Category: Video Games

Editor’s note: This article is based on an interview that took place on August 29, 2024, long before both the recent Commander bans and changes to control of the format were announced. As such, the quotes within are not in direct reference or response to those events.

Magic: The Gathering is currently riding high, consistently breaking its own records as it continues to grow into the most popular version of itself in its entire 31-year history. But ask some longtime players about its “Universes Beyond” crossovers or the increased pace of new products in recent years and you’ll hear a common fear being voiced: developer Wizards of the Coast, pushed by aggressive goals set by parent company Hasbro, is only prioritizing short-term gains at the cost of the long-term sustainability of this game.

It’s not an unreasonable concern, especially since it’s a sentiment WOTC seems acutely aware of. But it’s also a complaint that has now persisted for many years – at least since a 2020 collaboration with The Walking Dead angered many players while WOTC simultaneously declared it one of its most successful products ever. So if these decisions were providing a shortsighted burst of revenue but causing deeper harm to the health of this game, wouldn’t they be able to see some signs of that in the years that followed?

At a roundtable interview a month ago, I got the opportunity to put that question directly to the people who make Magic. I asked if WOTC’s internal data, both in terms of immediate sales and actual player retention/interest, had shown any signs for concern since things like Universes Beyond began, and how the developer actually defines “success” amidst some players’ worries that its recent direction could be eroding Magic’s foundation. Head designer Mark Rosewater told me, in no uncertain terms, it’s a fear “the data does not remotely back up.”

“We are always forward facing. Our goal is not to make the quickest buck we can and call it a day,” Rosewater said. “Magic is 31 years old, we plan to be here as long as we can. And so we are constantly forward thinking in how we do things.”

He explained that Magic is “a game all about change,” and that while he understands why people often have a negative reaction when a thing they love changes, WOTC’s job is to keep iterating and figure out what is best for this game as a whole. And, at least in the case of Universes Beyond, that iteration apparently bore fruit, as he said “there’s no other way to grade” it besides a “runaway success.”

“[Players] bounced off it when it first happened, no question. We made The Walking Dead cards and we had a lot of the audience respond they were not happy. But then Walking Dead went on to be the most successful Secret Lair we ever did, and Lord of the Rings is the most successful single set we ever did.”

Critically, “successful” here does not just mean “profit” or whatever other financial metric you want to use. Rosewater said “there’s a whole lot” they look at to judge success, including internal market research, digital data, and even Google trends. “There’s lots of ways to look at something. We care about all of that.”

Ken Troop, the Global Play Lead on Magic, also pointed out that when they do something that they do see is clearly not working for players, they don’t tend to keep doing it for long, using the infamous Aftermath set from 2023 as an example. “We got a lot of data that said Aftermath did not work, and we killed it,” Troop recalled. “It was a product that was [also] supposed to go out with Outlaws of Thunder Junction, there was a nice chunk of revenue associated with that product. We’re like, ‘nope, this is not gonna go see the light of day, we’re gonna kill this.’”

Troop told a story about the team sitting down to write “the principles of Magic R&D” roughly a decade ago, citing the first principle as the following: “We are stewards of Magic, we believe Magic will last forever, and we want Magic to be bigger tomorrow than it is today.” He went on to say that, whether you believe they are genuine in that goal or not, he personally hopes to be working on Magic for the rest of his life, and that “the degree to which we don’t pursue short term gain at the expense of long term— it’s really remarkable.”

“People just wanna attribute– I don’t know, it’s the nature of the internet of, like, ‘they’re up to no good,’ or, ‘they don’t have our our issues in mind’,” Rosewater said in a similar line of thinking. “We very much care what players think. We do surveys and everything, we do market research. We don’t wanna just make something, we wanna make something we honestly believe that the players to their core will enjoy, and that drives our decisions.”

Of course, WOTC is still a business and the products they create do have to make that business money, but Rosewater pushed back on the idea that something selling well means it must be a cash grab. “[Success] is not just that [a product sold well], but also I don’t wanna dismiss “it sold well,” he said with a laugh. ”There is an audience that loves it. That’s why it sold well.”

Troop expanded on that idea: “For Magic, typically we do see that when things don’t sell well, that is a really good proxy of audience dislike. There’s very few things that I can point to sustainably over time that have sold well, but it wasn’t popular. Or conversely, things that people say are popular but don’t sell well. Magic typically is a really good converter of joy to economic engagement.”

So for now, at least according to all of the metrics WOTC uses to evaluate its game, the fear that the bottom is crumbling out from under Magic as the top grows ever higher is apparently unfounded. Both Rosewater and Troop were sensitive to the frustrations of the enfranchised Magic players who are watching a game they’ve been playing for decades shift in ways they may not always like, but they also see change as a necessary part of that game – not to hit some immediate sales goal, but to ensure Magic is around for a few decades more.

“We really do try to look at what’s going to make Magic have its best chance of lasting for a very long time,” Troop said. “Sometimes we get that wrong, but that is our motivation every time.”

Tom Marks is IGN’s Executive Reviews Editor. He loves card games, puzzles, platformers, puzzle-platformers, and lots more.

The PlayStation 5 Pro has divided fans since it was announced in September, and game developers have differing outlooks on the new premium console as well.

Speaking with the developers behind Sonic the Hedgehog and Monster Hunter Wilds during Tokyo Game Show 2024 last weekend, each expressed interest in the added power the PS5 Pro affords. But when it comes to what it means for their individual games, their opinions start to diverge.

Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto errs on the positive side, saying that Wilds team knew they definitely wanted to support the PS5 Pro as soon as they learned about it. Developed on the powerful RE Engine, Monster Hunter has lately been known for its graphical prowess, making the PS5 Pro a natural fit.

“We didn’t think there was an option to just leave it on the table. But we are getting great support from Sony in terms of helping us figure out what we’re going to do with that. So it’s an extra thing to think about as part of the development process, but we’re excited for the possibilities,” Tsujimoto says.

As we learned during our hands-on with the PS5 Pro last week, support for the platform can take many different forms. Most developers are introducing an enhanced mode that supports 4K resolution and high frame-rates, but other games, like Horizon, are much more granular. The team’s indecision may mean that PS5 Pro support isn’t available immediately at launch.

“We’d love to make it in time for launch, but we’re very much in the middle of the process of deciding how that’s going to look,” Tsujimoto says.

Sonic Team producer Takashi Iizuka, meanwhile, is keeping his focus on the previous generation. He says that he wants “as many people as possible to play” Sonic games, which means continuing to support the PS4, which still boasts a very large fanbase.

He continues, “As a market, we have the high-end machines, high-end consoles. Coming out with those consoles, we feel that we can make newer Sonic games that can express the speed of Sonic and with much better gaming UI as well. However, we want to support the lower spec constants as well. So even though the PS5 Pro is coming out, or new innovations or technology are coming out, we feel that it is important to support with the lower spec consoles and let many of the users keep playing Sonic.”

That includes continuing to support the Nintendo Switch, which is expected to have a next-generation update soon, but in the meantime continues to chug along in its seventh year. Iizuka says that Sonic will continue to pursue a middle path between high-end platforms like the PS5 and lower-end consoles like the Switch, with the series adding enhancements or making compromises where necessary.

As for the the PS5 Pro’s $700 price point, which has been a hot topic among fans since its announcement, Iizuka acknowledges that it’s “really expensive” on the face of it. Ultimately, though, it might be worth it.

“I feel that with the quality that they are providing it’s not that expensive… And yeah, it would be really good for the high-end game users,” Iizuka says.

Tsujimoto is likewise sanguine about the price. “The price isn’t something we feel it’s appropriate for us to comment on, but in terms of the capabilities, we think that it’s definitely worthy of the Pro name. So we’re excited to see what it can do.”

Around 60 games are expected to support the PS5 Pro when it releases next month, including several first-party PlayStation games such as The Last of Us, Spider-Man, and Horizon: Forbidden West. You can read our PS5 Pro hands-on impressions here, where we talk about the impact of AI upscaling and other improvements.

The PS5 Pro releases on November 7. While you wait, check out the best games released in 2024 so far.

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.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (officially Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater) is a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid 3 that adds a full third-person mode to the game, but being able to run and gun made it so easy Konami manually bumped up the difficulty.

In an interview with Famitsu translated by Automaton, creative producer Yuji Korekado discussed the two gameplay modes available in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Legacy Style and New Style. The former is an exact recreation of the 2004 game, essentially a top-down camera with a fixed perspective, while the latter features modern gameplay in a third-person mode.

Another difference between the two modes is that New Style gives players the ability to move while aiming and shooting. This was technically possible in the original game (and thus will be in Legacy Mode) but hitting a target was practically impossible.

The difficulty of Metal Gear Solid 3 was therefore balanced to work with standing still before shooting enemies, essentially giving them a little bit more time to deal damage. When that time was taken away in the modern third-person New Style, Konami found taking them out made the game too easy.

“New Style provides a wider, linear field of view, and you can shoot your gun while moving Snake, which made the difficulty level lower than we had expected,” Korekado said. “However, if we were to adjust things to match the New Style, that would make the Legacy Style too difficult. That’s why we decided to split the two play styles.”

The different modes will therefore feel like the same difficulty, but that’s only because Konami has adjusted them to be different behind the scenes.

Metal Gear Solid Delta is still set for a 2024 launch despite the end of the year drawing closer and closer, with a release due on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.

Beyond the New Style and its third-person perspective, the game is otherwise shaping up to be an exact recreation of the original. “Metal Gear Solid Delta seems more like a very shiny HD remaster than the elegant remake it could have been,” IGN said in our preview. “It’s an admittedly beautiful nostalgia trip, but almost faithful to a fault.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Synduality Echo of Ada is a curious game with a post-apocalyptic world, mechs, and idyllic AI companions. It even has its own anime tie-in called Synduality Noir. To be honest, it hadn’t even crossed my radar until recently, but after spending some time with this PvPvE extraction shooter and talking to the developers, I’m intrigued, to say the least.

I played the first hour or so of Synduality Echo of Ada, the same portion that was recently available during the closed network test. The game begins with a condensed history told with comic book-like storyboarding.

Many years ago, the world as we know it was destroyed after a poisonous rain called The Tears of the New Moon not only decimated the population, but spawned vicious monsters called Enders. Now, the last remaining dregs of society run on a rare resource called AO Crystals. It’s up to the Drifters, essentially mech-piloting freelancers, to face the dangers of the surface and collect these crystals. Drifters are never alone, though–they always have their highly customizable Magus (aka Human Duality Cognitive Androids) by their side, helping them manage missions and even pilot their mechs. Mechs, by the way, are called CRADLECOFFINS. No, I don’t know why, and yes, I should have asked.

This intro video is presented by the Drifter Support Association and immediately reeks of propaganda. It’s hosted by an adorable rabbit-looking plushy named Yoshio with a disturbingly deep voice, who says things like, “I heard all the cool kids want to be Drifters. You’re cool, right?”

The video’s goal is, obviously, to recruit (or peer pressure) folks into becoming Drifters, and prefaces the Drifter Support Association’s final section of the Drifter Selection Exam, which acts as a tutorial.

Though the story hook left me curious, especially about the Magus origin and purpose and the potentially nefarious Drifter Support Assocition, it isn’t as important as the core gameplay loop. As a new Drifter, your garage is, to put it as lightly as possible, a complete dump. It needs a lot of repairs if you want to craft freely and live comfortably. To repair the base and craft supplies, you need to collect materials and resources, and to make money, you need to complete missions. Both of these goals can be accomplished by deploying on Sorties out into the world piloting your CRADLECOFFIN and accompanied by your Magus.

Expeditions to the surface can almost be described as methodical and calming, but with bursts of action. Sortie to the map. Scan surroundings with the help of your Magus. Extract AO Crystals and collect materials needed for quests, crafting, or base upgrades, and then get the hell out–all while dealing with hostile Enders, other players that may be friend or foe, and the toxic rain that eats away at your CRADLECOFFIN’s armor.

Avoiding the poisonous rain is more difficult than it looks at first glance–I found myself trying to seek shelter in ruins that looked protected yet were apparently not. Luckily, I was able to recover, and I’m sure I’d learn of safe resting spots if I played more. But I can’t say I wasn’t annoyed by the lack of shelter from what would have blocked the rain for me in real life.

The main enemies, Enders, come in a wide variety, but I only saw three when I played. They ranged from simple nuisances to dangerous foes to be avoided, especially when in numbers. Still, even with scarier Enders about that forced me to retreat at times, the real difficulty of Synduality seems like it could be determined by the other Drifters–real players like you.

As you explore, you can spawn at many different points, and other players will be looking for resources on the same map. They, or you, can choose to hunt other players, ignore them, or help out. You can’t turn off friendly fire, and that applies to things like your Magus’ healing AOE’s, too.

It was nerve-wracking when my Magus told me another Drifter was nearby! Would they be friend or foe? When I did encounter someone, they emoted a friendly wave and said to cease fire… before they immediately turned on me when I let my guard down.

If you’re defeated before making it to an extraction point elevator, you’ll leave behind everything on you, all of which can now be taken by other players. This includes the parts that make up your CRADLECOFFIN and equipment, and even your Magus, who you’ll have to get back by paying a large ransom, the developers told me. So yes, you can kidnap other players’ waifus or husbandos, and have your own kidnapped, too.

You can somewhat prepare for this by getting insurance for different items, or putting something in a safety pocket. And, as a last resort, you can hold a series of buttons to bail out with your Magus. You’ll lose everything else, but at least the two of you will escape with your lives.

Encountering hostile players sounds like it could get incredibly frustrating, especially if you encounter players at a much higher skill level than yourself, when playing an otherwise not-too-difficult yet enjoyably challenging game.

The developers assured me that, at least in the beginning, you’ll be grouped more often with players similar to yourself–PK’rs with other PK’rs, and peaceful players with other peaceful players.

As far as difficulty in general, the director of Synduality, Yohei Kataoka, said feedback from players points to Synduality being as at a “good” level of difficulty and they can see from their end that missions have a high clearance rate. The controls are easy to master and the more you play, the more you’ll learn, Kataoka explained. I can definitely corroborate that the controls were very intuitive for anyone who’s played a third-person shooter, and they felt good, too, for simulating piloting a mech.

I asked them to compare Synduality to the notoriously difficult extraction shooter Escape from Tarkov, and Kataoka said: “If you’re comparing [Synduality] to Tarkov, this game’s easy.”
Though the rewards seem disproportionately high for being a player killer, there are also some consequences to going after fellow Drifters. The Drifter Support Association looks down on hunting other Drifters, and will stop issuing quests to adamant player killers, among other consequences that are yet unrevealed. The developers also told me your Magus would even start offering different advice if you’re a player killer, like if someone on the map is an easy target. Interesting!

Usually, your Magus will dish out advice as it learns by going out on expeditions with you. It will remember things like where you found a rare resource, so it can automatically mark those points on your map if you have a quest for it or wishlist something that requires it. It will also warn you if you enter an area you previously died, among other things.
The devs easily landed on “Magus” when asked what the most difficult part of development was. Not only was it difficult to determine how much information the Magus should relay to the player (they are quite chatty as they are, currently), but from the production side, it makes for a lot of different dialogue lines that need to be recorded by many different voice actors.

“There is no other title that has something quite like this, you know, a Magus, a helper, side-by-side with the player,” Futami explained. “Maybe it’s because it’s difficult, a hassle, to do… So having Magus itself is one of the stronger points of Synduality.”

Magus also provide moral support, another unique benefit. Futami explained that AI in Synduality will be together with you at good times and bad. Usually, in extraction games, you lose everything, which can be very demoralizing. But in Synduality, Futami said your AI will be by your side to support and encourage you to try again.

I can already tell you some people would probably get annoyed by their Magus constantly confirming hits or telling you where to go or what to do, but universally I think players will enjoy their Magus between Sorties. They greet you when you return and are seen puttering about in the base. When I upgraded an area, my Magus cleared the area of weeds and cooked me dinner with them–it was cute! They’re fun touches that break up the monotony of menus and any potential repetitive expedition-going.

I’m told there’s a lot more to the Magus, too, but we’ll just have to find that out as we play. Synduality’s theme that “you’re never alone” is entirely made possible by the existence of the Magus. Though you’ll technically be playing with other people, they won’t necessarily be helpful, and you won’t be able to team up with any particular person online.

Futami explained that they chose to not include co-op because not only would it entirely throw off the balance of the game, but because losing a human partner can be difficult to deal with. Magus is a better substitute, and is always available to play with, unlike adults with sporadic free time.

Synduality is a full-price, full-experience standalone game, but there will be season battle passes with different missions, goals, and rewards, and some monetization that includes cosmetics, like for the Magus, that won’t affect gameplay. I didn’t get a good look at this system myself, unfortunately, but I was told the first season focuses on rising up from zero–out of the starting hub covered in vegetation.

It’s hard to say if the gameplay loop might become repetitive sooner rather than later after such a short amount of time with it, but Synduality’s hook definitely left me wanting more. The structure lends itself to a mindset of, “I have time for one Sortie” that would easily lead into “but just one more.” I had fun exploring and fighting, and I wanted to learn more about the customization options I could unlock for my CRADLECOFFIN and Magus–it looks like there are plenty.

Synduality Echo of Ada will be released on January 23, 2025 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.