Table of contents for No. 200 in GamesTM

We spend a lot of time chasing the present, so we sometimes forget to look to the future or reflect on the past. But that’s kind of what this job is all about; you’re always being driven by current events or events immediately on the horizon. But what lies beyond? And what sits in our past that we want to make sure we bring with us? That’s what I’ve been thinking about in the run up to this issue 200 of games™ and that’s what we decided to reflect in this milestone issue. So as you flick through a little further you’ll find developers and games industry veterans from across the landscape casting their eye forward and telling us what they think the future will hold. And then, in a…

“CULTIST SIMULATOR LOVES ENCOURAGING YOU TO STRAY FROM THE PATH, BUT SELDOM LAYS ANY BREAD CRUMBS LEADING YOU BACK” FORMAT: PC | PUBLISHER: HUMBLE BUNDLE | DEVELOPER: WEATHER FACTORY | RELEASE: 31 MAY 2018 | PLAYERS: 1 Time is money. It earns funds and consumes them. More of the former than the latter, if you play your cards right. Cultist Simulator is a digital tabletop game of cards in which the clock is always ticking. Madness and illness, both eventually fatal, are rarely more than a few carelessly spent cycles of time away. Cultist Simulator’s often obscure directions create uncertainty and anxiety while the marching clock forces the player to keep several plates spinning at a time. It deals in just the right amount of anxious energy for its subject…

FORMAT: PC | PUBLISHER: Improbable | DEVELOPER: Midwinter Games | RELEASE: TBC | PLAYERS: TBC You left 343 Industries back in 2016; what’s been going on, Josh? I’ve been pretty stealth for the last year, haven’t I? I’ve been hunkered down in a little group… Midwinter Games established in late 2016! How has it been? There were four of us – three of us came from the Halo team at 343. Throughout the course of 2017 we have been working on the concept for Scavengers and building the team out; now we are about 17 people and I hope we can peak it out around 25. We are trying to build a small tight-knit group of developers that are all passionate about the game that we are building. Talk to…

What is Pathway? It’s an all-new strategy game from Robotality, the team behind 2014’s well-received TBS Halfway. What sets this apart, however, is its dynamic campaign, tight turn-based squad combat, stunning 16 bit-inspired visuals brought to life with pixel/voxel hybrid tech, and a well of secrets to uncover. What’s this about a dynamic campaign? Ah, we hooked you in! Each time you begin a new campaign in Pathway it will procedurally-generate a new map for you to explore and play, introducing unique story encounters and twisting narrative pathways (see what they did there) for you to enjoy. It means no two adventures should ever be the same. The maps and story won’t be detailed then? Au contraire. Not only are we hugely impressed by the complexity of the maps, but…

One of the things that drives our love of games is that it’s an ever-evolving medium. The industry just refuses to stand still or keep playing within familiar boundaries. With each passing year, we see tech companies and game makers coming up with new concepts, whether individually or in partnership, that send the collective creativity of the rest of the industry spinning off in new directions. There’s always a new paradigm-changing event around the corner. So, as we mark 200 issues and reflect on gaming’s past, we thought it made sense to cast our minds forwards to what we might expect to see in games™ issue 300 or 400. Where is the games industry going, how tied is it to the trends or rhythms of the past, and what new…

“ANOTHER REASON VR HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL IS BECAUSE IT COMBINES BOTH TRADITIONAL GAMING AND ASPECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA” “While VR is an exciting platform that offers the potential for more immersive experiences, we’re still some way off it being the radical change that many people have suggested it would be over the past couple of years,” says Creative Assembly technical art director Jodie Azhar, and we have to agree. While we’ve enjoyed a lot of the output on PSVR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in particular, nothing in the VR space has struck us as truly essential just yet. But change could be coming. “I believe immersive realities generally will turn the existing traditions of interactive entertainment on its head,” insists Terra Virtua CEO Gary Bracey. “It might take…

1 YOU’RE THE OWNER So, breaking down things to the basics here, Blockchain is essentially peer-to-peer file sharing gone large and super encrypted, but what that means for you is there’s no middleman holding onto your data or leasing you access to the things you make (profiles, characters, save data, etc.). It belongs to you, giving you the power over it, including the option to sell it if you wish. 2 CROSS-PLATFORM IDENTITY Since it all belongs to you, you’re also able to take it anywhere you like. So create an avatar in one game, build up credit in a particular service, and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be transferable to something else. It creates the opportunity for massive shared experiences across platforms, titles and apps. 3 TRADING DIGITAL…

Robbed of any context, the passage of time can seem somewhat inconsequential. Take Below, a game that has been in production for close to seven years. As a statement, one devoid of any real context, it’s relatively hollow. And that, largely speaking, is because it works to mask a painful truth. To all of us, Below may well have been on the periphery of conversation since the dawn of this console generation, though the truth is that time wasted waiting for a videogame is hardly any time spent at all. Games get delayed all of the time, our lives move on. There’s always something new on the near horizon to arrest the attention; that’s the nature of the untameable beast known as the videogame industry. For Kris Piotrowski, that horizon…

“We’re still working out the best way to tell story in games,” reflects Rhianna Pratchett in a delightfully sprawling conversation, conducted from the relative comfort of our respective offices. “That’s because there is no one best way to do it and that’s what we’re all slowly learning. I’ve seen the evolution of that attitude – and the role of the writer – in this industry and it has been really marvellous to see.” It has indeed been marvellous to see. Although Rhianna Pratchett knows better than most that we still have a long way to go. After close to two decades working in service of interactive entertainment – writing stories both for and about videogames – Pratchett has been in the enviable position of not only witnessing the attitude towards…

YOU’LL OOH AND AAH AT THE FROZEN VISTAS, THE CRAGGY SHORELINES, THE MONOLITHS GLITTERING ABOVE STILL WATERS; YOU CAN’T HELP BUT BE IMPRESSED It’s no easy feat, humanising an antihero like Kratos. An unflinching wall of sinew and muscle, he’s as cold as the frost crunching beneath his feet, neither relatable nor likeable, just blunt and a little bit broken, seemingly unmoved even by the soft sobs of his only child. And it’s strange, seeing our Kratos – that crazed murderer of Gods, hitherto driven by just rage and revenge – so stripped down. To know that he lives a simple existence in a modest single-roomed shack, that this plain, ordinary space is where this terrifying, extraordinary god eats and sleeps, drinks and thinks. Though still every bit the brick…

On paper it sounds thrilling – one man against an army of ogres both small and gargantuan, combining the fast-paced combat of, say, a Bayonetta with the light puzzle aspects of tackling giants from, say, Shadow Of The Colossus . Sadly, Extinction falls way short of its stated goal, instead offering lukewarm (though still fast-paced) combat on the ground and is an exercise in frustration when it comes to battling the big boys. The world under siege in Extinction sets the stage with some back story and (too much) in-game exposition, but really it’s just window dressing for a few dozen missions both short in length and with little to keep your interest. It basically boils down to: kill x ogres, protect x…

It is generally ill-advised to pick up swords you find parted from their masters. Whether they be embedded in stone or seemingly left out for anyone to take, there’s usually a good reason for their placement. In this case, it’s a 60-second death curse; no matter what you do, as long as they’re bound to that cursed sword, your adorable Tamagotchi-esque protagonist will keel over every time a minute ticks down. You’re going to need to get a move on if you want to change your fate. With only items and key events persisting through every minute run, Minit’s retro, roguelike influences are obvious. Its scope and length pales in comparison to modern behemoths of the genre, such as Spelunky or Rogue Legacy, but though small it is perfectly formed.…

“ It’s an incredible, rich, beautiful, RPG from the 90’s that just slays ” KRIS PIOTROWSKI, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, CAPYBARA GAMES “A game that I love and I can’t say one of my own? That’s okay; I hate everything I’ve done so that’s an easy one. I’m just kidding, I like some of my games! I will say Ultima VII: Black Gates . I played it for the first time when I was 17… I played the entire Ultima VII quadrilogy actually, which is Ultima VII: Black Gate , Forge of Virtue , Silver Seed , and Serpent Isle . I remember when I played that as a kid;…

STAR WARS: SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE/EPISODE 1 RACER/ 1996/1999 NEVER ACTIVELY TRIED TO SABOTAGE THE PROJECT That was something more about the camaraderie of LucasArts in those days. We had people making the adventure games and the original IP and then we had people making the Star Wars games right in the next room. Jedi Knight was being made right next to us, Pod Racer was being made right next to us. So we were friends with them hanging out in the office, and I was like, “Guys, you have to give me a credit in your game.” And they were like “What!? You didn’t do anything in this game.” And I said, “Yeah, but I never actually tried to sabotage it, so I didn’t do nothing.” I didn’t do…

“EVERYONE JUST SORT OF GETS ALONG AND DOESN’T TAKE LIFE TOO SERIOUSLY. WHAT A WONDERFUL THING THAT IS” FORMAT: PC, XBOX ONE | PUBLISHER: DOUBLE FINE | DEVELOPER: GLUMBERLAND | RELEASE: 2018 | PLAYERS: 1 Having had the chance to sit down and play Ooblets again, we have to say we’re still sitting in the glow of the experience. We don’t want to get too overblown about it, because Ooblets is a relatively small and easy-going kind of experience that doesn’t really suit traditional levels of hype. That said, it is such a gorgeous, laid-back and delightful game to play that we feel duty bound to pass the word along; Ooblets is really cool and you’re going to love it. We were still on an early…

FORMAT: PC | PUBLISHER: HUMBLE BUNDLE | DEVELOPER: ZA/UM | RELEASE: TBC | PLAYERS: 1 1 WHAT’S IN A NAME? The name Disco Elysium – particularly when combined with its vivid watercolour artwork – may summon the image of some eighties-inspired throwback game. That, we are happy to report, couldn’t be further from the truth. Disco Elysium is the new name for No Truce With The Furies; it’s as gritty, incredible and surprising it always was. 2 A NEW KIND OF CRPG  In many respects, Disco Elysium is being built in the spirit of classic RPGs. But here’s the thing, Disco Elysium doesn’t feel like a throwback. It’s actually a hyper-smart and incredibly deep isometric RPG that gives us some idea of how the genre could (and probably should) have…

“IT’S FAST AND SURPRISINGLY RELENTLESS. THERE ARE NO RESOURCES TO COLLECT AND NO NUMBERS TO CRUNCH” FORMAT: SWITCH, PC, IOS | PUBLISHER: RAW FURY | DEVELOPER: PLAUSIBLE CONCEPTS | RELEASE: Q3 2018 | PLAYERS: 1 Some development outfits spend their entire existence trying to stumble upon the magic formula to concoct a truly great game. By all accounts, it looks as if Plausible Concepts is going to nail it on its first try. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how simple an idea is, so long as the execution is handled with near perfect precision. That’s what we’re dealing with here; Bad North is a tower defence that feels shockingly refreshing in its approach to the genre. We mean that literally by the way, we were genuinely taken aback by how ingenious…

FORMAT: PC, SWITCH, XBOX ONE | PUBLISHER: CHUCKLEFISH | DEVELOPER: IN-HOUSE | RELEASE: Q2 2018 | PLAYERS: 1-2 We have to confess that we haven’t been completely straight with you. While we have indeed reported on numerous occasions in the past that Wargroove is practically the modern living embodiment of Advance Wars, we aren’t certain that that statement is entirely accurate. Not now that we’ve had a fresh opportunity to sit down with the upcoming title. It’s been 17 years since Intelligent Systems’ GBA classic first made its debut and, as it should happen, when a group of hard-working developers spend all that time ruminating on what it is that makes it so bloody wonderful, they may just come up with something that surpasses it entirely. That’s right, we’re going…

“WE ARE LIKELY TO SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PLAYERS AND GAME DEVELOPERS GET TIGHTER AND CLOSER” One of the biggest trends of the last five years has been the growth of live streaming play sessions on Twitch and YouTube, something that the industry would have been hard-pressed to predict, and has generally been slow to adapt to. However, being able to watch someone play a game is now a massive part of the appeal of a new game, and that’s something Overwatch’s Jeff Kaplan thinks we should be looking to as a big area for expansion and innovation going forward. “I think the most notable change happening in gaming right now is the influence of streaming and viewing and the generational shift towards the streaming culture,” he explains. “For many,…

“I’m really curious to see what comes out of AR,” says Tribute Games’ Jean-Francois Major. “I feel like no one really figured out how to properly use AR. I wish I had the answer to this one, but I know it’s not overlaying a game world in your living room.” He’s right; augmented reality can and should be a lot more than that, and we’re already seeing some of that in the most popular games of the last few years. Pokémon Go was a huge step forward for the visibility and popularity of AR gaming, bringing the creatures to life not only on screen, but in the world around us. “Games will trial other forms of AR (eg handset AR, as in Pokemon Go) more and more, but the huge…

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST With the games industry becoming larger, stronger, more influential and more diverse, it’s crossing into the path of older forms of media, and that’s going to cause frictions and opportunities moving forward. “Our industry is probably the most rapidly changing industry there has ever been,” says David Braben. “Mobile phones are probably the next most rapidly changing. This rate of change is both disruptive, but also a very strong test of fitness in a Darwinian sense, meaning that the companies that can survive tend to be pretty tough to have done so. As the boundaries between the different entertainment sectors continue to blur further and further, we will see challenges from legacy media companies acquiring games companies, so this change will continue!” WHERE NEXT FOR INDIES…

When it comes to detailing the virtues of games, the term ‘cinematic’ is bandied around so often that its significance is all but lost. However, there are few games as deserving of the accolade as Forgotton Anne. Its picturesque visuals and the seamless transition between cutscenes and gameplay make this one of the most cinematic adventures we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. The striking anime style makes it feel every bit like you’re playing through a Studio Ghibli production, while its tone and narrative is delightfully reminiscent of the Eighties live-action/animated movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Forgotton Anne explores the concept of Forgotlings. Think of that missing sock, discarded toaster or old journal you’ve cast away or lost: in Forgotton Anne all of these abandoned items end up in…

Your very first attempt at taming the hostile Red Planet is going to be a write off. Even if you pay attention to the indirect hints quietly appearing at the top of the screen, you’re going to build structures in the wrong places, you’re going to prioritise the wrong aspects of base management and you’re going to struggle even to understand the purpose of core functions behind the game. But take the easiest challenge and let those failures happen, because once the first shuttle on the inevitable restart gently touches the dusty ground of Earth’s distant cousin you’ll be all the better prepared to plan, manage and cultivate life on Mars. It’s an intriguing spin on the city builder genre: you’re not manipulating the masses, guiding gridlocked traffic or catering…

Toxic Games has managed to create a game that harnesses its obvious inspiration from existing first-person puzzle games, rather than simply copying them. Focusing on the core concept of its predecessor and stripping away its restrictive shell, Q.U.B.E. 2 challenges us to be even more involved in finding solutions this time around. Here we are given the freedom to place brightly coloured blocks on a small set of blank squares to solve innovative puzzles, rather than simply press a button to interact with existing structures. Q.U.B.E. 2 has perfected the pace of introducing new mechanics. It guides us just enough to ensure that we fully understand how our abilities are supposed to synergise, while masterfully avoiding the pitfalls of constructing a puzzle that is too easy or boring. Starting off…

THE C64 MINI MANUFACTURER: GAMES LTD PRICE: £69.99 Inspired by the success of Nintendo’s Mini offerings, as well as the plug-and-play variants of a swathe of Eighties machines, The C64 Mini does a fairly decent job of presenting its games as accessibly as possible and in a mightily attractive package, but it’s not without its faults. First, the form factor is very appealing. These pint-sized consoles are instantly attention-grabbing and desirable. It’s perhaps a shame that the keyboard on the C64 Mini is purely decorative, but hardly surprising. As it is, the diminutive machine is only a little larger than the SNES Mini and just as easy to get started with. Like Nintendo’s machines, it forgoes a power supply in the box in favour of a USB cable, connecting to…

“INSOMNIAC’S SUPERHERO GAME STANDS TO BE ITS MOST AMBITIOUS TITLE YET” FORMAT: PS4 | PUBLISHER: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT DEVELOPER: INSOMNIAC GAMES | RELEASE: 7 SEPTEMBER 2018 | PLAYERS: 1 WEB-SLINGING COMBAT Combat in Spider-Man lets you play by your rules, letting you improvise as you take down criminals. Peter Parker is more than Spider-Man; he’s also a genius inventor, and has created a variety of gadgets that combine his web-slinging abilities with helpful technology to assist in crowd control. Of course, you can also use old-fashioned martial arts to dispose of your foes. SUIT UP Not a fan of Insomniac’s specially designed suit for this game? Worry not, as you’ll be able to don a number of different suits in Spider-Man. The suits aren’t just for looks either, as each…

FORMAT: PC | PUBLISHER: NO MORE ROBOTS | DEVELOPER: PANICBAM | RELEASE: Q3 2018 | PLAYERS: 1 “Work hard, stay out of trouble, and we might let you stay in the UK.” We’re going to be completely honest with you, Not Tonight presents a somewhat disturbing worst-case scenario of the United Kingdom’s decision to abandon the European Union. This ‘post-Brexit thriller’ has you taking on the role of a European citizen seeking asylum in the country they once comfortably called home. Trapped in Relocation Block B – a bleak, segregated mess of high-rise flats – you are forced to make a decision: find yourself deported, or take on your new designated role of ‘Bouncer’ in service of the city. The latter is preferable in this scenario, and so you are…

FORMAT: PS4 | PUBLISHER: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT | DEVELOPER: QUANTIC DREAM | RELEASE: 25 MAY 2018 | PLAYERS: 1 MISSION START • Detroit seems to be presenting its scenarios as short vignettes that will later intertwine as each of the three main characters begin to come together. Of course, every story needs to start somewhere and the early parts of the flowchart will give you a handful of incidental decisions to make to get you in the correct frame of mind for the mission ahead. SEARCH FOR CLUES • In the hostage situation, you are given the opportunity to poke your nose into every corner of a beautiful apartment complex, gaining a better understanding of the unfolding situation before you confront the deviant android. This is a time-sensitive situation, so…

“ I think Ghost Ship Games has found this awesome intersection of style and humour ” JOSH HOLMES, CO-FOUNDER, MIDWINTER “I just want to talk about a game that I’ve been playing a bunch lately, which is Deep Rock Galactic ! I love that game so much. I think Ghost Ship Games has found this awesome intersection of style and humour that just works for them, that game has got so much charm to it. As a co-operative multiplayer experience that the different mechanics that they have at their disposal – to support one another as a team – really works incredibly well. I’ve had a ton of fun playing that with friends lately and I hope the game continues…

“LOOKING AT THE DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE PLAYING GAMES, I’D LOVE TO SEE US GET RID OF THIS IDEA OF A ‘GAMER’” Representation matters. It matters because it brings more voices into the industry and into the world of gaming, and that’s important because more gamers means a stronger community, and a stronger community means more games. A more diverse industry means more perspectives, and with so much of what we love about games being the escapism of the experience, more diverse perspectives can only be good for the creativity of the projects that come our way. So representation matters, and it's a big way in which the industry will be changing going forward. “I hope that we see more investment in diverse games and the building of diverse teams,” says…

“CROSS-PLATFORM EXPERIENCES, ESPECIALLY IN SOCIAL GAMES OR GAMES WITH PERSISTENT PROGRESSION ARE VERY EXCITING” On 12 June 1987, President Ronald Reagan famously said, “Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Over 30 years later, and it feels a lot like the games industry is calling for something similar: an end to hostilities between platforms and the beginning of open borders for multiplayer gamers. We’re beginning to see the early beneficiaries of it through Rocket League, Minecraft and even Fortnite being playable across PC, console and smartphone, but more can be done. “Fortnite and PUBG recently made a huge impact on gaming by having cross-platform experiences that spanned the PC, consoles and mobile,” says Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan. “Cross-platform experiences, especially in social games or games with persistent progression, are very exciting.”…

If Salvador Dalí and Terry Gilliam collaborated on a videogame remake of the bits from Ice Age where that squirrel repeatedly tries to get hold of an elusive acorn, you might end up with something like Chuchel . The acorn, in this case, is a cherry. The role of the agitated squirrel who is repeatedly foiled in his attempts to get his desired treasure to comedic effect is played by a small furry creature called Chuchel. Chuchel finds himself being tortured by a giant hand that reaches down out of the sky to pick him up and put him and his beloved cherry in situations where the two of them are kept apart by some obstacle. Here is where you come in. Sometimes you’ll have to solve…

We love the clever concept that underpins The Swords Of Ditto . We’re fans of the game’s many cool ideas. The catch, though, is that we’re not sure that those ideas and that concept quite find themselves in equilibrium. The Swords Of Ditto opens with you washing up on the shore of a beach, à la Link’s Awakening. That’s a signal that the game owes a big debt to The Legend of Zelda series: 2D sword-based combat, tools that can be unlocked by completing puzzle-filled dungeons, and a reality where slashing away at small clumps of grass is a viable way of earning money. The twist here is that after four days of exploring the game’s compact world, you will be forced into a confrontation with the…

PART OF THE REASON FOR THE GAME’S BREVITY IS THAT IT WAS A LARGELY IMPROVISED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Developer: Delphine Software Publisher: Delphine Software, US Gold, Interplay Released: 1991 System: Amiga, Atari ST WE ASK DEVELOPERS a simple, but challenging question at the end of every interview: “Which game do you love and why do you love it?” It’s the basis of our Why I Love spreads every issue and it’s always a fun way to end a conversation. But, there are a handful of games that we can often predict will come up every few interviews and one of the most frequent and passionately supported is Eric Chahi’s Another World. We’ve always had a deep appreciation of Another World but, frankly, having so many developers tell us that it’s a…

DRAGON’S LAIR (1983) Like much of the Disney animation that inspired it, Dragon’s Lair used a lot of rotoscoping techniques to make sure that the flow of movement was as close to human as possible, while still adding plenty of flair and style to the overall experience. As a largely animated experience, there were a lot more frames to fill than in your usual game experience of the time and that meant an even bigger challenge. KARATEKA (1984) An early fighting game and an early release from Jordan Mechner, whose work comes back to rotoscoped animation a few times as we’ll see shortly. For Karateka, it was largely about making sure that all of the martial arts moves, performed by Mechner’s karate instructor and then animated over the top. With…