Month: December 2019

Audio Logs is a show all about the magic of making games. It features the people that design and develop the experiences that we love, telling the stories of how they’re made. Making games is a long and difficult process where passionate people work tirelessly to overcome challenges, all so that we can be moved by unique games. We rarely see just how much care, thought, and attention goes into every element of the games we play, but Audio Logs aims to deliver some insight into that by giving creators a platform to tell their stories. This, we hope, will, in turn, let fans to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the games they hold dear.

In Audio Logs Season One, we delved into the creation of God of War, Dead Cells, Cuphead, Devil May Cry V, the Shadow of the Colossus remake, and Overwatch character Baptiste, as well as looking back at the career of Goichi “Suda51” Suda. Season 2 will be equally as exciting, and we’re starting with a big one!

The first episode of Audio Logs Season 2 is all about Death Stranding, a unique game and one of the most interesting of 2019. Discussing it are none other than legendary game developers Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa, who break down a pivotal scene from early on in the game. The duo lay out how it was created and reveal the thinking behind its direction, as well as detail how individual elements were designed and depicted.

The scene in question was first shown at The Game Awards in 2017 and, in Kojima and Shinkawa’s own words, encapsulates much of the overall Death Stranding experience. It shows Norman Reedus’s character, Sam Porter Bridges, encountering a BT and having to deal with the fallout of the event. This scene is densely packed with information about the science-fiction world that Death Stranding is set in, but it’s all intentionally placed to give players key information and hint at mysteries that will unfold over the course of the game.

Kojima and Shinkawa unpack the scene, pointing out the smaller details that may not be immediately apparent, explaining why they are important and relevant, and telling the stories of how they were created. For fans of Death Stranding–or Kojima Productions’ previous work–there’s plenty of fascinating insight into things such as why Sam is so frequently shown lying down, the reason the suits look the way they do, and different versions of the Odradek. Kojima also delves into some of the inspirations behind the game, telling stories such as how a bug led to one of the creepiest creatures in Death Stranding, and exploring the message he wants to send through the game.

This episode of Audio Logs is available to watch above, and you can also see it on YouTube, where Season 1 is available to watch. Be sure to subscribe to GameSpot on YouTube to see more episodes as they’re released every Sunday. You won’t want to miss it as the coming episodes will be focused on Control, Persona 5 Royal, Gears 5, and a few more surprises.

In GameSpot’s Death Stranding review, Kallie Plagge said it is a “hard game to absorb,” adding that its quirkier aspects “belie an otherwise very simple message” which becomes more apparent in its mundane moments. Moments such as “when you find a desperately-needed ladder left behind by another player or receive a letter from an NPC thanking you for your efforts are “positive without ignoring pain.” She continues: “In fact, it argues in both its story and its gameplay that adversity itself is what makes things worth doing and life worth living. It’s a game that requires patience, compassion, and love, and it’s also one we really need right now.”

Death Stranding was also highlighted as one of GameSpot’s favorite games of the year. “With our present being rife with political turmoil and a general feeling of angst towards our future, there’s a comfort that can be found in a routine and the positivity from others who come from different backgrounds,” said Alessandro Fillari. “Sam’s routine as a delivery man in a post-apocalyptic setting reveals its larger message of hope and perseverance in the face of depressing circumstances, which is a touching message that resonates deeply.”

As 2019 winds down, it’s time to look ahead to 2020 and a whole new year of game releases. Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers is among the many titles already scheduled to be released in the new year; below, we’ve outlined everything we know about the upcoming game.

If you haven’t been keeping track, 2020 is looking to be one of the most jam-packed years for new game releases we’ve seen in a while. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all delivering brand-new IPs and long-awaited sequels to fan-favorite first-party series. Third party developers are delivering too, both triple-A and indie. And, of course, there will be new consoles on the market. Marvel’s Avengers will have a lot of competition for player attention in 2020.

Announcement & Reveal

First announced in January 2017 with the codename The Avengers Project, Marvel’s Avengers remained fairly secret for years–the only concrete information revealed was that it was being developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, the same teams respectively behind the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy and Deus Ex series. It wouldn’t be until 2019 that more information would be released: that the game was officially called Marvel’s Avengers. The game was then officially unveiled and shown off for the first time at E3 2019.

Initial reactions for the game were mixed–we here at GameSpot weren’t sure what the game even was upon seeing it behind closed doors. Based solely on the announcement trailer, Marvel’s Avengers seemed to be a superhero game where you played missions as the titular characters in levels that included both button-mashing combat segments and scripted, on-the-rails platforming/flight sections. The trailer released fresh off the heels of the widely popular Avengers Endgame, and some fans weren’t too thrilled with the stylistic choices taken with the Avengers’ new designs. Square Enix went on record saying the designs would stay, but, ultimately, the characters did get updated designs in future trailers, gameplay reveals, and press images.

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What Is Marvel’s Avengers?

It wouldn’t be until Gamescom 2019 that we’d get a better idea as to what Marvel’s Avengers even is. Despite the title, the main focus of the game’s narrative does not actually focus on Earth’s mightiests heroes. Instead, the main character of Marvel’s Avengers is Kamala Khan, the second Ms. Marvel and the first openly Muslim character to headline a Marvel comic. Since her debut, Kamala has quickly become one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes, going on to receive a second comic run under a different writer and feature in numerous animated series and video games. She’s also getting a live-action TV series for Disney+, which will introduce the character to Disney’s MCU.

Marvel’s Avengers primarily follows on the heels of a reworked variation of the Inhumanity storyline, in which countless humans around the world suddenly discover they are Inhuman and develop superpowers. Kamala is one such Inhuman, developing shapeshifting abilities that she can utilize to grow in size and strength. Discovering a plot by the villainous H.I.V.E, Kamala attempts to reunite the disbanded Avengers, who went their separate ways after failing to stop a terrorist attack.

Gameplay wise, Marvel’s Avengers sees you take on missions as different superheroes–primarily Kamala, but you do play as Avengers and familiar faces from the Marvel universe as well–all of whom play differently. This opens up Marvel’s Avengers to different types of gameplay, ranging from high-action flight missions as Iron Man to more Batman: Arkham Trilogy-like stealth and combat sections as Black Widow. As a result, certain missions can only be tackled by specific characters. However, some missions will allow you to replay them with different characters from the in-game roster.

Marvel’s Avengers is being developed as a games-as-a-service title, with additional characters, missions, and cosmetics releasing after the game has launched. The game supports both single- and multiplayer; as well as both off- and online play.

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What Characters Will Be Included In Marvel’s Avengers?

A complete list has yet to be revealed, but, so far, the following characters have been confirmed to be playable in Marvel’s Avengers. Note: Square Enix has teased Hawkeye as a playable character, but has asked fans to “stay tuned” for additional details.

Confirmed Playable Characters

• Captain America
• Iron Man
• Black Widow
• Hulk
• Thor
• Ant-Man
• Ms. Marvel

The following Marvel characters have been confirmed for Marvel’s Avengers as well, though no announcement has been made confirming whether or not they’re playable.

Additional Characters Confirmed To At Least Appear

• Taskmaster
• The Abomination

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When Will Marvel’s Avengers Release?

Marvel’s Avengers is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Google Stadia on May 15, 2020.

Techland’s Dying Light 2, the sequel to the open-world zombie-apocalypse game, is shaping up to reinforce the original’s stellar combat and traversal gameplay with a more fleshed out and fully realized world. One of the original game’s biggest strengths was its handling of blending melee combat with slick parkour-based traversal in an open-world overrun by the infected, and it was always thrilling getting in and out of major scrapes with a bag full of loot intact. Dying Light was one of the best games of 2015, and with the next game, there’s a deeper emphasis on having your character play a more prominent role in shaping the fate of the last bastion of humanity left in the world.

As we head into 2020, we figured it’s time to lay out everything we know about Dying Light 2. Since its debut back in 2018, the upcoming sequel looks to do all the things a traditional follow-up sets out to do–build upon the foundations of what was there, tell a new story, and introduce some new surprises. But there’s a bit more going on with Dying Light 2 than we expected, so here’s a quick breakdown of everything we know about the game so far. Once more details are revealed, along with a firm release date, we’ll update this feature for more info.

What Is Dying Light 2?

Dying Light 2 is an open-world action game set in an isolated urban landscape during the zombie apocalypse. You play as Aiden Caldwell, a freelance runner who handles various odd jobs and tasks for the citizens of The City, one of the last human settlements in Europe. Following the events of Dying Light’s post-game expansion, The Following, the former-protagonist Kyle Crane was infected with a new strain of the virus that turns people into the ravenous infected, and he unknowingly spread the disease throughout the world. After the global outbreak, modern civilization came to an end, pushing humanity into a new dark age.

The sequel takes place twenty years later, where the modern world is a thing of the past. In Dying Light 2’s present, advanced technology is scarce, and firearms are hard to come by, requiring you to scavenge parts and piece make-shift weapons together to survive the onslaught of infected, along with enemy factions looking to take what you have left. As you freely explore The City, which is four times bigger than the original game’s world, you’ll be able to take on side-missions, explore abandoned buildings, and make essential choices that will impact the flow of your story. Ultimately, your decisions throughout the settlement will leave an impression on the state of the last human settlement.

Release Date

As of this time, Dying Light 2 will launch in the first half of 2020 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Techland and publisher Square-Enix hasn’t confirmed the release date at this time, but in a separate interview from WCCFTech, developer Pawel Pohleder confirmed that Dying Light 2 was always planned to be a cross-gen game. In addition to the current hardware, the game will also be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Should You Still Play The Original?

Though Dying Light 2 is a continuation of the original game’s plot, which set the groundwork for the new story, the sequel works as a standalone game on its own. Set two decades later and in an entirely different location, Dying Light 2 sticks with its narrative, with references from the previous game only serving to flesh out a sense of worldbuilding. Still, the original Dying Light is an exhilarating game that’s held up well. If you’re interested in the sequel but haven’t played the original, then definitely give it a shot. With that said, you won’t be at a huge loss if you want to wait for the sequel.

The E3 2018 Debut Trailer

Debuting at E3 2018 during the Microsoft Press Conference, Techland showed off the first look of the follow-up to the 2015 game. Set in a European urban setting, the protagonist fought against several bandits that culminated in important choices that could change the fate of a city’s district, such as taking control of the area’s water supply for selfish benefit. Shortly after the debut, narrative designer Chris Avellone took to the stage to lay out Techland’s vision for the game.

“Dying Light 2 is everything that you would expect from a bold sequel of the first game,” stated Avellone. “A fluid parkour system with improved natural movement, deep and tactical first-person melee combat, and of course, terrifying nights when the infected emerge from the depths of the city to feed on anyone they can find. We invite you to a new vision of the post-apocalypse, an unforgiving reality we call the ‘modern dark ages.'”

What’s New In The Sequel?

The most significant change coming to Dying Light 2 is the new adaptive storytelling. Throughout the game, Aiden Caldwell will rub shoulders with the various factions in The City, and at critical points in the plot, he’ll need to choose whom to side with to press forward. Depending on which factions control the districts of The City, you’ll see changes to the environment that reflect their ideologies. During E3 2019, we saw a gameplay demo that showed off a mission set at a fortified water dam. A faction had moved in and turned it into a safe-haven. While it seemed like a peaceful place, your present task required that you break in and confront the leader, putting you at odds with the group. Choosing to take over the dam will not only claim the territory for your chosen faction, but it will also change the very layout of the district’s map itself. By manipulating the dam’s water levels, certain areas of the map will flood, making them inaccessible. On the inverse of that, other places will see the water drained, which will unearth new places to explore, along with mutated infected that will spread to the city.

Throughout the game, you’ll acquire new abilities and weapons to aid you in your fight against bandits and the more evolved infected. There’s a more significant emphasis on crafting gear, and in some instances, you can build modded weapons that have multiple uses. In the E3 2019 demo, Aiden picked up a special harpoon gun that can be used a mace when you’re out of ammo. Along with that, modded weapons are far more effective in the sequel, but your enemies are also far more capable of taking you down in combat.

According to the developers, the sequel plans to take more cues from role-playing games to give players more choice in the flow of the narrative. With Chris Avellone serving as narrative director, whose previous writing and design credits include the Fallout series and Planescape: Torment, Dying Light 2’s story offers a lot more flexibility when compared to the original’s static plot. This approach will, in turn, create more opportunities to shape the dynamic of The City based on your preferences. In addition to the returning focus on open-world exploration and melee combat, the adaptive narrative adds a new twist that makes the game’s world feel more like your own. In a recent interview, the Techland devs stated that to see the game’s 100+ hours of content, it will require multiple playthroughs of the game.

Will There Be Multiplayer?

Yes, Dying Light 2 will feature co-operative multiplayer for up to four players. Just like the original game, players can have others join their game to take on various missions, activities, and other open-world excursions. As of this time, there hasn’t been any additional info about what you can do in the open-world with other players.

The Extended Gameplay Trailer

At E3 2019, Techland showed off extensive gameplay behind closed doors to press, showcasing a vertical slice of the game’s key pillars for combat, traversal, and storytelling. In the months after E3, the developer released a video of the same demo to the public online. In this video, we saw Aiden freerun across the rooftops to catch up to a truck belonging to a rival faction. This extended clip showcased a lot of the upgrades to melee combat and traversal, both of which feature a greater sense of weight, speed, and flexibility. During parkour traversal, Aiden can run across walls, along with grabbing enemies from perches and use them to break his fall from long drops.

Pre-Order Guide

Currently, there isn’t a set release date for Dying Light 2, nor is there any info on any special collector’s editions of the game. Still, you can pre-order the game at this time on various digital distribution platforms. Check out our pre-order guide to find the best places to go pre-order the game.

2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

More than two years after its release, I still regularly think about Golf Story. A Nintendo Switch exclusive developed by Australian studio Sidebar Games, Golf Story spliced Mario sports-style role-playing gameplay with the idiosyncratic humor of Earthbound to create one of the most endearing games I’ve played in a long time. So when Sidebar Games showed off Golf Story’s sequel during December’s Indie World Showcase, Sports Story instantly vaulted to the top of my wishlist.

Though we only have a one-minute trailer to go off of, it’s clear that Sports Story will up the ante when it comes to absurd hijinks. The title gives it away: Sports Story will move beyond golf. In the trailer, golf is well-represented, as is tennis, volleyball, soccer, baseball, and even cricket. It’s also clear that sometimes these sports will mash together in strange mini games like the one shown in the trailer. An NPC pitches a golf ball over a tennis net, and the main character proceeds to smack it with a racket into a soccer goal on the other side. All of these sports will come together in the “Decasportathon,” which will hopefully be as awesome as its name.

Golf Story’s three-click golf gameplay was fun, especially when it strayed away from the traditional in favor of ridiculousness. However, it wasn’t all too complex. While some of the late-game objectives offered a few daunting challenges, the overall simplicity made a decent number of missions feel far too easy, bordering on monotonous. With the sheer variety of activities on display in Sports Story, I’m hopeful that the core gameplay will remain fresh across the entire adventure. It sure looks like Sports Story will mix things up in a big way, as there will also be some dungeon exploration and stealth objectives.

That said, the sports gameplay is only part of the reason why I’m jazzed for Sports Story. Golf Story had a lasting impact on me because of its novel personality and boundless charm. The characters stuck with me. The NPCs that hung out around Golf Story’s country clubs often muttered passive aggressively and told off-kilter jokes. That may not sound pleasant, but the writing teemed with life and even the grouchiest of characters were lovable. To this day, Golf Story remains one of the funniest games I’ve ever played.

My hope is that Sports Story replicates and expands upon the humor and oddly charming storytelling of its predecessor. The protagonist will once again be taking lessons with his peers–this time at a tennis academy–but the wider scope makes me think that an even grander, more off-the-wall story will be told. Even just from the brief glimpse at the Stardew Valley-esque environments, it looks like the various country clubs and locales will be packed with far more stuff to tinker with, people to talk to, and secrets to uncover. Sports Story doesn’t have a release date yet, but it’s expected to launch in mid-2020 as a Switch exclusive, which gives me plenty of time to replay Golf Story a few more times.