Troubled developers Creative Assembly will double-down on their strength in making offline real-time strategy games, following their failed attempt to break into the competitive shooter market with extraction FPS Hyenas.
Remakes tend to be more exciting than remasters because the improvements often go beyond mere bumps in resolution or framerate. At best, studios reimagine classic experiences in exciting new ways, sand away rough edges, and somehow retain the intangible x-factors that made fans fall in love with these titles in the first place. At the very least, remakes offer a great way to play antiquated or less accessible experiences on modern hardware.
The remake boom has been in full swing in recent years to the point that it’s starting to get tough to keep track of all the projects in the works. Thankfully, we’ve gathered as many of the announced remakes (not remasters) that we could find and gathered them in one neat list, arranged chronologically by release window. This will be an evolving list that will be updated as new remakes are announced and released, so be sure to keep an eye on it over the coming months.
Reader, if you don’t mind a quick look into my personal neurosis, let me tell you that when I’m really looking forward to something, I get a great deal of anxiety about possibly dying before I get to experience it. I’ve felt this about video games, movies, albums, concerts, and pretty much anything else worth being…
Kingdom Hearts series Director Tetsuya Nomura shared a message indicating that Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link players can share footage online of the contents in the beta test. The iOS beta test kicked off on November 29, 2023 only for players located in Australia and the United Kingdom.
The message shared by the official Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link social media account is available only in Japanese. The English translation of the post is the following:
Dear drifters,
Since sharing information forms a part of playing the game, uploading and distributing images and videos to social network sites is allowed.
However, please be careful not to expose your address by using location information.
A warning will be displayed when the GPS function is in use, and the display of location names can be turned on and off as well, so please make sure to use it with caution.
Tetsuya Nomura
Every year The Game Awards acknowledges a Future Class, a collection of burgeoning young members of the industry that its director, Emily Bouchoc, and others have deemed “represent the bright, bold, and inclusive future for video games.” This year, not long before The Game Awards 2023 is set to kick off on December 7,…
Pokémon Go's fourth annual Tour event has been dated for February 2024, with a global in-game version set to take place on 24th and 25th February.
As with last year, Pokémon Go Tour will also have an in-person option, this time held in Los Angeles over 17th and 18th February.
Tour events typically feature all Pokémon found in a specific region from the main series Pokémon games, and in this case it's Diamond and Pearl's Sinnoh.
It’s official: a new Beyond Good & Evil game is coming out. No, wait, come back: we really mean it this time. While Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still a no-show for the foreseeable, Ubisoft has confirmed that the original game will see a remaster next year for its 20th anniversary. And unlike BGE2, we know we’ll almost definitely be able to play it in the next 12 months, let alone the next decade, because some people are already playing it.
Xbox’s chief financial officer, Tim Stuart, recently shared how excited he was about AI technology being used in game development. During a November 28 summit, Stuart told audience that it can now translate and localize games, handle coding, and even test games, too, which begs the question: How hard will Xbox lean…
I try to follow up any piece of bad news with something jolly, and what jollier a piece of news than the early access release of Wizordum, in which YOU'RE A WOZIRD, I mean a WIZORD(UM). It's a first-person spellcaster from Slovenia-based Emberheart Games, which takes hefty inspiration from Heretic, Hexen and Ultima Underworld, though it's far more colourful than I remember any of those games being. Check out the trailer.
EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi spoke about the possibility of an official localization of Mother 3. As part of an interview for a new documentary called EarthBound USA, Itoi stated that he would love for people in the West to play the game, but there were complications with the localization. [Thanks, IGN!]
The EarthBound USA documentary documents the Mother franchise’s cult status in the US. It also touches on the development of the game’s popular fan translation. The documentary team's interview with Itoi marks the first time he has spoken about the desire for Western fans to play an official localization. He remarked that the fan translation was offered to Nintendo, but they turned it down, stating it “wasn’t quite as simple as that.” Despite his interest in seeing a release for Western fans, he has no interest in returning to the project personally as he has moved on.
Inner Sloth announced that people can now dress as characters from games like Celeste, Undertale, and Untitled Goose Game via a new Among Us crossover Cosmicube. The Indie Cosmicube is available for 7,000 Beans until February 28, 2024.
This Cosmicube works like others in Among Us. You play through matches and earn Beans for your performance. That can be used to buy this Cosmicube from the menu. Once you activate it, you can then work your way toward earning cosmetic items based on seven other indie games. The official summary noted this adds 6 pets, 9 visors, 12 nameplates, 18 skins, and 25 hats.
Here’s the full list of all the Among Us Indie Cosmicube crossover cosmetics from Inner Sloth’s announcement:
Alien Hominid
Castle Crashers
The PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup has been revealed for December, ending the year on a high.
Squirt 'em up PowerWash Simulator leads the charge, after launching on Game Pass last year. It lets players powerwash vehicles, houses, parks and more, alone and in co-op. It's a particularly chilled experience, though hopefully the free Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy 7 DLC packs will be included. The SpongeBob Squarepants and most recent Back to the Future DLCs are paid extras.
Also included is Sable, a sparse adventure game with a unique, line-drawn art style and music from Japanese Breakfast. Donlan described it as a "mesmerising game of exploration" in our Eurogamer Sable review.
After unforeseeable problems with Elon Musk's public image, my publishers delayed my debut young adult novel about teenagers saving the future using NFTs. I rolled with the punches, fighting back against Musk's cult of personality with a bold new direction for the future of the 'chain in the second novel of my Non-Fungible Future series. Well. I had expected both books to be in your hands already (and on the bestseller list), but now my publishers are concerned by that report declaring "the vast majority of NFTs are worthless". Well then! As we say on the Infobahn: when Turing closes a crypto exchange, he opens an ICO. So in the wake of Cyber Monday, I now present to you a sneak peek at my third Non-Fungible Future novel, a mint read I call 'Worthless'.
Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa, one of livestreaming’s most recognizable women, is something of a tour de force. She’s building an empire, after all, having bought a gas station, purchased an inflatable pool company, sold water straight from her hot tub, and slung beer made with her vaginal bacteria. Love her or hate…
The Kingdom Hearts Missing Link closed beta started on November 29, 2023, and we’ve started to hear about battery life drain. Aitai Kuji CEO Audrey Lamsam stated an example of what the early build did to her battery online.
Here’s Lamsam’s impression from the first day of the closed beta. Note that this is based on an early, in-progress build. Part of the purpose of said tests is to obtain information on performance, and the state of the game will likely change between now and the final build.
Unity are chopping 265 jobs - around 3.8% of their global workforce - and ending an agreement with digital effects company Wētā FX as part of a company "reset", following an awful year for the game engine provider. Unity also plan to close offices in 14 locations, including Singapore and Berlin, and cut costs at offices in San Francisco and Bellevue, Washington.
Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition is arriving early next year. The news was accidentally posted early to the Xbox store and was even briefly available to play (albeit in unfinished form) on Ubisoft Plus.
According to its now-deleted Xbox Store page (which was shared by Wario64 on X), the 2003 adventure will now feature 4K graphics and 60 FPS with improvements to controls and audio. It will also feature auto-save and cross-save functionality. Here’s the full blurb:
Jeff Fowler, the director of the Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie series, shared a picture teasing the appearance of Shadow in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film. The Sonic 3 movie is set to release in cinemas on December 20, 2024.
The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie included a mid-credits scene offering a first look at Shadow the Hedgehog, and teasing his involvement in the events of the sequel. While the image shared deliberately obscures Shadow’s face, it offers a look at his iconic hover shoes and gloves.
You can check out the new image teasing the appearance of Shadow in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie here:
The Monster Hunter Rise Sonic the Hedgehog DLC and collab quests with Universal Studios Japan and Sengan-en are about to disappear. Capcom announced that the quests that allow people to obtain the items will be delisted on January 21, 2024.
This means people need to download all of the associated quests ahead of the distribution date. So ahead of the cut-off, folks need to head into Monster Hunter Rise, with or without the Sunbreak expansion, to grab the event quests. In the base game, this involves making sure your game’s software is up to date, then checking with Senri the Mailman. Once you download them, you can access them at any time via the Gathering Hub Event Quest section. As long as you acquired them, they’ll be around even after the delisting.
There are six specific Monster Hunter Rise Sonic the Hedgehog, USJ, and Sengan-en DLC Event Quests and Palicos being removed. Here’s what you need to know.
The Pokémon anime is entering a new era after sunsetting longtime protagonists Ash and Pikachu earlier this year. The newest series, Pokémon Horizons, follows heroes Liko and Roy, and has been airing in Japan since April. After an excruciating wait, it’s finally making its way to the west with an English dub. However,…
Capcom has officially confirmed that Dragon’s Dogma 2 will arrive on March 22, 2024, a detail which had previously leaked earlier this month. And to prove that it’s the sprawling, emergent circus fans have been waiting for since the original, the fantasy RPG debuted a new trailer and revealed more details about its…
Last time, you decided that seeing your outfit in cutscenes is better than telefragging. I understand the yearning for fashion, absolutely I do, but I'm not convinced you fully thought it through. I will point you to a comment by reader 'moderately sized grundus', who asked, "What could be more cosmetic than wearing the literal skin of your very recently slain enemies?" A strong question. But we move on. This week, I ask you to pick between explosive reaction and emotive composition. What's better: chain explosions or Diablo's Tristram theme?
The world of Naruto is vast, including several different villages which each host a variety of different Clans with unique Jutsu. Because of the sheer number of characters in Naruto, some shinobi are often overshadowed by their peers, leaving the poor souls as forgotten and underrated compared to others.
We’ve rounded up ten of these individuals so we can give them the appreciation they deserve.
Square Enix and Applibot revealed a brand new FFVII Ever Crisis Christmas Event, which will include brand an exclusive new story starring a mischievous Gingerbread Cactuar. The event will run until December 25, 2023.
FFVII Ever Crisis's new event is called "The Holy Flame's Gift", and it focuses on the story of Avalanche as they gather presents for the people living in the Sector 7 slums for the holidays. The Gingerbread Cactuar ambushes Avalanche and steals their gifts, and the members of the group must now retrieve the presents in order to save the holidays.
"The Holy Flame's Gift" will allow players to take on Present Leveling Battles in order to increase their Present Level. As the player's level increases, they will acquire more items. Presents can include Score Battle Keys which allow players to take on the Score Battle, limited-time 5-star weapons, and various items.
Score Battles will allow players to earn Event Exchangeable Items based on the damage score inflicted on the boss. By using the Event Exchangeable Items, they can be used to obtain weapons like the Holiday Cheer weapon for Cloud.
After years of waiting, Unreal Engine 5 is finally here with a decent roster of full games to look at, beyond the tech demos and samples we had in the past. The early results have been mixed, with some titles exhibiting UE5's merits convincingly while others have been bogged down by image quality or performance problems. Yet there's one question that hasn't been answered quite as well: how well do these technologies scale to console systems? Today we're looking at the current state of Unreal Engine 5 on PS5, Series X and Series S to evaluate how the technology fares in early game efforts.
The key takeaway from my experiences with Unreal Engine 5 so far is that the core feature set works. Lumen global illumination (GI) solves indirect lighting in real time to a high degree of fidelity, producing great-looking shading in most circumstances when set up correctly. Lumen reflections similarly help to light glossy and semi-gloss surfaces correctly, giving them good-looking reflective detail. Virtual shadowmaps overcome the limitations of cascaded shadowmap techniques to deliver super-fine shadow detail, with accurate variable penumbra in some cases. Meanwhile, Nanite delivers high-quality meshes with a continuous level of detail system that simplifies asset production and prevents LOD popping.
A Honkai: Star Rail collaboration with Japanese flower shop Karendo will involve roses inspired by Argenti. The collaboration will run between December 7-20, 2023. [Thanks, Game Watch!]
Orders for Argenti roses at the Karendo online store will be open until December 25, 2023. The campaign is being held to commemorate the release of Argenti as a five-star character in Honkai: Star Rail.
The Argenti special edition red roses cost 880 yen (or about $6) each. This set includes a fresh red rose, and a red rose soap flower that can be used as a bath salt. The Preserved Red Rose “Petit Maison” costs 2,970 yen (~$20). The red rose bouquet arrangement doesn’t need maintenance, and it can be enjoyed for 3 to 5 years. Each set comes with a clear case.
Meanwhile, the Premium Petal Red rose-shaped chocolate costs 3,132 yen (~$21,) and is exclusive to the online Karendo store. Strawberry powder is used to make a fruity chocolate. In addition, Argenti character items and pamphlets will be given with the purchase of Argenti roses and sets.
In a recent interview on Bandai Namco’s Funfare website, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections Producer Hotaka Sudo talked about the future of the Naruto video games series. The developer said that he would like to see a video game reboot of the series, or create a different type of Naruto game.
When asked about his future plans in developing new games after wrapping up development on Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, Producer Hotaka Sudo said the following about future Naruto games:
For Naruto, I don't know if we will try to create a game in a different genre, or if we will use a different game engine, but I would like to start planning (the next title) as something brand new. The story of Naruto has been completed, but it would be nice if we could reboot it.
Sudo also mentioned the Harry Potter franchise as an example of a completed series that experienced an increase in popularity through spin-off movies, like the Fantastic Beasts series, and the recent Hogwart’s Legacy game.
After speculation on the use of AI in Silent Hill: Ascension, the CEO of developer Genvid has denied that it was used in any of the creative work for the interactive streaming series.
Silent Hill: Ascension viewers suggested the show's script was written by AI due to its abrupt tonal shifts and disjointed nature. The most notable examples of this being shared include the odd berry-man to this argument which is swiftly resolved by... nothing.
Speaking up on X (née Twitter), Genvid CEO Jacob Navok denied Ascension has been written by AI as people are speculating, and revealed Genvid's previous tests with AI were fruitless.
Sega has admitted releasing Sonic Superstars at the same time as Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 may have hindered sales.
In a presentation of the company's recent financial quarterly report, sales of its mascot platformer were described as having a "slightly weaker start than we had anticipated".
Then, in a newly released Q&A following its recent financial report, president and group CEO Haruki Satomi and senior executive vice president and CFO Koichi Fukazawa were asked for the reason for the lower-than-expected sales so far.
UK developer Creative Assembly will refocus on making real-time strategy games following the cancellation of online extraction shooter Hyenas.
In a presentation to investors, Creative Assembly owner Sega admitted that the Hyenas project had been an attempt to accelerate the studio's growth - even though the game's genre lay outside the developer's usual area of expertise.
Hyenas was cancelled in September after years in development and a public demo at Gamescom only weeks before. The decision to cancel the project resulted in layoffs at Creative Assembly, with the majority of the project's team believed to be at risk.
During the latest Level-5 Vision 2023 II event, Level-5 announced that Professor Layton and the New World of Steam has a 2025 release date window. The company also shared the first gameplay footage of the game.
The trailer showed Professor Layton and Luke solving Puzzle 017, which is titled "The Enigmatic Entrance." Since the original six Professor Layton games appeared on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, the new gameplay footage showed a redesigned UI used during puzzles that better adapts to the single-screen format of the Nintendo Switch.
You can watch now the first Professor Layton and the New World of Steam gameplay trailer here:
Level-5 announced its next showcase to go over titles at the end of its November 2023 one, with one new game being announced. Level-5 Vision 2024 will be held sometime in April 2024.
CEO Akihiro Hino brought it up after a “what’s next” section. He noted it would be called “To the World’s Children.” The logo for that features a smiling ghost behind it. No exact date was announced for it beyond April 2024. He did confirm that it would go over 2024 titles and announce a new game.
That new Level-5 game seemed to be teased for this showcase. Prior to Hino discussing it, there was a hint at a new Yo-Kai Watch game. It featured a spirit possessing a maneki-neko while a version of the series’ theme song played. It then featured the year 2024 behind that brief animation. You can see the character in the image below.
Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia will shut down in February, it's been announced.
In a message to "loyal players" on X, formerly Twitter, the game's end date was revealed as 29th February 2024.
"We would like to thank you for your many years of support, and hope you can enjoy playing for a little while longer," reads the post.
During the Level-5 Vision 2023 II presentation, it was revealed that Level-5 will move the release date window for Decapolice to 2025 in order to improve the quality of the game. The showcase announcing the move in its release date showed off concept art for various locations in the world of Decasim.
The reason for the move to a post-2024 release date for Decapolice is due to the fact that the game has large open world with plenty of unique locations to explore, and the development team wishes to create an immersive world for players to explore. In order to accomplish this task, Level-5 decided it would be best to shift the game to sometime after next year.
Decapolice follows Harvard Marks, a prodigy detective at Broadstone Police Department, as he investigates crimes in the virtual world of Decasim. Decasim is a perfect copy of the real world but is filled with the memories of crimes of the past and present. Alongside his friends and companions in the Special Investigations Unit, Harvard will need to investigate these virtual crimes and engage in RPG-like battles to take down criminals whose malicious intent has transformed them into Crime Beasts.
You can watch the showcase below. Decapolice appears at the very end.
Level -5 announced that a global simultaneous online beta test for Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road will start in March 2024. The beta test will start on Nintendo Switch to make adjustments in preparation for the planned service of the game.
Online multiplayer matches will be available during the beta test. Additionally, single player matches and a test version of the story mode will be implemented gradually. The announcement of the beta test appeared during the Level-5 Vision 2023 II event.
Furthermore, Level-5 announced that the company will set up Inazuma Post, a system where players can share their opinions of the beta for the developers to gather player feedback directly.
During the Level-5 Vision 2023 II presentation, the company confirmed the new release window for the delayed Fantasy Life i Switch is now Summer 2024. It also brought up many of the quality of life changes that will appear in the game.
The primary point of the gameplay footage shown during the event compared the Switch game to the original 3DS release. It began by showing the character creator and how elements from the first entry look when used for a new avatar in the console release. After that, it also confirmed some new face and hair parts being added.
After that, it went on to show how Fantasy Life i changed the gameplay experience. At first, the video focused on the obvious parts, which were the new aspect ratio and improved graphics. But then it got into how it improved the experience to make the quality of life better. For example a character can run without using SP now, and if there’s a small ledge you can climb up it instead of having to run around for a ramp or other means. You can be an Artist or Farmer when choosing which Life to pursue, and you can swap to any of the jobs in the game at any time. The minigames for skills changed.
Among Us developer InnerSloth has announced its biggest ever cosmetic collaboration for its social deduction game, featuring crossovers with six beloved indie titles.
The Indie Cosmicube is live now, and includes 70 new wearables inspired by Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers, Celeste, Crypt of the NecroDancer, A Hat in Time, Undertale, and Untitled Goose Game.
Some of the highlights from the new additions include a Sans skin, a pet Goose, and a Peace Was Never An Option nameplate.
Last week I wrote up an irreverent cyberpunk ninja game called Ninja Issen. The just announced Quantic River, which Graham tossed into the Maw last night, is that game played straight. In Fluidfury Interactive's new dystopian slasher, you are a resurrected cyborg who, for reasons not currently given, must katana the limbs off a bunch of other dudes in a lean and nasty 2.5D metropolis.
UK developer Frontier has said it will refocus on making simulation games following the launch of real-time strategy game Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin.
In a business update, the developer behind Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution admitted that Warhammer sales had "been lower than expected" since its launch earlier this month, and that it was lowering its revenue forecast for the year.
The news comes just a month after layoffs at the studio were announced, with an unknown number of people set to leave following an ongoing consultation period.
Monster Hunter Rise's Sonic the Hedgehog DLC will no longer be available from January next year.
The news comes as Capcom ends support for collaboration content for the game, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Universal Studios Japan, and Sengan-en.
The event quests will be unavailable from midnight UK time on 22nd January 2024 and their rewards will then become unobtainable.