Author: Trafficblast

The DC character Swamp Thing doesn’t have the best track record with being adapted. There were two movies, an animated series, and the best of the lot, the live-action series which lasted three seasons. However, none of them truly tapped into the most obvious aspect of the character and the world he lives in: It’s all terrifying. The DC Universe streaming service, which has already taken big swings with shows like Titans and Doom Patrol, finally does Swamp Thing justice by creating a show that is truly horrifying.

Within Episode 1 of DCU’s new show, Swamp Thing barely makes an appearance, and that’s fine. The show centers around a town in Louisiana where something is making people sick and killing them. CDC investigator Abby Arcane (Crystal Reed) returns to her hometown to find the cause, where she comes across rogue biologist Alec Holland (Andy Bean), and the two find out that there’s a problem in the swamp. While this synopsis sounds more like a copy and paste procedural, what sets Swamp Thing apart is its tone.

With executive producer James Wan on board–the mind behind Insidious and The Conjuring–the latest DC Universe offering is straight-up horror, and it is a perfect fit for the character. From early moments where a young girl becomes sick to when a corpse/plant hybrid goes aggro in a morgue, the first episode does an exceptional job executing a slow build toward the macabre. While it explores body horror, it never crosses the line with moments that are entirely unwatchable, much like Brightburn did, but there is an unsettling feeling that something atrocious could happen at any moment.

The first episode is dark, hopeless, and gritty without falling into the DC cinematic universe trap of feeling like it was done without actual purpose or just to look “cool.” The look of the show feels like it could take place in our universe. At no point in time does your suspension of disbelief break because of some of the other-worldly happenings or moments put into slow-motion with popular music blaring behind it. In fact, when you get to see Swamp Thing, it doesn’t feel out of place, even though it’s one of the more bizarre and dark character designs from DC. And frankly, Swamp Thing looks pretty awesome, which was a big concern for many fans because it’s a weird character to try and put into live-action.

Arcane may excel at her job at the CDC, but she has a troubled past, connected to her hometown, which rears its ugly head during the premiere episode. The choices she’s made within her life were to help save lives after being put in a situation when she was younger when she couldn’t save someone close to her. While this character development feels like the same old story–a character returning home to face her haunted past, a staple of horror–it’s not something on the forefront of the audience’s mind, as it takes a backseat to killer plants.

However, this aspect of her character leads to one of the most boring scenes during the hour-long pilot episode, where Arcane and Holland spend roughly 10 minutes talking. It is a scene filled with exposition, and a complete lull in the episode before the final scene, which is fantastic. This sort of thing happens regularly in pilots, but sticks out like a sore thumb in Swamp Thing.

While dealing with the past, she has the present confronting her as well, as she learns her small town is under the stranglehold of an evil corporation.How many times have viewers seen this story? What’s crazy is that it works for this setting and world exceptionally well. Swamp Thing takes over-used elements and subplots within film and TV and makes them relevant again. Maybe it’s the excitement of knowing that the audience will see Swamp Thing soon or wondering what horrors the viewer will see next, but what’s old feels new here.

There is one particular scene that really stands out–and not in a good way–which is the opening sequence featuring a group of people in a boat in the Louisiana swamp. They have some black boxes they’re putting in the water. A bunch of vines attack them, killing at least one. Yes, it sets the tone, in a sense, and shows you what’s to come, but it is completely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things because a later scene where Dr. Arcane investigates a home is the only tonal setup this show needs. As for the boxes, it’s something you completely forget about until later on, so this who sequence doesn’t really kick things off right.

Like Titans and Doom Patrol, DC Universe has another potential original series hit on its hands. Swamp Thing is something completely different from the aforementioned shows and from anything else DC has put out to date. It’s straight-up horror mixed with mystery. Will this show stay on the path? That’s the real question, as tonally this is a more complex show that we all first thought. The first episode was surprisingly well put together and exceeded expectations, which is a task considering DC Universe’s track record of A+ original series thus far.

Swamp Thing comes to DC Universe on Friday, May 31.

If coping with the closure of Telltale Games last fall isn’t hard enough, prepare for more heartbreak. According to digitial distribution site GOG.com, the now-defunct studio’s games are being delisted from the storefront.

A post on the site’s forum states that the rest of Telltale’s titles will be removed from GOG on Monday, May 27 at 3 AM PST / 6 AM EST / 10 AM UTC / 11 AM BST. This includes The Wolf Among Us, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Hector: Badge of Carnage, both Batman: The Telltale Series and Batman: The Enemy Within, the entire Sam & Max series, the Puzzle Agent series, and Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. Anyone who purchased these games on GOG before the delisting will still have access to the titles in their libraries, the post confirms.

Tales from the Borderlands was also supposed to be cut, but according to a statement from publisher 2K Games to Eurogamer, “We are working to get Tales from the Borderlands back up on digital storefronts as soon as possible. All prior digital purchases of the game will of course still be honoured and supported.”

Tales from the Borderlands and The Walking Dead cannot be purchased on Steam at this time. A handful of other titles–such as the complete Sam & Max series and the final season of The Walking Dead–cannot be bought on Steam either, while games like Batman: The Telltale Series and The Wolf Among Us are still listed as available for purchase. It’s unclear if the rest of Telltale’s games will be pulled from the platform on Monday.

With the news of GOG pulling Telltale’s catalog from the platform, it’s possible that the PlayStation and Xbox One stores could face a similar fate in the near future. As of now, though, both the PlayStation Store and the Xbox One store list Telltale games as available for purchase.

The California-based studio closed its doors in October 2018. The shuttering shocked fans, critics, and employees of the company, as the stufio was still wrapping up development on The Walking Dead: The Final Season. The studio also had three, now-canceled games in development: a second season of Game of Thrones, a Stranger Things title, and The Wolf Among Us: The Second Season.

In 2018, Nintendo and the Pokemon Company announced and released the first Pokemon games for Switch, Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. They are reimaginings of the classic Pokemon Yellow, designed for newcomers to the franchise and inspired by Pokemon Go‘s mechanics. While the Let’s Go games are mainline Pokemon RPGs and the first on Switch, they’re not the same kind of core Pokemon experience fans have been getting on Nintendo’s handhelds for two decades. That will come with the system’s second set of Pokemon games, Sword and Shield.

Nearly two years after the initial E3 2017 teaser, Nintendo and the Pokemon Company officially revealed Pokemon Sword and Shield. They mark the eighth generation of Pokemon games and are set in an entirely new region with all-new Pokemon, meaning anticipation is high. Because they are set for a late 2019 launch, it’s also highly likely we’ll see more of them at E3 2019. In the meantime, here’s everything we know about Sword and Shield so far and what we can expect at E3 2019.

What We Know So Far

The February 2019 reveal trailer for Sword and Shield contained a number of key details about the Gen 8 Pokemon games. Set in the UK-inspired Galar region, Sword and Shield will include a mix of old and new Pokemon and will see the return of random encounters and wild Pokemon battles after a brief break with Let’s Go. Gyms are also back in Gen 8 after a break from the formula in Sun and Moon.

We were also introduced to the three new starter Pokemon: the Grass-type monkey Grookey, the Fire-type rabbit Scorbunny, and the Water-type chameleon Sobble. Based on this Grass-Fire-Water setup, which has been present in every Pokemon game aside from Yellow and Let’s Go, we can assume that Sword and Shield aren’t totally overhauling the Pokemon formula.

What Is Confirmed For E3?

While Sword and Shield haven’t been confirmed outright for E3 2019, we do know that Nintendo’s Direct presentation will focus on “Nintendo Switch titles for 2019,” which includes Pokemon. Nintendo hasn’t shared many details thus far, but we do know that the presentation will be followed by three days of Treehouse streams; those often include developer interviews and in-depth looks at gameplay. Nintendo’s presentation takes place June 11 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST (2 AM AET on June 12).

What We Hope To See At E3 2019

The reveal trailer showed quite a bit about Sword and Shield: basic Pokemon battles, trainer customization, the starters, and bits and pieces of the varied Galar region. But there are still a lot of question marks. One of the big mysteries so far is a red and blue circular symbol found throughout the trailer, including on a Gym and even in the games’ logo. Sun and Moon also had a symbol in their logo–a crystal, which ended up representing the games’ new Z-Crystal battle mechanic. Fans have speculated that the circular symbol in Sword and Shield could also represent a new battle mechanic, so we’re hoping to find out what that is at E3.

We’re also hoping to see more of the Galar region and its new Pokemon. It looks to be an expansive region, and it even has trains that might be used for fast travel, but we can’t know for sure from a trailer alone. Gameplay of the player character walking around a city, for example, could give us a better idea of Galar’s scale. We also hope to see more of the region’s Pokemon, especially legendaries; a mysterious hill carving in the trailer showed what might be a legendary Pokemon.

Lastly, we’re hoping we get answers to some burning questions. Are there any special surprises in store (like travel to another existing region)? Will Sword and Shield be compatible with Pokemon Bank? How will online work? The Direct presentation and any potential follow-up streams could answer the big gameplay questions and provide smaller details fans are looking for. Regardless, with the games’ launch fast approaching, it’s likely we’ll get answers to some of our questions at E3.

Tensions between the United States and China have been escalating in recent months due to the countries’ ongoing trade war, and the price of game consoles and accessories could be affected as a result. GameDaily reports that the Office of the United States Trade Representative has proposed implementing a 25% tariff on more goods imported from China, including video game consoles, controllers, and even board games like chess and checkers.

Tariffs are effectively taxes paid by domestic companies. To offset these expenses, companies often raise the prices of products affected by tariffs, passing the cost onto consumers who end up paying more for certain items. While game consoles would be swept up in the last wave of tariffs, they are far from the only products that would be affected; thousands of goods manufactured in China would be subject to the tariff.

This certainly isn’t the first instance where the Trump administration’s hardline stance against China has had negative repercussions for the video game industry. The US already imposes a 10% tariff that affects some Nvidia and AMD graphic cards manufactured in China. If the new tariff is implemented, it could cause console makers to increase the prices of their systems in order to recoup the added expense.

The news comes just as the video game industry is gearing up for a new generation of consoles. Sony has in recent weeks been revealing details about its next-generation PlayStation, while Microsoft is known to be working on a next-gen Xbox, which rumors suggest could be unveiled at E3 2019. New video game consoles already carry a fairly hefty price tag, and that price could only rise if the new tariff is indeed imposed.

The United States Trade Representative will hold public hearings about the proposed tariff on June 17, shortly after E3 2019 ends. The result of those hearings will determine whether or not the tariff is implemented. If the USTR does go through with the tariff, it could go into effect as soon as June 24, according to GameDaily.

Peel back the layers and there’s a clear connective tissue tying Layers of Fear 2 and its predecessor together. Both games are centered around an artist gradually losing their grip on reality. While the original game focused on a struggling painter in an opulent Victorian mansion, Layers of Fear 2 shifts art forms to tell the story of a Hollywood actor during the Golden Age of cinema, as he embarks on a new role in a movie being shot aboard a decadent ocean liner. Developer Bloober Team has created something more varied and ambitious than its past work, taking inspiration from iconic film directors like Georges Méliès, Fritz Lang, and Alfred Hitchcock. And while it is a visually striking horror game, Layers of Fear 2 struggles to establish its own identity and explore its themes of anguish and despair in meaningful ways.

The story itself is like a jigsaw puzzle; some of the pieces come together as the narrative unfolds, but others are scattered across the environment as notes, optional puzzles, sound recordings, and paraphernalia that provide new details on your character’s troubled past. You might not be able to put the whole picture together before the game’s conclusion, but it’s a familiar and clichéd tale that isn’t too difficult to discern once events begin to wrap up. Childhood trauma is the key motif, built around the relationship you had with your sister, but Layers of Fear 2 regularly uses routine horror tropes as opposed to something more personal. This decision doesn’t coalesce with the story to provide a sense that your character’s state of mind and past anguish are shaping what’s happening. During the first act you catch spectral forms out of the corner of your eye, and this eventually evolves into frequent appearances from crudely assembled mannequins and a formless monster that stalks you through much of the game. These creatures are unnerving, but they’re not really specific to the game or this character, failing to capitalize on the strengths of psychological horror and the inherent importance of a character’s fears and trepidations in manifesting intimate threats.

Similarly, much of Layers of Fear 2’s art design is wrapped around the classic films that inspired it, which doesn’t always come together in a consistent way. Saying it takes place aboard a ship is a tad disingenuous, as the setting is constantly shifting and transporting you to a variety of disparate environments. Overt homages to films such as The Wizard of Oz, A Trip to the Moon, and Nosferatu are littered throughout the game. Some of them are deftly woven into the narrative and the game’s own art style, but others lack context and fail to rise above being mere visual spectacles, foregoing any semblance of cohesion with the rest of the game. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, particularly if you have an appreciation for this era of cinema, but it also makes Layers of Fear 2 feel like an inconsequential mishmash of film references without any clear significance to the story it’s trying to tell.

Much of Layers of Fear 2’s art design is wrapped around the classic films that inspired it, which doesn’t always come together in a consistent way

Your interactions with the world are very tangible, which helps ground you in the game’s setting even when the threads of reality are stretched thinner and thinner. The majority of your time is spent simply exploring each space, gathering knick-knacks to fill in the story, and solving puzzles to progress. The conundrums it places before you are never particularly challenging or memorable, whether it’s using a dial with 10 numbers to multiply up to a specific digit or manipulating a roll of film to create a doorway. Some of them are in keeping with the tone of the game and its cinematic feel, but others are so inane they just feel out of place.

What Layers of Fear 2 does do well is build atmosphere and an ever-escalating sense of dread. The score is ominous, utilizing string instruments to send a chill down your spine. But there are also plenty of opportunities for the sound design to breathe on its own, too. The creaking of wooden floorboards, rats scurrying past your feet, and the plip-plop of dripping water create tension despite their mundanity. It also makes you hesitant to simply turn around, as the environment toys with impossible spaces, distorting the world around you when you’re not looking. When you walk into a room and find a locked door with nowhere else to go but back the way you came, the suspense hits, tapping into that fear of the unknown–of what’s waiting to greet you once you turn your head.

Unfortunately, these anxiety-inducing feelings diminish as the game progresses and it leans too heavily on tried and tested tactics. The aforementioned mannequins are consistently impressive due to their creepy stop-motion-esque movement, but they’re featured so heavily that their effect as something to be scared of is severely diminished. This is a problem with Layers of Fear 2 as a whole; the protracted playtime of around 10 hours struggles to maintain its early momentum through the last couple of chapters. The formless creature that oftentimes stalks you adds some urgency to what is otherwise a methodical affair, but the most terrifying thing about the chase sequences is the threat of having to redo them if you fail. Sometimes the monster’s arrival comes so suddenly that you’re dead before even realizing what’s happened, and these cheap insta-kills mean you’re frustratingly subjected to the same death animation over and over again.

There are remnants of an excellent horror game submerged just below the surface of Layers of Fear 2. Horror icon Tony Todd–of Candyman fame–lends his bassy growl to the disembodied and omnipresent voice of the film’s eccentric director. Each word he bellows is a sonorous treat, no matter how terrifying his performance is. The art design, too, while disjointed, conjures some breathtaking imagery that you can’t help but marvel at. It’s just a shame that Layers of Fear 2 frequently pays lip service to the films and games that clearly inspired it while struggling to find a voice of its own. The story is too hazy to latch onto until the latter stages, and then nothing about it is particularly engaging, with its central mystery building towards something we’ve seen numerous times before. It occasionally hints at interesting themes but fails to go anywhere with them, falling back on telegraphed jump scares rather than delving deeper into the psychological horror it can only tease at. For every piece of good work there’s an analogous aspect that lacks focus and direction. Layers of Fear 2 feels lost at sea.