want to share some important updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group.
We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business, we have had to make a difficult decision relating to two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.
Expanding beyond PlayStation devices and crafting engaging online experiences alongside our single-player games are key focal areas for us as we evolve our revenue streams. We need to be strategic, though, in bringing our games to new platforms and recognize when our games fall short of meeting player expectations.
While mobile remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we are in the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.
With this re-focused approach, Neon Koi will close, and its mobile action game will not be moving forward. I want to express my gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion to innovate.
Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options.
After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio. I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.
The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.
I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE. Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization. Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we will work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible.
I am a big believer in the benefits of embracing creative experimentation and developing new IP. However, growing through sustainable financials, especially in a challenged economic environment is critical.
While today is a difficult day, there is much to look forward to in the months ahead from the Studio Business Group and our teams. I remain confident that we are building a resilient and capable organization driven by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.
Thank you for your continued support.
Developing…
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is coming to Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2025.
Nintendo announced the re-release of the 2015 Wii U role-playing game from Monolith Software with a trailer, below, saying it comes with “enhanced visuals” and “brand new story elements.”
“Earth has been destroyed by an intergalactic war between two alien races, and humanity is on the brink of annihilation,” reads the official synopsis.
“A small number of survivors, aboard the USS White Whale, crash land on the vast and untamed planet Mira — and now it falls to you, as a member of Blade, to help bring humanity back from the edge of extinction with the aid of powerful giant robots called Skells.”
Wii U titles have slowly but surely made the jump to Nintendo Switch over the years. The console infamously underperformed for Nintendo so its best games perhaps didn’t get the attention they deserved.
The likes of Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario 3D World, New Super Mario Bros. U, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and much more have all been ported to the more successful platform. Ports are also an easier way to fill up the release calendar as Nintendo gears up for its next console, colloquially known as the Switch 2.
In our 8/10 review of the original, IGN said: “Xenoblade Chronicles X is a massive RPG with enough surface area, sub quests, and customization to keep you busy.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
You do some pretty terrible things to dogs in MachineGames’ Wolfenstein games, so I was prepared for the worst in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. But when I pointed Indy’s revolver at an enemy pupper and pulled the trigger, tears streaming down my face, they merely ran away. Crisis averted.
“[Indiana Jones] is a dog person,” MachineGames Creative Director Jens Andersson explains in an interview with IGN, evoking the famous line from Last Crusade in which Henry Jones gruffly notes that his son took his nickname from the family dog. He also mentions that “this is obviously a little bit different than Wolfenstein as well, where the dog will explode.”
Why the shift? “It’s a family-friendly IP in many ways,” Andersson says. “How do we do that well? Well, these are the kind of things that we do. We have dogs as enemies, but you don’t really hurt the dogs. You scare them away.”
Indian Jones isn’t exactly immune to ultra-violence, of course — one of the most famous gifs in Internet history depicts a Nazi’s face literally melting in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Andersson and Lucasfilm Games executive producer Craig Derrick mostly skirt around the question of whether The Great Circle will have any similar scenes.
“We don’t really have jump scares necessarily, but we have the creepy crawlies sometimes. And there’s a couple of moments when you’ll see Indy in a precarious situation and you’ll feel like it’s claustrophobic,” Derrick says. “You’ll feel like it’s a little bit scary and still in the safest possible way, but I think we bring much of that, as you say, authenticity of the films into this game throughout it. It’s an extraordinary experience to go through.
One way or another, it seems like you are safe from having to Google whether the dog dies in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The pups are just fine. As for the rest of game, our final preview of The Great Circle is now live, where we delve into all of the ways that it’s an “adventure-action game” rather than an “action-adventure game.” And of course, check out our full interview as well.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is under development for Xbox Series X|S and PC and will release on December 9. A PS5 version will follow in spring 2025.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Marathon, the upcoming PlayStation extraction shooter from Halo and Destiny developer Bungie, is “on track” at the studio but too early to show off yet.
Bungie released a lengthy development update video which shed light on some of Marathon’s mechanics but also just how early it is in development. Player character models are still “coming together,” for example, while enemy models are still in an “early state.”
It’s therefore “a little early to show you all of it as a one piece,” game director Joe Ziegler said, though insisted Marathon is progression as planned. “They’re not all together, but when they all do come together, we really, really are looking forward to showing you what that looks like, especially in play,” he said.
Questions have been raised surrounding its development, however, for myriad significant reasons. Bungie itself has encountered several controversies in the last year or so, perhaps headlined by the laying off of 220 staff members, meaning 17% of its workforce, in July: a move even industry peers criticized.
Shadow Man and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil have joined the Nintendo Switch Online library in the Nintendo 64 collection.
Both games will be available in the Mature 17+ app alongside the likes of the original Turok and Perfect Dark. Nintendo keeps these mature titles separate from its general N64 collection which includes more family friendly classics such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, F-Zero X, and more.
Shadow Man arrived in 1999 as a 3D Metroidvania where players take on the role of Michael LeRoi as he joins a lineage of spiritual warriors who protect the land of the living from supernatural threats. IGN’s 1999 review awarded Shadow Man an 8/10, saying “fans of dark storytelling and action hounds alike will find a lot to praise here.”
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil was released a year earlier and earned a 9/10 in IGN’s review. “Turok 2 transcends framerate questions and delivers a great gameplay experience that will hook gamers if they put enough time into the game,” we said.
These games are available at no extra cost to users who have a Nintendo Switch Online membership and have purchased the Expansion Pass. Nintendo periodically adds a handful of classic titles to its myriad Switch Online libraries, which also includes games from the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and more.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Return to the plane of Innistrad, where dark alleys, looming forests, and fearsome creatures beckon. With the new Magic: The Gathering Innistrad Remastered sets, fans of the spooky and supernatural can rediscover classic cards with fresh new twists. As luck would have it, booster boxes are on sale at Amazon before release day. Let’s take a look.
Magic: The Gathering Innistrad Remastered Play Booster Box – 36 Packs
This 36-pack Play Booster Box, discounted to $219.99 from its original $251.64, is a great deal for collectors and players. Inside each pack, you’ll find 14 cards, with every booster holding surprises, like Retro-frame cards, Rare or higher rarity cards, and potential art cards that showcase updated visuals for this eerie set. Each pack offers:
1–4 Rare or higher cards with alternate art or unique border treatments for that classic Innistrad chill.
1 Traditional Foil card every time, and a 20% chance of a Foil Land to add a wicked gleam to your decks.
Art cards unique to Play Boosters, some with foil signatures straight from the artist’s pen!
With 504 cards in total, this box brings back the spooky thrills of the original set while adding modern touches and rare finds for fans, old and new.
Magic: The Gathering Innistrad Remastered Collector Boosters – 12 Packs
For those who crave something a little more hauntingly special, the Collector Booster Box is discounted to $329.99 from $359.88. This premium box includes 12 packs, each with 15 cards, and is loaded with exclusive extras:
500 serialized Edgar Markov cards (available only in Collector Boosters) for a one-of-a-kind find.
6 alternate-frame cards per pack, including Movie Poster art that reimagines Magic’s iconic characters as classic movie monsters.
Exclusive Retro-frame cards, high-rarity pulls, and Movie Poster treatment cards ramp up the gothic horror.
Collector Boosters are packed with premium foils and special frames—an absolute treat for fans who want their collection to have a little extra bite.
Single packs are also available from the above, although they’re not on sale right now. If you want to get some big savings for MTG Innistrad Remastered, a booster box preorder is the way to go!
The Original Innistrad Set & Remastered Enhancements
The original Innistrad set, released in 2011, is a legend in its own right. Known for its gothic horror theme, it introduced fans to innovative mechanics like double-faced cards that allowed creatures to transform—turning villagers into werewolves, for instance, by the light of the full moon.
With strong tribal mechanics for Vampires, Zombies, Spirits, Humans, and Werewolves, the set quickly became a favorite, bringing a whole new depth to Magic: The Gathering’s story-driven gameplay.
Innistrad Remastered stays true to the original’s essence, bringing back these memorable features while introducing fresh elements like Retro-frames, Movie Poster treatments, and modern art that pays homage to Innistrad’s dark, sinister themes.
The result is a stunning mix of nostalgia and innovation, giving old fans and newcomers a chance to enjoy the best of this gothic world with some modern flair.
Ready to relive the chills of Innistrad and add some of its horrors to your decks? Grab these deals while they last, and add a bit of spine-tingling magic to your collection.
Alright boys and girls, the word of the day is Omnimovement. That’s where you take a Max Payne-esque leap in any direction, guns blazing, only to land on the ground in the most dramatic way possible to minimize getting shot and maximize your aim after exposing yourself, and it’s a game-changer in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s multiplayer mode. Sure, we can nitpick all day at minor things other games do better, but in the face of such fun, fast, and smooth online competition, those seem insignificant. Black Ops 6 is certainly no reinvention and arguably plays it a bit too safe, but its fundamentals – moving and shooting – are at such a high level as to elevate the experience well above that of years past. I spent a couple of hundred hours grinding through the perfectly fine but not at all remarkable Modern Warfare 3, but after a few days in Black Ops 6, I can’t even imagine going back.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen moves like this in Call of Duty, but it’s the first time the developers have embraced the technique the community invented and used to call Dolphin Diving, and they built on it with dramatic flair. I still find it a little cumbersome to execute properly with my mouse and keyboard control scheme, but I’m happy to say after my nearly 20 hours grinding out matches, I’ve already gotten much better at bursting into a room with a gun-blazing sideways leap.
Where I think Omnimovement works the absolute best, though, is when you’re moving backwards. When you dive back and hit the ground, you have the same overall target footprint as you would in the prone position, but now you have 360 degrees of aim freedom and you can both get up and move around while on the ground much more easily. When I pull any of these moves off I also congratulate myself for giving everybody else a good show, because it looks really cool from an observer’s perspective.
Crucially, though, omnimovement isn’t omnipowerful. Those online acrobatics may make for some sick clipouts, but I’m finding it pretty easy and extremely satisfying to take people out when they get overconfident and execute a flying sideways John Woo leap directly into my gunsights. In fact, if you’re playing against me I encourage you to Omnimove as much as possible.
On my end of things, I find it a little harder to aim true with an Omnimove than I do with just a simple slide or traditional dolphin dive and so I end up using those tried-and-true methods much more often. Part of that is undoubtedly muscle-memory, but for the most part I find Omnimovement to be a ridiculously cool way to get around that doesn’t necessarily help me competitively except in very specific situations. It’s another tool in the toolbox, but not the end-all-be-all.
Maps, Modes, and Gunplay
Call of Duty lives or dies by its gunplay, and Black Ops 6 is absolutely fantastic in that regard. I’ve been grinding the XM4 since launch, one of the first weapons available to you when you boot it up for the first time. It feels phenomenal to use, and since I’ve been using it for at least 80% of my matches, I have it customized to a level that has me afraid to try out any of the other assault rifles. I mean, I’m obviously going to, I gotta get those skins, but with the Gunfighter Wildcard, I now have a total of eight attachments on my XM4 and it’s an absolute beast. I do think the Gunfighter wildcard is a little too generous, but on the other hand, bow to my OP XM4. There’s almost no situation in which it doesn’t just dominate: I’m able to easily take out snipers in larger maps like Protocol while also having no problem at medium range for maps like Subsonic.
Sniper rifles are, as always, cumbersome to use but absolutely lethal in the hands of a skilled player. I am not that player, but there really is something to be said for racking up those satisfying head shots. I’m also a fan of the SMGs, although I’ve only just started on those. I’ve definitely noticed how many times in any match on any map I’ve fallen to an SMG, though. They almost seem a little too powerful at medium-range.
Call of Duty lives or dies by its gunplay, and Black Ops 6 is absolutely fantastic in that regard.
I’m not really too keen on the Marksman rifles this year, but I’m sure that will change as I open up more attachments. I’ve always loved a good Marksman rifle, especially the KAR98K from previous Call of Duty games. It’s the lethality of a sniper rifle with the handling of an assault rifle. I’ve never really liked shotguns or LMGs, but in modes like Gunfight where I don’t have a choice, I’m totally fine with them. Just not a gun category I’m really interested in other than fulfilling higher-level skin unlock requirements.
I also like how the perks work this year. If you equip three from the same category, you’re given a special fourth perk. My favorite is rocking a full Recon build, because it briefly exposes enemy positions when you spawn, giving you an edge on the smaller and even medium sized maps.
Maps like Rewind and SCUD, which I thought were just okay during the beta, are now among my favorites thanks to how well you can move and shoot your way through them. Rewind has a perfect mix of long corridors and close-quarter interiors, and SCUD has some of the best sniper lanes in the current crop of launch maps.
It feels like the maps were designed around different load-outs, with larger ones like the aforementioned SCUD and the island-based Protocol having excellent sniping spots while also working well with medium and even short-range guns. You have your long, open lanes with plenty of windows and balconies to perch your glinting sniper scope, but there are also tunnels, building interiors, and obstructions that invite you to play with other guns. It’s great because you don’t end up with teams made up primarily of snipers plunking one another from across the maps. Smaller maps, like Payback, lend themselves extremely well to the medium and short-range weapons and Payback in particular is absolute chaotic fun for objective-based modes like Headquarters and Control. The cramped quarters, ample angles, and multiple levels with such a small footprint means tons of chaos and carnage all happening quickly, as you’re constantly running into enemy players at every turn.
Subsonic, a small-ish map set in a stealth aircraft hangar, has one of my favorite features in any of the maps: a hangar bay door that opens and closes during the course of the match. This one little idea completely changes up how you have to approach the onslaught in objective-based modes throughout the match, and I love that it forces you to switch up your strategy on the fly. You really have to use both tactical and strategic-based thinking and it’s awesome.
There isn’t a single one of the 16 maps I don’t enjoy loading into.
I’m actually at a loss to name my least-favorite map, because there isn’t a single one out of the 16 total that are here I don’t enjoy loading into. Red Card, a large map outside a soccer stadium, is maybe the only one I have a bone to pick with, but that’s entirely because you can’t actually run out onto the pitch and shoot each other. That just seems like a missed opportunity. But otherwise it has a lot of variety, making it a great map for almost any type of loadout.
I’m a little bummed out that the modes present are really nothing new. It makes me realize that the last really cool new multiplayer mode in a Call of Duty was Champion Hill in Vanguard back in 2021, and weirdly that hasn’t been seen or iterated on since. I would have loved to see something novel and new to discover, but Treyarch plays it safe with a standard set of modes like Team Deathmatch, Control, and Kill Confirmed.
The newest idea is Kill Order, a spin on VIP modes where one member of each team is designated as a High Value Target. It’s pretty fun when you play with friends, but otherwise everyone just runs off and acts like it’s Team Deathmatch, completely ignoring the objective to protect the HVT. That’s not to say I don’t like it, because there’s a reason this style of mode has stuck around so long, but the minor tweaks like giving the HVT more armor and a very Warzone-like chance to revive if they’re killed don’t do enough to set it apart.
My go-to mode to play with a friend is Gunfight, a 2v2 mode on extremely tiny maps. It’s a pretty simple fight to the death where everyone has the same loadout that changes between each round, so you never really know what to expect. It’s also a great mode to jump into when you only have a small window of time to play, because the matches are really fast and over quickly. By and large, though, my friends and I stick with regular modes when playing together, and I switch to hardcore Team Deathmatch and hardcore Free-for-All when I’m playing solo.
For the most part, Treyarch stuck to its promise to revamp the user interface in Call of Duty, and while I do think it’s a big improvement in areas like gunsmithing and picking which of the base game modes you want to play, it still has weird issues that caused me some frustration. The greatly improved interface of Black Ops 6 really falters when it comes to finding Hardcore games to join, though. You need to open up the mode filter menu, and then select Hardcore from there, and then filter your modes. On top of that, BLOPS 6 seems to forget I want to play Hardcore and switches me back to the regular mode – something I usually only notice when I start a match and it suddenly takes more than one bullet to down a foe, usually resulting in a kill for my opponent.
My only major complaint about Black Ops 6 is that it has resurrected weird bugs and glitches that MW3 seemed to have completely squashed. At one point I started up a match and got the XP screen telling me I’d earned negative 170,080 experience points and was now at level 1, which felt pretty harsh. That, thankfully, didn’t stick, but sometimes my friends still see that level 1 indicator over my head. I’ve also had more than one occasion where a match would end and I’d be thrown back to the launch screen for a moment, only to drop back into the lobby but without my teammates. And there was a weird bug where it showed me ‘&&,’ C# for a logical ‘AND’ operator, instead of their level. So far none of these bugs have affected my gameplay or progression, and even that awkward level 1 reset disappeared once I restarted the game (which I did immediately). However, these small bugs are happening noticeably more often than I’m accustomed to.
The Weapons Grind
One of the main reasons I play Call of Duty multiplayer so much each year is to unlock weapon skins. The non-corporeal reward of a shiny gun always spurs some sort of primitive pleasure system inside my brain into action, and I do whatever is necessary to unlock the shiniest. That can be a slog that makes me curse that part of my brain, but this year things are a little different in a way that makes me happy to indulge that compulsive behavior.
For example, they keep it simple this year, at least at first. For the XM4, get 10 headshots to unlock the first skin, then 20 to unlock the second, and so on up to 100. It’s only once you’ve done all those that you get to the more elaborate, “Kill 10 enemies with your gun shortly after sprinting” type challenges that reward you with Specialized level skins. And you know what? I’m into it. It makes the common skins feel more common and the Specialized and Mastery level skins feel more, well, specialized and masterful. Am I looking forward to having my K/D plunge because I’m chasing the weapon skin dragon instead of taking whatever kills I can get? Not really, but I much prefer having those super cool skins require a little extra work.
I’m pretty disappointed in the variety of operators and their skins so far.
In addition to the weapon skins, the usual unlocks are here: new weapon parts and slots that open up as you level each weapon, different reticles for your sights, scorestreaks, wildcards and, of course, new operators and their associated skins.
Of the scorestreaks, one of my favorites is the new Archangel missile launcher that gives you a remote-controlled missile you operate from a first-person view. It’s like the cruise missile from Call of Duties past, but with a ground launch and much more control. If you like, you can just circle around the map for a surprising amount of time, searching for that perfect kill. It’s really fun and really effective.
The Watchdog Helo is another powerful scorestreak that operates similarly to helicopters from previous Call of Duty games, but this time it marks enemy positions on the map even if it can’t take them out with its minigun. At launch, it was a little too powerful and a little too hard to shoot down, but Treyarch has already balanced it out and now I feel like it’s right on the money. It doles out serious damage, but if you’re on the receiving end you can shoot it down without it feeling like a flying bullet sponge.
That said, I’m actually pretty disappointed in the number and variety of operators and operator skins so far. I know Black Ops 6 just came out, and Activision is really good at selling cosmetic upgrades over the course of a year, but one of the best parts of MW3 multiplayer was the sheer variety and absurdity of the skins. No matter how many times I dropped into a match with someone with a Snoop Dogg skin, I still got a huge kick out of hearing “I got your six, homie,” in Snoop’s actual voice.
None of those operator skins carry over into BLOPS 6 multiplayer, and the current crop plays it pretty safe with characters from the BLOPS 6 campaign, and the more ridiculous skins like Brutus and Klaus only being available if you purchased the Vault Edition. I already miss looking around at my team and seeing Nikki Minaj, Cheech Marin, an orangutan, Michael Meyers, and Violator from Spawn ready for action. Please bring us the ridiculousness, Treyarch and Raven. I’m a simple man; That’s all I ask.
One forward thinking PlayStation fan has spent upwards of $2,000 on 24 years worth of PS Plus to avoid increasingly common price hikes.
Reddit user On_Reddit_In_Class said they “decided to stack PS Plus subscriptions until 2048 because of the absurd price increases the past few years.” They plan to be gaming the rest of their lives so decided it would “save a good bit of money.”
A PS Plus Essential subscription cost $79.99 per year, so 24 years worth costs $1,919.76. Then, Sony was kind enough to offer the player an 89% discount to upgrade to a Premium subscription in a bizarre loophole, charging just $199.99 instead of $1,889.75, meaning it came to $2,119.75 altogether,
While the reaction to On_Reddit_In_Class’s post was a mixture of shock and awe, there is at least some logic behind the move, assuming PlayStation Plus remains a thing into the mid 21st century. Subscription service prices are on the rise, with everything from PS Plus to Xbox Game Pass and Netflix going up.
Sony last raised the price of PS Plus in September 2023, from $59.99 to $79.99 for the most basic tier. “This price adjustment will enable us to continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits to your PlayStation Plus subscription service,” it said at the time.
It’s been a long time since I’ve played a game that stuck with me in the way that 2015’s Life is Strange has. Its ability to tell a unique coming-of-age story about a rebellious but often shy teen without coming off preachy or overstaying its welcome was refreshing and had me thinking about it long after I discovered everything I could within the confines of Arcadia Bay. While the series has had a few sequels, prequels, and side stories since, none of them seemed to recapture the magic of those first five episodes for me – until now. Life is Strange: Double Exposure not only lives up to the sky-high standard set by the original but also manages to take it in a fresh new direction and improve on nearly every aspect from the previous games.
It was great to revisit Max Caulfield 10 years after the events of Life is Strange. Even though Max is well into her 20s now, she’s still very much the same character she was the last time we saw her: She’ll overanalyze her surroundings, make awkward jokes to herself, and, most importantly, take way too many pictures. But with her transition to adulthood comes a whole new set of issues she needs to deal with. Instead of worrying about fitting in and trying to impress everyone she met in Blackwell Academy, she’s now a grad student and has to act as an authority figure herself.
There are moments where she’s clearly coming to terms with the fact that she’s no longer young, such as when she questions some of the cringeworthy things she said in the original game or reminisces about when she was an undergrad and had to cram in as much studying and caffeine as possible before finals. It was the little moments like this that stuck with me and really helped make this new chapter in Max’s story even more relatable.
Writing on The Walls
As you’d expect in a Life is Strange game, you’ll need to make some tough decisions. Even though there are only a handful of major choices in each of the five chapters and not all of them will dramatically affect the overall outcome, they do all have consequences because characters will remember how you treat them and act accordingly – to a degree that previous games never managed to nail down. This time, conversations felt like I was talking to an actual person instead of playing a game of guessing the correct answer.
For example, in the first chapter, you are able to ask Amanda, the bartender of a local joint called The Snapping Turtle, out on a date if you play your cards right. On my first playthrough, I did everything I would need to in order to kickstart a romantic relationship with her by learning a handful of awful pick-up lines from other bar patrons. But on my second run, I opted not to ask her out and instead just became friends. While this didn’t necessarily change anything major with the story moving forward, I appreciated that there was a stark difference in how Amanda treated Max if they were dating or were just friends. In addition to romancing people, you can be mean, flirty, or even flat-out ignore someone if you want to. Without diving too heavily into spoiler territory, this is one of the few choose-your-own-adventure-style games I’ve played where I didn’t stress about making the “wrong decision” because every outcome felt natural and worth exploring rather than some being a consolation prize.
Double Exposure’s chapters each take around two or three hours to complete, which makes them shorter than those in some of the other Life is Strange games. This is actually a good thing, though, because I never felt like I was wasting my time dealing with a filler act or meandering around a party just to pad out the runtime. While there are a few plot points that don’t really seem to go anywhere unless you dig through Max’s phone, I never felt like I was missing out on anything too important to the overall story just because I neglected to keep up with my backlog of text messages and social media posts. I like a good epic-scale RPG, too, but the fact that Double Exposure respected my time and told a story that’s tight and concise was refreshing.
That story deals with a number of seriously heavy topics. Everything from divorce to anxiety to the different ways we grieve over the loss of a loved one is covered here in a way that’s so expertly written I never felt like any of these subjects were diminished or sensationalized – they just felt real. It would have been easy for Double Exposure to touch on a sensitive topic and then resolve it with a “thing bad” or “thing good” decision at the end, but instead the writing offers nuanced and appropriate approaches to its situations, many of which I’ve had to deal with in my own life. Seeing a video game character struggle to handle something like the anger and frustration one might feel after someone close to them takes their own life was an unexpected and especially well-executed bit of writing.
What really sells the writing is the incredible performances and animations.
It works so well in part because every character in Double Exposure has their own backstory and is written to feel like an actual human being, faults and all. For example, Reggie, a student at the school where Max teaches, will overshare at times because he sees Max as an authority figure, while Gwen, another teacher at Caledon Univeristy, keeps private details to herself because, like in real life, not everyone immediately tells everybody they meet everything about themselves.
What really sells Double Exposure’s writing and story is its absolutely incredible performances and character animations. While this has always been a highlight of the series, this game has more moments where characters would tell me everything they needed to say without speaking a word thanks to their subtle facial expressions. Say something mean and a character may look at you with disgust for a moment before responding. Pull somebody away from a group and you’ll see other characters briefly look disappointed that you interrupted them. While this isn’t anything new in games, the way in which Double Exposure emphasizes these little touches made me actually care about my actions and how I treated people. Thanks to this attention to detail and directing, Double Exposure’s character interactions are easily the most believable and well-executed I’ve seen in a Life is Strange game.
Reinventing Your Exit
Without getting too heavy into spoiler territory here, Double Exposure’s mystery is one full of twists and turns that definitely kept me guessing until I reached the finale.
The decision to give Max different powers was the correct choice because her original time manipulation abilities just wouldn’t have worked within the story being told here. If she could rewind time with the turn of her palm then the entire mystery could have been solved in a few moments, and that’s just no fun. Instead, those powers have been replaced by a set of interdimensional travel abilities that fit this new tale perfectly. As its title suggests, Max is able to view and travel between two separate realities: one that’s vibrant, warm, and full of life, complete with Christmas decorations and a more upbeat soundtrack, and another that’s miserable, cold, and marked by death. These realities exist in tandem with each other and are, in many ways, polar opposites. Everything from flyers on the walls of the school halls to the music and even how people interact with Max can be wildly different between the dead and living worlds.
I never found myself getting frustrated or lost on a puzzle.
Puzzles this time around greatly benefit from Max’s abilities, too. I never found myself getting frustrated or lost, and I’m happy to say there were never any sections where I had to dodge a train or perform any sort of frustrating quick time events. Her new abilities instead allow for a slower-pace where I needed to use deductive reasoning and explore both realities in order to find a clue or spy on somebody. Need to find something for someone in the living world? It’s probably nearby in the dead world. Need to sneak around an active murder investigation in the dead world? Just hop over to the living world and walk past where the guards are standing, then hop back. It’s not wildly complex stuff, but the way Double Exposure utilizes Max’s powers not only to help you find clues and explore but also to show how the world around you evolves in two separate paths at the same time makes this one of the more interesting uses of a multiverse in gaming.
Double Exposure’s smart use of reality hopping also helps with the story in ways that no other power in Life is Strange has before. For example, someone could be dealing with some trouble in one world that informs how you interact with them in the other. Meanwhile, The Snapping Turtle in the living world is warm, people are conversing with each other, and the music is upbeat and welcoming, but its dead world version has aggressive music, there are fewer people around, and the lighting is cold and uninviting. Because I was able to explore freely and instantly see the differences between both realities, I found myself learning about the worlds, their characters, and the results of my actions in a more meaningful way rather than just searching for exposition dumps and waiting for text messages.
Caledon University itself is an idealistic-looking Northeastern college campus. The buildings are old and covered in a layer of snow and student art, and the cinematography when you take a moment to reflect on a park bench or overlook shows off how beautiful this location is. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit smaller than the areas from the other Life is Strange Games, and while it would have been nice to explore a larger world outside of the few accessible locations on campus, Max’s house, and The Snapping Turtle, every area in Double Exposure is pretty densely packed with things to interact with and explore.
They are also bolstered by composer Tessa Rose Jackson with some of the best original music I’ve heard in a video game all year. The soundtrack not only perfectly captures the emotions of each scene but also helps to amplify the tone of the world, making it feel even more alive or dead, depending on which reality you’re in. The same can be said about the color grading and cinematography. The series is known for its cinematic look, and Double Exposure is no exception thanks to its rich color palette and smart camera work. Vista shots, snap zooms, and following focus on characters are all artfully executed in a way that would feel at home in a feature film.
As I excitedly slashed, blasted, wooed, looted, and delved my way through the stunning and enthralling world of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I kept having one thought: “Wait, BioWare made this? 2024 BioWare?” With this game coming in the wake of the debacle that was Anthem, itself preceded by Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda, which were both merely alright in hindsight, I wasn’t sure these former masters of the roleplaying game craft could make a game like this anymore. But putting together my team of interesting and endearing companions to save the world felt like getting the old band back together, in more ways than one.
The scope of this adventure is the whole North of Thedas, sending you from the coasts of Rivain to the blighted wilds of the Anderfels as you attempt to prevent the rise of an ancient and menacing evil. It was thrilling as a long-time fan of the series to finally see so many of the places I’d only read about in a journal entry way back in 2009. And the way BioWare has us go about that exploration is very focused and deliberate.
Veilguard’s level design was one of the first things that jumped out at me, reminding me of the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic more than anything. The slick, looping corridors with just enough little nooks to discover are cleverly interconnected in a way that proves how a BioWare-style RPG gains a lot and loses almost nothing by ditching the idea of a fully open world. (The exceptions to that are a couple of the more vertical sections of the city of Minrathous, which can be a pain in the ass to navigate.) Across the board, the environment art is really jaw-dropping, from the desolate peaks of Kal-Sharok to the surreal, floating elven ruins in Arlathan Forest.
I was very pleased with the character designs, too. The armor and outfits are fabulous. I spent more than an hour in the character creator, like I usually do, and came out with a version of our protagonist, Rook, who delighted me every time she was in frame. This might be some of the best-looking hair I’ve ever seen in a video game.
Veilguard’s combat is a refinement of what we saw in Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition.
Even with all of that visual splendor I was able to get a stable 60 fps at 4k on my RTX 4070 Super with DLSS set to maximum performance, which usually didn’t affect the visual quality in very noticeable ways. The one exception to this was in the late game, when there could be so many spell effects going off at once that I’d not only lose frames, it’s also difficult to even see what’s actually going on.
Through the crackle and sparks, though, Veilguard’s combat is definitely a refinement of what we saw in Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition. I’ve always preferred the more tactical style of Dragon Age: Origins or Baldur’s Gate 3, but that ship sailed so long ago for this studio, not even the Evanuris remember what it looked like. And so, judging this very action-focused combat system for what it is, it’s pretty good! BioWare has committed fully to the fast-paced style and refined it to a point that I enjoy it quite a bit. And the ability to pause to issue party members orders, just like in Mass Effect, still gives some opportunity for more tactical players like myself to look around the battlefield and consider our next move. It definitely feels better on a controller than mouse and keyboard, though.
I was somewhat disappointed that party members are more like extensions of your own character in combat at this point rather than their own entities. They don’t even have health bars, for instance. They can’t be knocked out in combat, whereas you instantly lose an encounter if Rook goes down. They do have equipment slots and skill trees, though less than what Rook gets. But overall, the amount of customization available for the whole squad through piles and piles of interesting, upgradeable loot was more than enough to satisfy my RPG appetites, if not fulfill my wildest fantasies of intricate battle management.
In my 100-hour near-100 percent, almost obsessively completionist playthrough, I styled Rook as a Spellblade – a mid-ranged melee hybrid mage – and really enjoyed the play style once I’d unlocked all of my core tools. Dancing with a dagger through a lightning storm I summoned, darting out of danger and then back in for a lethal blow, is just a really good time that rewards precise timing and wise target prioritization. This isn’t the tactical Dragon Age of my youth, but it is a Dragon Age I can vibe with.
And the highlights of combat are definitely the boss fights, which offer a really satisfying challenge even on the default difficulty. While standard mob fights with Darkspawn or Venatori cultists eventually got a little repetitive after 90-plus hours, going up against a High Dragon never failed to get my blood pumping as I had to carefully study attack patterns and think on my feet.
Your whole squad is made up of complex, memorable, and likable companions.
In the sense that a BioWare RPG is really about your companions, also known as the friends we made along the way, this might be the most BioWare game of all time. Not only is the whole squad made up of complex, memorable, likable, distinct personalities from across Thedas, but they’re all treated as the stars of their own story. Veilguard is light on that classic kind of side quest that’s like, “Help Bingo Bongo find some nug grease,” and I don’t miss those much because they’ve been replaced by full-length heroic arcs for each companion, with twists, turns, a personal nemesis, major character developments, and a moment of triumph fit for a protagonist rather than a sidekick. It’s like the writers took the loyalty missions from Mass Effect 2 and blew them up into seven miniature games of their own. Almost every side mission ties into one of these, which obliterates the sense that you’re doing busywork.
Picking a favorite of the seven Veilguard members to talk about genuinely feels like an impossible task. I really want to say all of them are my favorite. But I had a rewarding romance with the stoic Grey Warden, Davrin, and became the mother to his fledgeling griffon pal, Assan, so he’s got to be my pick for this playthrough. Seriously, if anything ever happens to that little guy, I will wash Thedas away in a tide of fire. The Vincent Price-inspired gentleman necromancer Emmerich is also a delightful twist on the usual edgy goth death mage tropes.
And while we’ve been asked by the devs not to spoil specifically who I’m talking about here, as a non-binary person myself, Veilguard includes some of the most authentic representation of coming to terms with gender stuff – and having to navigate your family’s reaction to it – I’ve seen yet in a game. It doesn’t feel like an after school special or like I’m being pandered to. It’s quite well-handled, and finding out that the writer for this character is non-binary themselves did not surprise me at all.
The larger plot that’s threatening the world in the background as we’re doing all of these more personal quests is nothing particularly outstanding in its overall structure. We need to unite some factions to fight some evil gods who are trying to do bad things with tentacles. The major wrinkle that makes that interesting, however, is Solas – also known as the Dread Wolf, elven god of lies and rebellion – waiting in the wings, keeping me guessing about whether he was a friend or foe.
This story feels like both a send-off and a soft reboot, in a way.
As a continuation of the Dragon Age series, Veilguard does feel a little disconnected from where we left off a decade ago. If you were expecting decisions from previous games in the series to carry over, I’m sorry to say they’ve never mattered less. You only get to import three choices, one of which only comes up in the context of a single letter you may or may not find and read. You do get to recreate your Inquisitor from Dragon Age: Inquisition, the same way Inquisition let you recreate your Hawke if you played Dragon Age 2. And the Inquisitor ends up being a fairly important character, which was cool.
But things like who you chose to make head of the Chantry at the end of Inquisition never come up. There’s no sign of the Warden from Origins, even though you visit the stronghold of their order. Hawke gets only a passing mention. There are some other cameos from both Origins and Dragon Age 2, but those characters conspicuously don’t reference any important choices you may have made in their presence. This story feels like both a send-off and a soft reboot, in a way, which was paradoxically a bit refreshing and disappointing at the same time.
The pacing early on is kind of weird, too, and I felt like I could practically smell the rewrites. For example, it’s hilarious that no one ever says the word “Veilguard” out loud across the 100 hours I played of this dialogue-packed campaign, exposing a last-minute marketing pivot for what it was. But it doesn’t take too long for things to get on a good track, story-wise, and when they do, they stay on it.
The sacrifices I had to make in the closing hours hurt. The wise decisions I made paid off.
Aside from one huge choice you’ll make early on, the most interesting bits of narrative design don’t come until the very end of Veilguard’s story. And again, it’s hard to dig into this too much without spoiling something, but the finale is also very much in the spirit of Mass Effect 2, which has an ending that, up until now, may have been the best series of complex consequential choices ever featured in an RPG. The sacrifices I had to make in the closing hours hurt. The wise decisions I made paid off. And I even got the chance to dramatically flick an ace out of my sleeve at the last moment, specifically because I took a very thorough and careful approach to everything leading up to it. That felt like the ultimate reward.
Throughout all of that, the cinematic flair is off the charts, proving that BioWare is unmatched in the RPG world in that discipline. So much of the best stuff I can’t even tell you about, but parts of it felt like watching a big-budget fantasy movie in the best ways. A triumphant and effective – if not quite iconic – score elevates these moments further.
