Monthly Archives: July 2022

Parody Action-RPG ‘Yet Another Fantasy Title’ Announced

Developer Atomic Wolf and publisher Games Operators (the publisher of Rustler [aka Grand Theft Horse], the medieval top-down parody of GTA 1 & 2), are developing another send-up of a familiar genre. Yet Another Fantasy Title is, as the name implies, a fantasy-themed game. It's a top-down-view open-world action-RPG. Watch the announcement trailer above and check out the first screenshots in the gallery below.

You play an outlaw who'd "normally be prey for the protagonist in some sidequest," as the Atomic Wolf team describes it. Instead, you've killed the kingdom's savior and stolen his unicorn. An adventure ensues. Yet Another Fantasy Title promises parodied versions of all of the usual open-world action-RPG fantasy genre tropes, such as plenty of sidequests, a comprehensive story, magic, 15 different medieval weapons like swords and bows, and mounts in the forms of unicorns, horses, donkeys, and wolves.

And yes, naturally, there's a dragon to be slain as well. Yet Another Fantasy Title is in development for PC. Wishlist it on Steam.

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.

All On Board! Is An Upcoming Board Game Simulator Built Exclusively for VR

Blasphemous developer The Game Kitchen has announced a virtual reality board game platform called All on Board!, alongside a Kickstarter campaign to help fund it.

All On Board! is similar in approach to the popular Tabletop Simulator, offering licensed board games as mods, but with a suite of creation tools to allow players to create and test their own games. Unlike Tabletop Simulator, All On Board! has been built specifically for VR, and is aiming to offer a more true-to-life virtual version of playing board games with friends.

The platform is focused on creating authentic social interactions in a virtual space, with users actually seeing their friends’ avatars and hand movements as they reach out to move their pieces, roll dice, and so on. All On Board! is also built to remove the tedium that comes with some board games, with features such as saving and loading game states and the automated counting of dice rolls.

It’s expected to launch for Meta Quest 2 and Steam VR compatible headsets in 2023, though contributors to the Kickstarter campaign will gain access to a beta this holiday season. The Game Kitchen explained in an IGN-exclusive video (below) that, as with Blasphemous, the Kickstarter campaign would help build a community around All On Board! that would be invaluable in giving feedback, suggesting new features, and creating a better experience overall.

All On Board! will include a library of board games at launch - with several licensed IPs including Black Rose Wars, Rallyman GT, Sword & Sorcery, Infinity Defiance, Istanbul, and Escape The Dark Castle - alongside extensive creation tools for users to create their own games.

Users still need to purchase the licensed games in order to play them but, just as in real life, only one person needs to do so in order for the entire group to play. While there are only six licensed IPs confirmed so far, The Game Kitchen will be announcing another six throughout the Kickstarter campaign.

The Kickstarter is seeking to raise $25,000, and three tiers of support are available, starting at $20, which grants the contributor access to All On Board!, exclusive accessories, and a backer role on the platform’s Discord. A $40 tier includes three of the licensed board games (of the contributor’s choice) while the most expensive $80 tier comes with all 12 licensed launch games.

Pre-existing games are just part of what All On Board! will offer, however, as the extensive creation tools allow users to add their own games to the VR platform. The IGN-exclusive video even shows someone creating and drawing their own paper cards in real life before uploading them into the game.

“We are creating an editor using Unreal Engine,” said studio director Mauricio García in the video. “We are removing all these features that we don’t need and we are replacing them with board gaming specific features so that you can very easily create the logic and the rules of your own board games.”

Programming knowledge isn’t required to create these games either, as the tool lets users build using simplified commands. When creating a custom dungeon crawler, for example, stepping on a certain tile can be linked to an action, and users can then select from a list whether to make something appear, spawn enemies, and so on.

The Game Kitchen didn’t confirm an exact release date within 2023 nor a price for the completed version of All On Board!, but the Kickstarter campaign’s starting tier of $20 would suggest a similar price point.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

All On Board! Is An Upcoming Board Game Simulator Built Exclusively for VR

Blasphemous developer The Game Kitchen has announced a virtual reality board game platform called All on Board!, alongside a Kickstarter campaign to help fund it.

All On Board! is similar in approach to the popular Tabletop Simulator, offering licensed board games as mods, but with a suite of creation tools to allow players to create and test their own games. Unlike Tabletop Simulator, All On Board! has been built specifically for VR, and is aiming to offer a more true-to-life virtual version of playing board games with friends.

The platform is focused on creating authentic social interactions in a virtual space, with users actually seeing their friends’ avatars and hand movements as they reach out to move their pieces, roll dice, and so on. All On Board! is also built to remove the tedium that comes with some board games, with features such as saving and loading game states and the automated counting of dice rolls.

It’s expected to launch for Meta Quest 2 and Steam VR compatible headsets in 2023, though contributors to the Kickstarter campaign will gain access to a beta this holiday season. The Game Kitchen explained in an IGN-exclusive video (below) that, as with Blasphemous, the Kickstarter campaign would help build a community around All On Board! that would be invaluable in giving feedback, suggesting new features, and creating a better experience overall.

All On Board! will include a library of board games at launch - with several licensed IPs including Black Rose Wars, Rallyman GT, Sword & Sorcery, Infinity Defiance, Istanbul, and Escape The Dark Castle - alongside extensive creation tools for users to create their own games.

Users still need to purchase the licensed games in order to play them but, just as in real life, only one person needs to do so in order for the entire group to play. While there are only six licensed IPs confirmed so far, The Game Kitchen will be announcing another six throughout the Kickstarter campaign.

The Kickstarter is seeking to raise $25,000, and three tiers of support are available, starting at $20, which grants the contributor access to All On Board!, exclusive accessories, and a backer role on the platform’s Discord. A $40 tier includes three of the licensed board games (of the contributor’s choice) while the most expensive $80 tier comes with all 12 licensed launch games.

Pre-existing games are just part of what All On Board! will offer, however, as the extensive creation tools allow users to add their own games to the VR platform. The IGN-exclusive video even shows someone creating and drawing their own paper cards in real life before uploading them into the game.

“We are creating an editor using Unreal Engine,” said studio director Mauricio García in the video. “We are removing all these features that we don’t need and we are replacing them with board gaming specific features so that you can very easily create the logic and the rules of your own board games.”

Programming knowledge isn’t required to create these games either, as the tool lets users build using simplified commands. When creating a custom dungeon crawler, for example, stepping on a certain tile can be linked to an action, and users can then select from a list whether to make something appear, spawn enemies, and so on.

The Game Kitchen didn’t confirm an exact release date within 2023 nor a price for the completed version of All On Board!, but the Kickstarter campaign’s starting tier of $20 would suggest a similar price point.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Until Dawn Developer Acquired by Nordisk Games

Supermassive Games, the developer behind Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry, has been acquired by Nordisk Games.

Part of the larger Nordisk Film brand, the Denmark-based entertainment company owns a handful of other game developers including Avalanche Studios, the creator of Just Cause.

As reported by gamesindustry.biz, Nordisk Games acquired a 30.7% in Supermassive in March last year but announced in a blog post that it now wholly owns the studio.

"Having had such a positive experience over the past year it wasn’t a difficult decision when Nordisk Games wanted to explore increasing their investment," said Supermassive CEO Pete Samuels.

"We have an exciting and ambitious growth strategy for Supermassive Games and Nordisk Games ownership only enhances that. I’m hugely excited about where the security offered by this partnership, and continued access to the expertise within Nordisk Games, will take us next"

The acquisition shouldn't negatively impact the development of Supermassive's games – with a new Dark Pictures game, The Devil in Me, the only one we know to be in development – and Nordisk also made clear it wants the studio to continue its story-focused style of games.

"In the year we’ve worked alongside Pete and Joe and the whole Supermassive team, it’s been clear to us the amount of talent, as well as how much potential there is to further develop the kinds of story and narrative-driven games they excel at," said Nordisk Games CEO Mikkel Weider. "In acquiring 100% of the studio we’ll be able to increase our support to the team, and most importantly, continue the great working relationship we have with them."

Supermassive most recently released The Quarrythe true spiritual sequel to its 2015 hit Until Dawn – but has mostly worked on Dark Pictures outside of these two. However, it seemingly has a lot more planned as the studio has registered trademarks for at least six more entries.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Until Dawn Developer Acquired by Nordisk Games

Supermassive Games, the developer behind Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry, has been acquired by Nordisk Games.

Part of the larger Nordisk Film brand, the Denmark-based entertainment company owns a handful of other game developers including Avalanche Studios, the creator of Just Cause.

As reported by gamesindustry.biz, Nordisk Games acquired a 30.7% in Supermassive in March last year but announced in a blog post that it now wholly owns the studio.

"Having had such a positive experience over the past year it wasn’t a difficult decision when Nordisk Games wanted to explore increasing their investment," said Supermassive CEO Pete Samuels.

"We have an exciting and ambitious growth strategy for Supermassive Games and Nordisk Games ownership only enhances that. I’m hugely excited about where the security offered by this partnership, and continued access to the expertise within Nordisk Games, will take us next"

The acquisition shouldn't negatively impact the development of Supermassive's games – with a new Dark Pictures game, The Devil in Me, the only one we know to be in development – and Nordisk also made clear it wants the studio to continue its story-focused style of games.

"In the year we’ve worked alongside Pete and Joe and the whole Supermassive team, it’s been clear to us the amount of talent, as well as how much potential there is to further develop the kinds of story and narrative-driven games they excel at," said Nordisk Games CEO Mikkel Weider. "In acquiring 100% of the studio we’ll be able to increase our support to the team, and most importantly, continue the great working relationship we have with them."

Supermassive most recently released The Quarrythe true spiritual sequel to its 2015 hit Until Dawn – but has mostly worked on Dark Pictures outside of these two. However, it seemingly has a lot more planned as the studio has registered trademarks for at least six more entries.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Kirby’s Dream Buffet is a Fall Guys-Style Party Game Coming to Switch

Nintendo has announced Kirby's Dream Buffet, a Fall Guys-style party gaming coming to Switch this summer.

A short trailer (below) shows snippets of gameplay as different Kirbys race through bright and colourful courses in an attempt to become the plumpest Kirby in town.

"Kirby's Dream Buffet sees a gang of Kirbys rolling through a variety of food-themed stages in four rounds of frantic multiplayer fun," the official synopsis reads.

Nintendo's website shared some further details, saying players can choose to race downhill against another player locally or online against other players (at least eight players were shown in one race).

It doesn't appear to just be a race to the finish, however, as players will need to eat as many strawberries as they can on the way down. The more Kirby eats, the bigger it gets, and the faster it can roll towards the finish line, with the heaviest Kirby taking the crown. Players can also grab boxes to turn into different food items and gain certain power-ups.

This will be the second Kirby game to be released for Nintendo Switch this year, with Kirby and the Forgotten Land launched in March. Nintendo had promised a variety of other Kirby announcements were coming as the franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, and Dream Buffet appears to be one of them.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Kirby’s Dream Buffet is a Fall Guys-Style Party Game Coming to Switch

Nintendo has announced Kirby's Dream Buffet, a Fall Guys-style party gaming coming to Switch this summer.

A short trailer (below) shows snippets of gameplay as different Kirbys race through bright and colourful courses in an attempt to become the plumpest Kirby in town.

"Kirby's Dream Buffet sees a gang of Kirbys rolling through a variety of food-themed stages in four rounds of frantic multiplayer fun," the official synopsis reads.

Nintendo's website shared some further details, saying players can choose to race downhill against another player locally or online against other players (at least eight players were shown in one race).

It doesn't appear to just be a race to the finish, however, as players will need to eat as many strawberries as they can on the way down. The more Kirby eats, the bigger it gets, and the faster it can roll towards the finish line, with the heaviest Kirby taking the crown. Players can also grab boxes to turn into different food items and gain certain power-ups.

This will be the second Kirby game to be released for Nintendo Switch this year, with Kirby and the Forgotten Land launched in March. Nintendo had promised a variety of other Kirby announcements were coming as the franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, and Dream Buffet appears to be one of them.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Halo Infinite’s Samurai ‘Spartan Chonmage’ Armor Recreated as Incredible Figurine

Halo Infinite's multiplayer mode recently introduced one of the most memorable Spartan armors in the franchise's history, and now that armor is being immortalized as a statue from Dark Horse Direct.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at the Halo Infinite Spartan Chonmage PVC statue:

This statue is based on the Fracture: Tenrai multiplayer event. In the Halo universe, the Chonmage helmet symbolizes ancient samurai generals who harmonized with their fellow warriors, while the Yokai helmet represents those who were consumed by bloodlust and the thrill of battle. This statue includes an alternate Yokai helmet piece for those who prefer that look.

The Spartan Chonmage statue measures 10 inches tall. This piece is priced at $99.99 and limited to 2500 units worldwide. It will be sold exclusively through Dark Horse Direct's website and the Microsoft Gear Store.

There's good news if you miss out on that limited run, however, Dark Horse will also release a variant edition of this statue based on the red Spartan Yoroi armor. That release isn't limited and will be available at various mass-market retailers, including through the IGN Store.

Dark Horse's other Halo collectibles include an omnibus collection of the Halo: Initiation and Halo: Escalation comics and The Art of Halo Infinite.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Halo Infinite’s Samurai ‘Spartan Chonmage’ Armor Recreated as Incredible Figurine

Halo Infinite's multiplayer mode recently introduced one of the most memorable Spartan armors in the franchise's history, and now that armor is being immortalized as a statue from Dark Horse Direct.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at the Halo Infinite Spartan Chonmage PVC statue:

This statue is based on the Fracture: Tenrai multiplayer event. In the Halo universe, the Chonmage helmet symbolizes ancient samurai generals who harmonized with their fellow warriors, while the Yokai helmet represents those who were consumed by bloodlust and the thrill of battle. This statue includes an alternate Yokai helmet piece for those who prefer that look.

The Spartan Chonmage statue measures 10 inches tall. This piece is priced at $99.99 and limited to 2500 units worldwide. It will be sold exclusively through Dark Horse Direct's website and the Microsoft Gear Store.

There's good news if you miss out on that limited run, however, Dark Horse will also release a variant edition of this statue based on the red Spartan Yoroi armor. That release isn't limited and will be available at various mass-market retailers, including through the IGN Store.

Dark Horse's other Halo collectibles include an omnibus collection of the Halo: Initiation and Halo: Escalation comics and The Art of Halo Infinite.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Albuquerque Erecting Statues of Walter White And Jesse Pinkman

In a move to reveal what is likely the first ever municipal statues honoring meth manufacturers, the city of Albuquerque is unveiling statues dedicated to Breaking Bad characters Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.

According to a press release, the statues were originally commissioned from sculptor Trevor Grove in 2019 by series creator Vince Gilligan, who is donating the statues to the city alongside Sony Pictures Television.

"Over the course of fifteen years, two TV shows and one movie, Albuquerque has been wonderful to us. I wanted to return the favor and give something back," Gilligan said. "These larger-than-life bronzes of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman exist thanks to the generosity of Sony Pictures Television and the artistry of sculptor Trevor Grove, and I love them. It makes me happy to picture them gracing The Duke City for decades to come, attracting busloads of tourists."

More than a decade after the release of the original show, Breaking Bad continues to drive tourism to Albuquerque, not the least because of the show's gorgeous cinematography portraying its stark desert vistas.

The statues will be displayed inside of the Albuquerque Convention Center after being revealed on July 29. The unveiling ceremony is set to include Mayor Keller, Gilligan, executive producer and Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould, Emmy Award-winning actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, and special guests.

"We also appreciate that the statues will be indoors, and therefore protected from pigeons depositing their critiques on our heads," Cranston and Paul joked.

We gave Breaking Bad a 9.8, praising its "depth of character." Its prequel, Better Call Saul, is set to begin airing its final six episodes today, and its iconic meth makers (and statue subjects) Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are confirmed to return for the last few episodes.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.