Onslaught: Salvation awaits in Destiny 2: Revenant, live October 8

Wave after wave of enemy forces advance, seemingly without end. Attacks arrive from every angle at once. The lives of innocent Eliksni captives hang in the balance. In response, Guardians do what they do best: take up arms and run headlong into the fray.

One of the major features introduced in Destiny 2’s latest Episode, Revenant, is Onslaught: Salvation. A defensive wave-based activity that pits three-Guardian fireteams against increasingly intense waves of enemies, Onslaught also allows Guardians to purchase powerful defensive units to use against the invading hordes. In its original form (introduced in Destiny 2: Into the Light), Onslaught was a packed and intense mode, full of ratcheting tension and ‘Did you see that?’ moments. Now, with Onslaught: Salvation, the development team is raising the bar.

“There were a lot of great and constructive feedback from the community with the original Onslaught,” said Destiny 2 designer Clayton Kisko. “The one we heard most often was that they wanted Bungie to invest in the mode with new maps, new enemies, and new defenses, and that is exactly what we are doing with Onslaught: Salvation.”

From a thematic perspective, Onslaught: Salvation’s three new maps – Widow’s Court, Eventide Ruins, and Kell’s Grave – are leaning into the gothic horror that is fitting with Revenant’s chilling visual theme. If the original Onslaught was about protecting the Last City from the forces of the Witness, this time around the theme leans into slaying monsters, fighting evil, and saving the innocent.


Onslaught: Salvation awaits in Destiny 2: Revenant, live October 8

By their nature, Onslaught maps need to pack a lot of punch into some relatively tight spaces to provide maximum tension and action. The three new maps each have their own unique layouts, while also building on lessons learned from earlier Onslaught maps.

“This time around we were able to identify the design pain points early and got ahead of the enemy teleporting issues,” said Kisko. “We ensured that there were at least three wide lanes for each Advanced Defense Unit (ADU) location. For Eventide Ruins, the larger map, we took our learnings from Mothyards (from the original Onslaught) and set out to make sure enemy spawn locations were closer to the ADU to ensure a closer time-to-complete to the other two maps.” 

Alongside the new maps, Guardians will be pleased to know that they’ll have new defensive countermeasures available this time around. The new Air Strikes will rain down retribution on humanity’s enemies and, for those who want to get a bit more hands on, there’s the Rideable Turret.

“The Rideable Turret is good at mowing down clumps of enemies or damaging a single heavy unit like those deadly Demolitionists who like to attack the ADU,” said Kisko. “It can overheat, though, so players will need to balance when they fire and for how long. The defensive upgrades increase the health of the turret and the damage. The final upgrade will add scorching rounds to the bullets. What is so cool about that is the sandbox team was able to design it so the turret will combo with any of the rider’s Solar fragments or buildcrafting around scorching rounds.”

While defending the ADU is one of the key mission components in an Onslaught: Salvation game, it’s certainly not the only thing that will keep Guardians moving. Augmentation waves and bonus objectives will take players out of their comfort zones (and away from the safety blanket of relying on defensive countermeasures). This time, players will be infiltrating the Revenant Nest to free captured Eliksni. For one bonus objective, new shielded enemy units will appear, requiring Guardians to use special ether-light cannons to stop them.

Jonathan To, narrative lead for Destiny 2, said the team has worked hard to include narrative hooks in Onslaught: Salvation to keep things moving from a story and character standpoint.

“The main writers for Onslaught: Salvation created some excellent character-building and exchanges between Spider, Crow, Eido, Eramis, and others. Crow is figuring out a new role for himself in the City, Eido is the player’s partner this Episode in a role we can’t wait to share more about, and who knows what Eramis will be up to when she returns, having both helped and fought against us in the past. Fans of the Eliksni and the saga of the Fallen up to this point in Destiny will love what the team has done here.”

Onslaught: Salvation is playable with the release of Destiny 2: Revenant, starting October 8.

Halo’s future as an Unreal Engine game looks both handsome and boring, going by these “Project Foundry” videos

Halo creators 343 Industries are having a bit of a glow-up. They’re now calling themselves Halo Studios, a piece of rhetorical doubling-down that reminds me of those dril tweets about “James Bond, author of James Bond”. They’ve also abandoned the proprietary Slipspace game engine used by Halo Infinite in favour of Epic’s Unreal Engine 5, which will be the basis for “multiple new games”. To celebrate the occasion, Halo Studios have released some footage of Project Foundry, an expansive Unreal Engine 5 prototype and spawning vat for actual Halo games, which is billed by the Xbox Newswire as a kind of ur-Halo – “a true reflection of what would be required for a new Halo game using Unreal, and a training tool for how to get there”.

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Alien: Isolation 2 Confirmed

On the 10-year anniversary of Alien: Isolation’s release, developer Creative Assembly has confirmed that a sequel is in development.

In a statement marking the survival horror classic’s 10th birthday, creative director Al Hope said the development team would share more details “when we’re ready.”

Hope returns to lead development on the sequel having done so on the first game. In his statement published to X/Twitter, Hope said: “On the 10th anniversary, it seems only fitting to let you know that we have heard your distress calls loud and clear.

“Today, I’m delighted to confirm, on behalf of the team, that a sequel to Alien: Isolation is in early development. We look forward to sharing more details with you when we’re ready.”

That’s all we have for now. We don’t have a final title for the game, a release window, or target launch platforms. Given the sequel is in early development, it will probably be some time before we find out what to expect and get our first look.

For now though, there’s genuine excitement from Alien: Isolation fans, many of whom had called on Creative Assembly and owner Sega to greenlight a sequel ever since the first game came out. Alien: Isolation sold one million copies within three months of going on sale, then 2.11 million after six months, which was not enough for Sega to have considered it a commercial success.

IGN recently revisted Alien: Isolation for the 10-year anniversary, exploring why the 2014 horror game was just as impoactful now as it was when it launched. “It’s an unforgettable feat of video game design that has successfully endured the test of time, and – like the 1979 film from which it burst forth – will undoubtedly still hold up after another decade has passed,” we said. “Today, on its 10th anniversary, Alien: Isolation remains a singular, extraordinary experience.”

It’s been a difficult time for Creative Assembly in recent years, with the cancelation of live service shooter Hyenas, Total War: Pharaoh’s failure to find an audience, and a significant round of layoffs coming hot on the heels of a studio apology for the various missteps it had made with Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC.

However, the UK studio still has plenty in the works in addition to the Alien: Isolation sequel from its Survival team. Creative Assembly is reportedly also working on a Total War Star Wars video game, one of three new Total War games in development. Total War fans have called on Creative Assembly to give a Star Wars game a shot for years, although there are equally vociferous calls for the studio to follow its Warhammer trilogy of Total War games with a similar effort for Warhammer 40,000.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Halo’s Move to Unreal Engine 5 Would Make a PS5 Version Easier to Achieve, Tech Experts Say

Halo’s move to Unreal Engine 5 would make it easier for developer Halo Studios, née 343 Industries, to take Xbox’s flagship first-person shooter multi-platform, including a launch on PlayStation 5, tech experts have said.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Digital Foundry chief Richard Leadbetter said moving to Unreal 5 makes for “easier” multi-platform development than porting across the existing Slipspace engine.

“It stands to reason that an engine designed for deployment across multiple platforms would be easier to work with than existing technology built for Xbox and PC,” Leadbetter said.

While Microsoft’s multi-platform video game push has seen the likes of Rare’s Sea of Thieves and Obsidian’s Grounded make the jump to PS5, the company has yet to announce any Halo game for a non-Xbox console.

Despite a backlash from some hardcore Xbox fans, Microsoft’s multi-platform push appears to have been a success. Sea of Thieves, for example, topped Sony’s sales chart earlier this year, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said the company’s franchises are stronger for heading to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Indeed more PS5 launches are coming, including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, albeit a few months after MachineGames’ adventure hits PC and Xbox, and id Software’s Doom: The Dark Ages. Could Halo be next?

In August, Spencer said Xbox’s multi-platform push is in part about bringing in more money to Microsoft’s gaming business — with the pressure now on to deliver following Microsoft’s eye-watering $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard last year.

“… we run a business,” Spencer said. “It’s definitely true inside of Microsoft the bar is high for us in terms of the delivery we have to give back to the company. Because we get a level of support from the company that’s just amazing and what we’re able to go do.

“So I look at this, how can we make our games as strong as possible? Our platform continues to grow, on console, on PC, and on cloud. It’s just going to be a strategy that works for us.”

Microsoft has so-far used older games released over a year ago for its multi-platform push as opposed to brand new games, but that will soon change with the release of Indiana Jones. The most dramatic move would be to bring Halo to PlayStation, given the shooter’s symbiotic relationship with Xbox. But would Microsoft actually go through with it? As former Xbox boss Peter Moore recently told IGN, Microsoft will be debating whether to bring Halo to PlayStation as we speak.

Halo’s shift to Unreal comes amid a tumultuous time for Xbox that has seen an eye-watering 2,550 staff cut from the gaming business this year and multiple studio closures. All the while, sales of Xbox Series X and S have fallen dramatically, Xbox Game Pass growth has stalled, and Microsoft faces a backlash from hardcore Xbox players about its potentially wavering commitment to exclusives and the console business.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Metaphor: ReFantazio review: like a brilliant fantasy Persona, only with one major catch

Graham asked me if I’d discovered what the metaphor in Metaphor: ReFantazio might be, and I replied, “I don’t know haha”, or something along those lines. Having given it more thought, I think there are two metaphors: 1) It plays quite like Persona. 2) Its story is like a commentary on our society… or something to that effect.

Metaphors aside, though, the game is a gigantic fantasy RPG that’s technically better than Persona 5 in a lot of ways. Structurally, it feels less repetitive. It has more animated cutscenes that elevate those key story moments. You can brush aside weaker enemies in real-time combat, rather than face them in tiresome turn-based tangoes. And overall, I think it’s the best game Persona or Persona-like Atlus have put out – it really is brilliant. But there’s a part of me that feels like it’s missing something that’ll leave it less ingrained in the memory than Persona 5 once its final chapter has closed.

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Talking Point: After A September No-Show, Will There Be An October Nintendo Direct?

No Nintendo ‘nnouncements?

We’re now one full week into October following the first September since 2016 without a really big Nintendo Direct.

Looking back at our Nintendo Direct broadcast history guide, it’s all there in black and white (well, red and white). 2020’s Direct might have been a Super Mario-focused job themed around that series’ 35th anniversary, but that caveat aside, 2016 — the year before the Switch launched — was the last year there wasn’t a full, flagship Nintendo Direct in September.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Metaphor ReFantazio: hands-on report

Anyone familiar with Atlus’s deep and involving role-playing games has been eager to see what the strange and magical Metaphor: ReFantazio has in store. And while it’s not directly connected to the popular Persona series, there are some intriguing touchstones across its aesthetics and mechanics to hook fans and newcomers alike. Let’s take a close look at some of these intriguing similarities and differences ahead of the October 11 release date.

Combat is unleashed

Fans of Persona’s fast-paced yet detailed turn-based combat will find themselves at home here, but Studio Zero has given it a little twist, too. You can engage in real-time combat with low level enemies, taking them out with a handful of targeted strikes or even a single blow if your current level totally outclasses them.

There’s a dedicated dodge button to avoid their attacks if they see you before you can act, which is also handy for foes which are too tough to take out in real-time. In which case, you can initiate a turn-based battle after you’ve softened them up with an action strike – especially handy if you can catch an enemy off-guard first, giving you a free hit during the turn-based Squad Battle.

Real-time combat can be used to any monster’s advantage, too. During one instance I thought some vicious beasts were blocked by some barrels, but they smashed right through them, initiated the Squad Battle, and got a free hit on my party in the process. Lesson learned – I used the protagonist’s Fae Sight a lot more often from that point to be more aware of nearby enemies and have Gallica assess their threat levels. But if things are going really badly, you can also press L3 to restart the battle.

Time management is key

As the game’s main plot develops, one of your aims becomes balancing tasks through the day to gain democratic popularity while completing other objectives to become more powerful, creating bonds with other party members or hitting certain story milestones. As in Persona, each of these consume time as you creep towards specific events, and not meeting deadlines for critical ones results in a game over.

So mapping out each day, knowing when to enter time-consuming dungeons and when to rest – or even kill time by doing more peaceful tasks – can make all the difference. Thankfully, all activities are clearly denoted with how much time they eat up, so you shouldn’t be caught off guard. 

Exploring the United Kingdom of Euchronia

Metaphor: ReFantazio wastes no time establishing that we’re not on our Earth… or in a particularly safe land. The game’s inciting incident comes from a savage act of regicide, and things only get wilder from there with its medieval fantasy setting exploring themes of bigotry and the value of imagination, especially when overcoming our own fears and anxieties.

Humans are far from human

In fact, the term ‘human’ in the game is synonymous with often giant, grotesque monsters feared by the varied fantasy races of the game. Even our blue-haired protagonist – who arguably looks the closest to a traditional Persona character – is a rarity in a world full of the horned Clemar Tribe, elven looking Roussainte Tribe, fairies, and many other species.

The music is more operatic

Persona is known for its eclectic range of tunes, from rock to acid jazz to electronic inspired beats. Given its setting, Metaphor: ReFantazio soundtrack leans towards the more orchestral, with tense strings, dramatic drums, and chants present in its wonderfully composed battle themes that are already subject to deservedly flattering memes. Fans of the parent series, Shin Megami Tensei, might find their toes tapping in its sweeping tonal familiarity.

Less summoning or fusing, more transforming

While Metaphor: ReFantazio’s powerful Archetype forms are similar toPersona’s summoning system, there are some notable differences. Archetypes are typically awakened when a party member confronts and overcomes a certain fear or anxiety, causing them to tap into a magical armored form capable of enhanced attacks and abilities.

These transformed figures are part of a job system where your party members can switch between the 40+ differently skilled Archetypes, spread across 14 different lineages to suit your playstyle. For example, despite which characters you have in your party, you can put together a Saviour from the Healer lineage, a Ninja Thief and a Devil Summoner. Or a Magic Knight, Dragoon Gunner and Martial Artist Brawler. And with them create combos in battle via spectacular Synthesis Skills.

Exploring a safe haven

It isn’t long in the game before you’re transported to the mysterious Akademeia, by the equally mysterious More. This magical library is a spirit home where you can learn about Archetypes via books and lectures, and unlock additional aspects of their abilities. Initially you’ll not have much choice in going to Akademeia, but as the game progresses, you’ll be able to choose when you visit via the protagonist’s novel or More’s ghostly figure.

There’s much More to Akademeia than first appears

While acting as an enemy-free hub to study and grow, Akademeia also gives space for Metaphor: ReFantazio to delve into the tale’s meta commentary, examining the power of imagination and the nature of storytelling. Without giving too much away, this is also tied to one of your very first acts in the game, where you as the player type in your own name. Oh, and there’s also a cute cat you can pet… which I often did. Priorities, right?   

Persona’s not the only one with style

Sure, you might have played medieval fantasy RPGs before, but have you played one as stylish as this? From its anime cutscenes to its fun battle chatter to its slick victory outros, Metaphor: ReFantazio rivals Persona for its sheer sense of flair. The UI also maintains a sense of familiarity without being a direct mimic, opting for a slightly more uniform aesthetic.

Similarly, the game knows when to use a bold mixture of colors and when to opt for a more naturalistic palette, delivering an eye-pleasing blend of what we’d expect for a classic fantasy genre without sacrificing the Atlus panache and polish.

Your protagonist has a voice

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Metaphor: ReFantazio’s cast is that your protagonist is voice acted in the same way the rest of the characters are. Although you can name him whatever you wish, as the bulk of the in-game dialogue is still delivered via text with occasional vocalizations.

A union of tribes

Tellingly, every party member you develop throughout the game represents each of the main tribes of the land. For example, the stoic knight Hulkenberg is a Roussainte, while the rodent looking Eugief tribe is represented by Heismay, who awakens the thief archetype. And the diminutive but faithful fairy Gallica might not be able to fight, but offers valuable advice and guidance on your journey.

Creating bonds with Followers

Romantic Persona fans won’t necessarily find the same starry-eyed connections in Metaphor: ReFantazio, but building relationships is still important. At various points you have the opportunity to interact with other party members and NPCs, and spending specific time with them forms a bond. In turn, this can help awaken new Archetypes, with deeper rapports unlocking further abilities.

Real life connections help, too

Staying online with the game gives you the option to explore the handy Travellers’ Voices page. A press of the Touch Pad shows you what other players have done in the section you’re currently in. So if you’re stuck in a dungeon, you can check out what party formations others have used and what levels they cleared that area with, as well as changing your formation to match another player’s for a better chance of success.

Travellers’ Voices also works in towns as well, handily letting you know where players have spent their time most during the day. A nice little feature if you’re looking for a bit of guidance as to how to while away some free time in Euchronia.

Rich, constantly surprising and stylishly elegant, Metaphor: ReFantazio is not only a delight for fans of Atlus’s games, but will charm newcomers with its magic, too. If you’ve not already found out for yourself via the PS5 demo, you’ll get the chance when the full game launches October 11 on PS4 and PS5.

Undisputed Review

Boxing fans have gone far too long without a serious contender stepping forward in video gaming. Fight Night Champion is the last true heavyweight in the genre that Punch-Out started, setting the bar high with its weighty focus on realism over a decade ago in 2010. Developer Steel City Interactive’s presumptively named Undisputed comes in as the plucky underdog looking to knock the king off its throne, but while it is a split decision in some areas, it is clear the newcomer still needs to put in a bit more time on the speed bag before it can end this particular dispute.

To its credit, Undisputed does an excellent job of capturing a convincing simulation of what it’s like to rise through the ranks of the boxing world via its Career Mode. As soon as I started, I was impressed by the character customization options. There are dozens of hairstyles, tattoos, and wardrobe options, giving free rein to make an imposing, serious character or try and recreate real-life fighters thanks to its in-depth character model system. You can even make a wacky monstrosity, similar to the WWE 2K series, as the creation center lets you stretch out faces, give big dumbo ears, or rock a green afro akin to a chia pet.

Alongside that visual creativity, Undisputed also features various fighting styles, both from a cosmetic animation and functional gameplay standpoint. Emulate Mike Tyson by creating an offensive-mind bruiser with a Swarmer who focuses on inside power punches, or float like Muhammed Ali by using reach as an Outside Fighter who wears an opponent’s health down with speedy jabs while draining their stamina by dodging instead of blocking.

I created my character centering around defense, using The Wall archetype. While I may have sacrificed stamina and power, the benefit of an improved guard to reduce the damage of incoming blows and a boost to accuracy for landing punches was worth the trade-off. I found this worked out in the long run, but my lack of power and speed, combined with how slow Undisputed fights feel at the start of Career Mode when stats are lower, took some patience.

Fights feel slow at the start of Career Mode when stats are lower.

For my first four fights, my character’s stamina was drained after just a few punches, leading to many matches ending by decision. This is the one area in Undisputed where realism can drain my gaming stamina just as fast as my character’s. After two or three matches, I was on the ropes and wishing for a more arcade approach to fights – I really just wanted to knock a fool out for a change.

Thankfully, Undisputed’s approach to setting up each fight was enough to keep me entertained even when the fights themselves didn’t. It follows an RPG approach to negotiating and training for opponents, mirroring how the process occurs in real life. I had control over almost everything, including the challenger I selected (within reason of rankings), how much of the fight’s earnings I received, and even the amount of time I was required to spend on social media promoting the bout.

Successfully negotiating before each contest results in buffs to important features like fame, attribute improvements, and the time you have to spend training. Improving fame means you fight better opponents; Fighting better opponents results in an increase in money you receive and improved stats. You’ll need to improve your attributes before getting into these fights, so allocating resources and time is a delicate balance.

On top of that you have to juggle tasks during the weeks leading up to an event. They can be spent training to get into fight-ready shape, resting to improve stamina and ensure you’re injury-free, or going on social media to reach the required level of promotion needed to fight in the first place. Weight also plays a significant role: Spend too much time on training and resting and you can end up overweight, which would mean the fight won’t count – not only will you get less fame and money, but also risk injury for no gain.

Finding the right combo of jabs and power punches was very satisfying.

Finally, managing the contracts of your Coach, Cutman, and Manager is also vital in Undisputed. Each staff member comes with abilities and perks that improve your fighter’s attributes, and they grow alongside you with each win. At first, I set out to keep the same manager my whole career in the hopes of forming a bond similar to Rocky and Mickey. However, the further on into my career I got, the pros of sticking with the same team started to fall too far behind the cons. Yes, I lost a few buffs when I had to start with a new coach, but with the extra ability slots – combined with the similar base stats that came alongside the better staff members – I could recruit with my higher notoriety, and that made it easy to replace the original team as Career Mode went on. Being offered increasingly meaningful benefits to kick my loyal crew to the curb made that decision more of a chin-scratcher.

Back in the ring with those improved stats allowing me to be more active, it didn’t take too many fights for me to appreciate the flow and rhythm of Undisputed’s combat. Figuring out the right combination of quick jabs and power punches and the chess match of attacking the body or the head depending on the opponent’s weaknesses and guard was very satisfying. Just like in real life, damage adds up and plays a vital role in fights.

Consistently aim for one side of the head with a solid combination of jabs or powerful hook shots, and nasty cuts or swollen eyes will appear. Not only do these affect stats like accuracy, but they can also lead to technical knockouts (TKOs), where the referee stops the fight. However, the more I played Undisputed, the more I found these mechanics lacking when directly compared to the 14-year-old Fight Night Champions.

In that game there are a handful of different types of cuts, bruises, and swelling. Between each round, there is also a cutman minigame that, when done successfully, gives an extra stat boost to the fighter’s health and wear-and-tear. Comparatively, Undisputed’s wear-down features are limited to the same three swelling, cuts, and bruises in every fight, which gets repetitive quickly. There’s also no cutman minigame or interaction between each round to break up the routine.

The lack of minigames leading up to fights is a missed opportunity.

The lack of minigames in the lead-up to fights is also a missed opportunity. Instead of automating every training boost, adding an option to hit the speed bag or work on defensive skills manually that can be applied to in-ring action would have been a helpful way to prepare. That is a standard tutorial method in sports games like EA Sports FC 25 and NBA 2K25, so I was disappointed this wasn’t in Undisputed.

In fact, the only minigame that Undisputed does include is ridiculously hard – though to be fair, it shouldn’t be too easy to get up when someone has knocked you on your back. When your fighter is down you have to press and focus the right and left triggers to line up with green bars to make the count. The issue is the bars are located in different spots, so it’s a little like trying to rub your head and belly simultaneously to make your fingers do different things with precision. Improving stats like Heart doesn’t do anything to make this minigame any easier, either. It’s mostly a problem on higher difficulties, especially after I struggled to get up after going down twice while my opponent got to his feet after being knocked down seven times.

While the gameplay is fast and fun when fighting with better boxers, it’s not all that pretty to watch in motion, and in these ways it’s still considerably behind where the Fight Night series left off. Knockdowns and rising animations are identical each time, featuring about as much personality and variation as its commentary team. While I appreciate that Steel City Interactive got pros like Todd Grisham and Johnny Nelson to comment on fights, their descriptions of the action rarely matched what was occurring in the ring. They also had terrible memories: One moment they’d call it an even-sided round, only to make a polar-opposite statement about how my character was dominating a few seconds later as the bell rang. It sounds like they’ve taken a few too many blows to the head.

Dizzying camera angles and cornermen standing at ringside popping into the frame and blocking the fight also made for some pretty frustrating moments. While those are minor, I certainly felt my immersion slipping away when I’d get near the ropes and end up feeling like I was stuck behind a tall guy in the movie theaters mid-match.

Multiplayer is enjoyable, but be ready to run into the usual players who won’t choose anyone but the most powerful characters, Muhammad Ali and Canelo Alvarez. With nothing to balance them out online, those fights don’t have the variety they should. Your best bet is to play with friends or hope to find an opponent that wants to fight with evenly matched fighters. Otherwise, you’ll end up frustrated facing The Great One every time – which feels like the modern-day equivalent of fighting OddJob in GoldenEye.

I really hope turn-based horror RPG Lurks Within Walls gets combat worthy of its lovely claustrophobia

My default movement mode in horror games that actually scare me is: meandering. I seek to approach without approaching, scooting back and forth across the path like a stray hamster, worrying at the corners and avoiding clear perspectives of the route ahead, while keeping the route behind me in my peripheral vision. I have been trained to do this especially by Amnesia, where tilting your gaze too decisively at anything nasty drives your character nuts.

Lurks Within Walls has no time for my hamstery antics. Developed by Here Be Monsters, it’s a grid- and turn-based first-person dungeon crawler – a long-lost cousin of Etrian Odyssey that has wound up in an asylum jammed with internet cryptids, reminiscent in cinematic texture of F.E.A.R. In keeping with other grid-based dungeon crawlers, it only lets you turn the view by 90 degree angles and travel in straight lines. Going by the demo, it’s a promising restraint for a horror game, though they really do need to expand on the combat, which is currently a slight waste of some terrific creature art.

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Director of Original Silent Hill 2 ‘Not Satisfied’ With Limited Camera From 23 Years Ago, Much Prefers the Remake’s Modern Perspective

Now Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 Remake is out in the wild, the director of the original Silent Hill from 2001 has offered his thoughts on this reimagining of his work, and he’s full of praise.

In a series of tweets, Silent Hill 2 director Masashi Tsuboyama began by saying he is “very happy” about the remake and how a new generation will get to play the horror classic. “It’s been 23 years,” he said. “Even if you don’t know the original, you can just enjoy the remake as it is. Whether it’s good or bad doesn’t affect the original.”

Tsuboyama went on to discuss the change in camera perspective from the original’s limited camera to the remake’s modern over-the-shoulder camera perspective. This change — debated by fans in the context of the original tank controls’ crucial role in Silent Hill 2’s famously oppressive atmosphere — has a “significant impact” on everything from combat to level design, and even art creation. “While the impact on the story may be relatively small, it brings a big change to the playfeel of the game,” he added.

It sounds like Tsuboyama has come down in favor of the switch, saying: “The over-the-shoulder view definitely adds to the sense of realism. In other words, it makes me want to try playing the even more immersive remake of Silent Hill 2.”

Tsuboyama, as he has done before, said he isn’t happy with the original game’s camera, but this time added some context as to why it had to be as constrained as it ended up being back in 2001 on the PS2.

“Games and technology are constantly evolving, resulting in significant differences in constraints and levels of expression,” he explained. “This is a common issue with media arts in general, but it is not easy to maintain and appreciate the environment of the time.

“To be honest, I’m not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago. Depth and angle were limited by the processing load,” he said. “It was a continuous process of hard work that was not rewarded. But that was the limit.”

To be honest, I’m not satisfied with the playable camera from 23 years ago.

One aspect of Silent Hill 2 Remake Tsuboyama doesn’t sound thrilled about is Konami’s marketing for the game. He says “it seems like they’re [Konami] not doing enough to convey the appeal of the work to the generation that doesn’t know Silent Hill,” while pointing to the inclusion of the Mira the Dog Mask and the PS5 exclusive Robbie the Rabbit Mask DLC pre-order bonuses.

The original Silent Hill 2 had plenty of goofiness in among its horror, so Tsuboyama may be upset at the idea of players running around the game wearing the DLC masks during their first playthrough, rather than their second or third.

Either way, the Silent Hill 2 Remake is going down well with fans and critics, with IGN’s Silent Hill 2 Remake review returning an 8/10. Unfortunately, trolls are trying to ruin the fun — the Silent Hill 2 Remake Wikipedia page had to be locked down after its list of review scores from the press was edited to make them lower. Check out the Silent Hill 2 Remake’s global release times to find out when it’s playable in your region, and while you wait, check out the remake’s awesome Silent Hill 2 HD Collection Easter egg.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.