Monthly Archives: September 2021

Twisted Metal Revival Reportedly Under Development By Destruction AllStars Studio

Sony has reportedly trusted the developers of PlayStation 5 exclusive Destruction AllStars with the rumored Twisted Metal revival.

VGC reports that Lucid, the UK-based creators of Destruction AllStars, are working on the first new Twisted Metal installment in over a decade. Rumors of a Twisted Metal game surfaced earlier this month, when GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb said he had heard that a revival was in the works, but that it could be a long ways off. The television show the game is reportedly tied to will star Anthony Mackie as John Doe.

There hasn't been a mainline game in the series since 2012's Twisted Metal reboot, which we called 'amazing' in our Twisted Metal review. According to one source in the report, the game will feature a free-to-play model, which would be similar to Destruction AllStars' last-minute development shift.

Destruction AllStars was originally set to be a full-priced, $70 launch title for the PS5. Just weeks before launch, the game was delayed into 2021 and was free to all PlayStation Plus subscribers for around two months, before being listed in the PlayStation Store for $20.

The developers said it made the most sense to go free-to-play, to get the game to the, "widest audience possible." Despite the goal to get the game in as many hands as possible, the developers added bots to the multiplayer to make up for times with low player counts. We called Destruction AllStars 'okay' in our review, saying, "There’s the basis of a great party game here too, but at launch it's far too shallow an experience for Destruction AllStars to be considered one right now."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

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Layers of Fear Project Teased With New Unreal Engine 5 Teaser

Bloober team sent IGN a very cryptic teaser for a new Layers of Fear project, saying only that it's based in Unreal Engine 5.

The short teaser, which you can watch below, makes it clear that the crazy painter we all know and love is still around.

“Layers of Fear was a breakthrough project for us," said Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babiebo. "It paved the path for Bloober Team and began our rapid growth, allowing us to explore more stories we’ve wanted to tell. I’m really glad we’re coming back to this world, wiser and more experienced. For me, it’s important that we make this announcement during the Tokyo Games Show, as for many of us Japan is the cradle of psychological horror games. As a studio, we also have two other projects in the works, one in production and one in pre-production.”

Bloober Team also scored a hit with The Medium, the first-ever next-gen exclusive game for Xbox earlier this year. It has since also come to PlayStation 5.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

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Kratos Voice Actor Christopher Judge Says He Is the Reason God of War: Ragnarok Was Delayed

Christopher Judge, the voice behind Kratos in 2018's God of War and the upcoming sequel, has said that his surgery was the reason that God of War: Ragnarok was delayed from its original 2021 release window.

Judge shared this story on Twitter following God of War being crowned the champion of IGN's Best Video Game of All Time Bracket. He Quote Tweeted a Tweet from God of War's engineering lead Jeet Shroff that was responding to the victory and he then continued to thank the fans and send love to his God of War family.

"Thank you to all the fans. Not just of GofW, but to the gaming community," Judge wrote. "ALL OF OUR GAMES,have been a lifeline during these difficult times. To my GofW family, I will NEVER be shy about telling you how much I love all of you! We will continue to laugh, cry, and be great!"

An hour later, he revealed the news that God of War: Ragnarok, which was revealed at September 2020's PlayStation 5 Showcase with a release window of 2021, was delayed to 2022 because of him.

"[100%] in my feels right now," Judge continued. "I need to be forthcoming. This has been approved by no one. To the beloved fandom, Ragnarok was delayed because of me. August 2019, I couldn’t walk. Had to have back surgery, both hips replaced, and, knee surgery. They waited for me too rehab.

"No threats, no , 'who do you think you are?' Nothing but love and support. And @SonySantaMonica has never said a word about the delay, and what caused it. Studios are assholes, but this company from top to bottom, should give us hope.

"What they did for the crew is way more… That I can’t talk about, but I’ve said to all involved, [it is the classiest] thing that ive EVER heard about in this business. Everyone involved in the GofW franchise puts their hearts and souls in every frame you see. I want thank everyone that’s has allowed me to play… And laugh, and love, and cry, without judgement, but with unconditional support and love, in this thing of ALL OF OURS"

Judge ended by also revealing that he quit after he was told that Cory Barlog would not be directing the sequel and that Eric Williams would be taking his place. However, Barlog quickly eased his worry and Judge would go on to realize that "ERIC WILLIAMS is a mortherf***** BEAST!!!"

"Last thing. Barlog told me @Tribeca that he wouldn’t be directing sequel," Judge said. "I quit.(no joke) he said, do you trust me?(yes) He said Eric is a beast. I said he better be… UPDATE, ERIC WILLIAMS is a [motherf*****] BEAST!!!"

Barlog responded to Judge's Tweets by saying, "would walk through a thousand fires for you, my friend." As if that wasn't enough, he also included a gif of The Lord of the Rings' Aragorn saying, "You have my sword."

For more of God of War: Ragnarok, check out Barlog and Williams' thoughts on Ragnarok changing directors and why Williams was decided as the right choice, how this sequel will further Kratos and Atreus' story, and why this game will be the final entry in the Norse Saga.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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Ikumi Nakamura, Who Found Fame With Ghostwire Tokyo, Remembers Her Rocky Beginnings At Capcom

Ikumi Nakamura is gearing up her independent studio, and a new profile charts her career and details the highs and lows leading to this exciting new chapter.

In a new profile in Game Informer, Nakamura shared her history in game development starting with her first job at Capcom’s Clover, a beloved sub-division known for its work on Okami and Viewtiful Joe.

While it was at Clover that Nakamura met future co-workers, Hideki Kamiya and Shinji Mikami, Nakamura said her time at Clover and Capcom was difficult.

She says Capcom viewed Clover as “just the group of weirdos” and a “totally separate entity.” Nakamura cited the Wii-port of Okami which left out the name of Clover and its developers in the credits, something Capcom says was due to a rights issue.

“I’m sure something happened — politics,” Nakamura said. Additionally, she describes Capcom as being “old-school” with managers who yelled at employees and kicked office furniture. Behaviour she says wouldn’t be allowed in modern workplaces.

Nakamura went on to work at Platinum on games like Bayonetta and the canceled Scalebound before joining Mikami at Tango Gameworks. She was creative director on the upcoming title Ghostwire: Tokyo.

The full profile reveals how deep Nakamura’s love of horror is, a passion she shared with her father. And while working with Mikami on a horror game is an extension of that passion, she also revealed that the Resident Evil director wanted to create new games and not keep doing the same thing, “But people in the world wanted him to create — expected him to create survival horror.”

Nakamura is currently working as a consultant as she prepares her new studio. The full profile is worth reading over at Game Informer while Ghostwire: Tokyo has been delayed until 2022.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.