Cyberpunk 2077 has been making waves ever since its official announcement. Made by the same creators as the highly popular Witcher series, the game is set to feature world-class world building and narrative focus. Now it would appear that the development studio behind the upcoming title may have just dropped a hint to when the game will be released. CD Projekt Red, a development studio from within Poland’s video game publishing titan CD Projekt, is best known for The Witcher, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The series is famous for its incredibly expansive open-world dynamic, as well as the thoroughly fleshed out world building and world-class writing. Now, however, the creative team behind the series is working on a new intellectual product. The latest project for the team is Cyberpunk 2077. Much like how The Witcher games are based on a series of…
A new Nintendo Direct is scheduled as of tomorrow, February 13th. Many upcoming games, both announced and unannounced, have the potential to be covered and revealed, including Animal Crossing, the mainline Pokemon game for the Switch, and the recently released hit Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The first of Ultimate’s DLC characters, Joker from Persona 5, has been announced already. Due to be included in the game this month, he will likely be featured in this month’s Direct. But a new, yet unannounced character may emerge as well. It’s always exciting to see who will be drafted next into the Smash roster, and with four more DLC characters coming after Joker, it could be a motley crew indeed. Although Smash Bros. characters are often incredibly difficult to predict beforehand due to their unpredictability, some make more sense than others. And while who knows which character will be revealed next, there are some that could be…
Crowdfunding has become somewhat controversial as of late. For every story about a successful crowdfunding campaign, there seems to be a tale about a crowdfunding recipient running off with their spoils and leaving backers high and dry. That being said, crowdfunding may still be precisely what the gaming industry needs right now. Before we delve into the nitty gritty of crowdfunding, let’s look at another aspect of the gaming industry. AA developers are about to be in high demand. Within the world of gaming, the industry did away with the term “blockbuster” years ago in place of calling massive, highly funded, world-class games “AAA.” Still, the meaning is analogous to blockbuster. Some AAA developers include Bethesda, DICE and Infinity Ward. The issue with AAA gaming is that it has reached a level of success similar to film. A blockbuster film requires massive sums of funding to produce. Consequently, the films…
The recent hype around Obsidian Entertainment’s new The Outer Worlds title has drawn an interesting point. AA developers can still lure the attention of the video game industry’s exponentially growing video game audience. It’s a good thing too, because we need those developers now more than ever. First off, before breaking down why we need smaller developers, let’s dig into why The Outer Worlds is getting so much attention right now. Obsidian Entertainment includes members of the development team involved in the original Fallout franchise. Video game titan Bethesda purchased the rights to the franchise before producing Fallout 3, Fallout Shelter, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. Obsidian was later contracted to make Fallout: New Vegas, however. Bethesda has been receiving some heat from fans as of late. Many hardcore fallout fans were seemingly underwhelmed by Fallout 4 following the critical success of Fallout 3. Beyond that, the release of Fallout…
Obsidian Entertainment has done it again. The company recently announced The Outer Worlds and garnered a hardcore following for their isometric RPG Pillars of Eternity has made another stellar gaming experience. This time, however, the company has managed to make it even better after launch. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is an isometric RPG dungeon crawler that was released for PC just last year and later released on consoles. The game was funded within just one day following the announcement of a crowdfunding campaign on Fig. Perhaps needless to say, Obsidian Entertainment put the money to good use. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire features a protagonist known as the “Watcher.” Gifted with supernatural powers, the watcher can read memories and see the souls of the dead among other abilities. After the awakening of a previously believed to be deceased god, the main character is contacted by another deity and tasked…
There is nothing quite like a good RPG. The open world, expansive quest lines and in-depth levels of customization and choice are each endearing to the genre. That being said, there is a problem within the RPG world that is not being addressed. Well, now it is time to take a gander at that bloated elephant trouncing around the room. RPG games are about as poorly balanced as it gets. RPG is a pretty expansive genre. Everything from Assassin’s Creed to Tomb Raider could fit under the modern definition, making the term nearly meaningless. It has become more of a marketing term to excite casual fans into a frenzy. Simply placing the term “RPG” on a game box seemingly adds the belief that the game will now offer a deeper and more expansive experience. With that in mind, it’s somewhat understandable that marketers want to see it on every game…
Pokemon is a series that is loyal to its traditions, perhaps like no other — if you get a mainline Pokemon game, you know exactly what you’re getting. In a world where a franchise might take a sudden, confusing shift into a direction that you don’t gel with, staying true to the formula can be seen as trustworthy and a good thing. On the opposite end, it’s also possible for a franchise to play it too safe and things could start to get stale. While Pokemon is definitely still enjoyable, it’s a peculiar series of games in that it’s kept up with the times in some ways, but in others is very archaic and has hardly progressed. I get it: why mess with the formula of one of your biggest cash cows? But in 2019, much of its features feel like anachronisms from the past and are outdated. In some…
Bethesda has been getting a bad wrap lately. And, it’s not just because of Fallout 76. A bevy of lawsuits, middling fan reception to their latest two releases and a seemingly big push towards mobile all have hardcore Bethesda fans scared. That being said, artistically, the company is doing just fine. Seriously, there’s no need to worry. Before we get into the nitty gritty details of what’s going on with Bethesda right now and the seemingly chaotic turmoil their PR is dealing with, let’s slow it down. Let’s break down what got Bethesda on most gamers’ radars. Bethesda Game Studios earned their place as the proverbial top dogs of RPG games back in the early 2000s. With the release of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, later followed by the more commercially successful title Oblivion, Bethesda claimed their spot among the great developers for wide eyed, RPG playing video game fans around…
Cyberpunk 2077 is perhaps the top game on many RPG players’ lists right now. That being said, it would appear that the game’s development will simply have to do without the title’s lead writer. Cyberpunk 2077 is the next big title in development from CD Projekt Red, the RPG masterminds behind the Witcher series. While the game is still in development, a recent report is now claiming that Sebastian Stepien (lead writer for Cyberpunk 2077) has left CD Projekt Red. As reported by IGN, Stepien has left CD Projekt Red in order to join Blizzard as a creative director. Stepien was previously one of three creative directors on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Stepien leaving the team behind Cyberpunk 2077 may mean that his role as lead writer has already been completed. Grant it, the game has yet to receive a release date or even a release window. Consequently, it…
Ubisoft’s Far Cry series has experienced a great resurgence since the release of the highly praised Far Cry 3. Well, it would appear that the next title in the series may offer a few new takes on the now well versed franchise. Far Cry New Dawn is set to take place 17 years after the events of Far Cry 4, offering a somewhat post-apocalyptic take on the series. Speaking in a recent promotional tweet, creative director Jean-Sebastien Decant has now revealed that Far Cry New Dawn will feature some RPG elements. “We pushed what we call the light RPG approach in the game to create more depth, so you’ll be able to craft guns that have ranks, and these ranks they will be useful to fight against enemies that also have ranks.” Decant said. “We have what we call the escalation system for the outposts,” Decant later continued, noting changes…