Sometimes I have proper critical thoughts about games and sometimes I am Marge Simpson giving her opinion on a potato. Take LXD Red Honey, a free 2D metroidvania created in just 18 days for the Metroidvania Month 24 jam by sarn and OvergrownRobot, with playtesting by Oroshibu. I just think it’s neat. So neat.
A Red Faction sequel was in the works at the Embracer-owned developer of Galaxy On Fire and Chorus before it was hit by layoffs, according to a new report.
Rock, Paper Shotgun reported that Fishlabs, bought by controversial video game group Embracer in 2018, was working on a sci-fi Metroidvania and had built a “visual prototype” for a brand new Red Faction game before both projects were canceled and their developers laid off in 2023.
Embracer had already shut down the original creator of the cult classic Red Faction, Volition, by the time Fishlabs put together its Red Faction pitch. According to RPS, a team at Fishlabs built a “fake trailer” with Unreal Engine 5 to present to Embracer-owned publisher Plaion, with the hope of creating a game similar to 2009’s well-received Red Faction: Guerrilla.
Critics praised that game for its huge open world and, in particular, impressive destruction-based gameplay that saw players smash up buildings with a sledgehammer. A sequel, Red Faction: Armageddon, followed in 2011, but sales were poor and then-publisher THQ canceled further follow-ups. Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered, a remaster of Guerrilla, launched in 2019.
Unfortunately, despite the pitches to Plaion, this new Red Faction was not greenlit, and in November last year it was canceled outright. According to RPS, Fishlabs studio leadership were told to lay off almost everyone not attached to an active game project, resulting in 50 job losses. The RPS article is well worth a read if you want some insight into what it was like working at an Embracer-owned studio in 2023.
In April, Embracer announced its intent to split into three separate companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. The move came after a brutal period of restructuring that over a thousand staff lose their jobs, multiple games canceled and studios shut down, and the sale of developers including Borderlands maker Gearbox and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake maker Saber Interactive.
Embracer Group’s financial struggles began following the collapse of a $2 billion deal, reportedly with Saudi government funded company Savvy Games Group. The Swedish firm has since come under fire for the sweeping cuts that followed its ill-fated acquisition spree. In January it emerged that Embracer had canceled a new Deus Ex game that was two years in development and laid off some staff at Eidos Montreal. Most recently, Embracer shut down Pieces Interactive after the Alone in the Dark reboot flopped.
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.
When the makers of Cloudpunk revealed their next game would be set in the same cyberpunk city as their sci-fi delivery sim, my ears were pricked. When they showed you’d be running a noodle bar and fishing in the slums instead of flying a hovercar around, I went into full wishlisty mode. Nivalis (named for the cyberpunk city in question) was due to come to PC some time this year. But plans have changed. If, like me, you’re intrigued by the promise of a life under a neon canopy, you might have to wait. The release date has been pushed into next year. As compensation, here, the creators have put out another trailer to remind you what’s coming.
Suck it, Bond.
This review was originally published in March 2010. We’re updating and republishing it to mark the game’s arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack N64 library.
From its debut in 1997, developer Rare and the terrifying digital avatar of Pierce Brosnan ruled over the console shooter space with the Nintendo 64 tie-in of a then-two-year-old Bond movie, GoldenEye 007. Not only did it justify the genre on consoles while proving that movie games didn’t have to suck, it became one of the defining multiplayer experiences of its generation.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Ubisoft has insisted it’s committed to the Beyond Good & Evil franchise and even mentioned its long in development sequel as part of the reveal of Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 is considered vaporware by many fans after an incredible 16 years since it was announced back in 2008. Despite Ubisoft’s many vague references to it being still alive, no video game has materialized thus far.
But this week’s announcement of Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition has sparked renewed hope that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is real and may even be re-revealed sooner rather than later. This remaster includes a brand new mission in which players can discover mode about Jade’s past and collective exclusive cosmetic rewards.
Crucially, Ubisoft included a note to press that this new mission “also reveals more about the narrative link to Beyond Good & Evil 2, showing Ubisoft’s enduring commitment to the franchise.”
That line strongly suggests Beyond Good & Evil 2 is not just still alive but closer than ever to launch. The question of course will be what form the game takes, given how many times development has stopped and started over the years. At E3 2017, Ubisoft revealed what looked like an incredibly ambitious project, promising a multi-planet world populated by dynamically-generated characters.
In the meantime, Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition launches June 25 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna and PC through the Ubisoft Store, Epic Games Store and Steam, with a physical version courtest of Limited Run Games out July 12. It features the aforementioned new mission, an anniversary gallery, a re-orchestrated soundtrack, support of up to 60FPS, and other “exclusive new content.”
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.
PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant – yeah, let’s circle back to the title – is described in the first sentence of its Steam bio as a “cozy” game. I entertain suspicions of cozy or cosy games, inasmuch as they are increasingly framed as a kind of antidepressant in the face of a darkening world, but that’s OK, because the remaining 17 words in the sentence are: “Operate your planetary defense cannon to fend off an interplanetary invasion from the comfort of your [cozy] bunker.”
Minecraft developer Mojang has released a native PlayStation 5 version in preview form, bringing the game in-line with the Xbox Series X and S version.
The PS5 version adds native 4K resolution support and higher settings for render distances and anti-aliasing, settings already available in Minecraft on Xbox Series X and S. Unfortunately, there’s no word on the addition of ray tracing to either the Xbox Series X or PS5 versions, despite Microsoft teasing the tech years ago.
The first preview of the native PS5 version of Minecraft is available now for testing. If you own the PlayStation 4 version for your PS5, you can test this early version by heading to Settings and then Preview within the game. This preview includes the new Tricky Trials update, but multiplayer is only possible between other players on PlayStation 4 and 5. The exception to this is playing the preview on Realms, which allows you to cross-play with players on other devices. This preview version does not have access to the Minecraft Store.
Explaining the decision to release a native PS5 version in a blog post, Mojang said “we’ll be able to make the game run more effectively on the PS5’s hardware.”
Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time with an incredible 300 million copies sold since its early access release in 2009. 15 years later, Microsoft and Mojang have so far resisted the urge to release a sequel, and with good reason — in March last year Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Minecraft had 120 million monthly players.
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.
Crash really is back!
Back in 2018, the original Crash Bandicoot collection arrived on the Nintendo Switch in the form of the N. Sane Trilogy. It seems many years on, we’ve now got a sales update for the global sales across all platforms including the Switch, and the game has now topped 20 million units globally.
The official social account for Crash issued a message to fans thanking everyone for this “memorable milestone”. It’s also resulted in multiple fans requesting even more revivals and new entries in the Crash Bandicoot series. Most recently, Crash fans got the fourth major title ‘It’s About Time‘ in 2020/21.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Just in time for Darkest Dungeon II.
Red Hook Studios this week confirmed Darkest Dungeon II would be making the journey across to the Switch this July, and if you’ve still not played the first game and happen to be an NSO subscriber, now is your chance.
Nintendo is currently offering Switch Online members a free trial of the first Darkest Dungeon game from now until 26th June 2024. This latest game trial is available to subscribers in North America and when you boot up the game you’ll receive 100 Platinum Points. There’s also a sale on the game until the same date, offering 70% off the standard edition and 75% off the Ancestral Edition.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Samus returns in 2025.
It’s been an incredibly exciting week for Nintendo, with this week’s Direct broadcast giving Metroid fans a first look at the fourth entry in the Metroid Prime series. It’s also a bit of a relief to finally see this game in action after an incredibly lengthy development cycle, including a restart.
To mark this special milestone, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond‘s developer Retro Studios has shown some signs of life on social media, with a brief message to fans – mentioning how “thrilled” it is to share what it’s been working on all of this time.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
