Oddworld: Soulstorm has been a long time coming. A direct sequel to Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, Soulstorm is a loosely drawn reimagining of the second Oddworld game, Abe's Exoddus. Soulstorm looks shiny and PS5-new, with beautifully detailed characters and vast sweeping landscapes in its backgrounds, but it has an old soul. Soulstorm's stealthy platforming feels like a throwback: It's unlike any game I've played in a long time, and that's refreshing. But with old-school gameplay, Soulstorm retains some archaic design choices that feel outdated in 2021. The pain from those choices is accentuated by the game's many serious technical issues, which can blow even the most carefully played sequences at the drop of a hat. Soulstorm has a lot of heart, but its poor tuning makes it a bit of a slog.

Like its predecessors, Soulstorm puts you in control of Abe, a now free slave with the ability to take control of his former captors using a special chant. Each level strings together a gauntlet of side-scrolling stealth-platforming puzzles. As Abe, you'll sneak across each stage, jumping across platforms to dodge traps while avoiding conflict as much as possible. All the while, you're searching for your fellow Mudokons, Abe's species of lanky green Oddworlders, most of whom are still slaves in factories and mines. Staying out of harm's way requires careful planning and timing. Like many stealth games, you're carefully monitoring guard movements and vision cones to find the perfect moment to move from one hiding spot to the next, or to dispatch a guard. There's a tense, nail-biting thrill to maneuvering your way into and out of danger.

Though stealth factors into most areas, there are also a fair number of pure platforming sequences. Dodging flamethrowers, buzzsaws, spikes, and other dangers is also often a matter of getting the timing right. Soulstorm's best platforming sequences feel more puzzle-like than a reflex test, balancing time pressure and a need to methodically feel your way through whatever lethal obstacles it throws your way.

Oddworld: Soulstorm has been a long time coming. A direct sequel to Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty, Soulstorm is a loosely drawn reimagining of the second Oddworld game, Abe's Exoddus. Soulstorm looks shiny and PS5-new, with beautifully detailed characters and vast sweeping landscapes in its backgrounds, but it has an old soul. Soulstorm's stealthy platforming feels like a throwback: It's unlike any game I've played in a long time, and that's refreshing. But with old-school gameplay, Soulstorm retains some archaic design choices that feel outdated in 2021. The pain from those choices is accentuated by the game's many serious technical issues, which can blow even the most carefully played sequences at the drop of a hat. Soulstorm has a lot of heart, but its poor tuning makes it a bit of a slog.

Like its predecessors, Soulstorm puts you in control of Abe, a now free slave with the ability to take control of his former captors using a special chant. Each level strings together a gauntlet of side-scrolling stealth-platforming puzzles. As Abe, you'll sneak across each stage, jumping across platforms to dodge traps while avoiding conflict as much as possible. All the while, you're searching for your fellow Mudokons, Abe's species of lanky green Oddworlders, most of whom are still slaves in factories and mines. Staying out of harm's way requires careful planning and timing. Like many stealth games, you're carefully monitoring guard movements and vision cones to find the perfect moment to move from one hiding spot to the next, or to dispatch a guard. There's a tense, nail-biting thrill to maneuvering your way into and out of danger.

Though stealth factors into most areas, there are also a fair number of pure platforming sequences. Dodging flamethrowers, buzzsaws, spikes, and other dangers is also often a matter of getting the timing right. Soulstorm's best platforming sequences feel more puzzle-like than a reflex test, balancing time pressure and a need to methodically feel your way through whatever lethal obstacles it throws your way.

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’s first expansion DLC, Wrath of the Druids, has been delayed. Ubisoft announced Wednesday that Wrath of the Druids will move from its original date of April 29 to May 13, 2021 in order to “deliver a more refined experience.”

Ubisoft added that it is working on an article that will go further into the reasons for delaying Valhalla’s expansion, which sees Eivor travel to Ireland and face a druidic cult known as the Children of Danu.

Wrath of the Druids is the first major expansion in Ubisoft’s post-launch support for Valhalla, which was revealed prior to the base game’s release in late 2020. Wrath of the Druids will eventually be followed by the Siege of Paris expansion, which aims to let players infiltrate the city of lights and relive the “most ambitious battle in Viking history.”

Ubisoft is far from the only developer/publisher to announce a delay for an eagerly anticipated game or DLC. Arkane’s Deathloop, published by Bethesda, also recently moved its release date back to September 2021. It’s not clear though if Ubisoft has delayed Wrath of the Druids due to work-from-home complications during COVID-19 or for other reasons.

Assassin’s Creed longtime narrative director, Darby McDevitt, also recently announced his departure from Ubisoft after 10 years of work writing on the franchise.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Jarl for IGN.

IGN’s Summer of Gaming is returning this year, and E3 2021 will be a part of the event.

Just like last year, our summertime event will include exclusives, trailers, gameplay demos, and developer interviews – but unlike last year, we’re partnering with E3 to bring the world’s most famous games event into our lineup. That means, from Saturday, June 12 to Tuesday, June 15, you’ll be able to check out the first ever all-digital E3 right here on IGN.

E3 will be free in 2021, and feature announcements and showcases from Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games, Koch Media. Organiser, the ESA promises that E3 2021 will include “major publisher showcases, press conferences, thrilling reveals, extended livestreams and special guest appearances, available free online for all attendees.”

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The whole of E3 has been redesigned as a digital event that, alongside the usual mixture of announcement events, will include an online portal, charitable initiatives, and more. “We are focused on ensuring that E3 continues to be the most innovative and collaborative event in the video game industry, so enlisting some of the industry’s biggest media partners to help deliver the highly-anticipated news, reveals and more is crucial to a successful showcase,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & CEO of organisers, the ESA.

As for us, E3 is just one piece of IGN’s Summer of Gaming this year – we’ll have many more details for you soon, but suffice it to say that you can expect IGN’s own announcements, exclusives you won’t see anywhere else, and more brand new additions to our line-up. Events like Gamescom and Comic-Con are on the horizon too, so be sure to check back for other events you can watch with IGN.

If you need a reminder, last year’s Summer of Gaming included brand new game reveals, interviews with some of the industry’s biggest developers, celebrity Animal Crossing island tours, an awards show, and much more, set over the course of a month. You can check out more of what we got up to in the gallery below:

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