Alan Wake 2 creative director Sam Lake stopped by IGN's gamescom studio to discuss the upcoming survival horror sequel and how it hopes to solve one of the original's biggest criticisms.
Alan Wake 2 was featured in gamescom Opening Night Live 2023 and we got a look at "The Dark Place" - a dream reality that spawns forth from Alan's mind. What makes this place even more unsettling and confusing is that it will feature a mix between gameplay and live-action.
This is just one part of Alan Wake's new identity as a survival horror game, and that switch will hopefully address the issues fans had with combat from the first game. According to Lake, some complained that it became too "samey," and the team took that to heart.
"There were...
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It’s been a hot minute since the last time we were able to pile bunker an enemy mech in the face, but the team at From Software has finally returned to their roots with Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. It certainly looks and feels the part of a modern mecha action game, with gorgeous graphics, a rock-solid 60fps frame rate that never falters, and an intuitive control scheme that dramatically reduces the learning curve we had to deal with in prior Armored Core games. At the same time, its bland mission briefings and a few elements of its design feel a bit stuck in their old ways. But Armored Core 6 scores direct hits in the spots it matters the most: specifically the highly customizable, intense, and frantic mecha battles.
If there’s...
What’s it like to be trapped in a hell of your own making? For writer Alan Wake, that’s the story he’s trying to tell. And after watching a full 40-minute demo, played from the perspective of Wake himself, it certainly looks set to be a tale worth telling. Taking place in an area called The Dark Place, this lengthy slice of the story follows Alan as he makes his way through an oppressive and haunting replica of New York City riddled with danger, gunfights, and puzzles. It’s classic survival horror but with the distinct edge of developer Remedy - smart, engrossing, and consistently odd.
First things first, it's difficult to overstate just how visually striking The Dark Place is. Roads are populated by levitating, oil spill-like pools...
Nightdive Studios, who recently remastered classic first-person games System Shock and Quake 2, is doing the same to another first-person legend: Star Wars: Dark Forces. It is in development for all major platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Watch the announcement trailer above.
The single-player-only Star Wars FPS first released in 1995 for PC and was the first adventure for players as Kyle Katarn, who would go on to become a Jedi in Jedi Knight and its sequels. You don't ever get your hands on a lightsaber in Dark Forces, but it's remembered fondly for its memorable missions and difficult boss fights. "I think the audience will appreciate the degree of challenge," Nightdive's Larry Kuperman told IGN.
The remaster...
Indie developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games will be releasing their co-op survival crafting title, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, on Oct. 24 on PlayStation 5 digitally and Windows PC via Epic Games Store, IGN can exclusively reveal today.
For those disappointed by its digital-only release in October, don't worry: a physical release for the PS5 will come on Dec. 5. As for when it's coming to Xbox Series X/S, we don't yet have a date for that other than early 2024.
As the title alludes, Return to Moria will put a focus on the Dwarves of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy world, following them as the embark on a quest to reclaim and restore the glory of their homeland during the Fourth Age of Middle-earth...
Kazuma Kiryu may have faked his death and quietly walked away from a life of street brawls, tense hostage situations, and mini-games galore at the end of Yakuza 6. But an iconic character like that will never be shelved for too long. With the Yakuza series retitled to more closely match the Japanese translation, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name has roped in Kiryu for one last simple job. And we all know how well “one last simple jobs” tend to go. Even though it was a bit disappointing that my playthrough strayed away from details of the main story arc, what I did see strongly justified bringing our boy out of retirement for another go-around.
Now working under the codename Joryu, our badass protagonist is tasked with...
If there’s one thing Bethesda is known for, it’s those “step-out” moments. That first foray out in the unknown - whether it’s the opening of a long-sealed Fallout vault or a soaring Skyrim dragon welcoming you to a whole new world of danger and wonder. Starfield is no different, wasting no time in introducing you to the vast beauty of its world to great effect. But we’ll get to exactly how it does that just a little later. Here’s a rundown of exactly what happens in the opening minutes of Starfield’s first mission, fittingly titled One Small Step, after seeing it at gamescom 2023.
The Sol date is May 7, 2330. You find yourself on the Argos Extractors Mining Outpost on the Moon of Vectera. The first voice heard is that of Supervisor...
The cost of Game Pass Ultimate, the all-inclusive package, has seen a $2 hike, landing at $16.99 per month for new members. Meanwhile, the standard Xbox Game Pass sees a $1 increase, making it $10.99 monthly. It's also worth noting that the price for PC Game Pass will remain unchanged, holding steady at $9.99 a month. The new pricing officially took effect on July 6 for newcomers and has since been applicable from August 13 for those already part of the Game Pass family.
Update, August 23: At the time of writing you can still secure the below deal on Xbox Game Pass, but there's no telling when Amazon will adjust the price or remove the deal to maintain parity with Xbox's new pricing, so it's best to take advantage of it while you...
Fresh from revealing gameplay of the first level of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign, developer Sledgehammer Games has revealed a first look at its Open Combat Missions.
In a series of tweets, the developer released clips showing the different styles of gameplay possible in these campaign missions. The clip that shows off stealth gameplay confirms a ledge hang mechanic in the campaign.
Sledgehammer had said these Open Combat Missions, or OCMs, add an “incredible” level of choice to the player. OCMs offer the player a raft of choices for mission completion. You can, for example, go for a stealthy approach and use night-vision goggles and suppressed weapons to complete the mission without alerting enemies to your...
RoboCop: Rogue City is quietly one of the most anticipated shooters of 2023. Its premise is simple: take the beloved 1980s satire of capitalism and law enforcement and turn it into a first-person shooter. And if this gameplay is any indication, it kind of whips.
In the video below you can find 16 minutes of RoboCop: Rogue City featuring all of the elements you'd expect from the classic Paul Verhoeven flick, including a gaggle of ED-209s and lots more. Check it out!
RoboCop: Rogue City was announced back in 2022 and held a closed beta test earlier this year. It's being developed by Teyon, the Polish studio responsible for Terminator: Resistance, and is part of the first big wave of Unreal Engine 5 games.
We admittedly weren't the...
At Gamescom 2023, we were able to sit down with Netherrealm Studios' story and voiceover director Dominic Cianciolo. During our interview, we asked Cianciolo a ton of questions about Mortal Kombat 1, specifically the lore side of things.
As previously confirmed by the developer, the upcoming installment in this popular fighting game franchise serves as a soft reboot for the series.
Read on for our full Gamescom interview with NetherRealm Studios' Dominic Cianciolo below, then check out our final preview and our separate conversation with director Ed Boon.
IGN: So I guess the first thing that I wanted to talk about was, was it always in the cards and the plan to do this grand reset of the timeline as far back as Mortal Kombat 11 and...
You could chalk up Mortal Kombat’s massive success as a fighting game franchise to a number of factors: It’s 30-year legacy, its attention-grabbing and unparalleled violence, its beloved roster of characters, its deep fighting mechanics, the list goes on. But I’d argue that one of the most important elements of Mortal Kombat’s success, especially since Mortal Kombat 9, has been its single player offerings, which is one thing that we haven’t really seen out of the upcoming Mortal Kombat 1. Until now, that is. At a recent event, I got to go hands-on with the first chapter of Mortal Kombat 1’s cinematic story mode, as well as its brand-new Invasion mode, and my early impressions are that NetherRealm doesn’t seem to be loosening its grip on...
Ed Boon is inarguably an industry legend, with a career that spans more than 30 years that includes the creation of one of the most influential fighting games of all time, Mortal Kombat. His team's latest, Mortal Kombat 1, is essentially a reboot of the series, refreshing its beloved characters with new origin stories, new looks, and sometimes even completely new identities.
But despite how much Mortal Kombat may change, certain things always remain the same: conversations about the game's penchant for violence, critique of its animations, and the difficulty with which streamers and content creators have monetizing their content. At a recent event in Chicago, I managed to ask Boon a handful of questions surrounding these topics, along...
You might have wondered why the latest Alan Wake 2 trailer, fresh from Opening Night Live 2023, includes a glimpse at a character who looks like Max Payne.
The character in question is Alex Casey, the FBI partner of one of Alan Wake 2’s playable characters, Saga Anderson. Both Alex and Saga arrive in Bright Falls to investigate mysterious murders. Developer Remedy has shown off Casey in previous videos, but in the gamescom 2023 video we see a different side - and look - to the character.
This alternative version of Alex Casey we see in the trailer looks like Max Payne from Remedy’s famous action series, complete with trademark hard-boiled detective outfit. So what’s going on here? Has Remedy crossed the streams sufficiently to have...
Madden NFL 24 reminds me of the Marvin Lewis-coached Bengals. Lewis led Cincinnati’s football team to the most wins of any coach in the history of the franchise, and they made the playoffs seven times during his tenure, including a stretch where they made the playoffs for five straight years. They never won any of those playoff games, though. Not one. Some of the losses were close. Some were heartbreakers that the Bengals gave away. Lewis’ teams were almost always good, or at least decent, but they were never good enough – and after a while it became clear that they never would be. Three years after his departure the Bengals would play in the Super Bowl, led by a new head coach in Zac Taylor and the recently drafted Joe Burrow. It’s...
If Ahsoka Season 1 has given you the Star Wars itch, I have the bacta (read: bargains) to soothe it. The critically acclaimed sequel to Fallen Order, Jedi Survivor, has fallen in price. Considerably. It's also a really good time to secure a cheaper PlayStation VR2 and strap it on your melon. Personally, I'm still in love with my launch edition. More of you need to experience its VR-y amazing delights.
This Day in Gaming
Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware
- TOCA: Race Driver (PS2) 2002.
- The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (GC,PS2,XO) 2005.
- Dark Souls (PC) 2012.
- Nintendo 3DS XL console launch 2012.
- The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (PC,PS3,X360) 2013.
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) 2017.
Table of...
Bungie officially revealed the details for its upcoming Destiny 2 DLC The Final Shape today, the conclusion of its “Light and Darkness” saga that started all the way back in 2014. The Final Shape will debut on Feb. 27.
During today’s The Final Shape showcase event, Bungie unveiled more about the storyline of The Final Shape, which will focus heavily on The Traveler. The massive, mysterious, spherical entity has always been present in Destiny. The Final Shape, however, will take that a step further, with The Traveler asking for help as The Witness uses its light to do terrible things.
Players will explore a new destination called The Pale Heart, located inside The Traveler. Per Bungie, The Pale Heart “will feature nostalgic callbacks...
While we all wait in anticipation for Starfield, Bethesda released an actually pretty epic live-action trailer for its first new IP in 25 years during today’s gamescom Opening Night Live – and if you didn’t know any better, you’d maybe just think it was the first look at a big-budget sci-fi feature film.
The trailer, appropriately soundtracked by an orchestral cover of Elton John’s Rocket Man, shows the latest look at Starfield’s intergalactic setting, complete with starships, gorgeous planetary landscapes, and more. It’s a clear spotlight on the world-building that Bethesda is doing with Starfield, following in the footsteps of the vast worlds built by series like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
You can watch the trailer below...
Tekken 8's director promised to improve online play following feedback from the closed network test last month.
In an interview with IGN, Katsuhiro Harada told us what the development team learned from Tekken 8's closed network test: "We were foreseeing some problems that we wanted to actually test out in this environment, and we did encounter those problems," Harada explained.
He also pointed out that the development team was "surprised that the feedback was better than we expected" in regards to the participating player's online connection.
"But on the flip side," he continued, "we were surprised that the feedback was better than we expected regarding the players' experience on the online connection, that they actually felt that...
If you enjoyed the waterfowl shenanigans of Untitled Goose Game, we've got some good news for you: the studio behind the indie hit, Panic Inc., has announced a new title, Thank Goodness You're Here.
Revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live, the trailer is as quirky as you'd expect, showcasing a hand-drawn artstyle with... All sorts of nonsense happening. A rapid-fire montage of scenes from the game shows a guy's pants falling down while looking at a sign that says "normal milk", someone crowdsurfing, a guy bouncing off of someone's rear end, and just way too much else. You'll have to check out the trailer below for yourself to get an idea of what's going on.
It will release next year on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Panic...
Quantic Dream announced Dustborn, a narrative-driven action-adventure game set in an alternate version of America.
We got the first trailer for Dustborn at Gamescom Opening Night Live, which shows players will have the opportunity to venture across a Neo-Western America as they build relationships with their crew. Dustborn is described as "a single-player, story-driven action-adventure game about hope, love, friendships, robots…and the power of words."
Important to note that Quantic Dream is not developing this game. Instead, they will serve as the publisher, while indie studio Red Thread Games is behind the development of Dustborn. Red Thread Games previously developed 2019's Draugen, a mystery adventure game released on PC, PS4...
We are less than two months from the long-awaited sequel to Remedy's 2010 action-adventure game Alan Wake. And as anticipation grows, Remedy Entertainment has released a new gameplay trailer.
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, the new trailer for Alan Wake 2 showcased "the dark place," the dream reality that spawns forth from Alan's mind. The game will seamlessly integrate live action footage in order to show the dreamlike nature of the dark place.
Alan Wake 2 was announced in 2021 at the Game Awards. A sequel to the 2010 cult favorite, Alan Wake 2 will focus on the titular character, in addition to FBI agent Saga Anderson, who we learned previously will serve as the second playable protagonist.
Alan Wake 2 was supposed to launch on...
Blizzard has unveiled Diablo 4 Season 2, dubbed Season of Blood. It launches October 17.
Season 2 adds a Vampire Hunter companion called Erys, who is teased in a cinematic shown at Gamescom 2023. Erys is voiced by actress and producer Gemma Chan.
Diablo boss Rod Fergusson took to the stage at Gamescom 2023 Opening Night Live to say players get vampire powers as they track down and face off against a vampire lord as part of a new questline.
Season 2 also adds five new and returning endgame bosses with the ability to target specific Unique and Uber Unique items as a drop, updates to renown rewards, updates to gem and stash storage (gems no longer take up inventory space), and updates to resistance and status effects. Paragon Points...
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, NetherRealm revealed four more characters are joining the roster for Mortal Kombat 1. The two new playable fighters are Sindel and General Shao, while the two new kameo characters are Motaro and Shujinko.
The news includes the latest trailer for the upcoming fighting game showcasing bone-crushing action from both new playable fighters.
Sindel and General Shao are the latest characters to be revealed for the upcoming reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise. Other characters revealed ahead of Mortal Kombat 1's Sept. 14 release date include returning players Reptile, Geras, Sektor, Frost, Scorpion, Li Mei, Liu Kang, Mileena, Quan Chi, Smoke, and Sub-Zero along with confirmation that Homelander, Peacemaker...
Revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live, the upcoming medieval fighter Warhaven will launch on September 21.
Warhaven's combat is a bit reminiscent of other third-person melee fighters like For Honor, but with larger scale battles. In our hands-on preview, we descibed Warhaven's 16-vs.-16 multiplayer battles as a chaotic "jumbled pile of swords, shields, and cannonballs that's almost always pure mayhem."
Warhaven was developed by Nexon, and will be free-to-play when it launches on Steam on September 21.
Continue reading...
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty will add a ton of new features and mechanics to the base Cyberpunk experience, but CD Projekt Red has revealed that fans who don't want to buy the DLC won't be left out in the cold.
As part of Gamescom Opening Night Live, CD Projekt Red gameplay designer Yuliia Pryimak joined Geoff Keighley on stage to announce the Cyberpunk 2.0 update.
"I'm really happy to announce that a lot of what we've just seen in the trailer will also be coming to Cyberpunk base game for free for current-gen consoles and PC," Pryimak said.
Cyberpunk 2.0 is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC next month alongside the Phantom Liberty expansion on September 26. We don't know exactly which features will be part of the...
Second Dinner announced today that its free-to-play digital collectible card game Marvel Snap is exiting early access on PC.
Marvel Snap was released last year on Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows, although the Windows version was the only one that was released in Early Access. Developer Second Diner previously explained that the reason the Windows version was in early access was to allow the team to get the community involved early "to provide feedback as [it] continue[d] development."
Alongside Marvel Snap on PC leaving Early Access, Second Dinner also shared a colorful new trailer celebrating the occasion, which you can check out right here.
In our review of Marvel Snap on iOS, which we gave an 8 out of 10, we said "Marvel Snap...
Stormgate, the upcoming free-to-play game from former Activision Blizzard developers that worked on StarCraft and Warcraft, has shared new details on its upcoming project.
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, Frost Giant revealed new images and a behind-the-scenes video on the game's development. Specifically, the video focused on the Infernal Host, a demonic alien race and one of the playable factions, with the previous one announced being the Human Vanguard.
The Infernal Host have a powerful ability called Shroud, which is described as fields of dark magic that provide units from the Internal Host a giant advantage against the Humand Vanguard. Frost Giant also shared some concept art of the three key Infernal units: the worker Imp, the...
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, SnowRunner developer Saber Interactive announced Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, a new driving sim focused on the wonderful activity: off-roading.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game will task players with taking point on research missions as they venture across the great outdoors, adapting to mother nature's challenges. All while driving various all-terrain vehicles.
Alongside driving vehicles that likely have four-wheel drive, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game also allows players to use gadgets such as a drone to get a birdseye view and locate valuable equipment and a metal detector, to name a few.
Expeditions: A MudRunner Game arrives on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch sometime next year.
For more...
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, it was revealed that a free content update is coming to Sonic Frontiers later this year. The Final Horizon update will include new story, new playable characters, and new challenges.
In the cinematic trailer, Sonic and team face off against a large ominous enemy before Sonic harnesses the power of the Chaos Emeralds and transforms into Super Sonic.
In our 7/10 review of Sonic Frontiers, we called the game "an ambitious open-world adventure that mostly succeeds at mixing up the Sonic formula, even when some of its ideas fall flat."
Sonic Frontiers The Final Horizon will arrive as a free content update on September 28.
Continue reading...