Halo Infinite’s technical test — a preview of its free-to-play multiplayer — gave players an early look at some of the new features being added with the game. What they might not have been expecting were bots that could strafe, shoot, and body players as if they were humans themselves. According to a report from Kotaku, developer 343 Industries managed to make bots perform at such a high level by basing them on actual Halo players.
Speaking to Kotaku, 343 Industries senior lead gameplay engineer Brie Chin-Deyerle and multiplayer designer Sara Stern carefully observed how players move and interact during internal playtests. “We tried to figure out why people do what they do in multiplayer, and then how we could model those choices,” said the developers.
The team at 343 first figured out how to get bots to perform basic actions like moving and shooting. However, more advanced tactics came later down the line, along with more challenging development. To get bots to perform like advanced players, developers had to get them to recognize the things that players familiar with a map would understand, whether those are shortcuts, hidden passages, or tight angles for shots.
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Halo Infinite Technical Alpha Gameplay Livestream
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By the end of Halo Infinite’s technical test, the game’s bots were at their most difficult. After defeating 1.2 million bots, 343 turned the difficulty up from Marine, the second-lowest, to ODST. However, 343 gave bots one more boost to Spartan difficulty, letting the AI read the same in-game radar that players use.
While its new-and-improved AI will let players get some decent practice in multiplayer (and without getting tea-bagged), the big question here is if these new AI systems will extend to the game’s campaign. Enemy AI that uses tactics and reacts to player actions has been a staple of the Halo franchise since it began with Combat Evolved, and Halo Infinite could be the next big step forward in that regard. Another technical test for Infinite is also on the way, and getting into it is as easy as signing up for Halo Insider.
Netflix has shared the first images of its upcoming live-action Cowboy Bebop series starring John Cho. As an added bonus, Netflix announced that the live-action series will debut on November 19.
In the first images revealed for the upcoming Cowboy Bebop series, the three main members of the Bebop crew are front-and-center. There’s John Cho as Spike Spiegel, a gun-toting, martial arts expert bounty hunter; Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black an ex-cop and Spike’s partner; and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine an erstwhile ally of the crew when she’s not off pulling off one of her own scores.
Check out the first-look images in the gallery below:
Also in the cast but not shown are Alex Hassell as Spike’s nemesis Vicious, and Elena Satine as Spike’s former lover Julia. No look, however, at Ed the Bebop’s resident hacker who the showrunners have confirmed will appear in the live-action series. But so far no casting has been announced for the role.
The first images, which you can see in the gallery above, are all very Bebop-y for sure. Cho is rocking Spike’s classic blue and yellow outfit, while Jet’s metal prosthetics are in full view. Faye has just the slightest bit of a wardrobe update where it seems like she’s just wearing the jacket she always has around her elbows. And if you peak closely you can see Ein the Corgi.
Based on the casting announcements so far, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop series will be adapting episodes from the original anime. Though we won’t know how closely these adaptations will adhere to the anime until the live-action series premieres in November.
Sixteen years ago, Psychonauts made a cartoonish, comically lopsided world feel believable and weighted thanks to its loveable characters and earnest storytelling. Now, Psychonauts 2 builds upon this foundation to reach ambitious new heights, while equally deepening its roots to impressive depths. It takes already well-realized characters and makes them more complex, even if that means traveling to the darker corners of their minds.
It’s a dazzling display of Double Fine’s signature humor and creativity, but underneath the whimsical, action-platformer is a game about choices and forgiveness. Psychonauts 2 does more than just fill the shoes of its beloved predecessor, it sets itself apart as a classic in its own right.
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After a snappy catch-up for newcomers, the story picks up only days after the first game, and moments after the VR sequel-interlude Psychonauts in the Rhombus Of Ruin. 10-year-old psychic-prodigy Razputin Aquato (you) has saved the leader of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto, from the grips of dentist/amatuer brain surgeon Dr. Loboto.
In an effort to discover who hired Dr. Loboto to kidnap Truman, Raz and the other Psychonaut agents–Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, and Coach Oleander–enter Loboto’s mind, only to uncover a far more menacing antagonist has been pulling Loboto’s strings: Maligula–a great enemy of the Psychonauts. Maligula was assumed dead after a great battle that, tragically, also left one of the Psychonauts’ most acclaimed members, Ford Cruller, traumatically scarred and mentally broken. This leads the Psychonauts to believe there is a mole within their operation, and in order to unpack the mysterious return of Maligula, Raz must enter the minds of the Psychic 6, the founders of the Psychonauts, to piece together a dark, hidden truth.
What unravels is an unexpected turn of events, with a story constructed and driven by the misjudged choices of its characters; it’s a heady theme that remains constant, and is hammered home through Raz’s own mistakes early in the game. Raz learns a few new abilities, one being Mental Connection. This can be used to interconnect a person’s thoughts, which creates new forms of traversal for the player, and can even be used to completely change a character’s mind. However, when Raz uses it to completely change the view of a mind he inhabits for his own benefit, he is forced to reckon with the consequences and carry the burdens of them.
The narrative events are intertwined with a spectacle of platforming and action. As I jumped, climbed, and punched through the inner mind of this character, I was able to see it from two different perspectives: as it once was, and then how dramatically morphed it had become based on Raz’s mistake. The level I was once familiar with was re-contextualized through a completely different lens to reflect the changed mind.
Everything about Psychonauts 2, from its environments, to its history, the Psychonauts themselves, its enemies, and mechanics, all work in tandem and feel wholly realized. It feels rich and dense with detail, and it’s all defined by its eclectic cast of characters. It’s bewildering to step back and take it all in at times, but thankfully its quirky and colorful world makes it as disarming as it a joy to ingest.
As you bounce through the minds of characters, each level’s concepts and artistic direction is reflective of the mind in which it takes place, often putting mental conditions like addiction, PTSD, and anxiety front-and-center in a lighthearted manner that doesn’t demean them, but rather treats them in an approachable and empathetic way.
One level in particular features depressing themes and undertones of excessive drinking as a design motif. The level takes place on a big open sea to sail across, with sandy islands to visit and a beautiful clear sky overhead. The moment I stopped to take it in, however, I realized the trees were shaped like bottles, and platforms were beer cans, and the rails I grinded on were drinking straws. Suddenly, the bright colorful world I gleefully jumped through was instilled with a very different and serious tone–one that could go missed if I didn’t stop to take it in.
It was all nuanced, balanced with bizarre and quirky conversations, but bookended with a serious look at someone’s inner struggles, with the intent of better understanding who they are as a person, and why. With every twist and turn, the level added a completely new layer to the mystery of Maligula and the past of the Psychic 6, leading to some unpredictable revelations.
[Psychonauts 2 is] a dazzling display of Double Fine’s signature humor and creativity, but underneath the whimsical, action-platformer is a game about choices and forgiveness
While its representation of mental conditions may be complex, engaging with the game isn’t and Psychonauts 2 is truly a joy to play, with its action and platforming returning from the first game, albeit much more fine-tuned and streamlined. Many abilities from the original will be familiar to returning players: Telekinesis, PSI Blast, Pyrokinesis, and Levitation, all of which have been given a welcome overhaul.
Telekinesis, for example, now operates more closely to how it functions in Remedy Entertainment’s Control, where items nearby will automatically come to you, making it easy to launch them at an enemy; Pyrokinesis forms an area-of-attack bubble to better visualize its execution; and PSI Blast has a cooldown rather than having to collect ammo. All of these quality-of-life improvements make Psychonauts 2’s combat feel tight and refined, especially with the addition of a dedicated dodge button.
Abilities can be upgraded by ranking up, which itself is done by collecting things: Nuggets Of Wisdom, Figments of Imagination, or PSI Cards. Thankfully, collecting doesn’t come off as a chore–it often comes naturally in the exploration of the level, making it feel more like a natural progression. If you opt to seek out 100% of collectibles, it certainly does lean into the menial design philosophy from collect-a-thons of yesteryear, but the optional nature of this meant it was never a bother and didn’t stunt my progression in any way.
Psychonauts 2 features mainstay enemies like the Censors (who remain damage sponges), but it also introduces an array of new enemies like Regrets–flying creatures that carry a heavy weight to drop on you. With the introduction of each new enemy, I was conditioned to change my playing style, often switching out abilities to control the onslaught. Out of the eight abilities, you can have four at a time assigned to the shoulder buttons. It was a bit overwhelming at times to occasionally reassign all my abilities to handle certain enemies, but after some time, it became intuitive to assign a rotation of powers. Thankfully, the cadence of learning new abilities is well-paced throughout the game, giving me enough time with each one to fully understand their use.
Most impressive is Double Fine’s interlacing of conceptual design with its enemies–like using feelings of regret, doubt, and enabling–as literal interpretations for enemy types, which is an example of how Psychonauts 2 harmonizes serious concepts with whimsical delivery to present a cohesive and impactful whole.
But no matter how good its level design is, or how imaginative its concepts get, some of the level-concluding boss fights fail to reach the same heights. Some are better than others–the vomiting hand puppets from Compton’s cooking level are a standout fight–but not all of them stick the landing. More often than not, fights involve a towering enemy throwing projectiles at you while you fend off hordes of enemies, and the formula rarely changes. Mechanically they’re fine, but can be rather cliche in comparison to its otherwise inspired levels.
Thankfully, even after some less-than-favorable conclusions to these levels, what then awaits is a welcome degree of freedom and exploration. Between each level, I was given the chance to explore the world, tackle levels at my own pace, talk to its many characters, or do things completely out of order.
Exploring the hub areas, which are broken up into four sections, is a distraction from the main quest but a delightful one. With no waypoints to clutter my screen or lead me, exploring felt organic, and driven by natural intrigue and my constant curiosity to see what was around every corner of the bustling Psychonauts HQ, or to climb to the top of the trees in the woodsy Questionable Area. I was often completely sidetracked finding PSI Cards, scavenger hunt items, or even just hearing Raz’s commentary on the environments around him.
Hub areas all felt thoughtfully designed and tailored to incentivize natural exploration, with identifiable characteristics that made it a breeze to navigate. I never once had to use a map through the many sprawling open areas, nor was I ever lost or confused as to where I was–a testament to the game’s distinct art direction. Exploring and wandering around is a standout highlight, and a lot of that is owed to characters you meet along the way.
Whether it was one of the other interns, like Sam Boole making questionable pancakes in the Lumberjack Diner, or the lonely obnoxious receptionist at the Psychoisolation chamber, there’s never a wasted line or interaction. Psychonauts 2 is bursting with a diverse cast of characters, with representation that deserves to be held on a pedestal.
Every interaction deepened the world, and the introduction to Raz’s gypsy circus family, the Aquatos, is the cherry on top. Meeting other members of his family and getting more time to talk to his father gives rewarding context to Raz’s past, and the family that was relegated to murmurs in the previous game. Chatting with his family is charmingly relatable–even embarrassing at times (as having your gypsy circus family crash your time at a psychic secret organization should be).
Additionally, each area is given exuberant life thanks to composer Peter McConnel’s musical diversity, hitting tones of jazzy mystery in parts of the Motherlobe, while exploring a campfire-fueled bluegrass jig in the Questionable Area. Still, McConnell subtly inserts interlacing melodies throughout, making it all cohesive and whole, despite the many different styles on display.
Gallery
The game packs a lot in its 15-hour runtime, but the result is something that feels carefully considered, tailored, and deliberate in everything it gave me, from the story to its gameplay to its exploration to, of course, its writing. No two levels were the same, each bursting with imagination, whether it was climbing a lighthouse entirely made up of strands of hair, or the constant reimagining of level design based on a character’s psyche–the variety never ceased to inspire me.
After the credits rolled, I sat satisfied, having gone on a roller coaster of unhinged creativity, emotional storytelling, and unforgettable characters I hope to see again in the future. During my time, I grew attached to every character, and I knew it’d be hard to move on from its world, which is why I was very thankful to see the world remained open to explore, with characters to talk to, and new conversations to be had after the main story had concluded.
On the surface, Psychonauts 2 is an engaging, ambitious, honed-in take on colorful 3D platformers. However, the most rewarding aspect hasn’t just been mastering its platforms or combat, but peeling back the layers to see what’s beneath it; to take a closer look at its characters, the depth of their struggles, fears, and regrets, all of which serve as the game’s foundation. It’s an emotional, hilarious, and, at times, devastating story, but a story about forgiveness and second chances. It’s an astonishing achievement in nearly every regard and the quintessential display of Double Fine’s mastery in story, gameplay, and distinct direction, making it the studio’s best game to date.
Netflix’s live-action version of the hit anime series Cowboy Bebop will be arriving on the streaming service on November 19. With this announcement of the premiere date, Netflix has released images from the upcoming show as well, and they look surprisingly good, which is refreshing as Netflix’s history with live-action adaptations of anime series has been lackluster.
The look of an adaptation of an anime series is exceptionally important, and it looks like Cowboy Bebop has nailed it. Below, you can see the first images of Spike, played by John Cho (Searching). He has his signature blue suit with yellow shirt underneath, and yes, the headphones are there as well. Check out Cho and the rest of the cast below.
Gallery
The original anime followed a group of bounty hunters who are “on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals,” reads the official synopsis. “They’ll even save the world…for the right price.”
Cowboy Bebop has an impressive cast. In addition to Cho as Spike, it stars Mustafa Shakir (Luke Cage) as Jet Black, Danielle Pineda (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) as Faye Valentine, Alex Hassell (The Boys) as Vicious, Geoff Stults (12 Strong) as Chalmers, Tamara Tunie (Better Call Saul) as Ana, Mason Alexander Park (Acting for a Cause) as Gren, Rachel House (Thor Ragnarok) as Mao, Ann Truong (Romper Stomper) as Shin, and Hoa Xuande (Top of the Lake) as Lin.
The original anime ran in Japan for 26 episodes in 1998. In 2001, the series debuted on Adult Swim, and in the summer of 2001, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie was released. The upcoming show will also feature new music from the anime’s original composer, Yoko Kanno.
Sixteen years ago, Psychonauts made a cartoonish, comically lopsided world feel believable and weighted thanks to its loveable characters and earnest storytelling. Now, Psychonauts 2 builds upon this foundation to reach ambitious new heights, while equally deepening its roots to impressive depths. It takes already well-realized characters and makes them more complex, even if that means traveling to the darker corners of their minds.
It’s a dazzling display of Double Fine’s signature humor and creativity, but underneath the whimsical, action-platformer is a game about choices and forgiveness. Psychonauts 2 does more than just fill the shoes of its beloved predecessor, it sets itself apart as a classic in its own right.
Click To Unmute
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Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
After a snappy catch-up for newcomers, the story picks up only days after the first game, and moments after the VR sequel-interlude Psychonauts in the Rhombus Of Ruin. 10-year-old psychic-prodigy Razputin Aquato (you) has saved the leader of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto, from the grips of dentist/amatuer brain surgeon Dr. Loboto.
In an effort to discover who hired Dr. Loboto to kidnap Truman, Raz and the other Psychonaut agents–Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, and Coach Oleander–enter Loboto’s mind, only to uncover a far more menacing antagonist has been pulling Loboto’s strings: Maligula–a great enemy of the Psychonauts. Maligula was assumed dead after a great battle that, tragically, also left one of the Psychonauts’ most acclaimed members, Ford Cruller, traumatically scarred and mentally broken. This leads the Psychonauts to believe there is a mole within their operation, and in order to unpack the mysterious return of Maligula, Raz must enter the minds of the Psychic 6, the founders of the Psychonauts, to piece together a dark, hidden truth.
What unravels is an unexpected turn of events, with a story constructed and driven by the misjudged choices of its characters; it’s a heady theme that remains constant, and is hammered home through Raz’s own mistakes early in the game. Raz learns a few new abilities, one being Mental Connection. This can be used to interconnect a person’s thoughts, which creates new forms of traversal for the player, and can even be used to completely change a character’s mind. However, when Raz uses it to completely change the view of a mind he inhabits for his own benefit, he is forced to reckon with the consequences and carry the burdens of them.
The narrative events are intertwined with a spectacle of platforming and action. As I jumped, climbed, and punched through the inner mind of this character, I was able to see it from two different perspectives: as it once was, and then how dramatically morphed it had become based on Raz’s mistake. The level I was once familiar with was re-contextualized through a completely different lens to reflect the changed mind.
Everything about Psychonauts 2, from its environments, to its history, the Psychonauts themselves, its enemies, and mechanics, all work in tandem and feel wholly realized. It feels rich and dense with detail, and it’s all defined by its eclectic cast of characters. It’s bewildering to step back and take it all in at times, but thankfully its quirky and colorful world makes it as disarming as it a joy to ingest.
As you bounce through the minds of characters, each level’s concepts and artistic direction is reflective of the mind in which it takes place, often putting mental conditions like addiction, PTSD, and anxiety front-and-center in a lighthearted manner that doesn’t demean them, but rather treats them in an approachable and empathetic way.
One level in particular features depressing themes and undertones of excessive drinking as a design motif. The level takes place on a big open sea to sail across, with sandy islands to visit and a beautiful clear sky overhead. The moment I stopped to take it in, however, I realized the trees were shaped like bottles, and platforms were beer cans, and the rails I grinded on were drinking straws. Suddenly, the bright colorful world I gleefully jumped through was instilled with a very different and serious tone–one that could go missed if I didn’t stop to take it in.
It was all nuanced, balanced with bizarre and quirky conversations, but bookended with a serious look at someone’s inner struggles, with the intent of better understanding who they are as a person, and why. With every twist and turn, the level added a completely new layer to the mystery of Maligula and the past of the Psychic 6, leading to some unpredictable revelations.
[Psychonauts 2 is] a dazzling display of Double Fine’s signature humor and creativity, but underneath the whimsical, action-platformer is a game about choices and forgiveness
While its representation of mental conditions may be complex, engaging with the game isn’t and Psychonauts 2 is truly a joy to play, with its action and platforming returning from the first game, albeit much more fine-tuned and streamlined. Many abilities from the original will be familiar to returning players: Telekinesis, PSI Blast, Pyrokinesis, and Levitation, all of which have been given a welcome overhaul.
Telekinesis, for example, now operates more closely to how it functions in Remedy Entertainment’s Control, where items nearby will automatically come to you, making it easy to launch them at an enemy; Pyrokinesis forms an area-of-attack bubble to better visualize its execution; and PSI Blast has a cooldown rather than having to collect ammo. All of these quality-of-life improvements make Psychonauts 2’s combat feel tight and refined, especially with the addition of a dedicated dodge button.
Abilities can be upgraded by ranking up, which itself is done by collecting things: Nuggets Of Wisdom, Figments of Imagination, or PSI Cards. Thankfully, collecting doesn’t come off as a chore–it often comes naturally in the exploration of the level, making it feel more like a natural progression. If you opt to seek out 100% of collectibles, it certainly does lean into the menial design philosophy from collect-a-thons of yesteryear, but the optional nature of this meant it was never a bother and didn’t stunt my progression in any way.
Psychonauts 2 features mainstay enemies like the Censors (who remain damage sponges), but it also introduces an array of new enemies like Regrets–flying creatures that carry a heavy weight to drop on you. With the introduction of each new enemy, I was conditioned to change my playing style, often switching out abilities to control the onslaught. Out of the eight abilities, you can have four at a time assigned to the shoulder buttons. It was a bit overwhelming at times to occasionally reassign all my abilities to handle certain enemies, but after some time, it became intuitive to assign a rotation of powers. Thankfully, the cadence of learning new abilities is well-paced throughout the game, giving me enough time with each one to fully understand their use.
Most impressive is Double Fine’s interlacing of conceptual design with its enemies–like using feelings of regret, doubt, and enabling–as literal interpretations for enemy types, which is an example of how Psychonauts 2 harmonizes serious concepts with whimsical delivery to present a cohesive and impactful whole.
But no matter how good its level design is, or how imaginative its concepts get, some of the level-concluding boss fights fail to reach the same heights. Some are better than others–the vomiting hand puppets from Compton’s cooking level are a standout fight–but not all of them stick the landing. More often than not, fights involve a towering enemy throwing projectiles at you while you fend off hordes of enemies, and the formula rarely changes. Mechanically they’re fine, but can be rather cliche in comparison to its otherwise inspired levels.
Thankfully, even after some less-than-favorable conclusions to these levels, what then awaits is a welcome degree of freedom and exploration. Between each level, I was given the chance to explore the world, tackle levels at my own pace, talk to its many characters, or do things completely out of order.
Exploring the hub areas, which are broken up into four sections, is a distraction from the main quest but a delightful one. With no waypoints to clutter my screen or lead me, exploring felt organic, and driven by natural intrigue and my constant curiosity to see what was around every corner of the bustling Psychonauts HQ, or to climb to the top of the trees in the woodsy Questionable Area. I was often completely sidetracked finding PSI Cards, scavenger hunt items, or even just hearing Raz’s commentary on the environments around him.
Hub areas all felt thoughtfully designed and tailored to incentivize natural exploration, with identifiable characteristics that made it a breeze to navigate. I never once had to use a map through the many sprawling open areas, nor was I ever lost or confused as to where I was–a testament to the game’s distinct art direction. Exploring and wandering around is a standout highlight, and a lot of that is owed to characters you meet along the way.
Whether it was one of the other interns, like Sam Boole making questionable pancakes in the Lumberjack Diner, or the lonely obnoxious receptionist at the Psychoisolation chamber, there’s never a wasted line or interaction. Psychonauts 2 is bursting with a diverse cast of characters, with representation that deserves to be held on a pedestal.
Every interaction deepened the world, and the introduction to Raz’s gypsy circus family, the Aquatos, is the cherry on top. Meeting other members of his family and getting more time to talk to his father gives rewarding context to Raz’s past, and the family that was relegated to murmurs in the previous game. Chatting with his family is charmingly relatable–even embarrassing at times (as having your gypsy circus family crash your time at a psychic secret organization should be).
Additionally, each area is given exuberant life thanks to composer Peter McConnel’s musical diversity, hitting tones of jazzy mystery in parts of the Motherlobe, while exploring a campfire-fueled bluegrass jig in the Questionable Area. Still, McConnell subtly inserts interlacing melodies throughout, making it all cohesive and whole, despite the many different styles on display.
Gallery
The game packs a lot in its 15-hour runtime, but the result is something that feels carefully considered, tailored, and deliberate in everything it gave me, from the story to its gameplay to its exploration to, of course, its writing. No two levels were the same, each bursting with imagination, whether it was climbing a lighthouse entirely made up of strands of hair, or the constant reimagining of level design based on a character’s psyche–the variety never ceased to inspire me.
After the credits rolled, I sat satisfied, having gone on a roller coaster of unhinged creativity, emotional storytelling, and unforgettable characters I hope to see again in the future. During my time, I grew attached to every character, and I knew it’d be hard to move on from its world, which is why I was very thankful to see the world remained open to explore, with characters to talk to, and new conversations to be had after the main story had concluded.
On the surface, Psychonauts 2 is an engaging, ambitious, honed-in take on colorful 3D platformers. However, the most rewarding aspect hasn’t just been mastering its platforms or combat, but peeling back the layers to see what’s beneath it; to take a closer look at its characters, the depth of their struggles, fears, and regrets, all of which serve as the game’s foundation. It’s an emotional, hilarious, and, at times, devastating story, but a story about forgiveness and second chances. It’s an astonishing achievement in nearly every regard and the quintessential display of Double Fine’s mastery in story, gameplay, and distinct direction, making it the studio’s best game to date.
Opening with its red-cloaked heroine calmly floating to shore on a palm leaf canoe and the tinkling of a delicate piano melody, Hoa sustains a chilled-out vibe for almost the entirety of its two-hour duration. This simple puzzle-platformer pairs the stunning, hand-painted looks of a Studio Ghibli film with a modest set of game mechanics to create a gentle journey through nature that never wears out its welcome.
Inspired by Vietnamese mythology, Hoa’s minimalist story revolves around the titular fairy who’s sent away from her tribe as an infant after an unexplained but clearly tragic event. The adventure begins with the pint-sized Hoa’s return to her homeland, where she must use her magical powers to revitalise the terrain and its inhabitants. This nurturing of flora and fauna has satisfyingly practical effects on the gameplay; sunflowers bloom as Hoa moves near to create platforms out of petals, while rhino beetles can be beckoned closer to push heavy obstacles on her behalf.
It’s all very intuitive, to the point that Hoa thankfully has no need for an on-screen interface of any sort to obscure your view of its gorgeous world. Its puzzle design is similarly uncluttered and perhaps even a touch oversimplified, with only a couple of late-game (used loosely in a two-hour game) mechanisms perplexing enough to give me pause. As far as brainteasers go, Hoa lags a long way behind the likes of Limbo and Little Nightmares II, but that at least allowed me to relax and enjoy the serenity that comes from catching rides from flying ladybugs through a forest canopy and exploring inky underwater depths by the glowing light of a school of jellyfish.
Puzzle Peace
While there are enemies of sorts to be found in Hoa, there are no death states or damage to be suffered of any kind. Mechanical spiders can lash out at Hoa, but the worst they can do is knock her back on her heels a few paces. There are also giant creatures to encounter along the way like a moss-covered rock monster and a towering octopus. These may have been threatening bosses in a lot of other games, but here they’re friends rather than foes; the chilled-out chieftains of each habitat that task you with hunting down butterflies in exchange for clearing a path forward.
There is one action-heavy chase sequence late in the adventure, with Hoa dodging fiery blasts and making last-minute leaps along a path of heaving machinery, but it’s a cutscene designed to inject some drama into Hoa’s story rather than a tricky playable platforming section to intentionally induce stress. For the most part Hoa is like a warm bubble bath for your brain, with almost every element of its experience engineered to soothe. Hoa leaves a small shower of glowing pixie dust with each double-jump twirl, for example, while flowery vines softly knock together like wooden wind chimes when she swings on them. Hoa will warm your heart but it won’t make it beat any faster – in fact the only arrhythmic effect its beauty creates is on the occasionally stuttering framerate.
Hoa is like a warm bubble bath for your brain.
There are some standout moments in Hoa, like stumbling upon a wrestling arena full of rhino beetles or scaling a maze made out of the glistening threads of a spider’s web, but it’s the story’s climax that I found to be the most memorable. It’s here that the colour palette shifts to a stark black and white and you get to play through a series of remixed elements from the previous stages, with interesting wrinkles like mirrored landscapes and rotating environments that make the puzzle-platforming substantially more involved. The sudden surge of inventiveness in this final fifteen minute stretch made me wish that Hoa could have gone on a little longer.
If not longer, then I at least wish there were some secrets to find. Hoa earns a few movement upgrades as you progress, but despite the fact that a hovering ability allows you to reach some previously inaccessible areas off the main path, there’s nothing to find when you get there. Hoa is a mostly linear adventure, which is a shame because it’s environments are so spellbinding that I would have relished some more incentives to explore them.
It may have been 16 years since the first Psychonauts came out for us, but for Raz and his friends it’s only been a couple days. Psychonauts 2 picks up right where the 2005 original (and 2017 VR follow-up The Rhombus of Ruin) left off, and it does so in a way that feels fresh and modern while still maintaining everything that made its predecessor so special – from its strange but lovable characters to the fantastical mental worlds inside their heads. Sure, it’s brought a little bit of that clunky mid-2000s platforming along with it too, but even with a few rough edges Psychonauts 2 is pretty much everything I could have hoped for from this long-awaited sequel.
Those who understandably haven’t played a 16-year old platformer and its short VR-exclusive follow-up will have to get caught up through a charming animated recap at the start of this new adventure. It does an entertaining job of providing the important info needed to make Psychonauts 2 work well enough as a standalone story, one that explores both Raz’s family and the history of the Psychonauts as a whole far more than the specific events of Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. That said, this sequel is also littered with important callbacks, exciting character reunions, fun Easter eggs, and a whole lot of juicy backstory that made it all hit harder for me as a long-time fan.
Picking up just the day after Rhombus of Ruin (itself set only a day after Psychonauts), your newly deputized 10-year-old hero Razputin Aquato arrives at the Motherlobe, the headquarters of the psychic spy organization known as the Psychonauts, to learn he hasn’t actually been made a full agent, just an intern. As such, he’s got some more training to do to truly earn his stripes, this time while running around the facilities of the Motherlobe and the wooded area surrounding it. Of course, as with the first game (and without any spoilers), things quickly escalate from there into an excellent story that’s simultaneously high-stakes and deeply personal.
Developer Double Fine has done a phenomenal job of expanding the Psychonauts universe while recapturing that signature “psychic James Bond goes to summer camp” vibe of the original. You may start off in a high-tech spy base, but it isn’t long before you’re allowed outside and given free reign to roam its lakeside exterior, hidden caves, and a nearby campground full of gorgeously stylized redwood trees. That outdoor openness means Psychonauts 2 still offers a heaping helping of Whispering Rock’s folksy feel alongside the fancier interior of the Motherlobe, but it never relies on references or nostalgia alone to impress either. And of course, all these locations are still dotted with collectibles to find, tricky side tasks to hunt down (including another item scavenger hunt), and amusing characters to talk to.
Every character is unique, well-written, and a joy to get to know.
The original’s cast of quirky campers is replaced by three slightly smaller groups here: the adult agents of the Psychonauts, the charismatic teenage members of the intern program that eventually become Raz’s friends, and the entire Aquato family camping out in the nearby woods. Every single character in Psychonauts 2 is delightfully unique, incredibly well-written and voiced, and just an absolute joy to get to know. The facial animations can occasionally look awkward and stiff outside of the more tailored cutscenes, but it’s hard to overstate how fun it is to simply explore these platforming playgrounds and talk to people.
The Aquato family, in particular, is a true highlight of this sequel, giving Raz far more depth and shining a different light on the events of the first game. The fact that Raz abandoned them to join the Psychonauts isn’t really addressed much in the original, but here you get to learn how each of his relatives feel about what happened. That could be his loving mother Donatella, who is just glad he’s safe, his older brother Dion, still bitter that Raz left them (which is fair, given it’s only been a few days), or his older sister Frazie, herself struggling with a secret spurred by his departure. Meeting all these characters and completing small activities like setting up the family circus tent with them is a treat, and the same can be said for just about everyone else Raz meets.
The real world is only half what you get to explore, however, and Psychonauts 2 manages to deliver both physically and mentally. While you aren’t diving into every brain you see (that would be rude), the real meat of the platforming and combat takes place inside the psychic worlds of many of the more troubled characters you meet. And much like the people who house them, those brains and the reflections of their owners’ psyche that they represent are wonderfully creative and consistently surprising across the board.
Levels tend to follow a bit of a formulaic structure, with most revolving around getting three of some MacGuffin before reaching a flashy boss fight with a similar three-hit pattern. That would hurt their novelty if it weren’t for the fact that their awesome art styles, top-notch music, and diverse gameplay mechanics are so different that each one is still a refreshing delight. One moment you might be playing life-size pachinko in a neon hospital casino, while the next you’re cooking anthropomorphic food in a timed gameshow, and after that you’re entering a library book and running across its words in 2D. There isn’t really a bad world among the roughly dozen or so you’ll explore, with a particular standout being a psychedelic music-themed stage where you’re accompanied by a hilarious ball of light voiced by Jack Black.
Platforming and combat are consistently fun, if still a little clunky at times.
These worlds also distinguish themselves from the originals’ mental levels by tying more directly into the story across the board. I might remember Psychonauts’s Milk Man and Bonaparte board game stages fondly, but completing those ultimately meant little more than opening a door, story-wise. In contrast, every single one of Psychonauts 2’s levels are tied not just into the psyche of their host character, but to the plot as a whole. Early on, Raz is even forced to reckon with the responsibility of being able to enter someone’s mind and change their mental state, an important conversation that the first game never really had. Moments like this got me more invested in every stage, even the goofier among them.
Both the platforming and combat have also been expanded to be deeper than those of its predecessor, and all of Raz’s animations are brimming with personality. Moving, jumping, and attacking are generally responsive and satisfying, but they can also be a little clunky at times. That might mean classic 3D platforming issues, like not quite knowing if you’ll grab that bar you’re jumping for, or little fighting idiosyncrasies such as enemies not always always responding to attacks like you’d expect. None of these irritations are so bad that I ever stopped having fun, especially since checkpoints are largely forgiving when something does go unexpectedly wrong, but Psychonauts 2 definitely doesn’t have quite the same level of polish as a fellow 2021 action-platformer like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, either.
That all said, both the mental and real worlds are flush with creative jungle gyms to hop your way around. In classic Psychonauts fashion, they’re full of trapeze bars to swing from, trampolines to jump on, and rails to grind – and those are all fun to navigate whether you’re in the treetops of the real world or over the dream-like swamp of someone’s psyche. While most of the mental levels are fairly linear, Psychonauts 2 also loosens the reins occasionally too, presenting multiple paths or problems and letting you decide which order to tackle them (or potentially which to ignore, if you’re more interested in hunting for its plentiful secrets first).
Combat itself is a mix of mashy brawling and more nuanced strategy, depending on the enemies in front of you. This sequel does a great job of expanding the roster of enemies you’ll face, quickly growing past the original’s Censor baddies with flying Regrets that can be shot out the sky, goopy Doubts that will muck up your movement and need to be burned, lightning-fast Panic Attacks that have to be slowed down to be hit, and plenty more. Dodging and spamming attacks can still be effective at times, but I like that most mental adversaries have a specific ability designed to answer them, pushing me to be nimble on the battlefield and constantly swap my strategies depending on what I was fighting. It’s not trying to be Devil May Cry or anything, but that ever-increasing variety throughout the campaign certainly kept combat entertaining.
Upgrades offer some simple but satisfying Raz customization.
However, that need to change up your attacks frequently also makes one small shortcoming that tagged along from the original a little more obvious: only being able to equip four of your eventual eight psychic abilities at once, one of which is the all but essential Levitation that you’ll frequently use to sprint and hover-jump. It’s silly that Levitation isn’t always accessible, feeling less like swapping weapons in other games and more like if your basic punch took up an ability slot too. It’s not hard to pause time and change abilities on the fly, but that can get a little obnoxious in the later encounters that cleverly throw multiple enemy types at you at once.
The abilities are all good fun to use at least, with returning powers like Telekinesis being made into a more practical combat tool and impressive new options replacing the less interesting ones of the original. One of my favorite new additions was the Mental Connection ability that lets you hop between points in the air while platforming or pull enemies toward you in combat, as well as the Archetype power that creates an adorable paper version of Raz to assist him. (A cute Easter egg with the Archetype being its voice, provided by Rikki Simons to compliment Raz’s already top-notch performance from Richard Horvitz, a duo that played a similar pair as Gir and Zim, respectively, in the Nickelodeon cartoon show Invader Zim.)
Psychonauts 2 also deepens character progression in interesting but slightly uneven ways. Increasing Raz’s rank by grabbing certain collectibles will provide points you can use to improve his abilities permanently, while the Psitanium currency can be spent on equippable pins to modify them further. The rank upgrades offer a nice bit of simple but satisfying personalization to how you level Raz, giving you control of the order you unlock extras like a dodge attack for your punches or a charge shot for your PSI Blast. Meanwhile pins can grant either sillier or more unique effects, from altering the color of your Levitation ball to changing your PSI Blast from raw damage to a stun effect… assuming you can afford the ones you want.
Simply put, the economy here is a little bit out of whack. You get Psitanium slowly (and trust me, I was trying to collect it), and have to pay to upgrade how much of it you can hold, pay for pricey healing items, and constantly pay for PSI Cores to actually use the rank-increasing PSI cards you find. You can only equip three pins at a time, too, but I couldn’t afford the three pins I really wanted until pretty much the very end of the story anyway. It also feels odd that those three slots are shared between practical pins that can do things like up your damage and jokier options like making Raz dance while standing still. There are certainly cool customization choices scattered throughout this system, I just wish it were more generous so I could have taken advantage of that variety sooner.
Thankfully, the door is left wide open for the completionists who want to buy every single pin or find every last secret in a world covered in them. While completing most of the side activities and hunting down collectibles to a degree I would call “thorough but not obsessive,” it took me roughly 13 hours to reach the credits – and I still have more to find. Without spoilers, you’re given the freedom to finish up anything you might have missed after completing the main story, and some entertaining new conversations even open up with a few characters. That meant the first thing I wanted to do after beating Psychonauts 2 was keep playing.
The Simpsons’ TV set has been brought to life by way of a miniature 3D-printed replica, which imitates the titular family’s animated version.
A Twitter user brought the classic Simpsons screen to the screens of our many devices this morning by sharing a Reddit post that details the inner workings of the incredible replica, designed and printed by u/buba447. The accompanying video demonstrates the capabilities of the TV set, which “plays the first 11 seasons at random,” and has working knobs too.
A Redditor has 3D printed a working replica of the Simpsons’ TV set.
It plays the first 11 seasons at random. The knobs work too!
“Inside is a raspberry pi zero with a 32gb and card. The Pi is connected to a 640×480 tft display. The Pi is running Jessie Lite” pic.twitter.com/LSAJbrygD5
The creator revealed that the TV itself and all of its parts were designed in Fusion 360 and then printed on an Ender 3 Pro. “Inside is a raspberry pi zero with a 32gb and card. The pi is connected to a 640×480 tft display,” the Redditor explained, sharing more information about the tech inside the 3D-printed model. “The pi is running Jessie Lite.”
“The episodes were all compressed specifically for the screen and loaded onto the SD card,” they added in the post, which has received more than 80,000 upvotes. “When the Pi is powered up, through the USB port on the back of the tv, it starts playing episodes at random. When [an] episode ends the next is randomly selected.”
The video shows the TV functioning, with the top knob turning the screen on and off while also muting the volume, and the turning of the bottom knob to raise and lower the volume on the episode as it plays on-screen. The creator explained that the first button has been wired up to GPIO while the second is a POT that is connected to a speaker inside the model.
If you don’t have a replica of The Simpsons TV set, then you may have to opt for a more traditional way to watch episodes of the long-running animated series. Fox has already renewed The Simpsons for seasons 33 and 34, ensuring the series will remain on the air until at least 2023 with lots of new episodes, including one with “wall-to-wall music.”
Twitch streamers are organizing a boycott of the platform in protest at hate raids that have been affecting marginalized streamers across the site for some time now, and inaction from Twitch on preventing them.
On September 1, a number of streamers are set to go on strike across the platform in a bid to push Twitch to do more about hate raids and hate speech directed towards various marginalized streamers on the platform. The protest is being organized by streamers Rek It Raven, LuciaEverBlack, and Shineypen under the hashtag #ADayOffTwitch.
News of the protest follows the #TwitchDoBetter campaign which was originally set up by Rek It Raven to encourage Twitch to act quickly after a number of marginalized streamers were being targeted by hate raids on the platform. Whilst Twitch did announce a number of measures it is taking to better protect its streamers, including building channel-level ban evasion detection, the problem seems to be persisting on the platform. A number of streamers still seem to be on the receiving end of bots and users who inundate their streams with hateful slurs.
Since initially responding to the #TwitchDoBetter campaign on Twitter in early August, the platform has tried to reassure streamers that it is continuing to work hard to mitigate the issues. The company tweeted on August 20, “No one should have to experience malicious and hateful attacks based on who they are or what they stand for. This is not the community we want on Twitch, and we want you to know we are working hard to make Twitch a safer place for creators.”
While Twitch continues to work on its channel-level ban evasion detection and account improvements to combat hate speech and malicious behavior, the company has asked streamers to continue to report incidents the attacks in the meantime. Despite its assurances, many streamers feel that Twitch hasn’t acted effectively nor quickly enough to combat the hateful attacks being made on the platform.
In the meantime, please keep reporting these egregious attacks. It helps us identify and remove bad actors and their networks, and update tools as behaviors evolve. These changes may not be visible, but we are making them daily.
A number of streamers have shown solidarity with the #ADayOffTwitch protest. Rek It Raven’s Tweet about the protest has gained over 7000 likes on Twitter, and a Discord server acting as a safe space for those hoping to speak out about hate raids has also been set up. Adventure Zone and MBMBaM cohost Travis McElroy is just one of many who have shown their support for the protest. McElroy concluded that he too would not be accessing the streaming platform on September 1.
— Lord Travis McElroy, The Internet’s Best Friend (@travismcelroy) August 21, 2021
Twitch has not confirmed a specific date for the release of its latest set of improvements that it hopes will curb hateful content on the platform. Those involved within the protest will be hoping that the increased pressure will encourage Twitch to make releasing its additional tools and providing relief for its creators a top priority.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
A movie based on the DC character Black Canary is the works. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jurnee Smollett will reprise the role she played in last year’s movie Birds of Prey.
The Black Canary movie is in “early development” for a release on Warner’s streaming platform HBO Max. It’s being written by Misha Green, who was the showrunner and main writer on HBO’s Lovecraft Country, which also featured Smollett in the cast. Green is also set to co-write and direct the sequel to Tomb Raider. No further details about Black Canary are available so far.
Birds of Prey was released in February last year. While it was seen as a box office disappointment at the time, the pandemic and subsequent closure of theaters only a few weeks later meant that it was ultimately one of 2020’s most successful movies. Black Canary is the alter ego of Dinah Lance, a reluctant superpowered vigilante who possesses hypersonic screams.
Black Canary is one of several DC projects in development at HBO Max. It was recently reported that Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña will star in a Blue Beetle film, while the JJ Abrams-produced Batgirl movie recent cast In the Heights star Leslie Grace in the lead role of Barbara Gordon. The Suicide Squad spin-off show Peacemaker and the Gotham City PD series are both expected in 2022, and Abrams is also producing a Zatanna movie, which will be written by Promising Young Woman director Emerald Fennell, and a new John Constantine show.
For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows we know about.
