Thank you to Cold Symmetry and Playstack for providing an early access copy.
Mortal Shell is a new souls-like title that recently just released this past week on the 18th of August. Unfortunately due to technical issues out of my control (issues not caused by the game of discussion), I haven’t been able to play much of it at all. Because of this and in the interest of fairness, I won’t be penning a full review, more so my initial impressions of what the game has on offer. However, the short period of time I’ve spent with Mortal Shell can be accurately summarized with two words: grossly incandescent.
Credit: Mortal Shell Game
Mortal Shell, in my opinion, shines greater and brighter than all the previous Souls-like games I’ve played that haven’t been directly developed by FromSoftware themselves. I believe this is because of the clear love for Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls that the developers have proudly expressed, along with it being blatantly apparent inside the game itself. The dark and dreary atmosphere, the cryptic lore dished out through incredibly well-acted NPC’s and item descriptions, the heavy and weighted combat; everything, even down to the minutest detail such as loading screens, screams “Souls!”. Imitation in this manner is not to be frowned upon, since when done with this level of respect for the source material it is the most sincere form of flattery. However, Mortal Shell is very much its own game with unique concepts not present in Soulsborne. The main aspect of the game which separates it from the rest of the pack would have to be the shell and harden systems. Instead of wearing and swapping armor sets, your character possesses the shells of long-deceased warriors that they stumble across during their journey. These different shells have distinct characteristics that allow for multiple styles of play, along with altering the player’s appearance. With all of these shells, however, you are granted the ability to harden. When activated, this will negate the damage of the next attack you are struck with as long as you maintain the stationary stance. Although, if timed properly, this can also stagger an enemy and open them up for a good ol’ stab. Managing this mechanic and using it to your advantage in combat is fun and often rewarding, catapulting Mortal Shell into a category above prior Souls-likes who failed to innovate in a similar fashion.
Credit: Mortal Shell Game
While I haven’t spent much time with Mortal Shell, that won’t stop me whatsoever from recommending it. For $30, you get a visually stunning game for the price along with gameplay that has effectively set the new standard for future Souls-like titles. I can’t wait to jump back into my PC playthrough, and I am anxiously anticipating the physical release for the title as well on October 2nd to being my platinum trophy journey. But, until then, stick around TGP for everything Soulsborne and Souls-like alike.
Earlier in the week, insider Jeff Grubb started teasing that there would be another big reason to get game pass coming soon. I, of course, had to respond to him asking if Cyberpunk 2077 was coming to game pass (I know CD Projekt Red said it wasn’t like two months ago) and he responded saying it wouldn’t be a game.
Now he tweeted the following:
here's everything you need to know: i'm ready to play
Normally, I would say this is a major reach but Jeff Grubb and Timdog (the person who started the thread saying news is coming soon) both liked the tweet. On top of this, Jeff was a guest on the podcast SpawnWave and confirmed that these were his expectations.
We know Xbox and EA have always had a pretty solid relationship. Xbox and EA gave a free month of EA Access (Now EA Play) to all Game Pass Ultimate users back in November. Considering the fact that EA Play is only $30 for a year so I feel like it could be fit into Game Pass Ultimate. EA would benefit from this by getting financial compensation from Microsoft as well as gaining additional subscribers for EA Play Pro which is the higher tier version that gives access to their AAA games on launch day.
For the last few years, Microsoft has been focused on growing Xbox Game Studios. Since 2018, they have acquired Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment. On top of that, they have founded The Initiative and World’s Edge. We know that Microsoft is looking to grow Xbox Game Studios to get rid of the narrative that “Xbox has no games.” Considering the fact that Xbox just delayed their biggest launch title, announcing some new studios at their Xbox Series X price reveal would be a good way to convince new players that exclusive games are on the way. Lets look into some of the rumored studio acquisitions that Microsoft has been linked to.
At the end of 2019, rumors started to fly that Microsoft was trying to acquire a studio from Poland. Lets knock the obvious one out first: CD Projekt Red. Unfortunately for Microsoft, there is no way that it is for sale at this time.
Bloober Team is a definite possibility. They previously worked on Blair Witch which was on Game Pass day one. Their current game The Medium, is coming to Xbox and PC exclusively this fall. About a month ago, Bloober Team announced that they picked a short list of advisers for a merger/acquisition. There were three companies from the United States in on that bidding war, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft was one of them.
Credit: Xbox
Another option would be People Can Fly. Microsoft worked closely with them on Gears of War: Judgement and they have been working hard on Outriders since their split from Epic Games. They also have a AAA action adventure game that just started development recently. They have around 200 employees spread out between four studios.
The Farm 51 is a smaller studio who have worked closely with People Can Fly in the past. Most recently they worked on World War 3 and Chernobylite. They have shown that they can make good first person shooters with a limited budget so if they are giving an open checkbook, Microsoft could have a gem here.
My personal favorite would be Techland. After creating Dying Light and Dying Light: The Following, they have been hard at work on Dying Light 2 which looks like it will be a massive step up from the previous entry (which was already a great game). They are putting more of an emphasis on choice and consequence in an already interesting universe. It is crazy to think about how we know more about the second Dying Light game then Dead Island 2 which has been in development before the creation of the original Dying Light.
Credit: Dying Light 2
Poland isn’t the only country with talent developers that we think Microsoft could be trying to buy. Here are a few other options:
Asobo Studio is a company that Microsoft has worked with many times in the past. They were the main developers on Zoo Tycoon and Disneyland Adventures which were both Microsoft titles. On top of that they assisted on the development of ReCore. In 2019, they released A Plague Tale: Innocence which was a breakout game for them. It sold over one million copies and was also played by many through EA Access and Game Pass. Currently they are working on Microsoft Flight Simulator which will be coming out exclusively on Xbox and PC. Microsoft loves acquiring AA studios that have showed promise and giving them the funding to make AAA projects.
Dontnod Entertainment is an AA studio that worked on the Life is Strange series and Vampyr. Dontnod gave players two main games, one prequel, and a free spin off episode in the Life is Strange universe. They took what Telltale started and improved it in almost every area. Vampyr was a very underrated RPG that had one of the best conversation systems I have seen in a while. Most recently, they are working on Tell Me Why which is a game similar to the Life is Strange games that is being published by Xbox Game Studios for Xbox and PC. They are also working on a similar game called Twin Mirror which will be a multi-platform game.
Credit: Tell Me Why
Relic Entertainment is a studio that focuses on real-time strategy games. They most recently released Company of Heroes 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III. They are currently working on Age of Empires IV which will be published by Xbox Game Studios on Xbox and PC. It is possible that Microsoft could acquire them and convert them into an AAA studio like they are currently doing with inXile Entertainment who also used to work on isometric titles.
Turtle Rock Studios who used to be known as Valve South, is the developer team that worked on some of the older Counter Strike games and the Left 4 Dead series. They are currently working on a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead called Back 4 Blood which is being published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. (This will lead us into our next topic).
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has been a headline for a few months now. There were rumors confirmed by many insiders that AT&T were looking to raise funds by selling off some of its divisions including its gaming line. Microsoft were one of the few companies interested along with Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Take Two Interactive, and Tencent. The rumored acquisition price was around $4 billion and no one is sure if that would even include temporary licensing to some of the products that they have agreements for (D.C, Harry Potter, etc). However, talk died down when Warner Media stated that Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment “remains part of the Studios and Networks group.” Although multiple reputable insiders believe that it is still for sale, it seems that it won’t be the fire sale that people originally expected. If Microsoft was able to acquire them, they would gain the following:
Avalanche Software which has worked on Disney titles before being acquired in 2017. It is rumored that they are working on a Harry Potter RPG which should be getting revealed sometime before 2020 is finished.
Monolith Productions which has worked on F.E.A.R and the Middle-earth games.
NetherRealm Studios which has worked on the Injustice and Mortal Kombat series.
Rocksteady Studios which has worked on the Batman: Arkham series and is currently developing Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League which will be shown off at the DC FanDome event.
TT Games which has six subsidiaries. They are best known for their work on Lego games.
WB Games Boston which has most recently worked on mobile games for Batman and Game of Thrones.
WB Games Montréal which developed Batman: Arkham Origins, and assisted on Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight’s DLC. They are currently working on the next Batman game which will be revealed at the DC FanDome event.
WB Games New York which has been a support studio to help on bigger projects around the company.
WB Games San Diego which opened in 2019 has been working on a free to play mobile game.
WB Games San Francisco which most recently worked on an AR mobile game called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
As you can tell, that is a lot of studios and hundreds of employees. It would be a very costly acquisition but it could easily pay off especially if they could get the licensing to the games they are currently working on.
Credit: Warner Bros
Finally, we know Microsoft has been trying to make Xbox become a more prominent figure in Asia. Sony and Nintendo have dominated the market share and Microsoft wants to take a piece of that cake. But to do that, they will need to give fans of Sony and Nintendo a good reason to make the switch (pun) over to Xbox. They started this by making Yakuza: Like A Dragon a next generation exclusive. However, it will still be releasing on the PS4 at launch, so I am unsure at how much weight this deal will really hold.
There were rumors earlier this year that Microsoft was attempting to acquire Platinum Games but their game director shut down those rumors. Obviously things could change and money talks but I would say things are unlikely especially after how Scalebound got canceled after they worked together a few years ago.
Capcom, FromSoftware, Sega, and Square Enix are four other companies that have huge footprints in Asia but all three are probably to big to acquire. However, I would not be surprised to see more Sega and Square Enix products making their way to Xbox as it seems like a relationship between those companies have grown.
One possibility would be Mistwalker Studios. They are best known for their work on Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and The Last Story. Microsoft’s backing could help them get back to where they were during their glory years. However, it may just be better for Microsoft to create their own studios in Japan. Mistwalker Studios have struggled recently and buying a studio based on the reputation of one guy could lead to a ReCore/Keiji Inafune situation.
Credit: Mistwalker Studios and Silicon Studios
Whether Microsoft acquires a studio or creates their own, we can expect Microsoft to expand their footprint in Japan for the launch of the next generation of Xbox.
Earlier today, I subjugated the entirety of the United States of America in the name of the glorious Furon Empire; and what fun it was. Destroy All Humans is back like a blast from the past, the original that is, beautifully remade from the ground up for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC platforms. Before I continue, I want it to be established that I’ve been playing and adoring the DAH franchise since I was in grade school (Path of the Furon in particular was like a drug to me), so any criticisms I levy come from a place of genuine love in the hopes of patched improvements and the overall continuation of the IP. To be clear, this is by no means a review; more so my impressions of the title and what the franchise may (hopefully) hold in store for us in the future. So, without further delay, did Blackforest Games walk the Path of the Furon? Or did they stray from the light?
Credit: THQ Nordic
Faithful to the Furon Empire
I have to admit, I was extremely nervous when this remake was announced. DAH is infamously known for it’s crude humor, and in 2020 that bothers quite a lot of people. Luckily, Blackforest Games has backbone, and none of the dialogue or story from the original was altered in the slightest. Almost immediately relieved of that concern after starting my playthrough, I was eager to see how this beloved game from my childhood would look with modern graphics. Personally, I believe Blackforest Games did a phenomenal job with the visuals, capturing the aesthetic and feel of the original while simply modernizing it. This is how you do a proper remake! Additionally, the gameplay is just as ludicrously entertaining as it’s always been, nearly identical to the play style of the original (but again, more fluid and modernized). When it comes to what really matters, retaining it’s identity, Destroy All Humans Remake outright succeeds in every fashion. There are few games that make me feel like a kid again, and I’m elated to say this is one of them. Even if you aren’t partially blinded by nostalgia, the title offers an immense amount of fun to be had and carnage to cause. However, the game is not without faults, and in my opinion all of said faults are of the technical variety.
Credit: THQ Nordic
A Glitch in the System
To my dismay, not all is smooth sailing in DAH Remake. Technical issues and bugs hinder the experience to a noticeable degree, those of which I will now outline:
Frequent frame Drops Below 15 FPS (on Xbox One X)
Pulled out of Holo-Bob disguise for no reason whatsoever
Audio-skipping throughout entire playthrough (almost unbearable with headphones)
Objects completely missing locked-on targets with PK
Rare, occasional crashes
Some poorly placed checkpoints which lead to repeated mission failures in certain instances
All of that being said, if these problems are patched I would have virtually no issues with DAH Remake.
Credit: THQ Nordic
The Future of the Furon
Seeing as how we have a “new” DAH game in 2020, well after the franchise’s supposed demise in 2008, all things are possible. Although the metascore for DAH Remake lingers just under a 70, I sincerely hope this doesn’t discourage THQ Nordic and Blackforest Games from fully reviving and revitalizing this fantastic franchise. If anyone from either company is reading this, I have a personal message for you: please, for the love of all that is good in this universe, remake Destroy All Humans 2 as your next project. This was an incredible starting point, and now being more experienced with DAH as a whole you could all truly bring this beloved IP back from the grave in full force and with that signature Cryptosporidium-style. Keep doing exactly what all of you are doing and you could easily amass a sizable fan base, and in the future even possibly remake the Path of Furon or who knows, even create an all new DAH game entirely from scratch. The only suggestion I would make is to spend way more time in QA. The bugs and technical issues I previously mentioned could indeed be a lot worse, however in tandem these grievances caused some furious frustration. I encourage you all to take the next step with this incredible IP; the Future of the Furon Empire is in your capable hands. Don’t let us down.
Thank you to Wales Interactive for providing an early review copy.
Introduction
Maid of Sker is the next game from indie studio Wales Interactive, who have released previous titles such as Late Shift and Don’t Knock Twice. Delving into the horror genre, Maid of Sker aims to capture an audience with an unique premise, one that really hasn’t been attempted in the mainstream before (at least to my knowledge): Welsh Mythological Horror. At first, and to be fair by the end as well, they succeeded in this regard. The story had captured my full attention, littered with intriguing imagery, disturbing yet informative lore notes, compelling character dialogue, and eerie atmosphere. However, the impact of all of this is minimized, due unfortunately to some minor technical issues, abhorrently broken mechanics, and overly obtuse puzzle solving. Maid of Sker is a majorly mixed bag, with pros and cons engulfed in a never ending battle of tug of war; keeping the title from becoming either a flawless masterpiece or an abysmal failure.
Credit: Wales Interactive
The Good
Maid of Sker definitely has its faults, but what it does right is done extremely well. As I mentioned earlier, the Wales 1898 setting is immediately captivating. Upon exiting the train to Sker Hotel, I couldn’t help but constantly pan my camera around to soak in the aesthetic of the dreary Welsh countryside. I felt as if something heavy was in the air all around me, as if the land I’ve just entered was plagued by an evil spell. The ominous atmosphere was firmly established, which is impressive yet crucial to do this early into a title’s runtime. This is also aided by the graphics and in particular the lighting in certain places, although generally speaking I would say the visuals are adequate for the price. However, the main draw to Maid of Sker has to be the story. You play as Thomas, a composer and husband to Elizabeth Williams. Having received a letter from Elizabeth requesting your help with some family matters under dire circumstances, you head off to the Williams ancestral home: Sker Hotel. I won’t discuss much more about the story or heavily dissect the plot as I’m firmly against spoilers, but I will say I wanted to find out every little detail of the madness that was occurring. Luckily, the game expected this, as there are lore notes scattered throughout the property that will provide key insights to the strife the Williams family has caused and endured. Slowly but surely, you will put the pieces together yourself to discover the truth to the nightmare. Additionally, the mythological aspects that come into play are fascinating, since prior to playing this title I had no knowledge of Welsh folklore. However, I’m reluctant to elaborate any further; as the story and the horrid, hidden truths you will find are the main reason to play the game. Unfortunately, the true horrors of Sker Hotel are decidedly not the terrors the developers intended.
Credit: Wales Interactive
The Bad
There is one issue that I have with Maid of Sker that takes precedent above all else and must be addressed first: the breathing mechanic. In the game, your main method of dispatching enemies is, well, to not dispose of them at all. Without giving too much away, the monstrosities that plague the hotel grounds are blind, so in order to find you they have to hear you. This can be done in a myriad of ways, from walking on a creaky floorboard to bumping into an inanimate object. However, the main avenue of detection will be your own breathing. Whether you’re too close to an enemy without holding your breath or accidentally inhale dust particles or smoke from a fire and cough, your need for oxygen will be your consistent downfall. Now, if executed properly this can be an incredible game mechanic that brings a tension like no other (for example, Death Stranding). However, this mechanic is plain broken and wildly inconsistent. The majority of times I was detected by an enemy were completely unfair. Sometimes they could hear me from multiple rooms away, other times they could detect me through walls. Occasionally, there would be instances where it would just not work at all. There wouldn’t even be the slightest noise, not even the sound of a mouse scurrying across the floor, with me holding my breath in tandem, and an enemy would bull-rush me as if decided to start screeching like a banshee. Additionally, the game is filled with puzzles, which at first is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the majority of puzzles are insanely obtuse, with no real indication as to what the solution you’re working for is even supposed to be, leading to moments of immense frustration. Some held clever solutions, but overall the puzzles were poorly designed. Now, and without delving into spoilers, there is a Mr. X inspired enemy that stalks you on a certain floor of the hotel. My criticism isn’t that this is a knockoff of RE2R’s beloved tyrant (although, he is), as imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But if you are to pay homage to an iconic horror villain, you have to do it right. He has the trench coat, hat, and heavy footsteps of Mr. X, but he’s anything but. This enemy is flat out broken and insanely overpowered. For instance, he never stops chasing you for his segment of the game (you can never lose him, he has constant tracking unlike Mr. X), he can kill you he’s while STUNNED if you’re close enough, and even sometimes the stun just won’t register and he’ll kill you. This is all amplified by the boss fight with the creature, in which I had to abuse the game mechanics in order to emerge victorious. It’s a typical “trap an enemy in a room and hit a button three times” boss fight, except you can’t trap him in the room. He’ll just walk into your room while you’re trying to activate the trap, as once again the stuns did not work consistently. To bypass this, I would hit the button and run into the trap room MYSELF, spamming all my ammo to keep him trapped in there with me. I also had to spam healing items, as with this method I took a massive amount of damage from the trap itself and whenever he’d hit me when a stun didn’t register. Rinsed and repeated three times, I had finally defeated him. Was it worth it? Not really, no. Finally, my last criticism of Maid of Sker (aside from some minor technical issues, which will come next), is that it really isn’t all that scary. Sure it’s unsettling, ominous, dark, but is it horrifying? No, well, unless you’re terrified of jump-scares as that is the main delivery of “horror” in this title. In my opinion, it’s a lazy way to induce a quick flash of fear unto the player, and I wish more effort was put into making the player feel paranoid, off-balance, anxious, and overall just plain scared.
Credit: Wales Interactive
The Ugly
This is usually where I’d talk about bugs and glitches, but outside of the broken and poorly designed mechanics previously mentioned, there isn’t much to report. I encountered some minor stuttering during my four and a half hour playthrough, but nothing remotely game-breaking. Furthermore, there were some light sound glitches. These could range from hearing wood creaking beneath my feet while I’m walking on tile to hearing enemies from far away (which can lead to some slight confusion) but once again, nothing game-breaking. Overall, I’m happy to say there are no major technical issues in Maid of Sker.
Credit: Wales Interactive
Summary & Conclusion
If I had to associate one word with Maid of Sker, it would have to be potential. The story and hidden lore is captivating, keeping me intrigued for my entire stay at Sker Hotel. The dialogue between characters is well acted and written, and the atmosphere establishes a beautiful balance between quiet, Welsh countryside and scorching eternal damnation. Unfortunately in the end, this is all bogged down by blatantly broken mechanics and at times overly obtuse puzzle-solving. However, I eagerly anticipate what Wales Interactive will develop next. With more development experience and time, I truly believe they are capable of crafting a masterpiece within the horror genre.
Years ago, gamers saw the biggest wave of leaks through Walmart Canada. It now seems like there is a new champion in town. The Microsoft Store has already leaked screenshots, trailers, and release dates for multiple new games including Crysis Remake, Mafia Remake Trilogy, Star Wars Squadrons and more. Just an hour ago, Microsoft made another leak come true.
We now know that Yakuza Like A Dragon will be releasing on November 12/13th, depending on your region. Multiple users on twitter pointed out that Microsoft accidentally put up a store page for Yakuza Like A Dragon which included the unannounced release date. You can press HERE to directly go to the page.
Source: Microsoft
Yakuza Like A Dragon did put out a trailer earlier in the day. (This one was on purpose, not accidental).
This next part is speculation of course, but is it crazy to believe that the Xbox Series X will be releasing at sometime between November 11th-19th? Xbox has the marketing rights to Assassins Creed Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, and Yakuza Like A Dragon which all come out during that time frame. Throw in Halo Infinite and another smaller exclusive and you have a pretty solid group of games to play at launch.
Update 7/1/20: Crytek has confirmed that a Nintendo Switch version will be coming. On top of that, they are delaying the official reveal and release date. Here is the statement they released.
A few months ago, everyone was excited to find out that a Crysis Remastered was in development. Crysis has always been a series that has pushed the boundaries of video game graphics. Knowing that a fan-favorite series would return in the form of a remaster was great news because if it sells well, that means that Crysis 4 would have to come. Unfortunately, after some leaks, it does not seem like Crysis Remastered will be pushing any boundaries with it graphics. However, let us dive right into these leaks.
Credit: Microsoft Store
Thanks to Microsoft, we now have access to Crysis Remastered’s trailer, screenshots, and of course its release date. You could argue that it’s just a place holder, but the last two times that Microsoft leaked games, they were accurate (Mafia: Trilogy and Star Wars Squadrons).
Credit: Microsoft Store
Crysis Remastered will be releasing on July 23rd of 2020. We also know that it will have a 7.01 GB download size. The description says the following:
“The classic first person shooter from Crytek is back with the action-packed gameplay, sandbox world, and thrilling epic battles you loved the first time around – now with remastered graphics optimized for a new generation of hardware.
Suit up: Your Nanosuit’s speed, strength, armor, and cloaking allow creative solutions for every kind of fight. Adapt: In an ever-changing environment, adapt your tactics to dominate on battlefields ranging from frozen jungle to alien environments.
Customize: A huge arsenal of modular weaponry provides unprecedented control over play style, with options ranging from the experimental to the alien.
Conquer: Life-like enemy AI require a strategic and flexible playstyle, as new challenges – including a zero-g battlefield– require players to take the offensive and be proactive.
Explore: Choose your own path through the open world of Crysis, destroying obstacles, driving vehicles, and using the environment itself against your enemies.”
Credit: Microsoft Store
As you can see by the screenshots, the graphics aren’t anything to write home about. However, what about some game-play? Well here is Crysis Remastered in real-time during its trailer which was recorded off of a PC meaning the graphics may be a step down if your planning to play this on consoles.
Due to DMCA takedown attempts, we can’t display the video directly on our website. Click here to be redirected to watch it. When it inevitably gets taken down, we will try to update the link.
Before I begin, I want to make it explicitly clear that I never wanted The Last of Us 2 to fail. When essentially the entirety of the plot leaked online, I turned my head away and not once looked. Despite all the hate I heard it was receiving, I never wanted to find out what it was all about. I had faith in Naughty Dog, after all they earned it. From playing Jak and Daxter as a kid to growing up and maturing alongside Nathan Drake, I knew Naughty Dog would forever release quality, innovative, and quite frankly masterclass games for the rest of their years. My belief in this doctrine was only further cemented by the release of The Last of Us in 2013; a post-apocalyptic story about a broken father regaining his hope in the plague-ridden world when tasked with transporting an immune girl across the country for vaccine development, who would soon be his adopted daughter. The narrative told by the first Last of Us was near flawless, with the relationship between the main protagonists, Joel and Ellie, being the absolute brightest highlight of the entire game. When a sequel was announced, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I waited, alongside all of you, just under seven years in eager anticipation as to what Naughty Dog would concoct this time. I was entirely confident it would be yet another masterpiece, as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (their previous title to TLOU2) was a downright 10/10, with one of the best narratives ever written for games, or entertainment media in general. To be completely honest, for the first half of my play through of TLOU2, I still held onto that sentiment. Even though the death of Joel was controversial to say the least, I didn’t have many issues with it at the time because it made narrative sense. Ellie needed a driving force for her revenge story, and the death of her adoptive father is as good a catalyst as any. However, when the player’s perspective is switched to Abby halfway through the game, the quality starts to drop quite a bit at a consistent pace (which is covered in my colleague Frank’s article on his views of the game as a whole), but even then the narrative was still salvageable by a large margin. However, the finale of the game, the satisfying resolution that was supposed to justify all the choices Naughty Dog made during development, was by far the most disappointing, poorly written, illogical, and at the risk of sounding unprofessional, downright stupid ending I’ve ever had the displeasure of experiencing. There are many reasons as to why this is the definitive case, too many to mention all at once in this format, but the largest sins will most certainly be addressed.
The Unavenged Murder of Joel Miller
Image Credit: PlayStation
To start, I’d like to address the rampaging elephant in the room: the unnecessary and insulting murder of gaming’s favorite dad, Joel Miller. When I initially played the game, although a part of my soul cracked when I witnessed the heinous crime, I did not believe it detracted from the overall plot. Ellie needed a driving force that would allow her to seek vengeance at any cost, and the death of Joel most certainly accomplished it. However, this was the largest gamble ND took with the narrative, and gambles like this NEED to pay off. This one, regrettably, did not in the absolute slightest. After 26 and a half hours of playtime, I finally reached the coast of Santa Barbara to find a weakened Abby on death’s door. After cutting her down from the torture pillar, I was incredibly nervous. Why was Ellie letting her go, surely she didn’t take two trips across the country for nothing? But then, at the end, Ellie forces Abby to fight her, and after a grueling battle you at last have her at your mercy; viciously drowning her in the shallows of the Pacific Ocean. I was talking out loud to my TV “Yes, finally! You thought I would just forget what you did?” along with a wide variety of obscenities and insults. In this moment, I was beyond satisfied. I didn’t understand why the game got all of this “unwarranted” hate, I was witnessing the best possible ending for the story they were telling. Then, in quite possibly the worst decision in writing I’ve ever seen, Ellie gets off of her. She let’s her leave Santa Barbara. She let’s her live. Now this next sentence is addressed to Naughty Dog and more specifically the “director” Neil Druckman in particular: One, are you out of your minds and two, did you ever take a creative writing class in school? I believe the honest answers would be yes and then no, because this is the most ludicrous and forced absurdity I’ve ever seen implemented into a supposed “masterpiece” of a videogame. Abby had to die for the story to succeed, it’s that simple. She savagely murdered the main protagonist of TLOU1 (Ellie’s adoptive father), and for what? She killed Jessie (Ellie’s best friend), crippled Tommy (Ellie’s adoptive uncle), and beat a pregnant Dina (Ellie’s girlfriend and then later wife) halfway to hell…and for what? I’m supposed to believe that after everything and everyone Abby took from Ellie, the two treks across America there and back again, she just forgives her? That would be akin to Obi-Wan Kenobi saying to Emperor Palpatine “Yeah, you killed mostly everyone in my order, destroyed the foundations of everything I believe in, and have always plotted my downfall along with turning my brother to evil, but I forgive you Sheev”. It just doesn’t make any sense. Any human being, no matter how morally just, who has suffered immense loss such as Ellie at the hands of one individual would never forgive said individual, let alone allow them to live when they’re at your complete mercy. From my perspective, it seems like a genuine insult from the post-Uncharted 4 team at Naughty Dog to the fans of the original TLOU by leaving Joel unavenged. It simply does not make the slightest bit of sense, and made me feel completely unsatisfied. It doesn’t matter how fantastic a videogame, book, or movie may be, if there isn’t a satisfying resolution (especially when you make huge gambles like killing off your main character), the entirety of the story is worthless. If there’s no payoff, no fitting conclusion, then may I ask what the point of it even was? Now I know what the ND fan army is going to counter this with, “But the cycle of violence was broken, therefore it’s a fitting resolution as that was the theme of the story. You may not like it, but that’s the way the narrative was supposed to go”. Well to start, that’s verifiably false as for fifty percent of the game’s development, Abby was supposed to die. Not only that, but Abby is not a likable character, nor a good person, as she continues to perpetuate this “cycle of violence” well past her initial murder of Joel. This “grand artistic expression” of an ending is nothing more than a cheap cop out. She didn’t deserve to survive, even for Lev’s sake, as I’ll outline now.
The Abby Problem
Image Credit: PlayStation
As mentioned in our previous TLOU2 TGP article, the community has discovered that the original game was supposed to be played entirely as Ellie, due to concept art showing Ellie in segments of the game where you play as Abby. I just wanted to lay this groundwork to show how her character was rushed and then poorly utilized, as to give more background as to why she’s so unlikable. You play as her in an early part of the game, hunting down someone who is obviously Joel if you can pick up on the not so subtle hints Abby and Owen drop in their dialogue. Now, as someone who had no knowledge of any leaks, what came next was a brutal shock. Joel dying within the first two hours made me irreversibly hate Abby, and it was a true mistake on ND’s part for implementing that twist so early. After that, I could never sympathize with her again. There was only one instance where I came close to understanding her plight, as her father was murdered at the start of her half of the game. My father passed when I was extremely young as well, and in that moment I did feel her pain; and Naughty Dog I commend you for that. However, after that ND, you completely lost me. Not only does she kill Joel in a unnecessary and evil fashion (as he made her father’s death quick), she’s doing it out of pure revenge, whereas Joel committed his violence out of protection for someone he loved. Not only that, but if the Fireflies would have just told Ellie that she would die during surgery, she would’ve agreed to it and talked Joel down, resulting in no bloodshed and a cure. Due to this lack of understanding (pushed heavily by Abby’s father and reinforced by Abby herself), they just go for it without telling Ellie, setting Joel off. Therefore Joel’s actions, although while still wrong, is more justified than Joel’s murder. So, in a sense, Abby started the cycle of violence by seeking revenge and offensive violence first, and even continued to show that she was not a good person even after the fact. While she does save two children (only because they saved her life first), she massacres many WLF members who once fought alongside her in the process. Now, some may say it was out of self defense, but Abby (now a deserter and traitor), Lev, and Yara drew first blood by killing Isaac, the leader of the WLF, and was the provocation for them hunting Abby and her child cronies. An army doesn’t let their general go unavenged, just like a daughter shouldn’t allow her father to be, but I’ve already discussed that. There certainly were avenues to avoid that bloodshed, but Abby jumped straight to the gun. Besides her acts of unjustified violence, additionally she lacks moral fortitude. This is shown as she lies down with her ex, Owen, even though he is currently taken and expecting a child. Both parties are to blame here as it takes two to tango, but Abby is still at fault all the same. After experiencing all of this, once you reach the theater as Abby where Ellie is hiding out, they force you to fight Ellie as her, which I did not want to do whatsoever. Over the course of her story, they try to slightly turn you against Ellie in certain parts by trying to get the player to sympathize with Abby and her friends, but that never happens due to the aforementioned murder of Joel among other poor writing decisions/unconvincing dialogue. In fact, I let Ellie kill me at first because that’s the way I’d want it to go. They tried to push this new, invasive character too much, and if you never played the first game, sure it might work. But majority of people who play a direct sequel to a game have played the original, and that holds true to TLOU just like it does to anything else. To view both games as a complete story, only the first half remains quality. Abby’s character and progression of violence as a whole warrants her lack of survival, and yet they still let her live. Why, so that Lev would have someone with her? Why would Ellie care about that, regardless if she can relate to the child? It’s the same kid that put an arrow into her Uncle, leaving him crippled. And yes, Lev did tell Abby to stop before she killed a pregnant Dina (which, by the way, makes Abby a great role model and likable character, right ND? Especially since when Ellie killed Mel she had no idea of the pregnancy, and was visibly sickened when she found out. What did Abby say when she found out Dina was pregnant, with her blade to Dina’s throat? Oh yeah, that’s right: “Good.”), but Lev’s the one who led Abby to them in the first place so…yeah, I don’t have much sympathy for her either. If this was the first TLOU, this all very well could have theoretically worked. However, it’s not, and the blurry line between right and wrong that Naughty Dog tried to craft fell flat on its face and came out crystal clear. By the ending of the game, not only has Abby shown she lacks character and morality/ethics, but has already clearly painted herself as the villain by viciously killing our beloved Joel Miller with the support of all of her friends, which immediately justifies Ellie’s vengeance to the player. Mel, Owen’s pregnant girlfriend, said it best: “You’re a terrible person Abby. You always have been”.
Conclusion
Image Credit: PlayStation
Don’t worry, I’m not going to pull a Naughty Dog and leave you feeling empty inside, as this exposé will have a satisfying resolution. Although, there isn’t much more to say, but I just need to once again express how deeply disappointed I am with this game, as seven years of waiting amounted to no pay off whatsoever. Whether you’re writing an essay for school, a screenplay in a coffee shop, or a storyline for a videogame, you most certainly are allowed to take risks with your creation. In fact, I’d even wager that narrative gambles are necessary to capture the audience’s attention and insure they stick around for the entire time. However, in doing so, you need said risks to pay off. Without a satisfying resolution, it doesn’t matter how incredible the rest of the narrative is; the story is unfinished, the audience is unfulfilled. They feel as if their time was wasted, there was no fitting conclusion that can ease their mind to the controversial decisions made by the narrative. Honestly, I would rather have never played TLOU2, and kept the story of the first game unsoiled. Therefore, it is my argument that the narrative of The Last of Us 2 is, undoubtedly, worthless.
Spoilers for The Last of Us, The Last of Us Part II and The Walking Dead Ahead:
When I experienced The Last of Us in 2014, I experienced a roller coaster of emotions. The introduction scene set the tone of the game by letting the player know they were going to be emotionally devastated by the end of their journey. Tess, Henry, and Sam all died in different but sad ways. However, by the end of your journey, Joel shows that the only thing the mattered to him was saving Ellie and you have a sense of hope as they approach their new lives in Jackson together.
Before diving into the story of The Last of Us Part II, I want to discuss what I thought about the other parts of the game. The animations were the best I have ever seen in a video game. The graphics would be the best I have seen this generation if I had the option to turn off the film grain. The soundtrack was just as amazing as the first game’s score. The acting was top of the line with a stellar cast. Majority of the flashbacks are excellent and give time to characters that didn’t get as much time as they deserved. Exploration around the world was rewarded with interesting dialogue, easter eggs, and even a few hidden cut scenes. I did feel like the safes that could be unlocked through out the game were way to similar. The only exception to that was for one of the safes, you have to break open a vending machine to find an extra soda that has a clue on it. My one other grievance with the game is that I wish we saw less time in Seattle. Don’t get me wrong, Seattle looks incredible but I think spending over half the game in one city is a little bit to much. I think the journey to Seattle and/or Santa Barbra deserved more time. I also feel just a little more time in Jackson could have benefited newer players so they could bond with Joel a little bit more.
Credit: Naughty Dog
The Last of Us Part II starts off with Joel telling his brother Tommy about what really happened to his former group who went by the fireflies (Joel killed them all because they wanted to kill Ellie to find a cure since she was immune). When Tommy gets back to Jackson, he tells Joel that he will bring what they talked about to the grave because he knows that Joel just wants to move on from what happened at the end of the first installment.
For the next section of the game, the player switches between playing as Ellie and Abby. Ellie shows a day in the life of a typical able body person in Jackson. Through Ellie we meet both Dina and Jessie who later become essential characters to the story. Unfortunately we don’t see this side of life as long as I wished we would have. The player spends about 15 minutes exploring Jackson before heading off on a patrol. When we switch protagonists, Abby reveals that her group is searching for a male that lives in Jackson (later revealed to be Tommy so they could eventually find Joel). Luckily for them, Abby runs right into the two of them when she is being chased by a horde. What are the odds of that! After Abby, Joel and Tommy all work together to temporarily escape the horde, they decide that they will go to Abby’s camp because they won’t be able to make it back to Jackson in time. As many of you know because of leaked game-play that came out months before launch, Ellie gets to the house just in time to watch Abby execute Joel with a golf club.
This scene hurt me. I replayed The Last of Us right before the launch of its sequel to get reinvested in all of the characters. I remembered how good the relationship that Ellie and Joel had in the first game. It was ripped away before I even got the chance for their relationship to grow again. The worst part about it all is that like many, I knew this scene was going to happen but it still hurt. When The Last of Us Part II leaked, I tried to avoid it. Unfortunately the twitter trolls were to strong. It only took two days until an Abby meme showed up on a thread that was about universal basic income (absolutely nothing related to gaming). However, when the cast and critics of the game started to say that the leaks weren’t telling the full story, it really got my brain moving. I went back to old trailers and saw clips of an older Joel in scenes that would have to happen later in the story. I had theories where maybe Joel some how survived but unfortunately those were incorrect. In the end, the two times we see Joel in the trailer were there to throw us off. The one scene is swapped over to Jessie in the main game. The location and lines stay the same.
The other scene was when Joel rides to St. Mary after Ellie sneaks out in the middle of the night to go there. In the trailer, we see a Joel who looks like the older Joel we see in the first bit of the game. The version we see in the full release of the game looks a lot more like the younger Joel we all know and love from the original game. There is also the fact that Abby is barely seen in any of the trailers. We see her in one promo and that is it. There is never any mention of the fact that you will play half the game as her.
Could have Naughty Dog done this on purpose just to deceive people? Probably. Could have Naughty Dog had a different vision for the game originally and changed it? Also possible. If you look at the art work from the “extras” screen in-game, we see Ellie at locations such as the hospital basement (during the epic boss fight we do as Abby, not from the Nora chase) and the island during the WLF invasion. During an interview in Indiewire.com, it was confirmed that in a previous version of the game, Ellie did travel to the island but we have no idea if you would have still played as Abby in that version of the game.
I struggled with playing as Abby originally. You take a good six hour break from being Abby and then you are brought right back to her after she shoots Jesse and holds Ellie and Tommy at gun point. The flashback of her at the zoo showing her dad save the zebra (my favorite animal) made me feel partially bad for what Joel took from her. Abby’s dad seemed like a guy who just wanted to have the world go back to normal no matter the cost. Those feelings go away once you start playing as Seattle as Abby and Joel’s death is brought back up. There are moments during day 1 of Abby that I enjoy like when Mel’s dog is a complete bad ass and the fact that we can see the Washington Liberation Front from a different perspective (they aren’t the one sided bad guys that Ellie’s point of view makes them out to be). But it takes me until the middle of day 2 to actually start to care about Abby as a character. Abby spends a lot of time bonding with Lev and has some of the best set pieces of the entire game during these two days. But that eventually ends and you go right back to the moment where Jesse was shot. They put this scene right after Abby finds out that Ellie killed Owen, a pregnant Mel, and her dog (in self defense). I feel the need to add that the dog’s death hurt so much more then Owen and Mel dying. Not that I didn’t care about either of their characters. I just had problems with things that both of them do as we play as Abby while the dog is perfect. Anyway, Naughty Dog obviously wants the player to be mad at Ellie at this point of the game but it feels so out of place trying to kill Ellie as Abby after you watch her shoot Tommy in the head (a character we have known since the original game!). I am prompted on screen to spam buttons to punch Ellie but I obviously don’t have any interest in wanting to see Ellie die. Abby was ready to kill a pregnant Dina but is thankfully stopped by Lev. This is now the second time that Abby has left Ellie to live after killing one of her friends right in front of her.
Credit: Naughty Dog
The game then fast forwards to farm life. Ellie and Dina live on a farm on the outskirts of Jackson. Dina has had her child and names him JJ after Jesse. Things seem happy and it appears like Ellie has finally moved on but during an accident while herding the sheep, Ellie sees Joel’s smashed face in her head. Ellie hasn’t been eating or sleeping much and can not stop thinking about Joel. We get our last happy moment of the game when it is revealed that Tommy survived his shot to the head. Things however go downhill from there. Tommy is blind in one eye, struggles to walk without a limp, and is taking a break with his wife, Maria. Tommy has a lead on Abby’s location (even though it is a complete long shot, which foils pretty well with Abby from the start of the game where she had a lead on Joel). Tommy goes off on Ellie when Dina doesn’t want Ellie going on this search similar to how Ellie acted to Tommy at the start of the game as well. Ellie leaves in the night against Dina’s wishes which also foils with Tommy’s situation from the start of the game.
I had some hope brought back into me during this part of the game. We were finally back as Ellie and I was expecting to be able to experience her journey across a few states. Unfortunately, just like Ellie and Dina’s trip to Seattle, its a time skip. Reading Ellie’s journal talks about passing places like Las Vegas which I thought could have been super interesting. I would have preferred to have more locations on the journey to Seattle and Santa Barbra rather then playing those three days in Seattle as Abby. I think the story of Abby’s point of view could have worked better as a DLC or a standalone expansion similar to Uncharted Lost Legacy.
Ellie finally finds a weakened Abby and Lev who were both captured by slavers after they tried to find the newly formed fireflies. However, Ellie isn’t in the best shape after getting impaled by a tree branch when she gets stuck in a trap. Ellie does some bad ass stuff to escape the trap by throwing one of the slavers into a trapped infected and then shoots the other. When the other slaver sees the Ellie was bit, he tells her what direction to head. Ellie eventually frees the other slaves who tell her Abby was sent to the beach pillars after trying to escape. After Ellie cuts her down, Abby has no interest in fighting Ellie and just wants to leave with Lev. Ellie eventually gets her to fight with her after threatening Lev. Ellie gets two of fingers bitten off but had Abby at her mercy in the ocean waves. Ellie remembers her last conversation with Joel and decides to let Abby leave. The only thing I can compare this to was Rick letting Negan survive during The Walking Dead because of a conversation he had with his son Carl who had passed away earlier in the show. It is worth mentioning, that during the interview mentioned earlier, Neil Druckmann confirmed that the original ending of the game had Ellie killing Abby during their final fight.
Ellie returns back to the farmhouse to find it abandoned. Ellie goes to her art room to find all of her belongings inside. Ellie picks up her guitar and tries to play it but messes up on a few notes because she is missing two of her fingers.
Credit: Naughty Dog
The way that I have decided to look at the ending is this: Ellie is on the verge of having her biggest fear become reality. Being alone. Everyone she has ever cared about has either died or left her. We see Ellie put the guitar down and leave the house. Ellie could be going anywhere but I am going to assume that she is going back to Jackson to win Dina back. I want to assume that Ellie is finally at peace with Joel’s death since she let Abby go but who knows. They leave the ending open to interpret. The ending left me wanting more and I felt empty on the inside. Could you imagine any other story where the main theme is revenge, not ending with vengeance? I get that Naughty Dog wanted to do something different and they wanted to break the cycle of revenge but I would have honestly preferred for Abby and Ellie to kill each other on the beach rather then the ending we got. Abby and Lev are on their way now to join the fireflies. I can’t stop to think about all of the WLF npcs who were killed along the way who were essentially innocent. All of them died because of what Abby did to Joel but she gets off the hook? What about all the WLF members that Abby herself killed when she was protecting Lev on the island? I mean that was worse then Joel killing a bunch of strangers he never met to save Ellie since he at least knew Ellie for more then a day and a half. The only way I can look at this ending and be satisfied is the fact that Abby lost everyone that was close to her besides Lev. I really wish Tommy didn’t pressure Ellie to follow the lead about Abby being in Santa Barbra. If she didn’t go there, Abby would have died on that pillar judging off the bodies that we see rotting away next to her.
To summarize my opinion on the game. Everything was amazing besides the writing. I see what Naughty Dog was going for and a lot of people will enjoy what they did with the story but I personally couldn’t enjoy the second half as the game as much as the first. I struggled to relate with Abby and rooted against her while playing as her which threw things off. In my eyes, this game is a 7/10 if you played The Last of Us Part I. If you are someone who hasn’t gotten the chance to bond with Joel and Ellie, you will enjoy this game a lot more.
Mike from TGP will also be writing an article giving his thoughts on the ending sometime this week but based off conversations I have had with him, I know we agree that the ending left a bad taste in both of our mouths.
When I first watched the trailer for Ghostrunner (PC, XB1, PS4), it appeared to me as a crossover between Dishonored, Shadow Warrior, and Mirror’s Edge; all wrapped up in a Cyberpunk setting. And while visually the game does draw from these inspirations, the gameplay on offer is truly something unique, yet familiar all the same. Throughout my 13 minute, 4 second run to reach The Whisper, the main objective of the demo, I learned a lot about Ghostrunner, and how wrong my assumptions about the title’s gameplay were. Make no mistake, this is no complaint, I just have to admit that I was surprised at the sheer difficulty of this game. The only other title I can compare it to in this regard is Superhot, at least in terms of how the death system works. You die in one hit, however, unlike Superhot where you can freeze time to stay alive and you go back to the start of the level when you fail, in Ghostrunner you are constantly on the move in order to survive and you revert back to the most recent checkpoint upon death. This is due to the levels featuring multiple combat scenarios, with checkpoints placed after each victory as you move towards an end objective. This leads into the next gameplay aspect that surprised me about Ghostrunner; you could almost say it’s a puzzle game. As the available methods of movement, enemy placement, and area layout are different in between each checkpoint, you’ll be experimenting (and as a result, dying) over and over again to figure out the right pattern, or puzzle solution if you will, to dispatch your enemies swiftly and cleanly with your Cyber Katana. This is by no means a complaint, as the challenge of constantly moving while finding the right pattern to success was always satisfying and rewarding. There were moments of frustration, though, as there is a steep learning curve before you get the fluidity of the character’s movements down to a science. Additionally, and although this only occurred twice, I did get stuck in the geometry while wall-running, resulting in unfair deaths. Other than those minor instances, I am happy to report that the overwhelming majority of deaths I succumbed to were from my own mistakes. Ghostrunner, in the end, surprised me with a constant, unexpected challenge; but also rewarded me with immense satisfaction as I cut down my enemies with seemingly the speed of light itself. Although the demo was short, it was lengthy enough to leave me wanting for more, and is definitely making me consider purchasing the game at release. Ghostrunner is definitely an upcoming title to keep a close eye on this year, just don’t blink or you’ll miss it.
The Game Preview 