2024-03

If you finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and are curious to learn more about how it came to be, Sony and Square Enix have released a new making-of series called Inside Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The four-part series features interviews with thirty of the game's lead designers, such as director Naoki Hamaguchi, creative director Tetsuya Nomura, and producer Yoshinori Kitase, who discuss how Square brought Rebirth to life. Each episode tackles different aspects of Rebirth. Episode 1 focuses on world-building, Episode 2 covers the story/cutscenes, Episode 3 is all about the characters and combat, and Episode 4 tackles the English voice actors. Each episode runs between 15-18 minutes. You can watch the first episode below. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is out now for PlayStation 5. Be sure to read our review of the game here, as well as helpful guides...

Red Candle Games made its name developing psychological horror titles such as Detention and Devotion, but its third game, Nine Sols, sees the studio veer into the action genre. First revealed in 2021, the Sekiro-inspired title is coming on May 29. Nine Sols sports a hand-drawn art direction and an aesthetic that blends sci-fi, cyberpunk, Eastern mythology (the legend of Hou Yi in particular), and Taoism. Players control a cat-like warrior named Yi, who is awakened after years of slumber in New Kunlun, a city for humans created by nine god-like rulers. New Kunlun may appear to be a utopia, but a secret surrounds it as Yi embarks on a vengeful quest to take down all nine rulers.  The 2D Metroidvania features fast-paced combat and a parry system directly inspired by Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In addition to a...

Embracer Group has divested Gearbox Entertainment from its stable of video game studios, with Take-Two Interactive purchasing the company for $460 million. This sale is part of Embracer’s massive, ongoing restructuring designed to cut costs after a planned $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia-backed Savvy Games Group fell through in 2023.  This move means Embracer no longer owns Gearbox’s development entities, such as Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, and Gearbox Studio Quebec, nor franchises such as Borderlands/Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem. These assets will be acquired by Take-Two, which owns Rockstar Games and 2K, among other labels. Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in fiscal year Q1 2024/25, pending customary regulatory approvals. In a press release from Take-Two, Gearbox confirms it has six titles in the works. Five are sequels, and...

No Rest for the Wicked is the upcoming action RPG from Moon Studios, the developer behind Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps. It's also the game gracing the latest cover of Game Informer. Cover story writer and editor Marcus Stewart and I traveled to Vienna, Austria, to play the game and speak with two of its leads, tech and production director and studio co-founder Gennadiy Korol and studio CEO and creative director Thomas Mahler.  However, while the frosted glass of the front door of the two-story apartment we entered was engraved with the words "Moon Studios", this studio is actually just Mahler's workplace. Korol met us in Vienna for the cover story, but he actually lives in Israel. The rest of Moon Studios lives around the world, because Moon Studios is completely remote – there is no headquarters to report...

Celeste and Towerfall developer Extremely OK Games has announced its next game, Earthblade, has been delayed. The fantasy platformer was scheduled to launch sometime this year but has now been pushed to an undetermined window. Earthblade was first announced in April 2021 before getting its first trailer at The Game Awards in 2022. The fantasy "explor-action" platformer stars Névoa, a child of fate who returns to uncover the mysteries of a fractured Earth. The game appears to be inspired by the Metroidvania subgenre, with the studio stating it features "seamless exploration, challenging combat, and countless mysteries to pick apart." Outside of PC, Earthblade has no announced platforms.  In a candid blog post, Extremely OK Games’ head Maddy Thorson opens by writing, “I know, I know, this update is long overdue. We appreciate your patience as we try our best to make...

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has released two new Stratagems to help players in the fight against the Automatons and Terminids....

In 2020, indie studio Yellow Brick Games was formed by a collection of industry veterans with experience on triple-A franchises such as Dragon Age, Assassins’ Creed, and Mass Effect. After quietly working on its first project, the team is ready to show the world what it’s been cooking up. The studio released a brief teaser of their yet-to-be-titled first game. A press release states that this mysterious project is a fantasy action-adventure title targeting a 2025 release. We won’t find out more until April 2, when IGN will reveal the game as an IGN First.  The studio also included two pieces of concept art, which you can view in the gallery below.   Yellow Brick Games was founded by Thomas Giroux (co-founder/CEO), Jeff Skalski (co-founder/COO), Frédéric St-Laurent B (game director), and Mike Laidlaw (chief creative officer). The team...

The Marvel Universe is expansive and chockful of some of pop culture's greatest heroes. NetEase Games is taking the word "hero" literally and placing the characters from Marvel in a free-to-play 6v6 hero shooter. Marvel Rivals promises to bring the most popular and iconic superheroes and supervillains to the arena with destructible environments, unique Team-Up skills, and more. Marvel Rivals offers 6v6 PVP action featuring arenas from across the Marvel Multiverse, including Asgard and Tokyo 2099. The title touts a deep roster of heroes and villains to choose from, including members of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and more, all with unique Team-Up skills that play off various synergies between heroes. The closed alpha in May will feature more than a dozen characters, while the announce trailer (below) features 18 characters that represent the current roster. The...

Testing PS5 performance in Team Ninja's latest game....

If you've been paying attention to our Game Gauntlet, a bracket where our readers decide the best game of all time, you might have noticed one contender has been an unstoppable force – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It nuked Fallout 3, omnislashed Final Fantasy VII, felled Elden Ring (without using spirit ashes), and survived the hordes of The Last of Us. Skyrim was a groundbreaking open-world adventure when it was first released, and fans clearly have plenty of love for it in the 13 years since then and now, so it's no surprise the gaming community has been clamoring for news about a sequel for years now. Luckily, we do have a minor update for fans who need something to tide them over just a little longer. Thirty years ago, The Elder Scrolls series began with The Elder Scrolls: Arena,...