Our weekly news liveblog
It’s the last week before the Xmas break, and the grapevine runneth dry. Soon, we will commence the annual Engluttification ceremony, a ritual of banishment in which we feed the Maw our entire Steam wishlists while singing an arcane carol of our own devising, Nth Days of Solstice, in which the famous partridge in the pear tree has Twice-Twenty Wings, and on each Wing I saw an Eye, verily, and a Mouth rejoicing for lo, the Great Catch-Up Period has come. But before that, there is still a little more News to cover.
Some games we’re keeping under surveillance before we flee the premises: surreal turn-based RPGEntogious(18th Dec), construction-minded endless runnerProject Bridge(18th Dec), 90s-style RPGProphecy of the Shadow(19th Dec).
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
IT IS MONDAY. Sharpen the mistletoe! Electrify the tinsel! FEED THE MAW.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Some music to get your motor running -Shooting Starby The Pillows, as immortalised by the FLCL outro.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Alleged images for Free Radical Design’s untitled TimeSplitters project have popped up onFandom. The company havesuffered layoffs and are facing closure.
Art for the untitled TimeSplitters project that Free Radical Design had been working on has started to surface on the internet thanks to former employees.Credits: Will Brown, Elmo La Mantia, Callum Summerspic.twitter.com/5WFBfiVLcH
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Here’s one I should have put in the intro above: grid-based first-person dungeon crawler Path of the Abyss goes into early access on 22nd December (don’t worry, there’s English language support, though it’s a machine translation so expect some rough bits).
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Monster Hunter World ismassively discounted on Steamthis week. I mention this mostly because I had a terrible idea for a diary series called “Monster Flautist World”, in which I try to solo the game with a hunting horn, but it turns out this isn’t as hard as it may seem.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Here’s another episode of Homeworld 3’s Making Of doc, shedding a bit more light on the space sim’s ship designs and audio.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Shacklesteinspeaks truth. (Also, a belated heads-up that I actually have today off - this is just me teeing up the liveblog for the evening news shift.)
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
A sad loss today, as actor James McCaffrey - best known for being the voice of Max Payne and Alex Casey in Alan Wake -has passed away.
As well as being the voice behind Sam Lake’s likeness of the grizzled detective and FBI agent, McCaffrey appeared with his own likeness as Control’s FBC director Zachariah Trench.
–Matt Jarvis
The state of California has settled its sex discrimination lawsuit with Activision Blizzard,reaching a $55m agreementthat will see former staff compensated and ActiBlizz commit to a number of efforts to “help ensure fair pay and promotion practices at the company” going forward.
–Matt Jarvis
Elden Ring expansion Shadow of the Erdtreemight see a release in February, right in time for the game’s second anniversary, according to an apparent retailer leak.
–Matt Jarvis
The cancelled TimeSplitters reboot in the works at recently closed studio Free Radicalstarted life as a “Fortnite clone”, before shifting to become an expanded remake of TimeSplitters 2 just earlier this year, it’s been reported.
–Matt Jarvis
TUESDAY SETS IN. I am sitting outside a cafe in the drizzle. FEED THE MAW.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
There have been a bunch of leaks for Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad game - Rocksteady has responded, calling the situation “disappointing”. The leaks include spoilers for various unannounced characters, together with the fate of Batman (we already knew he was in the game - he’s one of the mind-controlled heroes you’re sent to moider).
pic.twitter.com/MyA0KeyqxS
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Speaking of leaks, ransomware group Rhysida arereportedto have leaked over a terabyte of hacked Insomniac Games data, after threatening to do so last week. The leaks apparently include further details of the developer’s Wolverine game.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Armored Core 6 is getting ranked online play in a new patch today, as reported byVG247.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
This Steam bundlegives you 10 extremely well-regarded story-driven games for 83% off, including Roadwarden, Card Shark and Paradise Killer.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
EA haverebranded their Frostbite Engineand introduced a new handprint logo. Here’s an excerpt from the announcement post, which has caused me to feel various emotions: “The sharp, cutting edges of previous handprints have also been smoothed out, creating more fluid shapes. This reflects our commitment to addressing Frostbite’s rougher edges, creating a smoother experience for both creators and players.”
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Minimax havea new interviewwith former Mass Effect lead writer and Worlds Untold founder Mac Walters. It’s an hour long and covers a bunch of stuff, from Mass Effect 3’s ending through working with NetEase to not having enough time for Starfield.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
The pretty decentTails of Ironhas received a free endgame expansion.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Obsidian once pitched a Fallout: New Vegas-style Elder Scrolls spin-off to Bethesda, according to New Vegas senior designerChris Avellone, who envisaged the project as part of a release strategy of alternate studios working on the series. The pitch didn’t get very far, however.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Activision Blizzard and the ABK Workers Alliance union are at loggerheads over Acti ending hybrid working for QA staff in January -here’s my report.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Somenice musicto end my shift on.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
A technical issue has beenpreventing cheaters from being banned efficiently in The Finals, but a fix is on the way.
–Graham Smith
Games Workshop’s deal with Amazon to bring the Warhammer 40K universe to TV and filmis now finalised, the tabletop game maker says. It’s still years away from being a thing you can watch, though.
–Graham Smith
Songs Of Conquest and Against The Storm, two great tactics-strategy-management games, areboth now Steam Deck verified. Just in time for your visit to see your family this holiday.
–Graham Smith
City Update 5: European Cities 1 isn’t a football score, it’sthe latest update for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Did I only write about this because I thought of the headline pun? No, but I would have.
–Graham Smith
IT IS WEDNESDAY. What terrible revelations await us today? Hopefully nothing too dramatic - the Maw has started to glisten in an ominous way. FEED IT.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Somebody’s madea first-person version of Resident Evil 2with PS1-style environments, as spotted byPCGamesN. It seems pretty well done.
Resident Evil 2: First Person - PS1 Style [PC] PlaythroughWatch on YouTube
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Morning music? Errr. Let’s try someBocchi the Rock.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Smarty-pants roguelike-meets-Tetris affair Loot River has been updated with a level editor - here’s a video.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Outgoing Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney has taken a few potshots at what he feels to be unnecessarily large development teams and the industry’s preoccupation with cinematic visuals, as reported byAxios. Mahoney told the site that “our industry is in deep trouble right now, I think, because of throwing bodies at the problem of game development”. He also feels that “we’ve been talking about cinematic graphics and sound since the days of the PlayStation 2” and that devs should focus on “fun”.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Kerbal Space Program 2’s For Science update is live - it adds an Exploration Mode with scientific objectives and associated progression trees. Here’s some footage of all that.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
I wrote up a bullet hell shooter I stumbled on yesterday,Angel At Dusk.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Exputer has aninterview with the game director of Remnant 2which includes some thoughtful thoughts about boss design - and hints of a potential new game mode.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
There’s a patch forThe Finals, which might be Graham’s Game of the Year? Amongst other things, the update pulls a nerfaroo on the Heavy class, and there sure are some Opinions about that in the Steam comments.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad game hasseen a mysterious delay- not mysterious because of the delay, as Kill the Justice League has been pushed back for multiple years, but because it only affects Epic Games Store.
Epic’s storefront will now get Kill the Justice League on March 5th, a month and a few days after Steam and PS5/Xbox get it on February 2nd. (And a few days more after those who play its early access release.) No reason was given for the specific delay, but Rocksteady will be refunding those who pre-ordered via EGS.
–Matt Jarvis
Bloober Team, developers of Layers of Fear, The Medium and notably the upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2, areworking on a new horror game with the creators of The Walking Dead.
–Matt Jarvis
That incoming reboot of Jet Set Radio we saw a few scant snatches of during The Game Awards has had some new details teased via an internal Sega presentation.
The headline detail is thatit appears to be going open-world, a notable change from the level-based rollerblading and graffiti-tagging of previous JSR games.
–Matt Jarvis
If you’re in the UK, you cancatch Elden Ring’s soundtrack performed live in concertat the Royal Albert Hall next April.
The “narrative symphonic experience” will rearrange close to 50 tracks into lengthy suites designed to span the entire game from start to finish, and sync up with gameplay, video, lights and sound effects for what’s said to be an immersive way to listen.
–Matt Jarvis
–Matt Jarvis
IT IS THURSDAY- the second-to-last day before the holiday. I however am off sick (it’s not because I’ve been over-festive, I promise), so this is just a drive-by reminder to FEED THE MAW before I retreat under the covers. I hope you’re having a jolly December.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Edwin is off sick and the Maw encroaches. Thankfully I am here to hold it back for a few hours.
–Graham Smith
–Graham Smith
Steam also now lets youmark games as private, if you opt-in to the beta update, alongside various updates to the shopping cart. Good news if you’re really embarrassed by all those Ubisoft games you own, I guess.
–Graham Smith
The Epic Games Store will amend their policy to allow blockchain games rated Adults Only to return to the store,The Verge reports. The Entertainment Software Rating Board have been rating some games as Adults Only solely because of their blockchain implementation. Content restrictions on other kinds of Adults Only games - those given the rating for porn, gambling or hateful content - remain in place, Epic say.
–Graham Smith
TheEpic holiday saleis also underway, with daily “mystery” free games. The first is Melvor Idle, an idle game inspired by Runescape.
–Graham Smith
Metal Gear Solid’s Master Collection has been updated to version 1.4.0 with new graphical and resolution options. There are comparison screenshotsat the Konami site.
–Graham Smith
One of the hackers responsible for last year’s GTA 6 leak has been sentenced to an indefinite stay at a secure hospital,the BBC report.
–Graham Smith
–Graham Smith
(the) Gnorp Apologue is an incremental town builder about gnorps hitting a rock and splashy pixel particles. It’sout now.
–Graham Smith
Right. The Maw retreats for another evening. I leave you with Paula West’s warm bath of a voice.
–Graham Smith
IT IS FRIDAY. I am recovered, or at least, recovered enough to see out the last RPS working day of the year. Once more unto the breach, dear friends - FEED THE MAW.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
I hadn’t heard of this one, and it seemsintriguing: “a CRPG that takes place in humanity’s last idyllic refuge, Alpha Complex, which is controlled by Friend Computer.” It looks like a pocket CRPG, which is a subgenre I’m very in favour of given that I’mstilltrying to reach the end of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. Sorry for the on-going absence of the final review.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Some morning music: Short Change Hero from The Heavy. Any Borderlands players here? They used this for… Borderlands 2’s trailer, I think?
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
China has unveiled a range of draft restrictions on videogame monetisation and reward schemes, as reported byReuters. It’s wiped billions from the market value of Tencent and NetEase.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
Fishlabs developers have shared materials of the Chorus studio’s cancelled Project Black. Here’s avideo of one WIP levelfrom senior lighting artist Viviana De Giuseppe, and anarchive of concept artworksuploaded by several people. Fishlabs are one of many Embracer-owned studios that have undergone mass layoffs this year, in case you’ve forgotten, and you could certainly be forgiven for forgetting, given the scale of the industry’s recent workforce reductions.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
A statement from Insomniac Games aboutthe recent, massive hack.
An update regarding Insomniac and Marvel’s#WolverinePS5.pic.twitter.com/CMkCCoZwwj
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
The Day Before has completed its tragic arc from Steam’s most-wishlisted game to complete train wreck of an Early Access release byannouncing the complete shutdown of its serversnext month, bringing an effective end to the game.
As well as turning off the servers, publisher Mytona said they would refund anyone who has brought the game on Steam - if they haven’t already asked for their money back, that is.
–Matt Jarvis
As Graham noted yesterday, blockchain games rated as ‘Adults-Only’ due to their use of the controversial tech will now circumvent Epic Games Store’s ban on the AO rating.Here’s the full details.
–Matt Jarvis
CD Projekt are thinking about introducing a greater variety of branching story paths based on your opening background choices in the next Cyberpunk game, as discussed ina new studio podcast.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
–Matt Jarvis
A more detailed breakdown ofthat latest patch for Metal Gear Solid’s Master Collectionmentioned by Graham yesterday. It finally addresses some of the biggest problems for the PC release, adding expanded graphics options, audio settings and more.
–Matt Jarvis
One more before I go -Grimhook is free, brief and fun.
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
And that’s me done with news-writing for the year, though I’ll still be stinking this place up with contributions to Advent Calendar features and the like. Have a good Decembermas, one and all!
–Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
