It feels like only yesterday that E3 2019 wrapped up, and we’re already gearing up for the next big gaming event of the year: Gamescom 2019.
Gamescom is held every year in Cologne, Germany. This year’s key date is August 20, when the show kicks off. However, as is the norm with Gamescom, that day is for press and trade visitors only; members of the public can get in from the day after, Wednesday, August 21. The last show day is Saturday, August 24.
This year the event will be kicked off with a new livestream named Gamescom: Opening Night Live. This presentation will be hosted by Geoff Keighley and will include “announcements from major game publishers and independent developers, world premieres of new game footage and special guest appearances from the stars of the gaming industry.” The show will be streamed live on August 19 from 8 PM CEST / 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM BST (4 AM AET on August 20).
This year is Gamescom’s 10th anniversary. Over 370,000 people from around the globe attend each year, making it the world’s biggest gaming convention. Let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing at Gamescom in the comments!
Grand Theft Auto V‘s Online mode continues to expand, and next week developer Rockstar is building on the mode once again. On July 23 the game will receive a new update to add an entire new location, The Diamond Casino & Resort.
“The massive construction project on the corner of Vinewood Park Drive and Mirror Park Boulevard is nearing completion, radically changing the skyline of Los Santos forever,” Rockstar says of the new update. “If you’re looking to dive into the action, the casino floor has a selection of activities to enjoy. Play against the house using Chips in Three Card Poker, Blackjack and Roulette. Slot Machines with a variety of prizes are also at your fingertips, while Inside Track offers a lounge to watch and cheer along with friends as the drama of virtual horse racing unfolds. Spin the Lucky Wheel in the lobby for chips, cash, and clothing or even the new Truffade Thrax supercar that can be found whirling on the podium during opening week. And be sure to check back each week to see what new high-end vehicle can be won.”
There’s also a new property type–the Master Penthouse–purchasable as part of the resort. Owners of the penthouse will also gain access to VIP areas of the resort, a roof terrace and infinity pool, and a new storyline involving the Diamond family. Luckily, Twitch Prime members can purchase the Master Penthouse for free if they link their accounts by the end of July 19. For more, check out all the Twitch Prime rewards for GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
Control is a shooter with a single gun. That would be worrying if that gun wasn’t a paranatural object able to transform at the user’s will. So that’s lucky. Meet the Service Weapon, the hand cannon that marks a Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, and lead character Jesse Faden’s best friend for her journey through The Oldest House.
The Service Weapon resembles a regular (if enormous) pistol, but look closer and you’ll see pieces of it trembling and reconfiguring. That’s because it can transform into five different forms, two of which can be swapped freely between at any one time. Its ammo is infinite, but every form comes with a limit of bullets you can fire before it needs to be recharged, not unlike a plasma weapon overheating in Halo.
The Gears 5 multiplayer technical test kicks off today, July 19, giving fans the first opportunity to try out the Xbox One and PC shooter ahead of its full release in September. GameSpot recently spoke with Gears 5 multiplayer design director Ryan Cleven and eSports creative manager Rose Gunson about the game’s new multiplayer features and more.
In the interview, the developers answer our burning questions about the game’s new modes and features, including the Arcade, Bootcamp, and Map-building modes. The developers also discuss their broader ambitions for how they wanted to improve the overall multiplayer experience compared to Gears of War 4, how much longer they’ll continue to support that game, and how the developers are going about making Gears 5 feel unique while also appealing to veteran fans of the franchise.
On top of that, they discuss Gears 5’s new plan to have no season pass or loot boxes (but still offer microtransactions), while the pair also talk about if there could ever be a battle royale mode and more. In addition, they confirm that Gears 5 will have cross-play support for not only multiplayer, but also the new three-player Escape mode, the five-player Horde mode, and three-player campaign.
The first weekend of the Gears 5 tech test began today and runs through Sunday; you must pre-order the game or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass to get in. For lots more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of everything you need to know about the Gears 5 tech test.
You can read our full interview below. All responses are from Cleven, except where noted.
GameSpot: When you started out thinking about Gears 5 multiplayer, what were your main considerations or specifics points that you wanted to focus on to grow and improve the experience over Gears 4?
Cleven: With Gears 4 we had two main goals with our Versus multiplayer. We wanted to gain the trust of the fans by demonstrating that we could create a Versus experience that was faithful to the legacy of Gears. Second, we wanted to develop Gears of War into a competitive esport. After learning so much from how our community played Gears and the feedback we were given, we wanted to make a stronger statement with Gears 5. We wanted to make something that both respected the legacy but took Versus in a new direction.
For Gears 5, we chose to focus on three key areas in development:
We saw that, even with our new ranking system and what we felt was more accessible modes, new players still had a hard time jumping into our multiplayer game. This had to change.
Our competitive esports mode, Escalation, was strong, but not best in class. We wanted it to be the best shooter esport out there.
Lastly, our core combat needed modernization. Gears combat has such a strong core, it has lasted for over twelve years relatively unchanged. We felt it was both the right time and the right team to make changes.
What were some of the main pieces of feedback that fans gave you over Gears 4 that you’re addressing or improving upon in Gears 5 multiplayer?
We received a lot of feedback over the course of Gears 4. While players enjoyed the fairer matches our new ranking system brought to Gears 4, there were clearly parts of it that players found frustrating and confusing. Our new Division system in Gears 5 brings new ranked leaderboards and rewards to help players better understand what’s happening and give incentive to playing every week.
While players enjoyed all the customization content in Gears 4, players were unable to unlock content by achieving specific goals in the game, which was in place for Gears 3. For Gears 5, we’ve built a totally new system, Tour of Duty, which brings unlockable customization content back to players. Every day, you have fresh objectives to help you rank up in the Tour to unlock exclusive customization options, while completing seasonal medals will also earn you big rewards.
We also received a ton of feedback on the weapon tuning system that was in Gears 4, which included two different tuning sets to help grow our competitive community, one for our core audience and one for our competitive audience, that contributed to fundamentally different paths in gameplay. In Gears 5, we have worked very hard to create a single tuning across both core and competitive modes and we believe we’ve found a single tuning that will make both audiences happy and no one feeling left out.
In Gears 4, you have a very successful multiplayer experience that remains popular today, years after release. Are you planning to continue to support that title after the release of Gears 5?
The Coalition has learned a lot on operating a live game as a service. For Gears 4, we delivered extensive post-launch support in terms of maps, content and gameplay updates. We have learned a lot from our experiences running a live game as a service, and with Gears 5, we have developed a very comprehensive post-launch plan. While we aren’t revealing all the details for this plan just yet, we will be releasing new maps, new modes, new customization content, new hero characters, new events, and more map builder support post-launch. Our Tour of Duty will be updated every season with new challenges and new exclusive content to earn. One of the things we are really excited about, is that at some time post-launch, players will be able to create their own Versus maps in our Map Builder.
As a first-party game, Gears 5 is launching into Xbox Game Pass. This gives you a millions-wide audience right out of the gate. What are you doing to ensure servers are ready?
Our experience running a successful launch of Gears with an ongoing service has given our team a lot of experience with scaling our services. Gears 5, launching into Xbox Game Pass, presents a new challenge for launch. We have built new, modern services using Azure and performed multiple scale tests to simulate a launch, but to be confident in our new technology, we are running a live Technical Test for Gears 5 Versus Multiplayer starting on July 19, open to all pre-orders and members of Xbox Game Pass. This Technical Test will help us find any remaining issues with enough time to address them before launch.
In partnership with Microsoft Research, we have developed an advanced matchmaking system called TrueMatch that uses Azure-based AI learning to help find the best balance of ping, skill, and wait time, but in almost real-time. It adapts to the ever-shifting conditions of matchmaking, to bring the best experience, to players of all skill levels, no matter where they are.
What are your hopes and expectations for the Gears 5 technical test coming up? Given the final release is coming up so soon, is this more a test of the servers rather than gameplay/features?
Our Gears 5 Tech Test is a way for us to evaluate our server performance and listen to our players as to what changes need to be made for both gameplay/features. For Gears 5, we’re actively listening to our Gears community during development and will look to further evolve our game modes based on player feedback post-launch.
Our primary goal is to make sure that all Gears 5 players have a fantastic launch experience and testing our technology early enough to be able to react will help us do that.
At this stage, I think people know what to expect from a Gears game. How do you feel about that sense of familiarity? How do you think about providing a multiplayer experience that people find familiar and inviting, but also one that offers something new for seasoned players?
The core combat of Gears 5 is built around a new recoil-based shooting system and in-game feedback system we call Battle Language. Gears 5 will feel very different than previous games while remaining true to the essence of Gears. The rifle game in Versus has been overhauled with the new recoil system for a much more modern combat experience, while the new Inverse Omen will change the way players experience getting hit and being damaged in Gears. For weapons, new ice attacks will freeze players, while Stim will provide players with over-health; both are represented by the new Inverse Omen. In PvE experiences, damage numbers and health bars will help players understand the impact of their characters leveling.
The new Arcade mode is an entirely new way to play Gears Versus. It is a great mode to jump into for first-time Gears Versus players as it will be more familiar to players coming from other PvP games. It blends the visceral, intimate combat of Gears Versus with a light take on hero shooters. Character abilities, unique loadouts and in-game weapon upgrading combine with the new Arcade Team Deathmatch to the most fast-paced, over-the-top Versus experience in Gears history.
To help players jump in faster, we’ve built Boot Camp, a quick introduction to the gameplay of Gears 5. If you have never played Gears before, it provides an engaging and comfortable way to learn the core mechanics. If you’re a Gears veteran, it introduces you to the new mechanics in Gears 5
In the iteration stage of design, how wild or weird or different did you get with Gears 5 multiplayer before settling on the maps, modes, and features in the final product? What kinds of things did you consider that didn’t make it into the final release?
We experimented with a lot of modes, maps, weapons and tuning that didn’t make it to the final game, though they might show up post-launch. We are confident that players will love what’s new in Gears 5, including the Ice Cannon and Lancer GL, that fires a mortar, along with our new maps really emphasize the visceral action that Gears is known for.
“Releasing a new entry in an established franchise is always difficult when it comes to navigating fan expectations” — Cleven
Being a live service game, the fans really let you know how they feel about pretty much every facet of your game. How do you go about walking the line between sticking to your guns creatively and giving fans what they want?
Releasing a new entry in an established franchise is always difficult when it comes to navigating fan expectations. The hardest part is to find the common problems amongst the feedback that can inspire new creative solutions. For example, when a weapon is identified by our community as overpowered, it may be that the weapon is too easy to attain or that the movement speed is too fast or too slow. Listening to many different perspectives gives you more clues on what the deeper issues are and we use this approach to identify the key issues, then look for innovative solutions that solve multiple issues simultaneously to create the tightest designs possible.
What are you doing with Gears 5 to support competitive gaming and esports? I think you’ve said you want the game to be more “watchable,” but what does this mean in practice?
Rose Gunson: One of the focus areas we have for the future of Gears Esports is creating an ecosystem that all audiences can watch at a broad level. We want to encourage a viewership that can come in and watch the storylines unfold between the different teams, while also allowing people to see the highest level of professional Gears gameplay in the world.
Cleven: We have overhauled our competitive ranking system to give all players more understanding of how to improve their play. They will be able to see how they stack up against others in their tier and get detailed information at the end of each match for how they performed.
The new Escalation mode in Gears 5 has been significantly improved to support a higher level of competitive play. The metagame has been vastly expanded to create more options for players and more speculation for viewers. The game has been slowed down to help viewers to follow the action. The gunplay has been evolved to make the shooting more visibly skillful. We have added an announcer to the game to communicate what changes are happening on the map. Overall, we feel Gears 5, with Escalation, is the best shooter Esports experience on the market.
The Halo development team actively works with pro gamers to develop Halo multiplayer. Is this something you also do for Gears?
Gunson: The collaboration between esports production and game development at The Coalition is fantastic. We’re really fortunate to sit next to our developers and have the opportunity to go back and forth with what makes sense to further grow and push each other. If we’re all focused on making esports successful, it helps us accomplish a common goal.
Cleven: We value all our players’ input to the game. Working directly with the pro player community over the course of Gears helped tremendously with the tuning of Gears 5. We were able to use their deep understanding of the mechanics of Gears, their insight in what it takes to work as a team and their passion for the game to help us better understand the game we were making. Being able to try new ideas out with an open-minded pro community is something that few developers get the opportunity to do, and we certainly appreciate it.
“We value all our players input to the game” — Cleven
Will there be cross-play between Xbox One and PC like with Gears 4?
We are happy to confirm that Gears 5 will feature cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC for Versus Multiplayer. Cross-platform play also extends across the other Gears 5 modes to provide a great over-the-top three-player experience in Escape, an epic five-player Horde session or three-player Campaign co-op. For the launch of Gears 5, Xbox players will be able to opt-out of matchmaking against PC players for ranked matches.
With Gears 4 cross-play, you experimented with different set-ups for people with keyboard/mouse and controller; how will this work in Gears 5?
With the addition of keyboard and mouse on Xbox consoles, we see the two communities being closer than ever before. Players can choose the control the game how they want to. With few very small exceptions, the mouse and keyboard support will be the same across Xbox and PC. We also support key rebinding and the Xbox Adaptive Controller to enable all types of players to play Gears 5 the way that they want to.
Escape is brand-new for Gears 5. What is this mode all about, and what does it add to the Gears multiplayer experience that wasn’t there before?
The fun, high-stakes nature of Escape is built around having a three-person squad, introducing a new level of strategy and communication for players. In Escape, your three-player suicide squad must infiltrate the Hive, plant the bomb and escape with your life. Players enter with a knife and pistol but must pick up resources along their escape route. It’s everything you love about Gears, turned up to 11. Each character has an ultimate ability that will help you outsmart the horde, outrun the venom, and escape alive.
You have said there will be no season pass or random loot boxes, but there are microtransaction opportunities in Gears 5. Can you talk more about what you can acquire with real money and how you’ve gone about designing an MTX system that respects the players?
We have three sources for customization rewards–Earnable, Purchasable, and Free rewards. The new structure is built to respect player choice: earnable items are not purchasable, purchasable items are not earnable, and free items are only free. The player always knows what they get if they are earning or purchasing content.
As new Hero characters impact gameplay, they will be both earnable and purchasable to players to maintain an equal playing field. Players have full visibility into the Hero Character they are selecting, and there is no randomness involved. New maps and Escape Hives will be free to all. Each of the rewards are divided into seven types of customization: Costumes, Skins, Banners, Expressions, Executions, Blood Sprays, and Marks.
While there are no purchasable loot boxes in Gears 5, there are earnable rewards obtained from simply playing the game. If players choose to purchase separate in-game cosmetic rewards using our premium in-game currency ‘Iron,’ they will have full visibility into what customization items they are purchasing.
What are your plans for ongoing content for Gears 5 multiplayer? Are you fully embracing the new paradigm of games-as-a-service?
In addition to regular new map releases, Versus will support Map Builder post-launch. This will open Versus to the community, which will be able to build and share their own maps. As to our overall philosophy of maps after launch, in Gears 5 our goal is to create a player-first experience when it comes to in-game content, including maps, which will all be free to play in both matchmaking and private. In Gears 5 we will have:
No Season Pass
No Gear Packs
DLC Maps are free for matchmaking and Private Play
Exclusive earnable content in the all-new Tour of Duty system
All store purchases are direct, no RNG, so you always know what you will get
The Arcade mode is new as well. You’ve described it as unique and approachable for newcomers. Is this in response to feedback that the standard MP was too unforgiving?
For newcomers, we have both a new training mode that we call ‘Boot Camp,’ which walks players through the core elements of Gears 5 gameplay. The new and approachable multiplayer game type we call ‘Arcade’ features a style of play more familiar to people playing other modern shooters while still feeling authentically Gears.
Arcade blends the visceral, intimate combat of Gears 5 Versus with a hero system that grants abilities, unique loadouts with unique in-game weapon upgrading to each character. It’s faster, more frenetic, with bigger headshots and over-the top action. While returning fans will feel totally at home in Arcade, players new to Gears can jump in and find a more familiar experience than previous Gears games. Arcade is built to be the fastest way to jump in and have fun in Versus.
The new Map Builder seems like an exciting introduction to the series. How robust are these tools? And how will sharing and discovery of user-made maps work?
Map Builder is a new addition to Gears 5 that lets you create custom Escape Hive maps and experiences to share with and challenge your friends. Whether you build it yourself or play a creation from another player, Map Builder provides an approachable tool for players to make fun Escape experiences. We built it to give players the same tools as our developers to build Escape maps.
Sharing maps is easy. With the push of a button, the map is published to our online services where the community can browse multiple feeds, like most played, or trending, to find the experiences they want to play. Players will be able to create Escape maps in Map Builder at launch and other modes will become available after launch.
What are your thoughts on battle royale in Gears 5? Is this something you might consider?
Gears 5 does not include a Battle Royale mode. We have five great experiences in Gears 5 with Horde, Escape, Campaign, and our extensive list of Multiplayer versus modes, with the added customization of the new Map Builder.
We’re big fans of the Battle Royale genre, but we would want to ensure we bring a Battle Royale mode to Gears in a meaningful way. We’re actively listening to our Gears community and will look to further evolve our game modes based on player feedback post-launch.
Like Gears of War 4, this year’s Gears 5 will support cross-play between Xbox One and PC. Multiplayer director Ryan Cleven has confirmed that cross-play is supported not only for Versus multiplayer, but also for the Escape, Horde, and Campaign modes.
“We are happy to confirm that Gears 5 will feature cross-platform play between Xbox One and Windows 10 PC for Versus Multiplayer,” he said. “Cross-platform play also extends across the other Gears 5 modes to provide a great over-the-top three-player experience in Escape, an epic five-player Horde session, or three-player Campaign co-op.”
Keyboard and mouse controls offer a level of precision that’s better than a controller, and thankfully, Gears 5 multiplayer users can opt-out of playing against PC users for ranked play.
“For the launch of Gears 5, Xbox players will be able to opt-out of matchmaking against PC players for ranked matches,” Cleven said.
The Witcher is one of the most anticipated upcoming shows in the second of half of 2019. It’s an adaptation of the acclaimed fantasy novels, that also inspired the hugely popular game series, and it hits Netflix later this year. The Witcher also features at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and ahead of its panel, showrunner Lauren Hissrich has spoken about what to expect from the series.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hissrich explained it will be a very dark show that is not aimed at a younger audience. “I’ve been rewatching dailies and my kids aren’t allowed to look at the screen anymore after one of them snuck around and saw something they shouldn’t have seen and it scared him,” she explained. “It’s a very adult show. I will add it was important to me that any violence or sex drives the story and is not there just for shock value. I think audiences are really savvy and know when we’re doing stuff to just shock them versus do stuff that really drives the story.”
Hissrich also spoke about what will set The Witcher apart from other fantasy shows–most obviously Game of Thrones. “The monster and horror aspect,” she said. “It’s been done occasionally on fantasy shows but it takes a backseat to magic a lot of the time. Geralt’s a monster hunter so from the very beginning we talked about how to show these monsters and the humans they interact with.
“I think people are going to be surprised by how many monsters we were able to do and how integral they are to story. It really feels like the monster stories become analogs for bigger things happening in the world right now in different political phenomenons.”
As for star Henry Cavill, Hissrich revealed that he was so keen to play the role of Geralt that he met with her right at the beginning of the show’s development process. “I met 207 other possible Geralts,” she said. “And I came back to Henry at the end. The first time I met him I hadn’t even started writing the scripts yet. And once I started writing I couldn’t get Henry’s voice out of my head for the character. Looking at the final product, it’s really exciting. He embodies Geralt in a way that I don’t think anybody else could.”
Although we are yet to see any footage from The Witcher, some images have been released. The first batch were a series of character shots, while a subsequent image showed Geralt riding Roach.
The Witcher SDCC panel takes place on July 19 in Hall H at 2:15 PM to 3 PM PT. It’s possible that a release date and some footage will be revealed, so check back for all SDCC updates on GameSpot.
Published by Microïds and developed in partnership between Pendulo Studios and YS Interactive, Blacksad: Under the Skin is a mystery adventure game derived from a Spanish comic album, Blacksad. The comic follows the fictional investigations of a private eye detective in 1950s New York, each volume dealing with a different political or ethical theme of the time period. Volume 2: Arctic Nation, for example, is primarily about racism while Volume 3: Red Soul takes place during the Red Scare. Under the Skin is no different, forming its story around the changing social landscape of the US during one of the most tumultuous moments in the country’s history.
Like the comic, Under the Skin features anthropomorphic animals as its characters, using the commonly associated traits of animals to create a surface-level context for each person. Arctic foxes, for instance, are typically calculating, cold-hearted white supremacists while raccoons, reptiles, and amphibians are all usually profiled as petty criminals. You play as a dark-haired cat, the titular John Blacksad, a black man struggling to make a living as a private detective. He’s sassy, cunning, and mostly keeps to himself, and his incredible senses of sight and smell help him make observational deductions that most others cannot.
In Under the Skin, you shape Blacksad’s decisions as he unravels a new mystery: a missing persons case. Sonia Dunn hires Blacksad to find boxing star Robert Yale, who disappeared several days before the most important fight of his career. Yale disappeared the same day that Joe Dunn, who’s Sonia’s father and Yale’s trainer, was found hanging from the rafters of his gym in what appears to be an obvious suicide. Joe’s death leaves the gym to his daughter, along with the heavy amount of debt it had accrued. To get the necessary publicity to keep the gym from closing, Sonia needs to find Yale and get him to fight.
As Blacksad, you’re free to explore a series of connected hub areas in New York in order to interview witnesses and suspects. If the preview demo is any indication, the game does not hold your hand for most of the story, forcing you to piece together where to go next and who to talk to without any sort of waypoint, only relenting by giving you a nudge with a notification that you’ve gathered enough clues to make a deduction. It’s at this point that you can arrange collected evidence in a way that you believe makes sense. Some of what you learn is useless though, so you’ll have to figure out what clues connect to what. And although certain deductions are necessary for advancing the plot, some seem to be optional.
You don’t necessarily need to tell the black boxer at Sonia’s gym which of his fellow gym mates wrote the very explicit racist slurs all over the locker room, for example. That small side story isn’t a part of the overarching mystery and choosing to ignore it doesn’t prevent you from moving on in the main narrative. That said, choosing to reveal the racist’s identity most likely alters the overall fate of the boxer, who angrily says he’s going to kill the scumbag next time they meet. The demo ended before we could discover whether he does follow through on that murderous intent, though, so there’s currently no way to know for sure. Revealing the racist’s identity might be one of those good intentions that backfire in the worst way, a common occurrence in the Blacksad comic.
In order to ensure the game would be authentic to the world of the comic, the studios behind Under the Skin went directly to the source. “We wanted to involve the authors as much as possible,” Microïds game producer Nouredine Saad told GameSpot. “When Pendulo got involved and we started to create the characters and original art, we involved [Blacksad’s creators] by showing them everything. And when I say everything, it’s everything–all the characters, the 2D and 3D designs. We showed it [all] to the authors. The voice-overs as well when we started to record. It was important for us to just involve the authors like that. They could say, ‘Okay, I’d prefer Blacksad have a deeper voice or I want a lighter voice for Weekly.'”
Under the Skin takes place after the second comic album (between the aforementioned Arctic Nation and Red Soul volumes), and delves into a theme that hasn’t been heavily explored in a Blacksad comic before: corruption. “When we studied the ’50s for the story for this game, we noticed that there was, at this time, a growing issue with corruption in sports because of gambling and bets,” Pendulo Studios co-founder and CEO Felipe Pinilla said. “There were many controlled fights where you bet for one [boxer] knowing that he’d lose or win. And those [actions] make room for more corruption behind that, such as [drug abuse].”
Thus, Under the Skin is a brand-new standalone story in the Blacksad universe, and the studios behind the game want fans to view this game as the unofficial sixth entry in Blacksad’s story. “We have five, six characters from the comic book,” Saad said. “All the other characters are original to the game. The [world is] the same. We are in the ’50s. We are in the US. We have anthropomorphic animals, everything. But [this game] is the sixth album. We have five comic books and this is the sixth.”
Depending on your choices there will be several different endings.
This theme of corruption begins to bleed through the game’s story in its very first scene. The preview demo covers the first two hours or so of Under the Skin’s story, and the game opens with a confrontation with an angry rhinoceros whose wife believes he’s cheating on her. Through Blacksad’s internal monologue, we discover he already knows the rhino has been unfaithful and that there’s photographic proof. After the husband finishes pleading his side though, the game presents you with your first moral choice: tell the wife the truth, take a bribe and lie to the wife, or refuse the bribe but still lie to the wife. Your decision doesn’t have immediate consequences, though the effects of your choice begin revealing themselves about an hour later and continue to snowball.
“Depending on your choices, [Blacksad] can be a tough guy or a sensitive guy,” Saad said. “At the very beginning of the game, a rhino tries to give you some money. You can take it or not. You have moral choices.” Choosing to refuse the money, but also lie to the wife causes her to be grateful that her marriage, and thus her family, is secure, and when you run into her husband again later in the story, he thanks you for covering for him. However, Blacksad’s friend and sidekick who took the pictures, Weekly, will be miffed on losing out on some bribe money (if you decide to tell him about it, that is, as you can also hide the truth) and Blacksad himself will continue to wrestle with both the morality of what he’s done and his dwindling finances. Given how important the rhino, Weekly, and Blacksad’s financial situation appear to be to the overall plot, the consequences of that initial decision will seemingly continue to pop up as the narrative continues. And that’s just the first choice. The demo proves it is not the last.
“Depending on your choices there will be several different endings,” Pinilla said. “You’re Blacksad and the character will evolve depending on your choices, whether you are talkative or more quiet or whether you’re someone willing to be blackmailed. The main ending [of the game] will be the same, but there will be some difference in the outcome.”
“It’s important for us to involve the player and not just have Blacksad decide everything for you,” Saad said. “You, as a player, you can decide and say, ‘These are my decisions based on my deductions that I’m making. I’m solving the case and not Blacksad.’ If we let Blacksad [control] the game, it [wouldn’t be] your own moral choices and moral decisions.”
That’s part of the reason why you only play as Blacksad in Under the Skin, instead of both Blacksad and Weekly as was initially planned, Saad added. The studios felt that, for Under the Skin’s story to work, it’s important to focus the player’s sense of morality and willingness to resist corruption through one character with every other character having their own moral code. Seeing the game through multiple characters’ point-of-view would allow the player to be a puppet master and shape the story to an ideal conclusion. The hardest part of Blacksad’s life is that he’s a great detective, but he doesn’t know exactly what people are thinking. He’s not psychic. The player is no different, so at no point does the game switch to offer an alternative point-of-view so that it’s easier to make educated deductions that give everyone the best possible ending. You need to decide what’s morally right for yourself, and then live with the consequences of your choices.
Blacksad: Under the Skin is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 26.
Netflix’s GLOW is more than just a compelling comedy/drama exploring relationships, life, and work. It’s loosely based on the real-life Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, a wrestling promotion comprised entirely of women. For many people, the draw of GLOW is the backdrop of a struggling wrestling promotion. Season 1 saw the cast learning to wrestle and putting on a show, while Season 2 explored putting together a weekly television series and running the promotion to the best of their abilities.
GLOW returns to Netflix for its third season on August 9, relocating the wrestlers to Las Vegas, performing for tourists looking to win big. However, this season is a big gamble as it moves away from the show’s thematic backdrop in order to primarily focus on everything and anything aside from wrestling, which was a disappointment.
For Season 3, the women of GLOW are off to Vegas to work a nightly show on the strip at the Fan-Tan Hotel and Casino run by former showgirl Sandy Devereaux St. Clair (Geena Davis). They perform while continuing to adjust to the Vegas atmosphere and living away from their Los Angeles home. Very quickly, the show hammers in the idea that these women are in a tedious and never-ending cycle of performing the same show night after night.
At its heart, GLOW Season 3 has its merits even if it isn’t what fans expect, given what they’ve seen in previous seasons. It explores the relationships between the women working for GLOW, both platonic and romantic, while progressing its characters arcs. However, the main problem with the season is how far it strays from its roots. The show is about a wrestling promotion and the people within it, but wrestling feels like largely forgotten throughout Season 3. It is treated like an afterthought at best. There are four episodes, at most, of this 10 episode season that actually deal with this aspect. Sure, these women are performing the same routine every day so how in-depth can GLOW get into this aspect of the show when its non-stop repetition for them?
That question isn’t rhetorical by any means because GLOW answers it roughly mid-way through the season with an episode revolving mainly around Tammé (Kia Stevens AKA Awesome Kong in AEW) dealing with her body hurting from the daily routine while wanting to do her job, a constant struggle for those who perform and love the industry. Additionally, there is an episode later on–when the women end their first contract at the Fan-Tan–where the wrestlers switch it up and play each other’s characters to break the cycle of repetition.
Every character’s arc is more about their outside life rather than the show they’ve created and continue to produce. This is only one half of the equation. At times, there is a lot to keep track of since this is an ensemble cast, and there could be a few episodes between the continuation of their stories. It is a battle to keep track of what’s going on, as some of the less-impactful stories fall by the wayside, while other, more interesting, stories don’t get the full focus they should. A prime example of this is Carmen reconnecting with her wrestler brother, which is boiled down to a couple of scenes in the season. Carmen’s wrestling family roots were a jumping-off point for Season 1, and seeing her family back in her life will lead her to some very interesting decisions in the future. Without going too much into detail about how this plays out throughout the season, it is something that could have used more of the spotlight for this season, as the story felt rushed.
However, there are still many bright spots that shimmer within Season 3 of GLOW. The director of the show Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron) forms a closer bond with his estranged daughter Justine (Britt Baron), as she follows in her father’s footsteps. Although Sam isn’t as integral a part of the GLOW wrestling show as previous seasons–he feels he doesn’t need to be as present for the daily show–he evolves a lot as a character here. His cynicism slowly fades, and you start to see him get a new lease on life. The same goes for his daughter Justine, as she’s grown older and come into her own, finding out that she’s a fantastic writer. Seeing these two branch out from GLOW may not be something fans want to see, but the way the story is paced and cut between the episodes this season leads you to want them to have their own series. And viewers are treated to an episode focussing primarily on Sam and Justine’s trip to Hollywood which is one of the highlights of the entire season as the two grow closer.
Additionally, Debbie (Betty Gilpin) grows a lot throughout this season and goes through some drastic changes as she juggles producing GLOW, being away from her child, keeping her friendship with Ruth afloat, and finding love. She has the most dynamic arc throughout the season, and Gilpin dominates her performance. Her story is complicated, as is her character, but she is the best part of Season 3, and there is a huge moment during the season finale, which will make fans extremely excited for Season 4.
Season 3 of GLOW feels transitional, as if it’s leading to something far more exciting with Season 4. The series is left at a place where many of the problems–some unsettled–could easily be swept under the rug for later offerings. There is a whole story introducing entertainer Bobby Barnes (Kevin Cahoon) who has a variety drag show. The character of Barnes may be interesting, but everything about the story feels completely throw-away. There is also a mud wrestling sequence, which is out of place and will cause the audience extreme whiplash as they try to find their footing and figure out why this scene is in the series in the first place.
It’s not to say that Season 3 doesn’t matter though. There are some key character storylines here that will ultimately be extremely important for the future, primarily involving Debbie, Sam, Carmen, and Justine. Much of the excellent content from this season takes place in the final episode, “A Very GLOW Christmas.” This is where everything the audience needs to know for Season 4 is set up, with the backdrop being a retelling of A Christmas Carol starring Zoya as Scrooge. There are moments like this which are reminiscent of the fun of GLOW–which the pinnacle was Season 2, Episode 8, “The Good Twin” where viewers were treated to an on-air version of the TV show.
The latest offering of Netflix’s comedic drama feels less fun than previous seasons. Tonally, it’s much more serious, dealing with these character’s life-altering problems rather than the goofiness of trying to figure out what professional wrestling is or putting on an entertaining show. The show steps away from actual wrestling, even when wrestling is a daily event for these women, which is a strange choice.
GLOW Season 3 debuts on Netflix on August 9, and the first two seasons are currently available to stream.
