Monthly Archives: June 2022
Guerrilla Collective 2022 Day 2: Everything Announced and Shown Including Nivalis and Coral Island
Not content with its weekend showcase, Guerrilla Collective returned today for a second show with even more games from creative and inventive developers and publishers.
Check below for all the new trailers and announcements, and be sure to read our recap of everything announced in the first Guerrilla Collective showcase.
Nivalis - First Gameplay Trailer Revealed
Ion Lands, the developer of Cloudpunk, showcased a gameplay trailer for their upcoming game Nivalis, set in the same cyberpunk city as their previous title. This neon-soaked slice-of-life game tasks you with growing and managing a restaurant and nightclub empire in Nivalis, a city that stretches from the ocean to the clouds.
Coral Island - Launching in Early Access This October
A new trailer for Coral Island, a Stardew-meets-Animal Crossing community sim, revealed that players will be able to start saving the picturesque island from the threat of corporate greed when an early access version releases on October 11.
Biwar Legends of Dragon Slayer - Early Beta Announced
A new trailer for Biwar opened with the worlds 'Early Beta Announce Trailer', although the video didn't say when we can expect it, so it's probably best to keep an eye on its Steam page. The new gamplay showed off something that looks a bit like an indie fusion of God of War and Kena: Bridge of Spirits, with plenty of puzzles, combat, and exploration. The story will see us join Biwar on his journey through a mysterious forest on a quest to avenge his parents and hunt a mysterious dragon.
Lords of Ravage - Coming This November
A new gameplay overview trailer for Lords of Ravage revealed that it's due for release November 2022. The grim pixel art game sees you take on the form of the final boss of a dungeon, and you must devise your own fighting style through turn-based combat to defeat the heroes coming for your throne.
Necrosmith - July Release Date Announced
A deatiled trailer for Necrosmith showed a pixel art necromancer simulator, in which you create the dead you plan to raise while defending your tower. Combine body parts from various races to create an army strong enough to fend off the enemy. It's due to arrive this July.
Above Snakes - Open Alpha Week Announced
Above Snakes is a western-inspired base builder set in an isometric, tile-based world. Explore different biomes and uncover the mysterious secrets buried within. From June 13 - 20, the alpha version is open for everyone to try.
The Block - Coming This Year
A short gameplay trailer for The Block, a 'bite sized' city builder in which you create cute city landscapes on a small square tile, revealed that the game is due to release this year.
Hell Pie - July Release Date Announced
Hell Pie, the Conkers Bad Fur Day-like demonic action-platformer from Headup and Sluggerfly, was shown off in a 'safe for work' trailer that censored pretty much a third of anything on screen. But from what we could see, expect the hand of God flipping the bird, as well as a variety of gross farting cherubs. Something that wasn't censored was the July 21 release date, which is when Hell Pie will land on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch.
Spookulele - Demo Announced
Spookulele, the 3D action game in which you need to play notes to fight ghosts, now has a demo you can try. Head to playspookulele.com where you can test out flashy ghost-busting combos, as well as fly around on a ukelele (an activity here known as 'Ukeboarding').
Please, Touch The Artwork - Coming To Switch and VR
Developer Thomas Waterzooi announced that his relaxing puzzle game, Please, Touch The Artwork, will be coming to Nintendo Switch early this summer. A VR version is also in the works, although no date or headset platform was revealed.
Lost in Play - Gameplay Trailer
Rendered in a beautiful children's cartoon style, Lost in Play casts you as a brother and sister who must explore dreamscapes, befriend magical creaturesm, and solve puzzles in order to make your way back home. Designed as an evolution of classic point and click games, Lost in Play has 30 different mini games to keep gamplay varied and fluid.
Glitch Busters: Stuck on You - Gameplay Explained
Toylogic debued a new trailer for Glitch Busters, a four-player co-op game where you and your team work together to defeat a mysterious computer virus in various different worlds. The key to all this is magnets; you're able to stick to each other to create towers that lead to the high ground, or move allies up high to allow them to drop down for a ground slam attack. Levels vary up the perspective, with 2D levels asking you to alter your tower of friend's height to dodge obstacles. Toylogic said it intends to release Glitch Busters this year.
Elsie - Gameplay Trailer
Knightshift Games revealed a new trailer for Elsie, a "neo-retro roguelike" with "bullet hell ballet" gameplay. Coming to Steam and Switch, you'll be able to explore a colourful procedurally generated world and use found weapons and precise parries to hunt and defeat your enemies.
Wanderlost - Gameplay Explainer Trailer
Survive a zombie-infested world by gathering materials and crafting weapons and tools to build shelters and other armaments in this endearingly cheerful post-apocalyptic society.
Falling Out - Gameplay Trailer
Channelling the spirit of Spelunky, a new trailer for Falling Out showed off more gameplay from the randomised dungeon explorer. A demo is currently available on Steam for the curious to check out.
Endling: Extinction is Forever - Gameplay Trailer
Set to release on July 19, Endling places you in the paws of the last mother fox on Earth. Teach your cubs how to survive this harsh world, or your species will be gone forever.
Eville - Gameplay Explainer Trailer
New gameplay overview for an Among Us-like social deduction multiplayer game. Commit murders, or if you're a villager, uncover who is killing everyone before you become the next victim.
Ghostlore - Gameplay Trailer
A Diablo-inspired action RPG set in a Southeast Asian world. Plays as a ghosthunter and develop your character in this isometric 2D world.
ORX - Gameplay Overview Trailer
Defend your kingdom from the enemey ORX in this tower defense, deck building hybrid set in a dark fantasy world. You can expand territory and hire soldiers to defend your newly acquired land.
Varvarion - Gameplay Trailer
Described as a high speed blade battle stimulator, Varvarion certainly stimulates the eyeballs with its vibrant, violent sword fights.
Research and Destroy - Gameplay Trailer
This turn-based action game sees you and some online or local buddies destroy supernatural hordes with weapons you research in the field. It's available right now, and there's also a free demo on Steam.
Ninja or Die - Gameplay Trailer
Defeat supernatural threats by jumping and slashing with perfect timing. This gloomy pixel-art ninja game is set to be released in 2023.
Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions - Gameplay Trailer
In this tactical adventure game, you'll play Damien, an imaginative teenager who becomes Captain Velvet Meteor in order to deal with the stress and anxiety of moving to a new home.
Dying Light 2 Patch 1.4 Will Kick Off Five Year Plan With Tons Of New Content
Just a few months after the game’s release, Dying Light 2 is already diving into its five year plan for free continued content expansions. Patch 1.4, which launches on June 14, will introduce a number of new features through “In the Footsteps of Nightrunner,” the first Chapter in the game’s new Chapters program.
According to a press release, each Chapter will introduce new characters and factions with "absolutely free content that’s being permanently added to the game and will be available to players at any time."
"Chapters are a new thing for us: an experiment from our science lab,” lead designer Tymon Smektała tells IGN.
“We have quite a lot — though never enough! — experience in supporting our games in the long run, but this kind of seasonal format is something we never did before in the history of the Dying Light franchise. It has quite a few good things in it, all of it free to all our Players, so we hope it will excite them and inspire them to share their opinions with us.”
Through this Chapter’s additions, players will be able to help Nightrunner Harper ward off the Special Infected and protect the people of Villedor “in exchange for access to some powerful, never-before-seen equipment.”
The patch will also include a variety of features, including:
- New rank system and unlockables
- Daily and Weekly Bounties in exchange for reputation points
- 2 new currencies to purchase new items
- New enemies including the Mutated Infected, the Volatile Tyrant, and the Volatile Hive
- Chapter Mission time trials that will test your stealth, parkour, or combat skills
- The long-awaited photo mode
This isn’t the only new update for Dying Light 2 on the horizon — the game has a now delayed story DLC coming in September.
We gave Dying Light 2 a 7, praising its interesting combination of “serious end-of-days themes with silly characters and minigames" while also docking points for its rushed, buggy mechanics.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
Tickets for Thor: Love and Thunder Have Gone on Sale, New Posters Revealed
Marvel Studios has released a series of new posters for Thor: Love and Thunder to coincide with tickets going on sale, and one of them is the GOAT (or a pair of goats, at least). The seven posters showcase several characters, from Thor all the way to Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher — his adorable, chariot-pulling, flying goats. Don't you just want to pat their heads?
The posters also highlight some of the new additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zeus, played by Russell Crowe, and Gorr the God Butcher, portrayed by an almost unrecognizable Christian Bale. We also get another look at the titular character, Thor, who looks fierce as always, and of course, Jane Foster wielding Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.
#ToothGrinder#ToothGnasher
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) June 13, 2022
Check out the brand-new character posters for Marvel Studios’ #ThorLoveAndThunder. Witness it only in theaters July 8! Get Tickets Now: https://t.co/qqnsEwre1n pic.twitter.com/xU1agijV7d
Marvel also released a new teaser trailer for the upcoming film. It gives us another glimpse at Thor's journey for inner peace being interrupted as he has to put "together the greatest team ever" to fight against the terrifying Gorr. The trailer gives us a glimpse at some of the humor and lightness we can expect from Thor: Love and Thunder even with the threat of the God Butcher looming.
In the past Marvel has been an absolute behemoth at the box office. In 2021, Marvel movies accounted for 30% of the domestic box office. The standalone Thor films have historically done well at the box office. Thor: Ragnarok debuted in first place with $121 million in 2017. Will Thor: Love and Thunder follow in its footsteps?
Thor: Love and Thunder will be released in theaters on July 8, 2022. Be sure to snatch up your tickets soon! After you do that, be sure to check out how Thor: Love and Thunder can reconcile the MCU's most inconsistent character arc.
Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.
Paddington 3 Is Called ‘Paddington in Peru’, and Has a New Director
Everyone's favorite marmalade-loving bear, Paddington, has landed a new director for his third movie outing, and he'll be headed somewhere very special this time around. Director Dougal Wilson will make his feature film debut by taking the helm of the family-friendly franchise with Paddington in Peru.
Wilson, known best for his work in commercials and music videos, is taking over directing duties from Paul King, who directed the first two Paddington films. King, meanwhile, is hard at work on his newest project, a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory called simply Wonka, which will star Timothee Chalamet as the titular character.'
“After ten years of working on the Paddington movies, I feel absurdly protective of the little bear, and I’m delighted that Dougal will be there to hold his paw as he embarks on his third big-screen adventure,” King stated. “Dougal’s work is never less than astounding: funny, beautiful, heartfelt, imaginative, and totally original. Aunt Lucy once asked us to ‘Please Look After This Bear.’ I know Dougal will do so admirably.”
Wilson added, "As a huge fan of the first two films, I am very excited (if not a little intimidated) to be continuing the story of Paddington. It’s a massive responsibility, but all my efforts will be focussed on making a third film that honours the love so many people have for this very special bear.”
Though plot details remain scarce, Paddington in Peru will see the little talking bear depart London to return to his native home of Peru. The script has been penned by Mark Burton, James Lamont, and Jon Foster, and King will remain onboard as executive producer.
In the meantime, Paddington can be seen most recently taking tea with Queen Elizabeth II. In a heartwarming turn of events, the sweet-natured bear discovers that the Queen loves marmalade sandwhiches every bit as much as he does.
Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.
Funko Inc. Has Bought High-End Film Merch Company, Mondo
Two of the biggest names in the collectibles world are becoming one, as Funko Inc. has acquired Mondo from the Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain.
Funko, well-known for its ubiquitous Funko POP! figurines and various other toy lines, will serve as Mondo's new parent company. Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League revealed that, while Mondo has been a financial lifeline for the company during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alamo Drafthouse is now focused on expanding its chain of movie theaters as the Hollywood box office begins to bounce back. The time has come for the two companies to part ways.
"Now, with the dark days behind us and each weekend bringing box office successes, Alamo is seizing opportunities to grow our cinema footprint with seven new locations across the country that have been announced recently and more to come. As the company resources are focused on this growth, we realized that perhaps a bold and exciting new chapter is about to begin for Mondo," League said in a statement. "Over the past few months, we searched exhaustively to find a perfect partner who saw what was unique and special about Mondo and was in a position to meaningfully invest in Mondo, nurture the team, and further its reach and vision. Funko is exactly that unicorn."
Mondo released its own statement, reassuring collectors that the company remains very much intact as it makes the transition to Funko.
"From the outside, Mondo might seem like it is changing... but on the inside much is staying the same. We remain the same team, and our goals remain unchanged. We are still the same bunch of weirdos who share an undying obsession with popular (and maybe less popular) culture, and a craving to make cool stuff with the best artists in the world."
It remains to be seen how much this shake-up will affect Mondo's output going forward. The company focuses largely on custom movie posters and vinyl film soundtracks, with the occasional collectible like tiki mugs and 12-inch action figures for good measure. Will Mondo's toy output increase? Will their notoriously hard-to-find posters be released in larger numbers? Fingers crossed on both counts.
For more on Mondo's eclectic lineup of collectibles, read up on their hilariously meme-worthy Wolverine figure and see how one artist reimagined an iconic scene from the original Star Wars.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Knives Out 2 Is Officially Called Glass Onion
Almost a year after production on the long-awaited sequel began, Knives Out 2 officially has a title: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
The title was announced in a Tweet by director and writer Rian Johnson, who is producing the sequel alongside Ram Bergman. In a thread of Tweets preceding the announcement, Johnson praises writer Agatha Christie's novels and says that he hopes the sequel will continue to "emulate Christie and have every film be like a whole new book"
Benoit Blanc’s next case, the follow up to Knives Out, is called GLASS ONION. pic.twitter.com/6Zo0g1VX11
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) June 13, 2022
According to a press release, Glass Onion will see the return of Daniel Craig as the eccentric detective Benoit Blanc, who will travel to Greece to solve a new mystery. While in Greece, Blanc will also meet an entirely new cast, including Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline.
Glass Onion will release on Netflix this holiday season. It’s not the end of the Knives Out franchise, either — Blanc and his instantly recognizable accent are slated to return to Netflix for a third film in the future thanks to the company’s $450 million deal to acquire two sequels.
The sequel was originally announced back in 2020, shortly after its successful release in 2019. We gave the original Knives Out an 8.5 thanks to its comedic value and “clever plotting.” IGN also nominated it as one of the best movies of 2019.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
Starfield Main Character Confirmed To Be Silent
It will once again be left to players to imagine what their character sounds like in Starfield, with Bethesda confirming via a tweet today that the main protagonist will be silent.
It marks a return to type for Bethesda's RPGs. While the main character of Bethesda's Fallout 4 did have a voice, Starfield is following the path carved by some of the studio's earlier games. Historically, many of the protagonists in popular Bethesda developed games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 3 were silent.
In another reversion, Starfield's dialogue will also take place in the first-person. Players will not be limited to first-person throughout the game, as Starfield will also include a third-person camera.
Yes, dialogue in @StarfieldGame is first person and your character does not have a voice. pic.twitter.com/A8384m6rGN
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 13, 2022
Fallout 4's spoken dialogue was controversial among fans at the time, as it resulted in dialogue choices that some felt were too simplistic. Bethesda appears to have reacted to that feedback by simply returning to what works, meaning more nuanced conversations with NPCs. Earlier this year, we learned Starfield will draw some inspiration for its conversation mechanics from Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
Today's news follows a deluge of exciting reveals that were highlighted yesterday at the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, including a look at combat and the extensive character and ship customization. Last summer, Todd Howard revealed that while customizing your character, you'll be able to pick your pronouns.
We also got a peek at the game's narrative in a new story trailer, which gave us a peek at some of the characters you'll meet. Starfield continues to look like it will contain a huge world, and which is confirmed by the over 1,000 planets to explore.
Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.
Call of Duty Studio Infinity Ward Seems to Be Working on an Open World RPG
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward is seemingly working on an open world RPG at their Kraków, Poland based studio.
A now fulfilled job posting (that was screenshotted and posted on Twitter) advertised a narrative director position whose responsibilities would include providing "the best narrative and cinematic experience in an open world RPG".
Spotted by GamesRadar, the tweet from Call of Duty news account @charlieINTEL makes clear this is for an "unannounced AAA project" with a non-linear narrative set in an open world.
A job description on Infinity Ward’s site says Activision is looking for a Narrative Director for Infinity Ward’s Poland office to work on an unannounced “open world RPG” title. https://t.co/i4xCUmCFDW pic.twitter.com/cZOG4p9dAT
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) June 12, 2022
The project, though its existence is still unconfirmed, appears to be in a very early stage considering Infinity Ward has only just finished advertising for the narrative director that will "set the overall vision and direction" of the game.
The developer is currently advertising for 15 other positions at its Kraków studio but none of them mention the open world game. While one senior character artist position mentions an "unannounced AAA project", nothing directly links this to the open world game, and the other positions are all fairly vague.
Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is due to be released on October 28 this year and the studio also confirmed to be working on Call of Duty: Warzone 2, which is said to include "groundbreaking innovations".
IGN has reached out to Activision for comment.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
Forza Horizon Devs Originally Pitched Making a Project Gotham Racing Reboot
Forza Horizon developer Playground Games originally pitched a Project Gotham Racing reboot to Microsoft, before switching gears to its now-iconic racing spin-off series.
Speaking to GQ about the newly revealed Forza Motorsport, studio head Trevor Williams explained that he'd originally met the creators of the core Forza series and pitched a reboot of the long-dormant, much-loved Project Gotham Racing (originally developed by now-defunct studio Bizarre Creations).
Williams says his initial ideshut down, and he and his team – while still at the restaurant – had to make a last-minute switch to pitching a spin-off in the Forza franchise:
"It was one of those stories where the steak turns to ash in your mouth, and I'm thinking, 'how do we afford the flights home?'," Williams said. "After five minutes, [Forza corporate vice president Alan Hartman] was like, 'what would you do with Forza? Where would you take Forza?' And we pitched what literally became Horizon, almost on a napkin."
Project Gotham Racing ran from 2001 until 2007, with the first two games released on the original Xbox and the last two (outside of two mobile spin-offs) released on the Xbox 360. It became a beloved series, promoting stylish street racing over sheer mastery. Sadly PGR was shelved after Activision bought series developer Bizarre Creations and, despite the license staying with Xbox, we've never seen another entry. In 2010, Microsoft was said to be looking for a new developer, but one seemingly wasn't found – potentially because Playground was put to work on something new.
Playground must have pitched a new PGR not long after Bizarre was bought, as the first Forza Horizon game was also released for Xbox 360 in 2011, serving as a more casual, open counterpart to the mainline, simulation-based Forza Motorsport franchise.
Forza Horizon was instantly popular and received praise from critics and players (with IGN calling it amazing), and the franchise has gone from strength to strength since. The fourth instalment received a 9.6/10 from us, while last year's Forza Horizon 5 was deemed a masterpiece and awarded IGN's Game of the Year.
In our 10/10 review, we said: "Forza Horizon 5 is the result of a racing studio at the peak of its craft and the best open-world racing game available."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
Kojima Productions Makes Clear It Still Has ‘Very Good Partnership’ With PlayStation After Xbox Announcement
Kojima Productions has made clear it still has a good relationship with PlayStation, despite announcing an Xbox exclusive game.
Hideo Kojima revealed his studio would be making "a completely new game that no one has ever experienced or seen before" at the Xbox Bethesda Game Showcase on June 12, causing some to question the studio's ties to PlayStation.
"After the announcement of our partnership with Microsoft using the cloud technology, many people have asked us about our collaboration with [Sony Interactive Entertainment]," the Kojima Productions Twitter page posted (below). "Please be rest assured that we continue to have a very good partnership with PlayStation as well."
After the announcement of our partnership with Microsoft using the cloud technology, many people have asked us about our collaboration with SIE. Please be assured that we continue to have a very good partnership with PlayStation® as well.#KojimaProductions https://t.co/mVOELwDuk9
— KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS (Eng) (@KojiPro2015_EN) June 13, 2022
The developer has previously been synonymous with Sony's side due to its only franchise, Death Stranding, being a PlayStation exclusive - even featuring on the PlayStation Studios website. Kojima himself has long been associated with PlayStation, well before the creation of his own studio.
The Xbox announcement led to an outcry among some fans of Kojima, who felt the legendary developer shouldn't move away from his ties to PlayStation. Some have even set up petitions to ask for Kojima Productions not to work on an Xbox game.
But Kojima Productions is an independent studio and, as it said in another tweet, "will explore various possibilities with games, movies, and music through platforms that evolve with time and technology." Kojima himself said of the announcement that he's incorporating Microsoft's "cutting edge technology", particularly cloud streaming, and a "change in the industry's trends" into this new project.
While the project is still in its early stages, it's something the famed developer - most famous for creating the Metal Gear Solid franchise - has always wanted to make. "I've waited very long for the day when I could finally start to create it," he said.
That's not to say Death Stranding is finished, of course, as just recently its lead actor, The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus, leaked that a sequel to the 2019 stealth-action game is in development. In our 6/10 review of the first game, IGN said: "Death Stranding delivers a fascinating world of supernatural sci-fi, but its gameplay struggles to support its weight."
Another supposed Kojima game, a horror title called Overdose, appeared to have leaked earlier this week, but has yet to officially appear publicly.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.