As I type these words, specialist wifeguy assessor Brendy is rambling through the fog of Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 remake. Knowing Brendy, he’ll be sauntering down Neely Street like a gentleman dandy from 1920s Oxford, throwing out his cuffs and elbows and winking merrily at all the shambling depression metaphors who are trying to chew his legs off. While we await his verdict, here’s another excerpt from a chat with Bloober earlier this summer, in which I pop the extremely imaginative question of what they’ll do after remaking Silent Hill 2. The answer, in brief, is more games with a manual third-person view that rely on ambience, suspense and the thrill of the unknown, rather than monsters going “boo!”
Well here’s a little sweetness to brighten up your Thursday, Mario has just nabbed the silver medal at the Olympics.
Okay, not quite. Firstly, this isn’t Mario; it’s Welsh plumber Ruben Duggan, who is jokingly referred to as “Super Mario” by his customers on account of his moustache (and, you know, the plumbing). Secondly, it’s not the Olympics — at least, not those ones. This is the WorldSkills competition, known as “the skills Olympics,” to those who take part, and it’s a pretty big deal.
Hi everyone, it’s Samar Louwe here, game director at Vertigo Games. Just last week during State of Play, we were thrilled to finally announce that Metro Awakening is coming to PS VR2 on November 7. Today, we’re excited to share another glimpse into the game with a new video showcasing extended gameplay on PS VR2.
We’ve crafted a journey that intertwines gripping storytelling with deeply immersive gameplay. In Metro Awakening, you’ll confront the mysteries and dangers of a post-apocalyptic world, where survival and exploration are more critical than ever. As you navigate both familiar and new locations, each filled with supernatural threats, you’ll uncover the origin story of Khan, one of the Metro series’ most enigmatic characters.
Become what you fear…
At the heart of Metro Awakening lies the powerful story of Serdar—a doctor searching for his missing wife. Throughout his journey, Serdar undergoes a profound transformation that leads him to awaken as Khan, a mystic figure who plays a recurring role throughout the Metro series. Known for his deep connection to the supernatural, Khan appears at critical moments, offering guidance to Metro’s protagonist, Artyom, and all who dare to navigate the dangers of the tunnels.
This standalone narrative was crafted by series creator Dmitry Glukhovsky and explores the events that shaped Khan into who he is, immersing players in the philosophical struggles defining his path for the first time. As a prequel to Metro 2033, it also serves as an excellent starting point for newcomers to the franchise, while offering longtime fans a story that complements the rich lore they have come to love.
Classic Metro mechanics
In Metro Awakening, we’ve translated the series’ iconic elements to VR. You’ll engage with classic mechanics, including the wristwatch, gas mask, flashlight, universal charger and lighter—each playing a key role in stealth and survival.
The watch not only shows whether you’re in the light or in the dark but also counts down the time until your gas mask filter needs replacing. The mask, in particular, requires constant attention; fogged lenses require you to physically wipe them during tense moments, while the watch’s timer beeps in a countdown, warning you before your filter clogs with radioactive dust, adding to the mounting pressure.
Charging your flashlight is also essential for survival. When darkness envelops you, you’ll need to wind it manually using the universal charger, increasing the stakes as every action pulls you deeper.
The lighter is extremely important for burning through cobwebs and illuminating tight spaces when your flashlight is no longer enough to keep the darkness at bay.
These mechanics create a great immersive experience on PS VR2, making every interaction feel immediate and vital, and drawing you even more into the atmosphere of the Metro universe.
Elevating Metro Awakening with PS VR2
Immersion is the essence of both VR and the Metro series, and the PS VR2 elevates this experience.
As the story unfolds, you’ll dive into the mysterious, supernatural aspects of Metro. VR allows us to amplify these moments, enveloping players in eerie atmospheres and using spatial audio to draw you into the unknown.
Every shot fired is intentional. With adaptive triggers, you’ll add weight and precision to your actions. Combat isn’t just about pulling the trigger; it’s about survival. The subtle resistance of the triggers heightens the tension, making every shot count when resources are scarce.
Headset feedback introduces a new level of physicality to gameplay, immersing you in your environment. You’ll feel the impact of debris from explosions or when you’re hit by enemy attacks, amplifying your experience.
Metro Awakening thrives on contrasts—light and dark, hope and despair. The PS VR2’s 4K HDR display brings this to life, especially in haunting locations. Dynamic lighting enhances the atmosphere. Using your headlamp to navigate dark tunnels or strategically shooting out lights to sneak past mutants adds a tactical layer to gameplay. While visibility is key, mastering the shadows can give you a strategic edge in your encounters.
We designed every interaction in Metro Awakening to feel natural and grounded. From wiping your gas mask to managing your backpack, every action in VR is a manual endeavor. With no on-screen UI to rely on, you must adapt and survive as you would in real life.
We can’t wait for you to step into Metro Awakening on PS VR2 starting November 7—or pre-order the Deluxe Edition to begin your journey early on November 5.
Spoiler Warning: The following article features spoilers for not just Until Dawn but also the Until Dawn remake.
Further leaks of the PlayStation 5 and PC remake of Until Dawn have appeared online and sparked speculation over a potenial sequel to the fan-favorite horror game.
Until Dawn originally launched in 2015 but its remake from Ballistic Moon arrives tomorrow, October 4. Some fans obtained a copy early, however, and while one player already shared the revamped opening of the game, essentially the entire thing has now leaked online.
The Until Dawn remake has many changes previously announced, such as revised cinematography that uses a combination of fixed and over-the-shoulder camera views, new accessibility and usability settings such as an alternative to the Don’t Move mechanic, and, now revealed via these leaks, some even more significant changes too.
Until Dawn on PS5 and PC — and final spoiler warning before we divulge these changes — features not just a remade opening but new ending scenes too.
Reddit user crawplays shared the post-credit scenes, below, which add new endings and a potential sequel tease. Until Dawn is a horror game where all eight main characters can live, die, or anything in between, and these two scenes come at the end of both Josh and Sam’s “good” endings particularly.
Josh’s is the smaller of the two and clears up some of the ambiguity surrounding his ending in the original Until Dawn. While his story perhaps had the most tragic end, with even his positive outcome seeing him taken by his sister turned spindly murdering monster, the remake puts a definitively more hopeful spin on things.
A cutscene shows Josh, played by Rami Malek, survive the wendigo encounter while a voiceover from Doctor Hill, the therapist who speaks with him and the player between each chapter, talks of Josh finally finding redemption.
The larger of the two scenes is what some players believe sets up a sequel, however. It’s the first scene not set within the single night the rest of Until Dawn takes place in, instead showing Sam, played by Hayden Panettiere, years later.
Aptly waking up at dawn in her Los Angeles apartment, with medicine and a book about myths on her bedside table, Sam swipes to unlock her phone and blood smears across the screen. She opens her palm and sees blood trickling down from a nasty scar on her arm that doesn’t quite appear to be real. Following a knock at the door and further wipes at her arm, a voice from behind her whispers “Sam” before the scene cuts to black.
Original developer Supermassive Games hasn’t otherwise indicated a sequel is on the way and is plenty busy with its Dark Pictures Anthology games. While it’s released several of these in the years since Until Dawn arrived, alongside a full spiritual sequel in The Quarry, perhaps none have been as well received as Until Dawn itself.
Konami has said remaking the first Metal Gear Solid would be much more complicated than its incoming remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
In an interview with Famitsu translated by Genki on X/Twitter, Metal Gear Solid series producer Noriaki Okamura didn’t shut down the possibility of other remakes but made clear they wouldn’t be coming anytime soon.
This is because a remake of the first Metal Gear Solid, alongside the original two Metal Gear games released for the MSX2 and Nintendo Entertainment System, would require the creation of many brand new elements.
Remaking the third game as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (officially Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater), was seemingly much simpler, and previews for the game have already noted that it’s practically a one-for-one remake with little deviation.
“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.”
Okumara said Konami is currently considering the next steps for the Metal Gear Solid franchise, which has been somewhat dormant since the departure of creator Hideo Kojima, but will wait to see what the reception to Metal Gear Solid Delta is before deciding on next steps.
Konami is seemingly focused on preserving the heritage of the series instead of expanding its storyline further, however. “Before everyone who was involved in the original is gone, we need to create a path to preserve the Metal Gear series for 10 or 50 years into the future,” Okamura said. “I think this is something we have to do.”
It’s already doing this somewhat via the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collections, Volume 1 of which bundles the first five games including Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
God of War Ragnarok is now available on PC and, while Sony itself released an option to tone down puzzle hints from companions, one fan has released the Please Shut Up mod to cut them altogether.
Sony took action almost two years later by releasing a feature that would “reduce the frequency” of these hints, but this is only available in the PC version for now. NexusMods user Mophead01 said these changes did “little to resolve the problem,” however, so made the Please Shut Up mod to remove more than 1,500 lines of dialogue.
“Tired of companions telling you things you already know?,” asks Mophead01. “Tired of the game treating you like a child if you don’t instantly solve every puzzle? This mod removes over 1,500 pointless, patronising voice lines from the game.”
This includes the puzzle hints alongside companions telling the player to Shield Strike, companions reminding the player to block if they get hit, Mimir reacting if the player is hit with fire, frost, or bifrost, and more.
The mod therefore goes the extra mile for those tired of the snippets of dialogue who weren’t satisfied with Sony’s changes. PlayStation players don’t have either option at the moment, as Sony still hasn’t released the update for console even two weeks later.
Edwin and I have a sort of running ‘joke’, in that whenever we’ve got him down to review something, the game gets delayed. Sometimes, it gets delayed multiple times. We’ve taken to calling it “The Curse”, such is its power to utterly obliterate video game development, by virtue of it being a phantom that floats into PC vents and fries motherboards. I think the curse has evolved then, as we hadn’t even discussed 11 bit’s upcoming third-person management adventure The Alters… but Edwin had played it at this year’s Geoffcom. And yes, it has been delayed.
Popular and prominent artist Josiah Brooks – otherwise known as ‘Jazza‘ – has posted a video on YouTube in which he recreates the entirety of the Kingdom of Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Measuring in at 2.4 x 2.4 metres, the model is an impressive achievement in design and technology. Jazza worked extensively on sculpting various bits and pieces from the envrionment through virutal reality, before 3D printing everything and painting it by hand.
Throne and Liberty developer NCSoft has released the Amazon Games-published MMO’s first post-launch patch, 1.1.0. It includes bug fixes for the user interface and settings, and performance improvements.
It’s worth noting that on PS5 specifically, patch 1.1.0 makes optimizations to reduce screen tearing issues, and on Xbox Series X and S, it increases the resolution of the world map.
Throne and Liberty got off to a huge start on Steam this week, with a peak concurrent player count of 326,377 putting it behind only Valve’s own Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2, and the evergreen Banana. While Throne and Liberty also launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, Sony and Microsoft do not make player numbers public.
Its early performance is all the more impressive in light of mixed reviews, most of which have focused on its server issues and microtransactions. Originally billed as a Lineage sequel, Throne and Liberty is described as a free-to-play MMO with PvE and PvP set in a dynamic and seamless world. It suffered numerous delays over the course of a development cycle spanning several years.
Boss Effects: Mechanic markers should now appear more reliably under high visual effect counts.
UI: Guild Status will no longer have an erroneous ‘Writer:#’ appended to the text.
UI: Congratulatory Package will no longer remain visible on the shop UI after it has been claimed.
UI: Fixed controller D-pad becoming unresponsive after equipping an outfit in the Mirror Boutique.
UI: Fixed controller navigation in the Guild menu when searching for a guild.
Settings: When privacy settings restrict friend requests, these requests will no longer appear when relaunching the game.
Localization: Applied latest localization updates, including the correction of several untranslated strings in game text and voiceover.
Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 (Console Only)
Friend Requests: Requests can now be accepted if the other player is offline or in another world area.
Xbox Series X|S
Graphics: Increased resolution of world map.
Settings: Fixed behavior of some UGC settings related to Guilds.
Settings: Players with restricted privacy settings will no longer see blank Whisper chats from blocked players.
PlayStation 5
Graphics: Optimizations to reduce screen tearing issues.
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.
Whenever I read the words “The Rocky Horror Show”, I am swept into a time warp back to the fan screening I attended in 2005. Most of the audience for that screening rocked up fully equipped with suspenders, feather boas, extravagant lipstick, and a cherished selection of deliberately unfunny heckler’s lines to deploy at key moments in the movie.
Have you not seen the Rocky Horror Show? It’s a wildly camp musical and B-movie homage for stage and screen, in which two homely, heteronormative Americans seek shelter in a castle run by Tim Curry’s high-kicking mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter. I can’t speak for how well it has aged, but it was a hit work of sexual counterculture in the 1970s, and is absolutely Curry’s finest hour outside of Command And Conquer.
