Author: Trafficblast

It’s been almost three months since Capcom unleashed Monster Hunter: World into the wild, and it’s been breaking sales records and winning over new fans ever since. But even with all its success the work for the development team in Japan hasn’t stopped there, with a swathe of new monsters landing in the New World for players to hunt as well as the PC version still hard in the works. But despite being busy, Monster Hunter: World’s director Yuya Tokuda took some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions about the series, its impact and where it might be going in the future.

GameSpot: The Monster Hunter series has been very popular in Japan for many years, and now with Monster Hunter: World you have a game that’s been hitting big all over the world. Does that success change the way you think about the series moving forward in terms of accessibility?

Yuya Kokuda: Each game has its own targets and goals and we work towards them, and accessibility and ease of play was a big focus for us on World. Moving forward with the series I want to make sure we continue to focus on accessibility but not at the expense of depth–I don’t ever want players to feel like we’ve moved backward.

What were the main conclusions you made when setting out to make Monster Hunt World a more accessible game?

I wanted to evolve the three key pillars of Monster Hunter: action, multiplayer and the gameplay loop. But I wanted to make sure all players could get far enough to fully appreciate those things, so I knew we had to take a look at which parts of the game were hard to understand or too difficult, and revise them–again, without losing depth–or remove them as needed. The controls were a particularly big challenge, as were difficult-to-understand game systems and the challenge of how to tutorialise them. The difficulty curve was also something that needed work to make it more accommodating [for] new players while providing a satisfying challenge to veterans.

Obviously, you wanted Monster Hunter: World to be successful, but did you ever expect it to become the best-selling game in Capcom’s history? Does its success surprise you?

I was confident in the game’s quality, but the quality is never a guarantee of success. Once I saw gamers enjoying the game at events like Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show, and during the beta test on PlayStation 4 at the end of last year, I started to get a good feeling about our chances of doing well. I have to say though, I was still surprised by just how quickly the game sold so many copies!

Despite being more approachable to new players than other games in the series, Monster Hunter: World still feels like it’s full of mystery just waiting to be uncovered. There is a lot of information in the game waiting to be naturally discovered through the course of play. How important was it to you to retain some of that mystery for new players? Was that a difficult thing to balance?

It was very tricky. At its heart the game is about exploration and discovery–you learn how to hunt monsters and you also get to the bottom of the mystery in the storyline. Showing off too much of either would potentially rob players of the joy of discovering these things for themselves, and the sense of achievement and growth they get during the game. I also wanted players to share this kind of information with each other using multiplayer to communicate. I think overall we achieved a good balance, and you can see that in the many players uploading and streaming their own best gameplay moments and discoveries. But there has been a limit on how much information sharing players can carry out in multiplayer, leaving some to perhaps give up on progressing in the game as they don’t know enough. That’s something I want to keep in mind for the future so we can better plan for that.

The last few years have seen a rise in popularity of games with complex and detailed combat systems, like Monster Hunter: World and From Software’s Souls series. Do you think the success of those games and games like them has, in any way, helped prepare Western audiences for Monster Hunter: World?

I think that has been one aspect, yes. The game has some similarities in terms of depth to games like The Witcher 3 and Horizon Zero Dawn. Also, games which ask the player to do a certain amount of grinding, like Destiny, are popular in the west, so I think the growth of that segment of the gaming population is also a factor. I love all of these games including the Souls series, by the way.

What was the thing that excited you most about moving Monster Hunter to the powerful consoles?

Being able to use the hardware capabilities to realise the monsters as part of a greater ecosystem. This was what attracted me to joining Capcom 14 years ago, and when I first saw the prototype with monsters fighting each other, I felt a surge of emotion at seeing what I’ve always wanted to create as I’ve worked on the series finally happen!

Monster Hunter has had a good history on Nintendo consoles, and a lot of fans are asking for Monster Hunter: World to come to Nintendo Switch. Former Sony executive Adam Boyes has even offered to help port the game with his company Iron Galaxy. Is a Nintendo Switch version of Monster Hunter: World something you have considered?

(Capcom was unwilling to provide an answer to this question)

Past Monster Hunter games have usually had an ‘Ultimate’ edition released as a separate game. Do you plan to continue the ‘Ultimate’ trend with Monster Hunter World?

We’re focused on supporting the game as it exists now with ongoing post-launch updates and DLC. We’ll regularly be adding new content and features through updates, and are working on new quests as well. We just released our first major title update which saw the return of classic monster Deviljho, which all Monster Hunter: World players can play for free. There’s plenty more in the works, so stay tuned for more news!

Do you have any advice for any future Japanese or Capcom development teams about how to approach more accessible or Western-styled game design?

Every game, team or company has its own strengths and its own creative concepts, so I don’t think they could just do things the way we did. Japanese games are back in vogue in the west these last few years, and I think the ones that succeed are offering a unique experience you can’t get anywhere else. It’s important for developers to understand what kind of play style Western gamers have, but first of all, they need to work on polishing up the best parts of their game to make it more appealing.

There has been a lot of player feedback online about the game’s multiplayer, which some people feel isn’t as player friendly as it could be. What have you learned from that feedback and are there any plans to change how it works in the future, either through patches or in future versions?

User feedback is obviously a really important thing to us, as it helps us learn a lot. We often discover new bugs or issues with gameplay that couldn’t have occurred to us, and we’ve tried to respond to feedback as quickly as we can. We made the game as user-friendly as we could within the constraints of development schedule and budget, but we knew there was more we could have done, so we’ve tried to work out what we can improve through updates, what we can alleviate with messaging, and what we should do better with for future titles.

Speaking of future versions, you have the PC version still in development which I know a bunch of people are looking forward too. What plans have you got for it?

We’re working on it right now–it’s fundamentally the same game as the console versions, with the addition of PC-optimised mouse and keyboard controls. Some players might be worried if the game’s action will work well on PC controls, but during the test phases, I’ve found them to be really great! The game hits PC this autumn so hang tight, PC players!

Is there any word on G Rank?

There’s nothing I can share with you at this time.

What’s your favourite Monster from Monster Hunter: World?

Nergigante and Xeno’jiiva. Nergigante because it’s an action-focused monster who you want to take on again and again when you’ve made a new weapon or got to grips with new moves. And Xeno’jiiva because its visuals are so beautiful–the way the lighting effects look. Combined with its theme music and the experience of fighting it, I think it’s a great and fitting end to the player’s journey of exploration in the New World!

The real-time strategy genre has been a long-standing staple of PC games, continually challenging its players to flex their skills through the years. Whether it’s executing an optimal build order, maintaining an efficient flow of resources, micromanaging armies, or countering enemy strategies, there’s always plenty to handle in an RTS. In the early years, the likes of Dune II, Warcraft, and Command & Conquer were regarded as the standard bearers. And as great as those games were, nothing had quite the cultural impact as StarCraft.

Leading up to its release, developer Blizzard had already established itself as a force in strategy games with Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the sequel Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. But in March 1998, Blizzard traded the fantasy setting for a science-fiction theme, taking us to space when it released the original StarCraft. Not unlike Warcraft, deep and intricate lore served as the foundation for the world of StarCraft. Humans, known as Terran, had their own complicated internal politics as they became mired in an ever-evolving conflict with the insect-like Zerg and the psionic humanoid Protoss–two species created by the ancient Xel’Naga. Through animated cutscenes and in-mission dialogue, StarCraft’s single-player campaign delivered compelling characters.

While the lore worked as a strong hook and characterized each faction to great effect, StarCraft’s longevity lies within its timeless gameplay.

We grew to despise Arcturus Mengsk and sympathize with Jim Raynor, or get caught up in the complex arc of Sarah Kerrigan. Tassadar’s sacrifice remains a powerful and iconic moment for those of us who became invested in fate of the Protoss, and Kerrigan’s ascension as the new leader of the Zerg swarm. Blizzard embedded personality and a web of relationships to hook you into the Starcraft lore. While it worked as a strong hook and characterized each faction to great effect, StarCraft’s longevity lies within its timeless gameplay–this is a 20-year old RTS with wide player-base after all.

StarCraft wasn’t perfect on day one; post-launch support with continuous patching was the key to cementing its legacy. The expansion pack Brood War was also a crucial piece to the franchise’s competitive sustainability. It has reached its peak in terms of finding the best balance to the point that long-time players don’t want it to be touched, and it goes to show how fragile the RTS balancing act can be. But even to this day, the game is still receiving quality of life improvements. What made StarCraft so rewarding was how open-ended it’s gameplay could be. Although every unit and structure among the three factions served a specific purpose, players were constantly coming up with creative strategies to keep opponents on their toes. Jumping into Battle.net, scrolling through the server browser, and not knowing if you were competing against someone way out of your league made for adrenaline rushes the moment you sent your workers to gather minerals. Every multiplayer match was a fast-paced and thrilling battle of minds.

No matter what race you play, after scouting your opponent’s position, you have so many possibilities with build order. As Terran, would you go full mech with a gang of siege tanks against another Terran or roll out an army of firebats against a Zerg opponent? How would you react the moment you saw them building towards air units? Do you have the means to get turrets up before it’s too late? You might also be trying to manage a one barracks fast expansion, keeping an eye on SCVs doing their job, or not getting supply blocked which would delay your build order. These are a few of the things that run through your mind in any match, and given the pace of StarCraft, it can get out of hand quickly. That’s just coming from the perspective of a Terran player.

It’s always fun to toy with opponents using a flock of mutalisks, yet nothing is quite as satisfying as pulling off a late-game ultralisk-zergling push with the defiler’s dark swarm ability.

Playing as Protoss, with pylons dictating both base layout and unit supply, is whole other aspect to handle. A simple 12 nexus fast expand or two gateway observer opening is pretty standard, but those plans have to be backed up with the right number of zealots and dragoons, so your micromanaging skills better be on point. Any long-time StarCraft player is all too familiar with the infamous zergling rush, but the nasty Zerg swarm has its own twist on buildings and roster of devastating units. It’s always fun to toy with opponents using a flock of mutalisks, yet nothing is quite as satisfying as pulling off a late-game ultralisk-zergling push with the defiler’s dark swarm ability. Keep in mind that many of these strategies are contingent upon your enemy’s build order, so hopefully you’re in the habit of keeping an eye on them and adapting to situations. We’re only scratching the surface here, which is a testament to how deep StarCraft goes and why it remains relevant.

StarCraft’s complexities result in what feels like a hectic match of speed chess match. High APM (actions per minute) isn’t just an in-joke among StarCraft players, it’s indicative of whether or not you’re playing efficiently enough and spending every second wisely. The game is daunting, especially for newcomers at this point, but StarCraft’s biggest accomplishment is in how it fine-tuned and found the right balance between asymmetrical factions with dynamic unit composition. Just walking through different strategies should bring back memories of the myriad of permutations these matches can take on.

Custom maps and modes were born out of the StarCraft community and spawned surprising, sometimes lighthearted, ways to play. Playing countless 4v4 matches on the map BGH and developing strategies specifically for it provides a unique sort of fun, especially since you had access to unlimited resources. But the creativity of user-made UMS maps speaks to the community’s imagination, whether these were missions with predetermined scenarios based on other games or silly modes like cat-and-mouse.

Admittedly, it’s jarring to play an RTS where you only control up to 12 units at a time, can’t map multiple buildings to hotkeys, and must micromanage workers–but even these limitations are part of the fragile balance that has held StarCraft together for all these years.

At its heart, though, StarCraft (Brood War, in particular) is competitive game and has thrived in the professional competitive gaming scene, almost solely in South Korea. It’s a cultural phenomenon there, and the franchise’s current production lead Tim Morten said, “It really was that catalyst, that example of what esports could be in terms of popularity and drawing people in. There were people who didn’t even play the game but just enjoyed watching the events, which made superstars out of the players.” As of now, a total value of $7.43 million USD has been awarded as prize money with $6.81 million of that coming from South Korean competitions; 92 of the top 100 players are Korean.

This long legacy lives on as Blizzard modernized the original game with StarCraft Remastered in 2017. Native 4K widescreen support, high resolution textures, and redone artwork truly gave it the proper treatment from a visual perspective. Players can seamlessly swap between the new and old graphics for a burst of nostalgia, and regardless of which version you play, everyone is matched in the same Battle.net servers. Matchmaking and player rankings are icing on the cake when it comes to ushering a two-decade old game into a new era. However, it did not touch a single gameplay element. Admittedly, it’s jarring to play an RTS where you only control up to 12 units at a time, can’t map multiple buildings to hotkeys, and must micromanage workers–but even these limitations are part of the fragile balance that has held StarCraft together for all these years.

Real-time strategy isn’t the prominent genre it once was, yet StarCraft stays installed on so many of our PCs and has a thriving online community. It goes without saying that games have dramatically evolved since 1998, but personality, balance, and the systems in place have helped StarCraft transcend generations.

Killing Floor: Incursion is coming to PSVR. The VR title released last year on Oculus Rift and Vive, but jump from PC to PS4 on May 1.

PSVR players will have access to an exclusive level, “The Crucible.” Stepping away from the realism, this level has a certain Tron-like aesthetic. John Gibson tells PlayStation Blog this bonus level started out as a development arena for holdout mode.

In Incursion, you’ll play as a Horzine security forces soldier who gets wounded in a battle with the Zeds. To keep your brain stable while your body heals you’re placed in a simulation. Emma Rose, a Horzine officer, is your guide through the simulation. Normally this would be simple, but a virus is sending hordes of genetically engineered monsters at you. Die one to many times and you could go insane.

Killing Floor: Incursion is the first time the Killing Floor universe has been put into a full-fledged, multi-hour VR game, so The Crucible isn’t just a standalone experience, but an additional level to the full game. If you haven’t had a chance to see the campaign in action, check out the gameplay trailer here.

The developers have not detailed what kind of PS4 Pro support is available. As Incursion is its own title and not DLC, it should not require any previous Killing Floor game to operate.

Nintendo consoles may not traditionally be known for their third-party support, but Switch has made some notable inroads in that area. The console has already received a number of titles that, just a few years ago, would have been unimaginable on a Nintendo platform, with a few other high-profile ports slated for this year–including the remastered version of From Software’s brutally challenging RPG, Dark Souls.

Dark Souls Remastered arrives on Switch next month alongside other platforms, and while the Switch edition may not be quite as visually impressive as the other versions, the game is still a marked improvement over the original Xbox 360 and PS3 release. On Switch, Remastered supports 1080p when the console is docked, just as on a standard Xbox One or PS4 (or 720p in handheld mode), and it runs at 30 FPS whether you play it on the television or on the go.

We got our first hands-on opportunity with the Switch version of Dark Souls Remastered at PAX East 2018, and we came away impressed by how well the experience translates to Nintendo’s hybrid system. In the video above, you can watch off-screen footage of us playing the opening portions of the game in handheld mode. Despite Switch’s comparatively modest horsepower, Dark Souls Remastered looks and feels great on the console, and the fact that it’s playable anywhere thanks to the system’s portability is especially impressive.

Dark Souls Remastered releases for Switch on May 25. The game also launches alongside an exclusive Solaire of Astora Amiibo figure. Scanning the Amiibo allows players to perform the famous “praise the sun” emote in the game, although it remains to be seen if it has any other functionality besides that. If you’re interested in the title, Switch owners will soon have a chance to try it out a little early; Nintendo will hold a network test for Dark Souls Remastered ahead of the game’s launch. More details will be announced closer to the test.

In addition to Switch, Dark Souls Remastered is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on the same date. Each of those versions runs at 60 FPS, while PS4 Pro and Xbox One X owners will be able to play in upscaled 4K; the PC version, meanwhile, can run in native 4K. You can watch us play 30 minutes of Dark Souls Remastered on a PS4 Pro for a better idea of how the upcoming remaster looks on other consoles. Each version also features a number of quality-of-life improvements to make the experience a bit smoother for all players. You can read more about the title in our original Dark Souls review.

NOTE: As mentioned in the video, we did have some audio issues during capture. GameSpot apologizes for the inconvenience.