Before seeing the Child’s Play reboot movie in theaters, get ready to step into the world of the film and be terrorized by Chucky himself, in a new virtual reality experience. Child’s Play VR launches on June 12 and traps users in Zedmart–a store featured heavily in the film–after dark, as a demented Chucky doll roams the aisles looking for his next victim.
“From the beginning of this partnership with Orion, the goal with Child’s Play VR was to bring part of this insanely fun and creepy movie to life in a way that has never been done before,” Child’s Play VR director Dan Clifton, founder of branded content company Top Right Corner, explained in a press release. “After getting an early look at the script and some of the dailies, the idea was always primal: put the audience on Chucky’s home turf in a place where they will be uncomfortable. In the film, that’s represented by Zedmart, a discount catch-all everything store where much of the action takes place.”
According to Clifton, the Zedmart the experience is set in is a replica of the one seen in the film, “down to the millimeter.” To further drop users into the world of the movie, elements of the film’s new score from Bear McCreary have also been added to the game.
This first release of Child’s Play VR is an “on the rails” experience, with a set path through the Zedmart, though users will have a 360-degree point of view. However, Clifton hinted that there could be an even bigger experience coming eventually. “There’s also a version where in the future we take the entire Zedmart store and allow users to walk around and interact with each item, even a mischievous small doll trying to attack you,” he teased.
Child’s Play VR is compatible with the devices below and will be available for you to play on June 12. The Child’s Play movie hits theaters on June 21.
Techland’s Dying Light was a stellar blend of freerunning traversal with satisfying, brutal combat. In your fight to survive against hostile humans and the infected, the overrun city of Harran was your playground, and the open-world world zombie-game was at its best when it let you loose in its vast open areas. It offered up several different encounters to uncover, and a lot of these situations often resulted in a series of events that felt surprisingly dynamic and in-the-moment, presenting some of the game’s best sequences. With the sequel, Techland aims to lean in further with the follow-up Dying Light 2.
At E3 2019, we got to see an extended hands-off demo that focused on the conflict between two major factions. Though the concept of an open-world zombie-apocalypse experience letting you have the run of the city is very much intact, there’s now a greater emphasis on weaving those sandbox elements into the actual story.
Described as a “narrative sandbox,” Dying Light 2’s overall plot–centering on the story of infected survivor Aiden Caldwell–takes a more tangential approach when compared to the mostly linear plot in the original. The sequel takes place in a far more bleak and desperate setting as well, which the developers refer to as the “modern dark age.” Suffice it to say, things got a whole lot worse following the story in Harran, and now Dying Light 2’s location known as The City is likely the last major settlement on Earth. With little to no guns left, there’s a greater emphasis on scavenging items and crafting special weapons of your own. One of Dying Light 2’s more interesting weapons is a harpoon launcher that doubles as a makeshift club once your ammo is depleted.
In the live demo, set in District 2–one of seven unique areas in The City–we saw a questline between two rival factions fighting over control of a water pump facility. According to your quest-giver, the water pump is being controlled by a so-called tyrant named The Colonel, who resides in a heavily fortified pumping station in the outskirts of District 2. The developers chose to show off this section of the game because this event can lead to a significant turning point in the story. In keeping with the game’s new focus on the moment-to-moment actions, and based on the choices made, the flow of the plot will be changed irrevocably. According to the devs, Dying Light 2 will feature no manual saves, so every decision and action you make will be saved immediately after.
Like the original, Dying Light 2 is all about its traversal, combat, and survivalist gameplay. By collecting resources and scrap, you can build new items to increase your chances of survival. With your melee weapons and combat skills, you can pull off some slick maneuvers during a scrape against humans and the viral infected–such as a slow-mo dodge technique, allowing you to get behind a foe quickly. There’s also some enhanced parkour skills for player character Aidan to utilize, including wall-running, wall-jumping–a la Ninja Gaiden–long-jumps, and even grabbing enemies to break your fall. But in Dying Light 2, there’s a clear focus on blending these different branches of the game. During a fight with a heavy foe wielding an electrified sledgehammer, for example, you can use your grappling hook on the ceiling to use a swing-kick, stunning the opponent.
The particular questline we witnessed in the demo took many twists and turns, and there were several points where some key choices had to be made. After an extended chase sequence following a truck going through The City, you catch up to the driver and have to make a choice–kill him and steal his car, or coerce the driver to sneak you into The Colonel’s fortress. For the demo, we stuck with the latter; however, if you do the former, the developers stated you would not only have to find a different way into the fortress and face worse odds against the so-called tyrant.
As it turns out, you discover a thriving and mostly peaceful community once you enter The Colonel’s fortress. Inside you find the leader, who is more pragmatic and cordial than you were led to believe, even though Aiden killed some of his soldiers to get here. This sudden swerve creates a surprising moment conflict. Over the radio, your handler from the rival faction convinced that the only way to survive is to annex The Colonel’s compound–while the leader of the peaceful community attempts to persuade you to join his side. In the demo, we stuck with the plan and turned on the water pump, turning The Colonel’s faction against us permanently and inciting a war between the two groups. The result of this decision is not only a drastic change to your relationships, and also to the setting itself. By turning on the machine, you lower the water in one of the city’s flooded areas–opening access to a new place to explore. However, this also unearthed an evolved form of infected, one that has spikes protruding from its arms.
According to the developers, Dying Light 2 will require multiple playthroughs to see every branching path and world-changing event. And given how many choices there were to be made in this demo, I’d believe it. Watching all of this play out gave me a similar feeling to engaging with a classic role-playing game like Baldur’s Gate or the Fallout series, where minor encounters or critical decisions can irrevocably alter the flow of the story. That’s intentional, as the narrative designer of Dying Light 2 is Chris Avellone, who’s worked on games like Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment. Avellone spent time reworking the original game’s linear main narrative into a more choice-driven plot.
“What I liked about Dying Light 1, and this is very much a personal reaction, was that there was a big focus on the open-world,” said Avellone during a short interview after the demo. “You can run anywhere, go find loot, and fight anywhere. The sense of freedom was really well-done in the first game. The second thing that really stuck out for me was that co-op play is really difficult to do in this type of game, and the game really did it well. Players just want to be able to dive into the world and experience it, and that’s something that Dying Light provides really well.”
I was a big admirer of the original game, and it’s clear that the sequel is building upon what worked and pairing it with a more freeform narrative. Though we didn’t get a chance to see it, Dying Light 2 also features co-op play with up to four players, with guests joining in a host’s world and observing their storytelling choices. In this way, it’ll present an excellent opportunity for players to visit a drastically different version of the larger story. With a map that’s four times larger than the original, Dying Light 2 is a massive upgrade from the original, and I’m excited to see just how many twists, turns, and swerves will happen during the story.
For more info on Dying Light 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and other games we saw during E3 2019, be sure to visit GameSpot’s E3 Hub page.
One of 2020’s most anticipated movies is Dune, the new adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel, which will be directed by Blade Runner 2049’s Denis Villeneuve. It has now been reported that there is also a Dune TV show on the way, with Villeneuve set to direct the first episode.
According to Variety, the show will be titled Dune: The Sisterhood, and it is being developed for Warner’s upcoming streaming platform. The site states that the new show will focus on the Bene Gesserit, a mysterious order of women with incredible powers. The group have featured across Herbert’s Dune book series.
Villeneuve will direct the opening episode and executive produce the entire run. In a statement he said: “The Bene Gesserit have always been fascinating to me. Focusing a series around that powerful order of women seemed not only relevant and inspiring but a dynamic setting for the television series.”
Warner’s streaming platform does not yet have a confirmed launch date, but it is expected to appear later in 2019. According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, the service will bundle HBO, Cinemax, and a library of Warner movies and TV shows. Pricing is expected to be in the $16-to $17-a-month range.
Villeneuve’s Dune movie releases in November 2020. The film has assembled an impressive cast over the past few months, including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Oscar Isaac, and Stellan Skarsgård.
Dune was previously adapted for the big screen in 1984. The lavish movie was directed by David Lynch and starred Kyle McLachlan, Patrick Stewart, and Sting. While it was a commercial failure, it has since gained a cult reputation. The Sci-fi Channel (since re-branded Syfy) also produced a Dune mini-series in the early 2000s.
Now, Microsoft has shared a blog post on Xbox Wire from Brian Jarrard, community director at Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries. “Like last year’s reveal trailer, this latest look at Halo Infinite is powered by our new Slipspace Engine–an engine built from the ground up to realize our incredibly ambitious aspirations for the future of the franchise,” Jarrard writes. “Which yes, also includes the long-awaited return of split-screen support to the series.”
Halo has a legacy of featuring couch co-op in both the campaign and multiplayer portions of its games. Fans of the series were miffed when Halo 5: Guardians–the last entry in the series–neglected any sort of split-screen functionality, so the reaffirmation that Halo Infinite will support split-screen is welcome news. Most Halo players likely have fond memories of playing through each campaign with a friend by their side. Even if local co-op isn’t as prominent as it was prior to online gaming becoming so widespread, it’s fantastic that Halo Infinite is still sticking to the series’ roots in this regard.
Halo Infinite is set for release in Q4, 2020 for Xbox Project Scarlett, Xbox One, and PC.
Nintendo’s E3 Direct is scheduled to begin on today, June 11 at 9am PT/12pm ET/5pm UK (June 12 at 2am AET).
We already got a few Nintendo Switch surprises ahead of the Nintendo Direct, but if history is any indicator, there are plenty more to come. During its E3 2019 conference last night, Square Enix announced a remastered Final Fantasy VIII is coming to Switch (among other systems).
The Nintendo Switch era has see a fire relit under Nintendo. While some of its best games came out for the Wii U, the Wii U itself wasn’t a success. However, the Nintendo Switch has been a dominant force in gaming since its release, and many of those overlooked Wii U games made their way to the hybrid console. But it’s more than just ports of Wii U games. Nintendo’s core franchises, like Super Mario, Pokemon, and Metroid, are all on, or making their way to, the Nintendo Switch.
Activision Blizzard and developer Beenox announced that Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will release free seasonal content starting on July 3, 2019.
The post-launch content includes a Grand Prix, which will have new tracks, unlockable characters and karts, along with customization options.
Revealed on CTR TV by hosts Chick and Stew, players will unlock a new track with every Grand Prix. The first being Twilight Tour, which takes place in the middle east, driving from day to night.
New characters and items will be in the Pit Stop rotation of each Grand Prix, which include members of the Nitro Squad.
Iconic character from Crash Bandicoot, Tawna, will also officially be in the CTR world, as she will be an earnable character in the first Grand Prix.
Episode one is titled DC Outskirts – Expeditions, and a post on The Division 2’s official website has now detailed what the new Expeditions will feature and what exactly they entails.
Expeditions are free events that let players travel to unexplored locations to discover new narrative and gameplay opportunities. These are different from the episode’s new story missions set in Manning National Zoo and Camp White Oak, which is a tad convoluted but might speak to the breadth of content available in each episode. A full Expedition site–like the overgrown Kenly College–consists of three locations, each one having a specific theme and tone. As you complete one location, another will open up, with a treasure room full of rewards waiting for you once you’ve completed all three.
Massive Entertainment says each site will offer unique content and lore not found anywhere else, and it sounds like this DLC will expand upon The Division 2’s base gameplay mechanics, with environmental puzzles and unique boss mechanics to contend with. There’s an emphasis on exploration, too, as hidden secrets are waiting to be discovered by those who veer off the beaten path.
Once you’ve completed a full Expedition site, there’s an additional challenge layer called The Mastery System. This optional system introduces tailor-made challenges to each location, with players awarded a bronze, silver, or gold rating based on their performance in completing these optional challenges. The higher your rank, the more rewards you gain. This is graded on an individual level, as opposed to groups, so there’s a competitive element to progression as the quality of the payout is a direct result of your efforts.
On the face of it, the first episode of The Division 2’s DLC seems to be playing to the base game’s strengths, offering new locations to explore and exciting ways to unlock more of that sweet, sweet loot.
DC Outskirts – Expeditions is due out in July. Ubisoft will also be opening a Division 2 free trial starting June 13, and the game will be on sale through June 24. If you participate in the free weekend and then purchase the full game you’ll keep your progression.
