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Once upon a time, everyone and their mother was making a Soulslike game. That era has passed, and things are getting goddamn weird now. Like simulator games delving into odder and odder jobs, studios working on Soulslikes are tossing the formula at the goofiest settings they can possibly imagine. Case in point: Korean developer Neowiz is making a grim, Bloodborne-like Pinocchio game and I regret to inform you that I'm psyched about this edgy little liar boy, actually. If I made a list of stories that would support a Dark Souls-like video game spinoff, Pinocchio would not appear on it. And yet, a new gameplay trailer for the soulslike action game Lies of P popped up at Gamescom. It just gets relentlessly, unapologetically edgier every time I see it. This puppet lad has an ability called Deus X Makina for goodness sake. He's slowly opening heavy doors with his mecha hand. He's taking elevators. He's fighting giant bosses. You know, soulslike stuff. Also, he's very pretty for some reason, as is his old man Geppetto. Why not? In Lies of P's first gameplay trailer last year, we got a look at some extremely soulslike action combat with its fantasy 1800s setting. Today's new trailer includes the game's interface and hot damn that sure is Real Boy Bloodborne. Your puppet pal has two equipped weapon slots, what look like healing items to cycle through, along with different skills based on his equipped left hand. "With Pinocchio being a doll, you can change parts of his body to gain new skills and hopefully an edge in battle," Neowiz explains. "But not all of the enhancements are for fighting though, they can also provide several other unique and useful features." In the new trailer, you can spot abilities called Deus X Makina, Puppet String, Flamberge, Fulminis, and Falcon Eyes. I've not quite worked out what they all do, but Puppet String looks to be a grappling ability for pulling Pinocchio towards large bosses and getting in a special attack. The only thing throwing me off is his extremely supportive talking hip lantern that yells "Alright buddy, I'm here for ya. Don't worry!" Just when I thought I'd absorbed all of the cognitive dissonance of a Pinocchio soulslike it throws me a cheery companion device out of left field. I hope it delivers the lantern buddy with as much austerity as everything else. I'm not the only weirdo psyched about edgy Pinocchio, it turns out. Gamescom Opening Night Live happened to include a couple awards during its show, mostly fluffy "most wanted" fan picks. But hey, Lies of P took home "Most-wanted Sony PlayStation game" over The Devil In Me and One Piece Odyssey. It is coming to PC though, don't worry. Lies of P doesn't have a release date yet, but it's planning to launch sometime in 2023. View the full article

Gamescom continues apace, and as it does we've had a new look at the next Outlast game from Red Barrels: The Outlast Trials. The game is set during the Cold War, and involves a private company—the Murkoff Corporation, which sounds like it was named by Charles Dickens—running all sorts of brutal, MKUltra-esque experiments on a gaggle of abductees and prisoners to achieve new breakthroughs in mind control. In an event no one could possibly have predicted, it looks like those experiments went a bit awry, and it's now up to you to navigate your way out of the prisons and testing facilities. It's grim and gory, trading in all the straitjackets, clamps, razors and scalpels that you've come to expect from these games. There's even someone who looks a bit like a clown wielding a dental drill, if you're keeping your phobia bingo cards updated. It honestly feels a little bit Bioshock: the rosy-hued 20th century rhetoric of scientific progress and the common good covering for a material reality shot through with suffering and repression. It's got a shot of pulling it off, too, at least insofar as its portrayed in the trailer. The experience looks, well, terrifying. As terrifying as the last two Outlast games, neither of which I've been able to bring myself to play because I'm such an enormous baby. I might not have to venture alone this time, though: Red Barrels are promising a campaign that can be played solo or in a group of up to four players. "It’s always better to 'frack' your pants in good company," the devs rather bluntly state on the game's Steam page. The game doesn't have a release date yet, but Red Barrels will be running a closed beta from October 28 to November 1, if you're that desperate to mentally scar yourself. You can sign up for that over at its Steam page. As for me, I feel reasonably confident predicting that one day I will play the first hour before "taking a break" that never ends. At least I can watch someone stream it. View the full article

After a long, long wait, Dead Island 2 is finally happening: The leak that appeared on Amazon last week has been made official by a new trailer that finished the big Opening Night Live showcase at Gamescom. The tone of the trailer isn't too far off the one that was released to announce Dead Island 2 all the way back in 2014—that is, horror mixed with goofy, gory slapstick. With good reason: Dead Island 2 will be set in Los Angeles and will feature a "pulpy and irreverent tone" that aims to pay homage to "classic cult Hollywood horror B-movies." "Dead Island 2's gameplay is all about experimenting with your preferred zombie-slaying methods, just kind of going nuts," lead narrative designer Khan explained on the ONL stage. "It's a combat toybox of close-quarters melee brutality, with a few guns for fun." Along with solo play, Dead Island 2 will also support co-op action for up to three players. The trailer above is a cinematic, but Deep Silver also showed off a bit of fast-cut gameplay too: Dead Island 2 is set to come out on February 3, 2023, on the Epic Games Store. Have a look at a handful of new screens below. Image 1 of 6 (Image credit: Deep Silver)Image 2 of 6 (Image credit: Deep Silver)Image 3 of 6 (Image credit: Deep Silver)Image 4 of 6 (Image credit: Deep Silver)Image 5 of 6 (Image credit: Deep Silver)Image 6 of 6 (Image credit: Deep Silver) View the full article

At tonight's Gamescom opening show, host Geoff Keighley once again introduced his best bud Hideo Kojima for a prerecorded announcement. It wasn't about the games that Kojima Productions is currently working on, sadly, but the news that Kojima has signed up to do a Spotify exclusive podcast that will be in both English and Japanese. Currently, Kojima has a podcast that is Japanese-only. It's unclear whether this new endeavour will replace that. "While I am working on my other games," says Kojima. "Today I am here to share some other news. I am pleased to announce that my podcast program will be available exclusively on Spotify in September." Kojima then rather charmingly went "ohhhhh!" in mock-grandeur while clapping his announcement. Well, I thought it was charming. "We will be providing both English and Japanese versions of the show with simultaneous interpretation, as this is a podcast not only for fans in Japan but all over the world," Kojima continued. "Geoff's entertainment industry news section will also become a regular feature. "Our first episode is scheduled for September 8. This program will also include very special guests from various fields." It's nice to see Keighley getting a bit of extra work in between hosting Gamescom's Opening Night Live, putting together an E3 rival, and producing the yearly The Game Awards. The show is called 'Hideo Kojima presents Brain Structure', and the thumbnail image for it is... well, see for yourself. (Image credit: Spotify) As with much of Kojima's work, the title and image could be self-aggrandising irony, or they could be dead serious. You never really know, which is half the fun. Spotify does, though: the press material accompanying the announcement is heavy on use of the word "genius" and also includes the unfortunate phrasing that this podcast will "take a deep dive into his brain." In all seriousness, Kojima is undeniably one of the pre-eminent creative forces in the games industry, and has now been so for multiple decades. Over this time he has also consistently contributed to various outlets with essays, book and film reviews, and seems to like keeping his hand in as an observer of the culture as well as a shaper of it. Yes, Kojima can sometimes seem close to disappearing up his own fundament, but he's also an individual of rare perception and creativity. I'll give it a go, anyway. The blurb says the show will feature "talk show–style discussions on a wide range of his favorite topics, including games, movies, books, art, philosophy, and the social landscape." Guests will "both local and global leaders as well as top creators from a variety of backgrounds such as business, technology, and entertainment." Here's the show's Spotify page, which currently hosts a short preview where a robotic voice breathlessly intones about Kojima's genius before the man himself gives the insight that he uses his ideas when creating stuff. I'm sure it only gets better from here. You too can take a deep dive into Kojima's brain when the first episode launches on September 8. View the full article

With the world overrun by zombies, you'd think the last thing anyone would be asking for is a place where human survival becomes even less likely. But this is Dying Light 2, where the bloodthirstiness of the infected usually pales in comparison to that of human beings. It's almost like we are the walking dead, or something. Dying Light 2: Bloody Ties is the first story-based DLC for the open world zombie parkour game, and as the teaser last week suggested it's gonna take the focus away from skipping across rooftops and gliding around skyscrapers to plop you into a gladiatorial arena. The centerpiece is Carnage Hall, where warriors battle each other to the death in front of a cheering crowd. Hey, there's no Netflix in the zombie apocalypse. People need their entertainment fix. In the trailer above you can get a look at the carnage, which doesn't just include human-on-human violence—there appears to be a fighting pit beneath the fighting pit, so if you get knocked to the lower level it looks like you'll have to battle mobs of infected just to get back up to the main floor where the other fighters are waiting to kill you. What's the actual story in this story DLC? Good question, and I haven't found a good answer yet. "In Bloody Ties, players will embark on a new story adventure, you will reach the epicenter of death, wealth and absolute splendour in a stunning location; The Carnage Hall," reads the trailer's description. "This old opera building is full of challenges and quests, surprising new weapon types, character interactions, and discoveries to uncover." Does "kill or be killed" qualify as a story? I'm not sure, but we'll find out if there's more going on when Bloody Ties is released on October 13. View the full article

Batman's dead, chaos reigns, but Gotham's vigilantes are hitting the streets a few days earlier than planned to kick, punch, and baton crime in the face. After a major delay pushed it out of 2021, Gotham Knights was set to hit PC and consoles on October 25. The release has now moved up to October 21. I feel like I've seen a whole lot of Gotham Knights' heroes and action by this point, so the Gamescom trailer's focus on villains was a welcome change. Harley Quinn's appearance here looks a bit boring compared to Margot Robbie's gleeful energy in Birds of Prey or the sharply funny HBO Max animated series, but the game also stars Clayface. Who doesn't love Clayface? (Again, you should really watch that Harley Quinn cartoon). Mr. Freeze is another major baddie in Gotham Knights, and if his boss fight is anywhere near as clever as the one in Arkham City, we're in for a good time. The Court of Owls round out the villain lineup that Warner Bros. has shown off so far, but surely there will be some surprises, too. My bet's on a depressed, despondent Riddler who just hasn't been the same since Batman stopped solving his riddles. Maybe we'll be able to do something about that. Both Steam and the Epic Games Store are still currently showing the old release date, but Gotham Knights should be available on both October 21. View the full article

We got a look at Focus Entertainment's upcoming Atlas Fallen during Gamescom Opening Night Live, in the form of about two and a half minutes of CG trailer and 10 seconds of gameplay. It looks a lot like a Monster Hunter game if the Monster Hunter games were more about hunting down and killing God instead of cooking fun meals with your cat pals. There's not a lot to be gleaned from the trailer, but what we can tell is that the game revolves around a conflict between the inhabitants of a ruined-looking fantasy world and the pantheon of corrupted gods that rule over it, represented by stained glass windows and Church Latin. It feels like a strange aesthetic choice for a distant and desolate fantasy world to me, but I suppose that's why I haven't earned my own place on a pantheon of vain deities. The announcement promises a campaign that can be played fully cooperatively or solo, and promises to let you "gather the essence of your enemies to shape your own custom playstyle". I'm going to take a stab at interpreting that statement and say you're going to gather experience from defeated monsters that will let you spec your character into specific builds. Focus is promising a "semi-open world" filled with all manner of goodies and secrets to stumble across, and the brief looks we get at the combat make it look very splashy and colourful. I can't emphasise enough how very Monster Hunter it all looks: the trailer shows the main character moving from settlements out into combat areas, fighting oversized monsters with enormous hammers, and also literally says you'll spend your time hunting "legendary monsters" in the description. How this factors into your overarching plan to assassinate the demiurge is unclear at this point. It looks alarmingly pretty, and in fairness there's quite a bit in there that you won't find in Capcom's latest monster wrangler. Traversal looks like it consists of Tribes-style skiing across the sandy environs of whatever this setting is called, and it sounds like the developers are emphasising an almost archaeological component of the gameplay loop: poring over the mysteries and relics you encounter out in the wastes in between hitting monsters with hammers. There's no solid release date yet, just a vague goal of 2023, but the game already has a shiny new Steam page set up. You can check it now if your interest is piqued by the Monster Hunter part, the warring with gods part, or the part where there's finally another game with Tribes-style skiing. View the full article

Parallel Studio has announced Under the Waves, a single-player narrative-driven game developed with the assistance of Quantic Dream and releasing on PC and other platforms next year. As one might expect from the Quantic Dream involvement, this will be a heavily narrative-driven experience and visually lush. Under the Waves is apparently an adventure "about the engulfing power of grief." It's set in a techno-futurist 1970s and players assume the role of a submarine-assisted diver called Stan, who's "struggling to overcome a life-changing loss and embrace a new future." If a grieving diver going deep strikes you as a rather on-the-nose metaphor, the game's blurb makes it explicit but promises that things will begin to take a more surreal turn as Stan explores further and deeper: "The isolation of the deep sea is a fitting manifestation of his state of mind, and as Stan retreads further into his self-imposed solitude, he starts to experience strange events far beneath the waves." In terms of how this will all work in the hands, you'll be both piloting a submarine through the abyss, as well as swimming through caves and wrecks. The crafting sounds like it will be a major element, with players salvaging waste to build new tools and explore further. "This is the most personal and intense work we have ever done as a studio," says Ronan Coiffec, CEO and game director of Parallel Studio. "We are an indie team of a dozen members, and everything we want to convey is poured into this game, very passionately. From art to writing, from sound design to tech, we all got a chance to leave our mark on Under The Waves. We truly hope you will like it as much as we loved creating it!” The Quantic Dream partnership involved Parallel Studio having access to various creative tools such as motion capture, voice recording, animation, quality assurance, localization and more. Both studios are based in Paris; such a partnership is a first for Quantic Dream. "We are thrilled to present Under The Waves to the world, a unique experience created by a very passionate indie team here in Paris," says Guillaume de Fondaumière, co-CEO of Quantic Dream. "We’ve been able to work closely together to give them all the means they needed to create a game that lived up to their expectations, and achieve their most ambitious project to date. We are also very proud to support Surfrider Foundation Europe, whose message and actions are core to the theme of Under The Waves." The game's partnership with Surfrider Foundation Europe, which is a non-profit involved in marine protection, means an unspecified donation from Quantic Dream, and the studio will carry out further activities to support the organisation both before and after launch. This will apparently include an in-game element of 'activations', cross-communication and internal activities. View the full article

I don't know about you, but my fingers weren't built for combos. Put me in front of a fighting game or literally anything developed by Platinum and my hands turn into useless slabs of ham, just barely capable of feebly hammering the light attack button as I'm smashed to paste by my far more competent enemies. Consider me nervous, then, about Phantom Hellcat, a third-person action adventure game that just got announced during Gamescom's Opening Night Live. The devs say they want to "bring hack-n-slash titles back to their roots" with a combat system based around chaining together combos and utilising your environment to take down rooms full of enemies. I'm doomed. The story revolves around Jolene, the phantom-of-the-opera-with-a-sword figure you can see slashing and dashing in the trailer above. When Jolene mistakenly breaks the seal holding back all manner of otherworldly evil in a cursed theatre, demons emerge and kidnap her mother, forcing her to hack and slash her way through a series of haunted stageplays to save her family and—one has to imagine—the world. The devs are keen to draw your attention to their level design, which they boast will transition seamlessly between 2D and 3D perspectives (the former for platforming and the latter for combat, if the trailer is anything to go by) and offer you different possibilities for smiting your enemies. You can knock enemies through walls, use props as weapons, and otherwise wreak havoc on your foes Sleeping-Dogs-style using the tools that are littered around your various arenas. Combat looks like it depends a lot on your ability to act quickly, dodging away from enemy blows and punishing them for their hubris with follow-up combos. As I've mentioned, I can't do this, but the devs say you can upgrade and mix up Jolene's abilities by switching out her masks. So long as there's a mask specifically designed for lumbering idiots, I'm golden. The aesthetic is very Tim Burton. Everything has a Corpse Bride plasticine vibe to it from Jolene's glowy sword to her SPORTS brand Walkman, and combat proceeds in puffs of smoke and streaks of ichor. It's pretty—and the devs promise more levels beyond those featured in the trailer—but whenever I look at it I can't help but think of American McGee and I honestly cannot tell you if that's a bad thing or not. Phantom Hellcat doesn't have a set release date yet, but you can find its fresh-baked Steam page right here. View the full article

Sony dropped a surprise hardware announcement at GamesCom Opening Night Live 2022. The Dualsense Edge is the Playstation 5's "first-ever high-performance, ultra-customizable controller" that could finally rival Xbox's excellent Elite Series 2 controllers. While it features everything a standard Dualsense controller offers, Sony is packing the Edge with a bunch of welcome customization features. This makes one of the best PC controllers gaming even more appealing. The buttons on the PS5 Dualsense Edge can be completely remapped, stick sensitivity, and dead zones can be tuned to your liking. You can even reduce the trigger travel for faster inputs in shooters, much like the Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controllers. That's not the only similarity; the Edge's changeable sticks and back buttons can be swapped anytime as your comfort dictates. It'll be packaged with three swappable stick caps (standard, high and low dome) and two sets of back buttons (low and high dome). The controller and all of its bits and bobs live inside its carrying case with a braided USB-Type-C cable which can be locked into the controller using a special connector housing. The Edge will feature the ability to save multiple control profiles that you can swap on the fly using the on-controller interface. That same interface manages your in-chat balance and game volume, as well. PlayStation will sell replacement stick modules, so if you wear them down to the nub, you won't need to buy an entirely new controller. Daisuke Kurihara, art director, told the PlayStation Blog that they wanted to "build on the legacy of iconic PlayStation controllers by creating a controller that empowers players to experiment and personalize elements based on their own unique playstyle." While no release date or pricing was revealed, more info should be coming in the next few months about the Dualsense Edge wireless controller. We'll be sure to keep you posted. And here's hoping we get some fun new colors, too. View the full article

High on Life, an FPS from Rick & Morthy co-creator Justin Roiland, predictably looks to be a new member of the "never shutting up" game club. The cartoony shooter includes a gun that constantly talks to you (Roiland, whose voice is instantly familiar) and a knife that is absolutely giddy to do a murder (also Roiland, doing a decent imitation of a deranged Taika Waititi). The knife also doubles as a grappling hook, which is a neat bit of mobility, though its bloodthirsty schtick may get old after about five minutes. High on Life showed off a single uninterrupted boss fight during Gamescom's Opening Night Live. Here's a curse-filled transcription of everything the knife had to say during that fight: "Hey, I'm still here, you can still use me if you want. I can deflect attacks, did you know that? It's not just all about stabbing. Well, I'm mostly all about stabbing and tethering, but I can also deflect attacks." "I'll slice them to 'frelling' death. I'll cut their 'frelling' heads off and I'll 'frelling' rip their 'frelling' limbs off, do everything. Oh I'm gonna 'frelling' cut right into them, I'll cut their 'frelling' 'wookie' off and eat it." "Bet you're just as nice and squishy on the inside as the rest of them." There's also lots of banter between your gun and the boss you're fighting, which doesn't stretch much further than the repartee of: "You're gross" "'frell' you" The knife's foul mouth is inexplicably censored in the trailer above, but it was gleefully unbeeped during the Opening Night Life stream. Maybe High on Life's voice actors are working overtime in this boss fight because it's early in the game and it's our first introduction to their personalities, but if this level of banter keeps up through the whole game, I think it's going to be a bit much. The shooting also doesn't look too hot: the boss takes a lot of shots and doesn't really react much to being hit. Maybe the fact that you're saving the galaxy or whatever with a pea shooter is part of the joke. High on Life is hitting Steam and the Epic Games Store in December. View the full article

A new trailer for Homeworld 3 appeared during the Open Night Live showcase at Gamescom, giving us a look at some of the advanced combat tactics that will be available to players when Fleet Command returns to action. "Our team has been hard at work creating the Homeworld experience we’ve always dreamed of and we hope after watching this trailer, fans will believe we are making THEIR game,” Blackbird Interactive CEO Rob Cunningham said. "Homeworld 3 will deliver deeper strategy and decision making with easier controls. Players will explore ancient megalithic structures and experience space at an extraordinary level of detail while following an epic narrative fit for the biggest sci-fi fans." It's a very pretty video, as you'd expect from a Homeworld game, and it sounds right, which is important: Music and audio effects play a huge role in generating the unique Homeworld ambience. But I wonder if it's perhaps a little too Homeworld for its own good. The new game is set well after the events of the original, as the galaxy faces a brand new threat known as The Anomaly, but aside from the more advanced tactics—using cover to evade attacks, moving through massively large structures to attack from unexpected angles—and very impressive visuals, it all looks very much like the first game: Defend resource harvesters from attack, gather enough space dust to build better ships, capture an enemy ship or three, and then move on. Space tactics are great, but what struck me (and stuck with me) about Homeworld was the epic story of escape and survival through a gauntlet of unexpected and exotic locations. Compared to that, watching an enemy carrier explode doesn't carry a whole lot of weight. That's just me though, and obviously it's impossible to make any sort of meaningful judgment based on a single trailer—a trailer which, my own personal feelings about space opera adventures aside, looks very good. Homeworld 3 is set to come out sometime in the first half of 2023, and yeah, misgivings aside, I am very much looking forward to it. View the full article

Bad news, folks. Batman's dead. Or at least, in Gotham Knights, the latest Batman universe game developed by WB Games Montreal, that's what we're meant to believe. But while Bruce Wayne might have been bat-murdered, you've got four other chiropteran vigilantes to make up for it. In Gotham Knights, you'll play as Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin, an extended Bat Family trying to pick up Gotham's pieces after the loss of the caped crusader. Developers WB Games Montreal were involved with Arkham Origins in 2013 and some parts of Arkham Knight in 2015. Though Gotham Knights is separate from the Arkham universe, it's a good sign that the game has such a solid pedigree behind it. As with any DC game, you can expect to meet some familiar and ominous antagonists, such as Mr. Freeze and the organized crime group, the Court of Owls. Here is everything we know about Gotham Knights, including its release date, the game's story, and how to play co-op. Gotham Knights release date When is the Gotham Knights release date?Gotham Knights will release on October 21, 2022. It was originally planned to launch in 2021, but in an update in March 2021, the developers announced that Gotham Knights had been delayed from its original launch window, saying that the game needed "more time to deliver the best possible experience for players." For a time it was also expected four days later on October 25 but announced a slight more up in date during Gamescom opening night live in August. Here's the new Gotham Knights trailer from Gamescom Gotham Knights turned up to Gamescom in August to show off another story trailer and, for some reason, move up its release date by four days. Gotham Knights trailers Here are all the Gotham Knights trailers The original reveal trailer for Gotham Knights sets up the backstory and the heroes you'll be able to play as during the game. Batman has blown up the Batcave and has entrusted the safety of the city to four of the other Bat Family members. The second big story trailer for Gotham Knights is all about the big villain syndicate the Court of Owls. Despite what Nightwing initially says, they're clearly not just a myth. Introduced in a popular 2011 comic book storyline, the Court of Owls are the secret rulers of Gotham City. As this trailer shows, they also have well-armed assassins at their disposal. This short Nightwing character trailer from Summer Games Fest 2022 gives an idea of how the original Bat-son's vibe will translate into gameplay. He's nimble. He's hopeful. He wants the best for the city that raised him, and he'll do however many acrobatic combat flips it takes. We also get a sense for how varied the aesthetic options are for each character, as Nightwing shuffles into different outfits throughout the trailer. Fans of the Dick Grayson ponytail: you're welcome. The Robin character trailer highlighted Tim Drake, the young sidekick who earned his place at Batman's side after deducing both his secret identity and that of his predecessor Dick Grayson. He uses the Justice League's teleport technology to zap himself around the battlefield and fights with a staff. Barbara Gordon got a chance to shine in the Batgirl character trailer, where she took on thugs with an electrified tonfa, zipline-kicks, and stun-batarangs. Gotham Knights story and characters What's the Gotham Knights story? (Image credit: Warner Bros.) Gotham Knights kicks off with Bruce Wayne dying in an explosion. Prior to his demise, Batman had planned to leave Gotham in the hands of some other Bat Family members. The Bat Cave has been destroyed, by Bruce himself no less, and he's left the team the Belfry tower as a base of operations instead. Robin, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Nightwing assemble to protect Gotham despite being on bad terms with the Gotham City Police Department after the death of former commissioner Jim Gordon. Gotham's secret society, The Court of Owls, will play a role as well. By the looks of all those rows of frozen containers at the end of the reveal trailer, it seems there may be quite a number of their Talon assassins to contend with around the city. Don't be fooled—Arkham Knight ends with what could be a setup for a similar storyline, but WB has confirmed that Gotham Knights is set in a different continuity. The Arkham mantle is being picked up by Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League instead. Is Batman really dead? According to creative director Patrick Redding, yes, Batman is really dead. Well, we'll just see about that. What's more, according to Redding, the Joker won't appear in Gotham Knights, though Harley Quinn might, and there will be "exactly one" Riddler trophy. Which characters appear in Gotham Knights? Gotham Knights features four members of the Bat Family who've been tapped to keep Gotham safe without big guy Bruce himself. Gotham Knights definitely isn't an origin story, featuring several of the vigilante crew pretty far into their character development after a couple name changes. One of the most interesting new details about the heroes is that they level up while you're not playing them. During GamesRadar's interview with Gotham Knights' creative director Patrick Redding and executive producer Fleur Marty, it was confirmed that all four characters share their story progression. This means that it should be easy to switch between characters without it feeling like you're at a disadvantage when you don't pick your favourite. (Image credit: Warner Bros.) Robin - Tim Drake The Robin of this Gotham story is Tim Drake, the third inheritor of the Robin moniker. Drake is the young one of the group, but also the smartest and a master sleuth. As of Gotham Knights, Tim is "an expert fighter armed with his collapsible quarterstaff and skilled in the art of stealth, Tim also possesses a background in combined psychological warfare and behavioral sciences, all of which sets the stage for him to accomplish any mission." The reveal trailer shows him in action with his preferred staff. You can also catch a couple possible costumes for Robin between the reveal trailer and gameplay breakdown below. (Image credit: WB Games) Batgirl - Barbara Gordon Batgirl aka Oracle aka Batgirl again, Barbara Gordon is another member of the Knights. She's the daughter of deceased GCPD commissioner Jim Gordon and a tech wiz with martial arts chops. WB says that in Gotham Knights she's "highly trained in a variety of fighting styles, such as kickboxing, capoeira, and jiu-jitsu. Her signature weapon is the tonfa. Barbara also displays great skill when it comes to hacking or coding in computers and technological systems to dig for information." You can spot a wheelchair in the foreground of Batgirl's hideout in the reveal trailer, marking the game as taking place after her tenure as Oracle during which she was paralyzed. She's now recovered and returned to her Batgirl name alongside the veritable flock of Robins. (Image credit: WB Games) Nightwing - Dick Grayson Original Robin Dick Grayson, now Nightwing, is the acrobatics master of the group known for fighting with his two escrima sticks. Gotham Knights calls him "a natural leader, an optimist, and the most charismatic of the Batman Family. He grew up in an unorthodox but loving circus family, so he values close personal bonds." Dick and Barbara have a romantic history that would be neat for WB to tap into a bit while throwing them together on the Knights crew. (Image credit: Warner Bros.) Red Hood - Jason Todd Robin number two, Jason Todd, joins the group under his later name Red Hood. He's got a pretty complicated relationship with the Batman Family, especially his Robin successor Tim. His death, resurrection, and a lot of resulting personality changes put him at odds with Bruce and co. for a time. By the time of this story, he's fully reconciled with the Bat gang, WB sas, though that history could potentially be another source of conflict. As for his other skills, Gotham Knights says "Jason has trained to reach the peak of human strength, and he’s proficient in multiple combat techniques with all manner of weapons—both traditional and high-tech. After reconciling with the Batman Family, he has embraced Batman’s non-lethal combat methods." Nevermind those dual pistols. They're definitely not deadly, we hope. Gotham Knights gameplay details What's the gameplay in Gotham Knights like? (Image credit: WB Games Montreal) The first gameplay walkthrough released alongside the reveal trailer shows a pretty good slice of Gotham Knights combat. You can spot a bit of stealth, some of Batgirl's moves, traversal around the level, and a boss fight with Mr. Freeze. These 'Villain Encounters' will change depending on what level you are. Boss fights won't just have increased health totals and other stats. The kinds of moves they use during fights will change to match your character's level as well. There's loot to collect, with a few different equipment slots to modify your stats. You'll still be able to choose the visuals for your character's gear setup. You can take on Gotham Knights entirely as a singleplayer game or two player co-op. WB also says that Gotham is totally open-world, without enemies of higher levels blocking your exploration. A second gameplay demo from May 2022 jumps between Nightwing and Red Hood gameplay, showing how differently each character can play. Nightwing’s fighting style leans more towards acrobatic melee brawls, while Red Hood has a more gun-oriented combat philosophy. Also, Red Hood has infinite double jumps after being resurrected by a cult of wizard assassins, which apparently lets him manipulate “soul energy.” Sure! We then get a glimpse of crafting and gear management, complete with power scores and green arrows. We’re shown the return of using AR bat-vision to investigate crimescenes, which Nightwing uses to look at some blood and confirm that yes, it’s blood. How big is Gotham in Gotham Knights? (Image credit: WB Games Montreal) By the looks of things, Batman's home turf as imagined in Gotham Knights is going to be pretty expansive. As the playable Bat-family glides, grapples, and bat-cycles their way across the city in released gameplay footage, Gotham seems like a genuine sprawl. In an interview with Game Informer, Gotham Knights executive producer Fleur Marty claimed that the game features "the biggest version of Gotham that has been represented in video games. The most important thing for us is its density and verticality. It has a lot of layers." What kind of costume options will Gotham Knights have? (Image credit: Warner Bros.) According to executive producer Fleur Marty, each character in Gotham Knights will have 11 different "suit styles" available for their craftable gear. The style for your currently-equipped gear determines its overall silhouette. For example, the "Year One" suit style shown in a Nightwing gameplay overview has a "throwback to my first solo vigilante days" vibe, while his "Shinobi" style imagines a Dick Grayson who's an otaku without any tasteful restraint. In addition to your suit's style, you can also customize it further with a "colorway," or equippable palette that'll recolor specific portions of your suit. Think Destiny armor shader, but for brooding superhero orphans. How does co-op work? It sounds like Gotham Knights will offer a decent amount of freedom in co-op. During the gameplay reveal, we spotted Robin dropping into Batgirl's session seamlessly. In fact, Gotham has been specifically designed to accommodate a duo, so its likely best experienced with a buddy by your side. That said, WB Games has said that you won't be attached at the hip to your co-op partner either. You're free to explore around a bit, even while in your friend's session. You can also play as the same hero as a friend. WB say that you're free to drop in as Batgirl while a friend is already playing her and that the skills available for each hero will let you both player her a bit differently. There's no level-gating in Gotham Knights, so you should be able to play along with a pal without worrying about their level too much either. So what's the Belfry? (Image credit: DC) According to the comics, The Belfry is a hideout built by the game's current Robin, Tim Drake. It was built in the bones of the old Wayne Tower with a ton of law enforcement monitoring tech. In Batman's farewell message during the Gotham Knights reveal trailer, he says "some of the technology is outdated but it has the gear you need and all of my files." Functionally speaking, WB Games said that this is where players will return during the day to manage gear and hang out costume-free. "The Belfry is super-central to our game because it's your base of operations," WB tells IGN. "You get to go back there, analyze all the clues that you've picked up during your previous night, have a little chat with Alfred, craft your gear, and really prepare yourself for the next night of crime fighting. So yeah, daytime is Belfry, and then at night you're roaming the streets, fighting criminals and unraveling the mystery." Is Gotham Knights a live service game? Nope, sounds like Gotham Knights is focused on its campaign and co-op experience rather than endless content. "This is very much not designed as a game-as-service," producer Fleur Marty told IGN. "There is an ability tree, which is different for each of the characters, and then there's gear that you craft—and so choices that you're going to be making—but that does not mean that this is a game-as-service." Other Gotham Knights info What does the Warner Media split mean for Gotham Knights? The short answer is that we don't know yet. In May 2021, AT&T announced that it will spin off WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery in a $43 billion deal. From what we know so far, part of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, but not all of it, will be sold off. Gotham Knights developers WB Games Montreal fall under that umbrella of course. Some studios under WBIE will stay with AT&T while others will head to the new company. Can I also watch Gotham Knights? Funny you should ask, because CW has a pilot spinning up for a Gotham Knights TV show. Though it's not related to the game directly, it's based on the same story and is in the middle of casting now. Between this coming up and The Batman recently released, there's plenty of bat-goodness to tide you over for now. View the full article

For years Fallout fans have been clamoring for another team-up between Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment to produce a new Fallout game. That's still not in the cards (despite Microsoft now owning both studios), but an announcement at Gamescom's Opening Night Live might be the next best thing. Bethesda veteran Jeff Gardiner, lead producer and project lead on open world RPGs like Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, has formed a new game development studio called Something Wicked Games. Joining Gardiner is Charles Staples, design director on Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds and lead level designer on Fallout: New Vegas. That's a lot of Fallout DNA in one studio. Along with the announcement came an animated teaser trailer for the new studio's first game, and it's not a Fallout-like post-apocalyptic shooter. Something Wicked is making a gothic RPG called Wyrdsong, which is a "dark preternatural, semi-historical open world RPG set in Middle Ages Portugal," Gardiner told me during a Zoom call last week. Details about Wyrdsong (pronounced 'weerd-song') are pretty sparse at the moment. The game is in "early pre-production" and Gardiner isn't ready to share much more about it. While it's being built in Unreal Engine 5, he wouldn't even confirm if it's a singleplayer game. He did open up a bit about the choice of setting, however. "So the last vacation I took before Covid was to Portugal," Gardiner said. "And as I'm sure everyone is aware, in Covid you really remember that last vacation." Along with his visit to Portugal, Gardiner found inspiration for Wyrdsong in the country's past. "I started reading an alternative history book about the Templars, that postulates that they actually originated as part of the forming of the nation state of Portugal," he said. "And as I'm reading this book, I realized a lot of these locations or places I have visited in Portugal, so there's some synchronicities and serendipities there." (Image credit: Something Wicked Games) Gardiner also cites Elden Ring as a "huge inspiration" for the Wyrdsong team, saying he initially bounced off the Dark Souls series before realizing the games weren't about punishing the player but rewarding patience. And while Wyrdsong might look nothing like Fallout, that doesn't mean the post-apocalyptic RPG won't have some influence on it, too. "I think the focus is on the lessons, not the setting and the theme of Fallout, but the RPG nature of those games. 'There's choice and consequences' is an easy thing to say. But we want to make sure the player feels those lessons we took from those games, in terms of how to craft an unbelievable story, and yet give the player the freedom to sort of make their own decisions within that story, and sort of engage with it or not," Gardiner said. "Charlie and I are big believers of giving players tools and letting them have fun in the game the way they want to. If they want to just grind through the main quest and then step away, that's great. If they never want to touch the main quest, and they just want to go into the corners of the realm and scour for caps and and screws. That's great, too." Something Wicked currently has approximately 15 employees, and as production moves forward on Wyrdsong Gardiner expects to expand that number to thirty in the next few years and potentially up to 70 by the time the game is ready for release. "And we were lucky enough to get a seed funding round of $13.2 million from NetEase," said Gardiner. As you might have guessed, there's no release date or even a release year announced for Wyrdsong yet. In the meantime, you can visit the official website here. View the full article

Return to Monkey Island, the long-awaited return of Guybrush Threepwood's swashbuckling adventures, will be out on September 19, which just coincidentally (or maybe not) also happens to be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which, yes, is an actual thing. The trailer, narrated by sketchy sales rep Stan S. Stanman, showcases a number of the game's locations, characters, and snappy dialog, and of course the new art style that's proven unexpectedly controversial: The "personal attack comments" that came in response to the initial reveal led co-creator Ron Gilbert to declare that he was done sharing information on the game. His Monkey Island compadre Dave Grossman stuck with it, though, and Gilbert didn't seem to mind too much. Personally I like the new look. It's a real change and I can understand why diehard Monkey Island fans might be a little put off by it, but it's well over a decade since the previous Monkey Island game, Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island, and it's not as though the series was previously committed to visual realism. More important is this writing and scripting: If that's sharp and solid, the rest will follow. Return to Monkey Island preorders are live now, and everyone who lays down their money up front will receive the Horse Armor item for free. Do note that horse armor "has no practical use in game, and in no way will contribute to gameplay, puzzles, or narrative of Return to Monkey Island." It'll look pretty sweet in your inventory, though. View the full article

Delicate Tomb is the new season pass weapon for the Season of Plunder, and this fancy arc fusion rifle is the perfect accompaniment to the new arc 3.0 subclasses. Slightly different from your run-of-the-mill fusion rifle, this bad boy fires horizontal waves of arc that disintegrate opponents and grants a chance to drop Ionic Traces from them. Ionic Traces only used to be available to Warlocks, but collecting them grants energy for all your abilities. If you pick up an Ionic Trace and then shoot another enemy with Delicate Tomb, they'll become Jolted, which basically means they'll start sending out arc to other enemies, electrifying them in turn. If you're a warlock using the Electostatic Mind aspect, you can also become amplified whenever you pick up an Ionic Trace, which is very strong. So, if you're planning to go all-in this season, here's how to get the Delicate Tomb exotic fusion rifle and its catalyst. If you missed the big Bungie livestream, you may also be interested in the new destination of Neptune, the Strand subclass, and the announcement that Bungie are adding loadouts and an LFG-style fireteam finder with Lightfall. Destiny 2 Delicate Tomb: How to get the season pass exotic Image 1 of 3 Delicate Tomb in the first slot of the premium season pass. (Image credit: Bungie)Image 2 of 3 Delicate Tomb is a strong arc fusion rifle. (Image credit: Bungie)Image 3 of 3 You can get Delicate Tomb's catalyst from Banshee once you have the weapon. (Image credit: Bungie) In order to get Delicate Tomb, you have two options: you can purchase the season pass for the Season of Plunder for 1,000 Silver and get it immediately. You can get Silver from Tess Everis at Eververse in the Tower or in the store in your menu. 1,000 Silver is approximately $9.99, but it gives you access to the lower track of the season pass, which features unique rewards such as a sparrow, a ghost, a cosmetic armor set, and of course, Delicate Tomb. The second option is getting to level 35 on the free season pass, which will also unlock it for you. The best way to do this is by completing bounties from vendors as well as activities. Once you have Delicate Tomb, you'll also unlock the ability to get its catalyst, improving the weapon's performance. Head to Banshee in the Tower and he'll give you the mission. Catalysts are usually a bit of a grind, and require you to kill lots of enemies using that particular weapon, but once you unlock it, Delicate Tomb will gain a powerful secondary ability. View the full article

Last year's announcement of Goat Simulator 3 was a big surprise—in no small part because there was never a Goat Simulator 2. And at last you can witness the goat simulation's simulated goats going absolutely ape in the four player co-op sandbox. Have a look at the chaotic new gameplay trailer above, shown at Gamescom Opening Night Live. Run, jump, headbutt, and even jetpack your way through a world filled with hapless humans and everything else from hammerhead sharks to angry rhinos. It looks like there will be plenty to keep you and your fellow goats busy, with soccer games, car chases, tractor duels, jousting, hang gliding, and the wanton destruction of the unfortunate town that is home to these violent goats. Goat Simulator 3 launches on November 17 on the Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store. There's still no word on when we might get Goat Simulator 2. View the full article

I remember liking 2014 dark fantasy action RPG Lords of the Fallen, but it turns out I gave it a 58% in my review. I guess I didn't like it that much, but for reasons I can't entirely explain, I'm excited for its sequel, which until today was called Lords of the Fallen 2. As of Gamescom Opening Night Life, however, Lords of the Fallen 2 is now called "The Lords of the Fallen." On Steam, the original is now called Lords Of The Fallen 2014 to make it clear that it's the old game, if the word "the" was somehow not enough of an indication that there are two different Lords of the Fallen games. Like all good dark fantasy games, the Lords of the Fallen trailer at Gamescom—sorry, the The Lords of the Fallen trailer—includes an '80s heavy metal song. This one features Mother by Danzig. Groans were expressed in our work chat when it started playing. To myself, quietly—even though I'm alone in my apartment—I said "nice." I really can't explain this, but I'm going to play The Lords of the Fallen, and I'll probably play it before I finish Elden Ring. I know it won't be as good, but no one can stop me from doing this. It reminds me of when that HBO show Rome was popular. I told one of my friends to watch it, but he was so tired of people telling him that Rome was good that he refused. (I have no idea if I think it would be good now. Maybe he made the right call.) That's me with FromSoftware games. There's no good reason that I've played and reviewed Lords of the Fallen but never got into the Dark Souls games. It's preposterous—almost as preposterous as changing Lords of the Fallen 2 to The Lords of the Fallen. Maybe we're alike, somehow, me and Lords of the Fallen developer HexWorks. (A new studio created by the developer of the original, CI Games.) "The first game that we are proudly developing is Lord of the Fallen 2," HexWorks wrote before the name change. "This sequel will shift from the original's power fantasy to a dark fantasy world and it will also have more challenging combat than its predecessor, staying truer to experiences that the Soulsborne communities enjoy. This combat will be paired with amazing visuals and gameplay supported by the power and performance of the latest Unreal Engine as we target next generation console platforms and high-end PCs." The Lords of the Fallen now has a Steam page, and will be out sometime next year. View the full article

Funcom has shown off its Dune project for the first time at Gamescom. Sadly it opted for the CG trailer approach, but we now know that it's an open world survival MMO called Dune Awakening. And that it will have giant sandworms. The game is set on a "vast and seamless" reimagining of Arrakis, the most hostile planet in the universe, and appropriately enough Awakening is looking to combine the survival genre with the social side of a large-scale persistent MMO. Gameplay mechanics will include building shelter against the constant sandstorms, maintaining and improving your life-sustaining stillsuit, and avoiding death at the maws of the colossal sandworms. Biomes mentioned include long-abandoned research stations and ancient sietches, though a core mechanic seems to involve gigantic sandstorms 'shifting' the landscape in certain sectors of the map. At this stage the language being used is fuzzy, but mentions "the ever-changing face of Arrakis" before a slightly more specific description of what that may mean: "Head into unmapped sectors and be the first to discover secrets and riches before the coriolis storms once again shift the sands and alter the landscape." Perhaps procedural generation will regularly remake certain sections of the mapp? Space naturally plays a huge role—it's the whole reason that people are on Arrakis in the first place—and you'll be hunting for spice blooms and harvesting them, while of course other players and factions try to do the same. Funcom promises that you'll "soak the sand in blood as massive battles shift seamlessly from foot to vehicles and from ground to ornithopters in the sky." This is, of course, all talk at this stage. But it's pretty big talk and Funcom certainly has the resources to throw at the project. The PR accompanying the trailer promises players will be able to tailor every aspect of their character, as well as acquiring abilities through the consumption of spice. The crafting system, meanwhile, will apparently be so in-depth that it will function as entire roles in the economy. There's no release date yet for Dune Awakening, but game has a nifty website where scrolling increases the sand blur, which is a nice trick. You can sign up for the beta now, and the game also has a Steam page. View the full article

A new trailer for open-world Harry Potter-verse adventure game Hogwarts Legacy premiered today during Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live show, and it's easily the darkest look at it yet. The trailer centers on the dark arts, a forbidden realm of magic that players will apparently become experts in (against the wishes of your professor). We see the player casting Crucio, a spell better known in the wizarding world as the Cruciatus Curse. According to the Harry Potter wiki, it's one of the three Unforgivable Curses used to inflict "excruciating pain on a victim." It's the spell of choice for those nasty Death Eaters that Harry faces off with in Prisoner of Azkaban, though the Crucio cast by the player in Hogwarts Legacy looks a bit different. This version is red and distinctly evil-looking, which you'd think would be a good hint for our young protagonist to stay the heck away from it. Though, it wouldn't be a Harry Potter story without kids getting tempted into the dark side. We also see the player face off against what I can only describe as wizard zombies, something I didn't know existed in the world of magic until now (though I really shouldn't be surprised). I don't mind the threat—it might be nice to have a mindless target to unleash super deadly magic on instead of irreversibly injuring my fellow classmates. In case you missed the delay a few weeks ago, Hogwarts Legacy's new release date is February 10, 2023. View the full article

Videogames owe a lot to their tabletop counterparts, especially when it comes to turn-based strategy and tactics, but one of the best parts of fielding armies of little warriors often gets overlooked in the digital realm: model painting. Moonbreaker, from Subnautica studio Unknown Worlds, has rectified this frequent omission and then some, giving us something that feels pure tabletop, but on PC. Moonbreaker is a sci-fi-fantasy tactics romp where you build a crew of unique characters, paint them just like you would real miniatures, summon them into 12-minute battles and try to defeat the opposing crew's captain. Your goal is simple, then, but beyond that is a whole lot of complexity drawing from diverse sources like Warhammer, Cosmic Encounter and Magic: The Gathering. And the moment you look at it, you'll know you're staring at a tabletop game. The way units move like they're being picked up off the board, and the way the terrain looks like something built for a Warhammer 40k tournament—it's unmistakable. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) "We wanted to make something new," says Unknown Worlds co-founder Charlie Cleveland. "We're Unknown Worlds, we like to try crazy stuff. Maybe not that crazy. But we try to push things forward and keep things fresh. We're making the world's best digital miniatures game. We want to take the miniatures hobby and keep what is amazing about it, which is like all the analogue part of it, the imagination part of it, the tactile, physical nature of it. But we want to remove all the other barriers, which are like this giant investment you have to make in money, time, rules, physical setup—all that stuff. We just want to remove all that. We're trying to streamline and make more accessible the entire tabletop hobby, not just the game, but the hobby itself." Battles don't play out like your typical tactics game, where you start at full-strength and every turn threatens to weaken you. First you create your roster, with a single captain and 10 crew, "kind of Guardians of the Galaxy or Firefly style", says Cleveland. But you don't get access to your full roster when the battle begins. Instead, you get a randomised selection, which can be called down from your orbiting ship. "So the pace builds up. It's not war, and it's not attrition. It's like you're building up, maybe like StarCraft, or traditional videogame pacing, where it escalates." The ship plays a role, too. At the beginning of a match, you'll get a couple of ship assists, picked from a larger pool, giving you access to things like healing through the Medical Recall ability, or the Vortex Beam, which pulls allies and enemies alike towards a specific point. These can also synergise nicely with your units' abilities. If you're playing with one that grows more powerful with each attack, for instance, you can use the Medical Recall assist to take them out of the fight, heal them up, and then plonk them back down with all their stats intact, allowing you to ensure that they keep growing and growing. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) Active abilities cost Cinder, Moonbreaker's magical resource, which is harvested from the cores of moons. Bringing in units also costs Cinder. Passive abilities just happen in the background and cost nothing, but typically have prerequisites. With Cinder being a limited resource, you might want to save them up for some big moves, like firing off a couple of abilities and bringing in another unit all in one turn. You can bank up to three for just such a situation. However! There will also be situations where having no Cinder is a boon. The Cornered ability, for example, gives +2 to attack and increases the distance the unit can travel, but only if you've run out of Cinder. We're trying to streamline and make more accessible the entire tabletop hobby, not just the game. Charlie Cleveland, Unknown Worlds Every unit gets one ability, except captains, who boast three. Extilior, a hulking, heavily armoured captain from the Methedori culture—more on them in a bit—has the Justice passive ability, granting Hope to any allies in range when an enemy is defeated. Hope reduces damage by 1, which could make the difference between life and death. Hope is also one of Extilior's active abilities, so he can pick a specific unit to buff, even if he's not just defeated someone. The final ability, Valorous Blades, is a nasty spinning attack that damages all units in range. Note that both of these two abilities, unlike the passive, specify "units" and not "enemies" or "allies". You'll see that a lot in Moonbreaker, whether it's a healing ability or an offensive one. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) "Everything in this game basically affects, whenever possible, both sides," Cleveland explains. "We want all abilities to be used in many, many different ways that we've never thought about. So we want to make sure that, yes, it is possible to kill your own units. Sometimes you actually want to. I mean, it's pretty rare, but it does happen." Culture vulture All of these characters belong to one of three cultures, with more coming in future seasons. But when you make your roster, you can mix and match—this isn't a culture war. The Methedori are Roman-inspired protectors, which I guess makes them stuffy space cops, and while that also means there's some aesthetic similarities with Warhammer 40k's Imperium, the Methedori are rather less fascist. Then there are the Smugglers, a rag-tag group of crooks and rebels, including some former Methedori characters. The final culture, the Cholek, have more spiritual leanings—though they certainly aren't pacifists—and an aesthetic inspired by Central American cultures. There's a lot of variety within each culture, too. Making a Smuggler list doesn't mean restricting yourself to Han Solo and Malcolm Reynolds knock-offs. Instead you can recruit Toxoid, a grotesque, flying bug that's dripping with venom; Crankbait, with her hoverbike and mechanical hand/grappling chain, which lets her drag units towards her; and Chuck & Co., a guy riding a mech that mimics his movements, whose speciality is picking units up and throwing them. All of these cultures exist within the Reaches, a system of tiny but habitable moons, inside which the precious Cinder resides. It blends sci-fi and fantasy, with characters using weapons both mechanical and mystical. This extends to space itself, which is not a vacuum, allowing creatures and open-air ships to travel through it. "You can jump on a flying snake and go moon to moon," says Cleveland, which sounds like a dream holiday. It's evocative of the best D&D setting, Spelljammer, and was created by epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) Given Sanderson's credentials as a prolific and popular fantasy novelist, it's surprising that Moonbreaker doesn't have a story-driven mode or a campaign. "We tried making a story mode, and we spent way too much time on it," says Cleveland. "We may come back to it. But we basically decided the gameplay was suffering and the story was suffering." But the story and the universe Sanderson has created still comes to the fore via other methods—primarily through audio dramas. "Every month, approximately, we'll release a new audio drama, which is an acted podcast that you can listen to in a game while you're painting, or out of the game on your phone," says Cleveland. "And you can hear the captains and their stories, and how they're all linked together. They're about 30-minutes long so far. We're still learning how to make them, of course, but we have the full character arcs for literally years. So we're laying the framework for the first three captains in early access, and then every four months or so we're going to release a new season with a new captain, new units and new audio dramas. So, yeah, we've got years and years of this planned." Whenever I'm painting, I usually have a podcast or TV show on anyway, so this feels like an appropriate way to flesh out the universe. And I suspect I'm going to be spending a lot of time painting in Moonbreaker. Every character has a default paint job, and they look great. Unknown Worlds considered giving players unpainted models as the default, like Warhammer, "to encourage you to paint", but the team ultimately decided that "it just felt too crappy to have a blank unit". But can you really call them your crew if you haven't painted each of them yourself? Absolutely. Screw gatekeeping. But you should paint them anyway. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) All the tools I normally have to dig out of the sarcophagus where I keep my Warhammer stuff have been conveniently recreated digitally, and in ways that make them much easier to use. The absolute bane of my existence is edge-highlighting, which requires good eyes and steady hands. My eyes are knackered and my hands are about as stable as a geriatric alcoholic. In Moonbreaker, you can do it in a few strokes. What's so great about the end result is that it doesn't look perfect. In places, the highlights might not be completely even, or some parts might be a little more faded than others. Some of this is down to the tools trying to emulate human imperfections, but it's also affected by how vigorous or slapdash you are when you're using them. These touches are what make these characters look like physical miniatures instead of regular 3D videogame models. I just want this to be relaxing. Charlie Cleveland, Unknown Worlds There's a basic paint tool, a wash, a dry brush, an airbrush, stippling and decals, and you can even mix colours to create your own. You'll get a lot of different colours to work with without doing that, though, including paints that glow or look like different materials. There's a handy masking tool, too, so if you're trying to paint your gun to give it a metallic look and don't want to also paint the hand, you can make it so that the paint only hits the gun. Everything feels like it's been designed to give you all the tools you'd expect with none of the frustration that comes from not being the world's best miniature painter. (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) "I just want this to be relaxing," says Cleveland. "I learned how to draw over the pandemic. It was using Procreate on my iPad and Apple pencil and I just fell in love with painting and how relaxed I felt. So that's one of the inspirations for this painting setup." Additional paints, decals, new unit paint jobs and captain skins will come with new seasons, which can be unlocked via the free seasonal track. Other cosmetic upgrades will also be available, letting you eventually gussy up each unit. And then you can give units funky auras by spending another resource, Dust, which might cover them in shadows or fire. Progressing through the season or adding auras doesn't reflect your skill at the game, but there's also a mastery system that gives units ranks and titles for playing and winning with them. Cosmetic flourishes are being considered for this second progression system as well. Boss rush So there are a lot of ways for you to show off when you face your opponents, who will typically be other players, though there is a dedicated singleplayer mode known as Cargo Run. "So this is heavily inspired by Dungeon Run for Hearthstone," explains Cleveland. "We've tried a whole bunch of different singleplayer modes, and this is the one that just works by far the best." (Image credit: Unknown Worlds) This singleplayer challenge mode pits you against five bosses in a row. These bosses are like "mini captains", Cleveland says, and are unique to the mode. Depending on your captain, you will always start with the same roster, versus a random boss. And each subsequent boss gets more health than the last, ramping up the challenge. To help you out, there are upgrades littering the map, which you can grab to beef up your units. "So you're basically modifying your roster as you play." Moonbreaker could hardly be more different from Subnautica, but you can still see the familiar Unknown Worlds design philosophy in the way it's trying to create an easy-to-understand, accessible game that's still a great source of tension and challenge. Hopefully it will do for turn-based tactics what Subnautica did for survival games. But I'm just ecstatic that the painting is so good. The last videogame with an excellent model painting system, Might & Magic Showdown, didn't fare so well, but Moonbreaker has one advantage: it's not horrible to play. You'll be able to fight and paint soon, too, as Moonbreaker is launching in early access on September 29. And while it has quite a bit in common with free-to-play live service games, such as Dota, which Cleveland cites as another inspiration, it's buy to play, with the base game costing $29.99, accompanied by a $24.99 Founders Pack. View the full article

The eternally memetic Sonic Cycle continues in Sonic Frontiers. With the dust barely having had time to settle on the messy launch of Sonic Origins, Sega is seemingly itching to take the series in a new direction. The next big outing for the blue blur is a less linear, more explorable take on the ‘run fast, grind rails, jump on robots’ formula we know and love. I am cautiously hopeful, and despite being a bit of a pessimist, I’ve still had fun with most modern Sonic games. Here’s everything we know so far about Sonic Frontiers, and what makes it stand out (for better or worse) from the dozens of other games starring Sega’s true blue mascot. What is the release date for Sonic Frontiers? Sonic Frontiers is launching on November 8, 2022, Sega announced during Gamescom in August. That does match its latest projection of "Holiday 2022’." Here's the new Sonic Frontiers trailer from Gamescom A new trailer for Sonic Frontiers was shown during Opening Night Live at Gamescom, which the team calls a story trailer but also focused on reminding us that the open world Sonic does, in fact, include some traditional running and bouncing platforming sections too. Don't worry, there's some Sonic left in this Sonic game, it seems to reassure. Will Sonic Frontiers be on PC? Yes, and just about every other console around, including the Switch. So far, no system requirements have been announced for Frontiers, but given that the game scales all the way down to the Switch (effectively a mid-spec mobile device) and last-gen consoles like the Xbox One and PS4, you’re unlikely to need a massive machine to run it at lower settings. What sets Sonic Frontiers apart from other Sonic games? While the Sonic series has gone some weird places over the years (including a rubbish RPG by Bioware and that awkward Werehog one), Frontiers could be one of the biggest shifts for the series yet. While they may have had explorable overworlds, the levels in Sonic Adventure and Sonic ‘06 were largely linear. Sonic Frontiers is leaning towards a much less restrictive open-world format. Rather than Sonic’s usual abstract and cartoonish worlds, this time he’s exploring a chain of much more natural-looking islands, with fields of flowers, dense forests and jagged cliffs to navigate, although there seem to be grind-rails hovering just about everywhere, providing some additional movement options. It seems that Frontiers has taken some Breath of The Wild inspiration, with devices and mini-puzzles revealing collectible items in the overworld. Also shown in gameplay footage so far is an increased focus on combat, including rapid melee combos and dodges. Sonic will be able to unlock and learn new combat abilities over the course of the game, including the ability to shoot swarms of energy blades at enemies, and a melee parry move. It’s an unusual change of pace, as Sonic’s usual approach to combat is to bounce on past as quickly as possible, rather than standing and fighting toe-to-toe. What do we know about the world of Sonic Frontiers? For this adventure, Sonic is headed off to the mysterious Starfall Islands, an archipelago that was once home to an advanced (but now lost) civilization. What this means is miles of open, largely unspoilt hills to speed around, punctuated with mysterious techno-ruins, grind-rails and floating platforms. Also ancient killer robots, because that’s just a thing Sonic can’t escape. They are at least cool, abstract-looking murder machines instead of Eggman’s usual designs which look like he (fittingly) lifted them from Kinder Surprise toys. Thankfully they’re not dropping the linear, speed-focused levels entirely. Recent preview videos have shown off several ‘Cyber Space’ levels inspired by Sonic’s past adventures, and feature returning enemies from older games. These will apparently reward Sonic with keys which may be required to progress in the story. It’s anyone’s guess how heavily the game is weighted towards these more old-school stages. Of course, this is a Sonic game so they’ve got to introduce yet another marketable buddy character to interact with and eventually pad out IDW’s ever-expanding comic cast. While details are a bit sketchy thanks to being gleaned from leaks, it looks like a mysterious girl named Sage (seemingly some sort of guardian figure with a glitchy red holographic look) will fill that role. Leaks imply that she’ll be antagonistic at first (trying to get Sonic to leave the Starfall islands) but I’d give solid odds of the power of friendship winning out before the credits roll. It seems equally likely that Sega will forget about the character the moment the game launches. Where are Sonic’s other friends this time? Sadly, the custom make-a-mascot protagonist of Sonic Forces is nowhere to be seen this time, and the rest of the cast are making themselves scarce too. It seems that this time round, Sonic is mostly tackling this job solo. Early hands-on previews mention that Tails & Amy make an appearance during the intro, but the gang are separated after falling through a portal, leaving Sonic alone and searching for the Chaos Emeralds (the ultimate in all-purpose macguffins), guided by a mysterious AI’s voice. Of course, wherever the Chaos Emeralds can be found (just about anywhere it seems—they’re worse than Dragon Balls) Eggman is involved, and recent clips have shown some of his hardware being set up on the island. Expect to tussle with him and his robot goons at some point. Still, the machines active on the islands already seem a little more menacing. And big. Who is developing Sonic Frontiers? Sonic Frontiers is being developed by Sega’s original Sonic Team, headed up by producer Takashi Iizuka. He’s been key to the series since he was credited as Game Designer on Sonic 3. Despite having some highs (Sonic Generations & Colors) and lows (Sonic Lost World & Forces) few people know the old Blue Blur better than him. What’s up with the music? As anyone with ears might have noted during the gameplay showcases so far, Sonic Frontiers is also experimenting musically. There’s no goofy Crush 40 vocal tracks or bouncy FM synth jams to be heard so far. Expect moody piano-led pieces for exploring the overworld, and the occasional guitar-and-strings heavy ‘epic’ action piece to accompany boss fights. You can hear the former in IGN’s gameplay footage here, and the latter in the recent Nintendo Direct Mini. Personally I’m hoping we get some more old-school tunes during the Cyber Space stages, but only time will tell on this front. It does feel weird to not be enthusiastic about a Sonic game’s music. Aside from the Bioware RPG’s notoriously busted soundtrack, the music has always been a high point in these games. Even in the otherwise risible Sonic ‘06! Here’s hoping Sega have some surprises lined up. (Image credit: Sega) Why are people unhappy about Sonic Frontiers? You don’t have to look far online to find people pessimistic about Sonic Frontiers. While opinions on the game are as diverse and colorful as Sonic’s ever-expanding cast of friends and hangers-on, there have been a few common criticisms leveled at the footage that Sega has shown so far. Among the most obvious is the technical rough edges. There’s a lot of environmental pop-up visible in the open world, especially foliage. Hopefully the PC version allows us to push those draw distances further back with more powerful hardware. More generally, there’s been broad criticism of the open-world environment. While the clips of Cyber Space levels have helped alleviate this, the broader overworld seems a little bland, and its abstract techno-ruins feel a bit generically JRPG’ish. Personally it reminds me a lot of Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, which is coincidentally another Sonic Team production. It’s not an aesthetic I’m opposed to, but it doesn’t really scream ‘Sonic’ to me. There have also been some grumbles from Sonic’s most technically-minded of fans, highlighting the strange movement physics shown in the gameplay footage. Sonic seems to be retaining more momentum than he normally would while grinding on rails, while bleeding speed elsewhere. While this is all down to personal taste, the series has been running long enough for people to have a solid idea of what a Sonic game should feel like. Lastly, one we can file under ‘non-controversy’, it has been reported (thanks, PCGamesN) that some badniks on Steam have been abusing the public tagging system to mark the game as being ‘Not Safe For Work’, as well as containing ‘Sexual content’, ‘Psychological horror’ elements and worse. While this would be an accurate representation of some (okay, many) fan-works out there, it’s not really applicable here. Whether another round of the Sonic Cycle will cause similar levels of psychic damage is a question only time will answer. View the full article

Striking Distance Studios boss Glen Schofield made at appearance at today's Opening Night Live showcase for Gamescom to show off some fresh gameplay from the upcoming horror game The Callisto Protocol, and its new system of mutations that will enable enemies to transform into "bigger, badder, faster meaner" opponents if they're not killed quickly. It's a subtle effect, and the trailer moves pretty quickly, but you can see see the enemies transforming during the fight, sprouting tentacles and even regrowing a skull after it's blown off in appropriately gory fashion. It seems pretty clear that at least some enemies will need to be taken down in a hurry if you want to avoid a prolonged fight, and the suffering that invariably arises from such encounters. It all ends badly, though, as Callisto Protocol trailers so often do: After an extended ride through a torrent of what I can only assume is untreated sewage and sticky viscera, our hero zigs when he really, really should have zagged. Bad move, bud. The Callisto Protocol is set to come out on December 2. View the full article

Information about Hogwarts Legacy has been a long time coming since its unveiling back in 2020, but this year has given us a substantial amount of info about the Harry Potter RPG from Portkey Games. After a beefy gameplay reveal in March 2022, we've got enough details to conjure a pretty complete image of how Hogwarts Legacy's wizarding world will look when it arrives in 2023, including character customization, companion characters, and lots and lots of magical combat. Hogwarts Legacy will be a jaunt backwards in wizarding history, taking place in the late 19th century before Harry and most of the book's characters were born. Dumbledore's just about the only character old enough to have a chance of appearing, and even then he'd just be a child—potentially even a classmate? Either way, the older era should give offer enough creative freedom to make a Hogwarts pupil that's fully your own, without being burdened down by existing storytelling as you explore the world and uncover the secrets of ancient magic. Hogwarts Legacy is landing at a fraught time for the wizarding universe. Book series author J.K. Rowling has double, triple, and quadrupled down on her public transphobia, while a middling response to the latest Fantastic Beasts film seemingly has Warner Bros. shying away from continuing the series. What role Hogwarts Legacy will play in the state of the Harry Potter world remains to be seen. For more details and screens for Hogwarts Legacy, plus what news there is about when it might arrive, take a look below. Hogwarts Legacy release date When is the Hogwarts Legacy release date?Hogwarts Legacy will release on February 10, 2023. Despite the conventional wisdom about wizards arriving precisely when they mean to, Hogwarts Legacy has undergone two delays—the first pushed its intended release out of 2021 and into 2022, and the most recent knocked its holiday 2022 release window into the first quarter of 2023. "The team is excited for you to play, but we need a little more time to deliver the best possible game experience," Portkey Games said on the Hogwarts Legacy Twitter while announcing the latest delay. Check out the new Hogwarts Legacy trailer from Gamescom Fresh off its most recent delay announcement, Hogwarts Legacy showed off an new trailer during the Opening Night Live presentation at Gamescom. This time it was a story trailer focused on Slytherin student Sebastian Sallow teaching the rest of the characters about curses for self defense and the conflict it starts with Hogwarts professors. Hogwarts Legacy trailers and screenshots The initial reveal trailer above for Hogwarts Legacy gave us just a brief look at what the big wizarding RPG would involve, but it definitely made clear what a pretty game it's going to be. From the initial trailer we saw just a bit of combat and lore, though we now know a lot more about both. Check out these Hogwarts Legacy reveal screenshots Image 1 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 2 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 3 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 4 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 5 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 6 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 7 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche)Image 8 of 8 (Image credit: Warner Bros., Avalanche) Above are some screenshots from the Hogwarts Legacy reveal trailer to get a look at how Portkey games has designed its 1800s version of Hogwarts. Hogwarts Legacy gameplay & combat What do we know about the Hogwarts Legacy gameplay? When it was first revealed, Portkey Games called Hogwarts Legacy an "immersive, open-world action RPG." The studio also explains that, "[Players] will grow their character’s abilities as they master powerful spells, hone combat skills and select companions to help them face off against deadly enemies," Portkey Games says. "Players will also encounter missions and scenarios that will pose difficult choices and determine what they stand for." From the lengthy gameplay reveal in March 2022, we've seen a lot more of what that actually means. Portkey Games has shown off how you'll explore Hogwarts castle itself, solving puzzles with your spells and abilities to unlock secret rooms and dungeons. You'll also be able to fly around on your broom. As a student, you'll also be attending classes like Herbology, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, or Potions. From what we've seen so far, some classes will involve interactive minigames. We've also briefly seen the talent points system where you can invest points into categories like the Room of Requirement, stealth, and your "core" abilities. The other two categories were unnamed, but I'd be that one of them is related to combat. (Image credit: Portkey Games, Warner Bros.) Is there combat in Hogwarts Legacy? It sure looks like there's going to be a lot of combat in Hogwarts Legacy. You may be just a student, but you'll be battling magical creatures, dueling your classmates, and fighting against ne'er-do-well adult wizards too. You'll learn all sorts of spells for combat and the gameplay reveal showed off quite a lot of them. Some spells can stun enemies, pull them towards you, or toss them in the air. Elemental spells can summon fire for an area of effect. It all appears pretty action-y, spells and effects flying as you face several enemies at once armed mostly with your wand. You will have other tools too, including special plants and animals. Portkey has shown off how plants like screaming Mandrakes can be used offensively to stun enemies while other small plants can keep an enemy's attention while you attack. There's also a stealth system, which we've seen used to sneak up on unsuspecting enemy wizards. (Image credit: Portkey Games, Warner Bros.) What's the Room of Requirement for? The Room of Requirement is a special room in Hogwarts castle that only appears to someone in great need of it. As a fifth year transfer student, apparently you qualify. The Room of Requirement appears to function as a sort of customizable base and crafting hub for your student. You'll be able to unlock crafting stations for plants and potions or raise animals as friends there. From what we've seen, potions and plants and other stations all appear to take time to produce—though whether that's real world time or only time spent playing isn't clear so far. Hogwarts Legacy story and setting (Image credit: Portkey Games, Warner Bros.) What is the Hogwarts Legacy story? Avalanche Software and Portkey Games say that Hogwarts Legacy follows the wizarding world lore set out in the original Harry Potter novels but is an original story from the studio, not written by J.K. Rowling. You'll play as a student attending Hogwarts in the late 1890, attending classes and learning magic alongside other students. "You have received a late acceptance to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and soon discover that you are no ordinary student: you possess an unusual ability to perceive and master Ancient Magic," the studio says. "Only you can decide if you will protect this secret for the good of all, or yield to the temptation of more sinister magic." You'll meet the mysterious Professor Fig to figure out answers to your special abilities. There's also the matter of a some kind of rebellion led by a goblin named Ranrock. You'll be fighting Ranrock's goblins, dark witches and wizards, and magical beasts too. Which locations are in Hogwarts Legacy? There may not be familiar faces in Hogwarts Legacy due to the time period it's set in, but it looks like we can definitely expect some standard places. Avalanche say that it's an open world game, so there will likely be plenty of exploring to do in and out of the castle. Throughout your school year, seasons will come and go as you explore areas outside the castle as well. Hogwarts Castle It should come as no surprise that we'll be spending a lot of time in Hogwarts Castle itself as students. In the reveal trailer we got a good look at the expansive great hall and a look at the exterior we know so well too. Hogsmeade The nearby village of Hogsmeade seems like it's going to be prominent. Parts of the story will take place there, as will buying potion ingredients and outfits for your character. Forbidden Forest Also from the reveal trailer we can spot a venture into the Forbidden Forest where a student is fighting against those unknown dark wizards. Hogwarts Legacy characters and companions (Image credit: Portkey Games, Warner Bros.) Is Harry Potter in Hogwarts Legacy? Nope! Remember, this is set in the 1800s so the kid who lived is several generations from being born. Harry Potter won't be in Hogwarts Legacy but since you can create your own character you could probably design a wizard student who looks like him if you really want to. Familiar faces will likely be few and far between, given the time period, but the gameplay reveal did show a very short clip of a student chatting with Nearly Headless Nick the ghost. Perhaps some other less-corporeal cameos are in order. Here's what we know about character creation We've seen just a bit of character customization so far in the gameplay reveal, showing the ability to change characteristics like hairstyles and color, skin color, and scars. After choosing your appearance, you'll also be able to select the Hogwarts house your student is sorted into. Past that, Portkey Games also goes over mid-game customization through outfit choices you can buy and equip from visiting shops in Hogsmeade. According to a Bloomberg report in 2021, Hogwarts Legacy will let you choose a masculine or feminine voice, body type, and dorm placement as "witch" or "wizard" independently when creating a student. "Some members of the Hogwarts Legacy development team have fought to make the game as inclusive as possible, pushing for the character customization and even for a transgender character to be added," Bloomberg says. "There was resistance from management at first, the people familiar with the project said, but currently the character customization is included in the game." A Hogwarts Legacy presentation at 2022's Autodesk Vision series gave us a more complete look at the game's character creation screen. Official screenshots from the event haven't yet been released, but fan-captured screenshots are available on unofficial news Twitter accounts and the Hogwarts Legacy subreddit. Character Customisation #HogwartsLegacy pic.twitter.com/m0pqMB0XgXAugust 3, 2022 See more Who are your companions? Portkey Games has explained that certain students in the story have their own personal stories that you can be involved with and that they'll eventually be able to accompany you around the world and in combat. Here's who we know about so far: Natsai Onai: a Gryffindor and "a brave adventurer driven by the justice she seeks." Poppy Sweeting: a Hufflepuff who has "a kind heart and loves magical beasts." Sebastian Sallow: a Slytherin "unafraid of detention or breaking the rules." Hogwarts Legacy's development and influences There's reason to be skeptical of Hogwarts Legacy's attempts at inclusive representation Hogwarts Legacy is going back in wizarding world history, but the game is coming with a fair bit of real world history that's worth knowing about. In recent years, J.K. Rowling has made a series of transphobic remarks that have upset many longtime Harry Potter fans, making her connection to Hogwarts Legacy a significant question. The story of Hogwarts Legacy is a Portkey Games creation, and on an FAQ on its website WB Games says "J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game, however, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World." When Kotaku asked Warner Bros. whether Rowling would receive royalties from sales of Hogwarts Legacy, a representative declined to comment. Some fans also raised concerns over videos created by Hogwarts Legacy lead designer Troy Leavitt, who formerly ran an anti-social justice YouTube channel. Leavitt's videos included his opinions supportive of Gamergate and references to the #MeToo movement as a "moral panic." "I’m happy to say that, even though I disclosed my YouTube channel to WB Games, it didn’t appear to be an issue for them," Leavitt said in a video from 2018. "Not that they endorse anything that I’ve said, of course, but at least they seem more concerned with making good games than with pushing some kind of a social justice agenda, so there is hope." On March 4, two weeks after the videos recirculated online, Leavitt tweeted "I have made the decision to part ways with Avalanche Software. I have nothing but good things to say about the game, the dev team, and WB Games." View the full article

New Tales from the Borderlands comes to PC and consoles on October 21, 2022. That's right, the new Tales from the Borderlands game is just called "New Tales From The Borderlands." Easy to remember! New Tales From The Borderlands is another episodic narrative adventure game, but it's not made by Telltale—or "new Telltale," you might call it, since the old Telltale went bankrupt and was later resurrected. Instead, this one comes from main Borderlands series developer Gearbox Software. New Tales from the Borderlands also isn't a direct continuation of the story from Tales from the Borderlands. It's about three new characters, Anu, Octavio, and Fran, who are facing off against Tediore and their talking guns with legs. As with all the other Borderlands games, the Gamescom reveal suggests we'll be subjected to bizarre characters, annoyingly funny one-liners, references to places like Buttsville, and the series' typical anti-corporate themes. Alongside the new fresh faces, expect to see a few familiar friends and foes, too—nobody actually important ever seems to stay permanently dead in Borderlands, and the characters from Telltale's game have apparently not been swallowed by the swamp of intellectual property licensing. I spotted Rhys and his 'frack' moustache in the trailer, but I personally hope to see ultra-ripped nerd, Vaughn, especially after his fortune changed in Borderlands 3. Rather than being all looty-shooty, New Tales from the Borderlands is mainly about deciding where the story goes, whether you want to talk your way out of a situation or throw frogurt in someone's face and flee. "The decisions you make determine how your story ends in unexpected ways," says Gearbox. "Whether it's Anu's vision of a universe that markets more than weapons, Octavio's dreams of fame and fortune, or Fran's frosty plot for revenge, their success or failure depends on you." Like the Telltale original, New Tales from the Borderlands will be singleplayer and episodic; it's a "five-part story," Gearbox says. The original Tales was one of Telltale's better games, and arguably contains the best storytelling the Borderlands universe has seen. Whether Gearbox can do compelling interactive fiction without its usual bazillion guns to fall back on is an open question, but some of the original Telltale writers are working on this one, according to Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. We'll be able to play Gearbox's attempt at the modern adventure game on October 21. Pre-orders are available now: There's a New Tales from the Borderlands standard edition available for $40/£35, and a Deluxe version for $50/£45, which includes the original Tales from the Borderlands. It's not clear yet whether all episodes will be released at once, or if they're releasing over time. Image 1 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 2 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 3 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 4 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 5 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 6 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 7 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 8 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software)Image 9 of 9 (Image credit: Gearbox Software) View the full article