Space Marine II

 Blood for the blood god?

You don't always need that personal, intrinsic, connection to the source material in order to feel that crescendo in excitement around a new announcement. You just have to endure the endless references, the unsolicited loving call backs, the recommendations every other day. Not that I bemoan it all, that just shows someone out there really loves what they're talking about and if this property has fans that into it, then I can only assume it's worth at least a bit of the fuss. But then there's always that level of subdued fandom around Warhammer in particular, for which if a fan observes the slightest whiff of this topic they'll go on for hours, but they'll never go into their love unprompted. Perhaps that makes them one of the more polite nerd fandoms out there, but for me that made it hard to worm out what exactly it is that makes this universe so darn great. I want to join in on all the excitement guys; why won't you help me? Games, however, cannot by the very nature be quiet niche little projects going on in the corner out of my earshot; so I've made sure I'm receptive to hear all about this.

Warhammer has had something of a tumultuous history when it comes to adaptations from the tabletop to video games, or even decent support for the breadth of the tabletop source. Or rather, Warhammer 40k has those definers. Warhammer Fantasy was apparently so underloved that the owners, Game Workshop, turned around and rebooted that entire franchise. I don't even know how that works for a tabletop game! I mean, Wizards of the Coast don't even bother to wait until a new edition before making odd changes like subtly removing all references to evil races enslaving others for some quiet reason they refuse to clearly state. But Warhammer Fantasy must have been beyond saving if it needed a whole 'Age of Sigmar' resurrection. 40k, however, has been alive and kicking for a while now, but not quite always as 'lively' as some fans it to be. I may not be a fan myself but even I hear mumbles of certain factions going totally underrepresented, popular ignored corners of the lore and, most pertinently, a licence which is rented out more than the village bike.

For 40k alone there are VR Games, lane defence games, a virtual snakes-and-ladders style game, twin sticks, 2D side scrollers, a card game, an FPS looter-style game and 4X strategy titles out the arse- including one made by... Steel Wool Studios? ("Great going, Supersh*t. How'd ya f**k that one up so badly?") And this diversity is by no means part of some far-reaching unified mastermind plan for the franchise, it's the result of everyone and their mother being given a go at the franchise. Including mobile makers. Because nothing says "We respect our brand" like letting the leeches on mobile sink their claws into it. (I see that Game Workshop apprenticed under EA in the school for 'How to grow your brand as quickly and unscrupulously as possible'.) But with the scattergun spray of misses, the 'throw everything at the wall approach' did land a few significant successes; the famous Dawn of War series for one, and the less-famous-unless-you're-in-the-right-circles: Space Marine.

Now the original was a game about being a Space Marine, very straightforward, but the visceral, in-your-face, and exciting way that Relic realised that concept stood out from the crowd for a lot of fans. And that's because it was an adrenaline-fuelled third-person action game which sent players out with their Chainswords and machines guns to rip and tear through enemies in bloody dances of well-animated ultraviolence. Even just watching some snippets of gameplay it's very easy to see why a game like this would do so well for a franchise frequently dominated by more off-hand strategy style games. Sure, ordering a marine to slay a unit of Orks and watching them mop up the scene from the your detached, sky-high vantage point is just fine, but taking control of the man in blue, emblazoned, power armour and driving the response of each powerful swing with each satisfying press of a key is a whole other world entirely. And Relic must have pulled it off well for the amount of reverence that original regularly receives.

Of course, it only makes sense that Game Workshop would commission a sequel- 10 years later. (Was the original a commercial flop or something? What the hell?) And that exact sequel set off fireworks with it's debut during the game awards, even if what we saw contained just the slightest sliver of real, glorious, action. (A little bit of gameplay is better than none at all, afterall.) Even from an outsider I have to admit, seeing the Power Armoured Space Marines drop into a battlefield and carve their bloody path, even in a CG trailer, made for some striking visuals, and the trailer itself was exceptionally animated. If this is the sort of effort which is going into just the showmanship of presenting the game than it makes one wonder for what calibre of surprises that are being kept behind for the full game, waiting to blow fans away. (You've got to have some huge, impressive set pieces tucked away if you want to drum up hype in this day and age.)

Saber Interactive are the guys behind this one, and if that name rings a slight bell in the vast recess of your recollection only to go dead the moment you go and look, that's likely because they were responsible for the flash-in-the-pan World War Z game. Although according to what I can find on the Internet, it would appear they have an insanely eclectic history of helping out in other game franchises from Vampyr and the Ghostbusters Video game to Crysis and Halo. So don't let that one commercial flop fool you, these guys have experience and enduring talent behind their walls; no doubt. They may not be the original developers, but if you want to give the sequel to what is considered one of the best Warhammer games of all time to anyone, it's going to be someone which the sort of resume that Saber has. That doesn't make any guarantee, but it certainly tips the odds in the game's favour.

And the public seems to have heartedly accepted what they've seen thusfar, and it's not hard to see why. The gameplay shown off so far is about substantive enough to fit inside of a thimble, but it's all incredibly striking. Watching the player bat off swarming creatures like he's recreating the front cover of DOOM has an insane amount of movement all on the same screen at once, that one slightly lingering shot of the wider battle is buzzing with small loving details filling a huge portrait of indomitable scale, and there appears to be a jetpack. Not enough games out there have jetpacks, which makes me want them all the more whenever and wherever I see them. Even 'Warhammer-Community.Com' is confidant enough in the game as it is so far to call it 'More epic than it's predecessor in everyway'; which is quite the challenge when you acknowledge the insane reverence that predecessor still receives. I hope that confidence pays off for them.

As you've likely picked up from the way I'm talking about this, I would love to get into this sort of universe and it's games like these, rather than the hugely complex RTS 4X games, (I was always bad at RTS anyway, to be frank) which provide that open window. And when these games are fitted with this almost AAA gleam to them, that reflects very highly on the strength of the brand behind it. Does this mean that I'll someday get to a point where those terribly awkward 40K Youtube comedy skits I sometimes come across does anything other than make me cringe out of my skin? Probably not, you have to be reborn into the fandom to become that invested, but maybe once I've delved into this game and maybe given Dawn of War another shot (I know I'll need to) I'll be able to watch 'Astartes' again and appreciate it for more than just the outstanding animation and modelling work. So there's evidence of real time perspective conversion before your very eyes, proof of the transformative power of a damn good game announcement.

Evil West

 Red Dead Eternal

There's nothing more embarrassing, within this specific line of time killing that I like to partake in, I should specify, than completely forgetting the game that you're dealing with and thus misrepresenting it. And of course the only reason I bring that up here is because I fell for exactly that. During the Game Awards I remember perking up and to attention the second I heard the name of Evil West and going, "Oh, I remember this game, don't I?". "Yeah, sure I do! It's the really exciting little isometric horror-western title that was teased a while back. A real CRPG abased around weird and mind-binding horror fiction, how cool! I've been really excited about this one!" So many times I talk about how I'm going to keep up with a game and see what becomes of it, flaunting my omnipresence over the title like I'm some sort of Higher Being with a memory longer than a decaying chunk of half-digested brine- but it's a façade. A convenient lie I tell myself and you. Just like every part of the thorn strewn bush we wear over our heads and call 'confidence'. I actually totally forgot about that game's name (called 'Weird West', by the by) and totally believed this game to be it. (A humiliation I'll never deserve to live down.)

My first suspicion was aroused during this gameplay teaser trailer where I saw action and combat that was decidedly, how do I say this, not Isometric. Yeah, that's a bit of red flag, wouldn't you know? A little bit of a "What party did I wake up in again?" moment. Turns out that Evil West is a game that was also teased a little way back but which left a decidedly vague and non-sticking impression on little-old me. Which isn't to say that my experience was everyone else's because looking at the 'Focus Entertainment' Youtube upload of this Game Awards trailer, it would seem like others have this game's brand on their 'must-play' watchlist. And what is that brand? Simply put, badass western-fantasy with a horror-themed supernatural miasma hanging over the world. When I frame it like that it almost sounds a little like 'Remnant: From Ashes', but allow me to assure you that this is a game much more interested in the 'heavy electric guitar' side of that image than the 'solitary survivor struggling to survive the apocalypse' side. Think 'The Doom Slayer' rather than 'The Lone Wanderer'.

It certainly fits the style established by Flying Wild Hog, the studio behind this game, given their experience in making the spectacular Shadow Warrior revival as well as the sequel games that I haven't personally had the chance to play. Their peculiar brand of wild action has the excitement and speed of old-school FPS action titles in it's execution, where the action-to-second ratio seems to have been juggled across every level of the design process. Which isn't to say that their style is perfect, in fact one of my big problems with Shadow Warrior (ignoring the late game questionable level design and direction telegraphing) was the unrelenting nature of the action which got so heavy-on in it's wilder section that the levels started to feel oppressive rather than exploratory, and at that point it the game really has to rely on the strength of the world design to keep an embattled player feeling invested instead of drained. Luckily Shadow Warrior had mostly stellar level design, but then there was the first dock level, and the boat level, and please don't bring up the lime-green-hued sewer level. (I feel queasy even remembering the near hour I spent wondering that maze.)

So there's room to improve in their formula. (which for all I know they have improved. Again, haven't played their last two games.) I think Evil West is definitely cut from that same cloth to a degree, but shifting from first person to third person (nevermind the theme switch) comes with it a big change to the way the game is played. For one, Evil West has this tangible weight to it's player actions in the snippets of gameplay we've seen, as our demon slaying cowboy kicks and punches his way through meaty looking demons. The pace of the game is bought down a lot to in order to compliment this, almost reminding me of that unintentional Remnant comparison I made earlier. (Although that might just because of the matchingly garish wide brim Stetsons. Fashion Souls does not approve.) It's not quite modern DOOM levels of chunky in it's carnage, but I feel whispers of that soul dotted here and there throughout these gameplay snippets.

Steampunk electricity buzzes through this world in order to bridge that gap between Red Dead style Cowboy eccentricity and supernatural demonology, embodied in a somewhat stereotypical lighting crackling glove with diodes poking out the business side. The image that Evil West is trying to draw from comes with many clear and proud influences, from DOOM to a little bit of WARHAMMER, and the intended payoff is clear: They want to give the players the power fantasy of being the one man army killing machine that slays demons like a practical demigod. And does it with style, you can't forget the style. And to that end I think that Evil West is definitely on the right track, what with the fist/six-shooter combo combat, electric power attacks that seem to go as far as shortrange teleportation (going anime up in here) and, I may be wrong about this, but there appear to be Devil May Cry style enemy juggling as well. There's a couple of shots of enemies being suspended by a sixshooter volley, although that animation looks a tad canned, as well as a more traditional juggle of the player literally interrupting enemy fall animations to keep them locked in the attack loop. (I don't think you'll be doing any no-touching-the-ground challenges anytime soon though. Our hero seems a bit too heavy for that.)

If I have a concern at this point, and it leans off of much of what this game is trying to be, I'm not sure if there's a unique twist to it's personality quite yet. I can see it's many influences off it's face, those the game bears proudly, but beyond a main character 'dark Cowboy' aesthetic that I'm not exactly in love with, there's an aura of generic seeping out of the wallpaper right now. Of course, that which we've seen is infinitesimal, and I hasten to add that any game trailer worth it's salt is going to save the big surprises for the game itself, (do you hear that- 'Jedi: Fallen Order' trailer makers?) but even then I'm failing to see what this game brings to the table that I can't personally get elsewhere. The action looks good, and is animated very well, but I can't just help but yearn for something a bit faster, or a bit gorier, or just something that leans heavily to at least one extreme. A good chunk of people out there find no problem in that area and think it looks sick, however, so I guess it comes down to what you look for out of action games.

Something I keep coming back to in the debate of 'does this look too generic?' is the enemy designs and how little personality I'm feeling from them. Much of the trailer shows us these DOOM Imp-looking zombie creatures that just- they're fodder, I don't care much about them. And then you have the big winged something at the end of the trailer that doesn't excite nearly as much as a big dragon-esque thing really should, and typical bulbous flesh monsters pop up here and there. There's this rubbery pink colour palette that seems to feature on most enemies this game has revealed so far and brings this samey-ness to otherwise varied looking monster designs. I did see some swamp creatures with white ribbed-armour pieces that looked pretty cool and different, and the promotional art teases some werewolves, which are always fun to see how they materialise in new worlds, but with the promise of horror-themed enemies that don't have to play to the laws of nature- I mean the sky is the limit and I don't want to see that potential go to any sort of waste.

Evil West isn't exactly the sort of game that is readily blowing my socks off from it's mere inception and I could see myself easily forgetting it exists by the dawn of the new sun; but honestly that might just be the way that I'm wired. I can tell you right away that there are people who simply adore the wild west aesthetic and anything you throw at it, and whilst I may find ideas like 'Cowboys versus Aliens' cheap and hollow, others might flock to and drool all over it for that very cheap shlock I'm repelled by. (Of all the things I didn't expect from that movie, for it to bore me was a true system shock.) So Evil West has it's audience already, and given the pedigree of the studio I'm fairly certain they're not going to let those people down; and if the final game proves to have more to it than this teaser hints (more than Savanna and Swamplands at day and night) then it might just win me over too.

Plague Tale Requiem

 Kore ga Requiem da

One of my favourite feelings when it comes to the world of gaming is that of a pleasant surprise. That feeling of getting something which you absolutely did not expect, jumping up from nowhere to impress and dazzle you just as much as those projects you camped out overnight for. It's the ultimate satisfaction moment because you managed to uncover something special under the deluge of innumerable average or not-your-type games splattered against the market wall every single day. It's the same feeling I got when I sat down and played that little game about robot androids that everyone was raving about. (I'm talking Nier, not Detroit) And it's what a lot of people got a jolt of the day they sat down to play a little game about medieval France and rats. A lot of rats. Like too many rats.

First of all, let me say that I'm not a big fan of rats in any of their possible interpretations. Never has a videogame managed to make an entertaining version of a rat fight to keep player's attentions, with most games just relegating the little buggers to perpetual first-enemy fodder. (Dragon Age, Oblivion, Baldur's Gate, the list is endless.) Whatsmore, I dislike their real life counter parts even less, because they suffer from that horrible 'too big' syndrome that some animals have, where they look and feel just several magnitudes larger than you brain tells you that they should be. Most people don't realise it until they've seen one for themselves, thinking they're just like more mangy mice. Oh no, trust me a mouse is like house cat next to the disease ridden tigers that are rats. I do not like that, not at all. Which is why a game solely about Rats and the chaos they cause amped up to apocalyptic levels should be the worst thing ever, and in a ways it is, but it's also quite good too.

Plague Tale is a game that does exactly that, it tells a fictionalised story of the black death sweeping across Europe with the Rats actually being the main culprit this time. That is to say, the real bubonic plague would have been more directly caused by fleas ridding on the back or rats than the rats themselves. (So it was a tag team effort) Not so in Plague Tale, however, which utilises some wildly impressive tech to realise entire seas of rats who swoop and move as a unit, not so much to infect the country side with a wasting disease as to literally rip apart any and everyone to shreds with the power of their voracious jaws. Yeah, it's as horrible as that sounds. They're like a mob of land piranhas that strip humans bare in a manner of seconds, if you're lucky. (I sure there's some sort of analogy hidden up in there somewhere, but I was too busy being deeply nauseous to notice.)

'Plague Tale: Innocence' was a game that did a good job letting everyone know that it was coming out, with a decent premise and trailers showcasing a graphical plate far better than one should rightly expect from a title not technically on the AAA stage, but I still think the final product still jolted everyone. The execution of the product totally belied expectations for a studio who's previous notable work was several assistance roles on games that didn't necessarily set the world on fire. (I don't think I've booted up Recore since launch day.) The game was polished and vast, telling a sweeping adventure that had the depth and scope of a high quality AAA title. This game was like Tomb Raider or Uncharted, but with rats. (Or, more rats, I suppose) The overall product was crazily impressive.

Thus it should come to the surprise of no one that we're getting a sequel, and yet I still find myself scratching my head wondering why such a game has now been turned into a series. In all the best ways Plague Tale did seem like a bit of a one trick pony with its Rat mechanic and some puzzle solving inbetween. Again, the tech was amazing and I'm endless impressed with how it all came together to make a solid gaming experience, but it didn't really strike me as a 'story that needs to be told' sort of situation. I mean, are we currently living in a world where Plague Tale is getting a sequel and Tyranny is being left to rust? How does that equation work out? Which timeline is the reverse of this one and how do I get there? (Send the TVA after me for all I care, I want my Tyranny 2!)

But whatever heaven needed to has been moved to ensure that the Plague Tale journey will continue, and this time with a Requiem. The trailer for such was just a smattering of cinematics, without anything of value to glean, but the title alone gets me. 'Requiem' huh? Amicia got herself the Requiem arrow and she's coming around with her evolved stand now is she? I suppose that would be a way of stretching this story out to at least another two entries, slap down some JJBA and that's a whole bunch of new mileage. But in all seriousness, as much as the first game was a surprise hit and incredibly well made, I'm not sold on the longevity of this story at all. The trailer did look lovey though. (Are those Unreal Engine 5 cliffs I spy?)

Of course, that's fine, it's not my job to approve of all these sequels coming out of the woodworks, it just has me wondering about whatever happened to cool little games that show up shine and then leave the world with a good taste in it's mouth? You see it all the time in indie games, obviously, but whenever a slightly larger budget game even gets a whiff of success the sequel vultures swoop down and eat it up with wanton abandon. Heck, this how we fall into the sequelitis rabbit hole that everybody ends up complaining about and bemoaning. But hey, I'm sure I'm just raving over conjured enemies and Plague Tale is going to prove to be a fantastic story that just had to be told in several episodic parts. You know, just like how Final Fantasy VII remake had to be split into 8 separate episodes and how Orcs Must Die needed another sequel. (Yes, I know that Tyranny technically doesn't need a sequel either, and I've said as much myself, but I'm being bitter; let me be bitter!)

At the very least it's cool to see a studio not of the usual suspects giving the industry a run for it's money when it comes to cinematic and emotionally charged storytelling. (Bonus points for it actually being a game with gameplay too, somehow those two descriptors don't always go hand in hand.) I'm sure that Asobo are living the dream with their new found big success, and I'm sure that success in itself had some part to play in the decision to make this sequel in the first place, but I don't begrudge them for it. Plague Tale is something more of a known quantity now, however, and with that comes a degree of expectation and quality that one is expected to live to, last year alone has several examples of how such pressure can really get to even the so-called 'best in the business'. So good luck to the team and here's hoping we'll all convene this time come 2024 to ponder how this story got a third part.

Aeon Must Die Should Die?

Why must it always happen with the cool-looking games?

You know what; there's too many games getting thrown at us this year. Without the structure and sanitation of a schedule, we've been bombarded with gaming events for 3 months straight and I- look, I don't even remember what game was announced at what event anymore, okay? Was this an Xbox game? Sony? Independent?- If a game falls down in the woods where no one heard it then did it make any sound at all? (By the way, of course it does. Never understood that 'riddle'. Sure, it's supposed to be existential or whatever, but there's much more profound statements on imperceptibility and consequence. Take Dark Souls' larger narrative for exa-) Wait, what was I talking about again? Right, video games. There's so many of them that you really need some sort of special story to make your game stand out, something wild and out there which get's your game's title in the headlines and turns your head. Something like 'Aeon Must Die' did.

Except nothing like what 'Aeon Must Die' did, because that trainwreck of a situation is sure to give a profound effect on how this game, and studio, survives going into the next year. (Remember boyos and girls, all publicity absolutely is not good publicity. Only idiots with broken moral compasses think that's the case.) I'm being serious when I say that the absolutely state of the conversation surrounding this game is probably one of the worst cases that a small game studio ever wants to be in, and I am fascinated to see what becomes of it all. But what's more than that, I'm also a little heartbroken at it does mean we might never get to witness the gem-of-a-title that this could've turned out to be. But before we dive into the drama, how about I tease the game that was meant to be so that you can feel as bummed out as I do.

First up I must mention, the reveal trailer for this game looks unfairly beautiful. It's dripping in that neon metal aesthetic that looks as though that iconic 80's animation edge never got swallowed up by Disney's overly wholesome takeover. (Am I blaming Disney for the death of Heavy Metal's legacy? Yes, yes I am.) The game has this sharp dystopian heartbeat running through it, punctuated with cyborg suits, buzzing energy accents with warm colours, and a comic-book dynamism to it all that makes the action feel alive and vibrant. There's even that sense of over-the-top melodrama that I thought was long lost to the realm of Anime, still beating in the heart of a title like this, seeped in the pangs of an electric guitar. Quite simply, this is an aesthetic that I don't think anyone was expecting to see again out of the animation world, bought to the modern age with all of it's bells and whistles. Even as this turns out to be just a beat-em-up in content, (a genre I've never really been in love with) I'd be a fool not to respect the passion in all of it.

And yes, the story is just as OTT as the visuals. (Would you have it any other way?) Aeon, the emperor of the Void armada, has been attacked in an attempted assassination attempt that left him without a body. Luckily he has transferred his consciousness into your body and is now embarking on a classic tale of revenge against all those that wronged him for the chance to sit on the throne as the dread emperor once more. Nothing deeper or existential about that, just a pure style narrative of vengeance that perfectly compliments the genre and world that's been built. Violence, decadence and monochromatic environments all spun together in a bloody loom for our entertainment and delight. Long story short, this is a game that looked like it had the makings of becoming an unreserved cult classic, but judging by the skewered like-ratio on the trailer, I think it's safe to say that those dreams are in the process of being scuppered. Buying this game now is little more than a testament stating that you support toxicity and abuse, and that's a reputation sure to hurt first day sales.

The tale began with the release of the trailer of Aeon Must Die which, unbeknown to the public, was the last straw in a long-line of transgressions. At the same time as the trailer was being released to Youtube, another cut of the trailer surfaced online with the title "Aeon Must Die (Original Version) TRUTH IN THE DESCRIPTION". Now that's a eye-grabber if ever I've seen it, and for once this isn't a clickbait title. In said description were laid a great many accusations, such as that the trailer was produced with "abuse, manipulation and theft", that "people who have worked on every shot of this (trailer) are no longer with the company holding IP rights" and that some employees straight "Were not even paid for their work." So it's safe to say that these are some serious accusations that one does not make lightly, and this would be cause for some serious scepticism had this new trailer not handily come attached with an entire google doc's worth of receipts.

Now, admittedly, a lot of what was discussed in the enclosed documents was all about IP disputes and, not to undermine what these folk went through, I'm just not in the exact right state of mind to go into the ins and outs of legal rules right now, maybe tomorrow; but I think I got the general gist of things down. (That handily comprehensive 'Intro' helped) As far as I can tell there was some issues involving a seemingly endless amount of crunch and unpayed work that turned out to be just unbearable for the development team working on the game in question. They tried to get some legal help to figure everything out and discovered that the company and entire IP was covertly taken from the founder. Attempt were made to reach an accord and they were ultimately shut down by management and shareholders. So after that they made a hailmary to try and reach out to the publisher and that's when things really got out of hand.

Focus Home Interactive, the publishers of AMD, completely swallowed the call for help that they were sent and simply chose to do nothing, except for narc on the developers to their boss. This, predictably, resulted in threats of firing and lawsuits levied against the team in an attempt to twist their arms into quiet subservience. The entire team had handed in their resignation letters at the time, but in the light of this betrayal Limestone games saw fit to fire them before their resignation date, which certainly has the potential for some legal ramifications if the team can confirm it's true. They were met with another gauntlet when the publisher finally got in contact with the team and asked for proof of Limestone's doings. This effort led to the compiling of many documents, a few of which are comprised in the google doc that is now in the public eye. The result? A call wherein the publisher claimed to have processed little to none of the information they were given and decided to basically tell the team to get back to work and finish the game. This is in spite of the impending Playstation state-of-play in which AMD was scheduled to show despite the entire team being fired and there being an ongoing struggle of IP regarding the footage. They were left on their own.

Now all the team are left with is to go public with everything that they legally can right now and hope for the best, whilst maybe opening themselves up to a libel suit while they're at it. Focus Home Interactive has handled this sort of public negative press before, but judging from their seeming inherent lethargy the biggest issue won't come from them. (Every controversy regarding them has to do with the studio's inability to do so much as a phone call or write up a document. This office must be comprised of actual sloths or something.) Limestone games, on the otherhand, have been waving around lawsuit threats like it's going out of style, so things have the potential to become really messy in the days to come. All this is bearing in mind that we haven't even heard Limestone's side of the story. (although I've been in enough toxic work environments to guess that it's going to be imprecise waffle with no merit and absolutely nothing substantial to justify or refute these accusations. That's just how these sorts of people operate.) Whatever happens, a whole slew of reputations have been tarnished within the space of a week and a promising looking game has the stench of taboo permanently ingrained on it's record. Sometimes the gaming industry really sucks to be around, you know.