Baldur’s Gate 3’s launch is finally here and, as preloading wasn’t an option, Steam is having a bit of a wobble as players race to download it.
Developer Larian Studios’ founder and CEO Swen Vincke tweeted a screenshot of user-reported Steam problems (below), which spiked on August 3 at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern / 4pm UK when Baldur’s Gate 3 launched. “Sorry”, Vincke posted alongside the screenshot.
Other users are reporting issues too, with Ollie Wood on Twitter showing his empty progress bar that simply said “Busy”, indicating they couldn’t download it yet. IGN’s own download of the game is also taking its time.
One of the most important decisions you’ll make in any Soulslike is what to go with for your starting class. Ultimately, you’ll be able to adjust your character to whatever build you want by levelling up your stats, but your starting class affects your playstyle where it often matters most: Right at the beginning of the game. It determines your starting stats, the weapon you’ll likely use for the first few hours, the type of armor you’ll wear, what kind of magic you’ll wield, and what items you’ll start the game with.
It’s the kind of decision you’ll want to make an informed choice about, so to that end, we asked Hexworks themselves to breakdown the starting classes of Lords of the Fallen and give some recommendations as to what classes might fit a particular player’s style.
Blackfeather Ranger
A ranged archetype with two types of arrows at their disposal. While no slouch in melee range, the Blackfeather’s best strategy is to begin combat from afar, aiming manually and landing headshots for critical damage. If the Ranger does get into a close ranged scrap, once the enemy disengages, they can let loose with specialized arrows to trigger debuffs or elemental damage before getting back in and finishing them off with their axe.
Starting Gear:
Axe, Bow, Oak Arrows, Poison Arrows, Light Shield, Medium Armor
Stats to Focus:
Agility is the primary stat for the Ranger as it synergizes with the bow’s damage. As such, leaning toward more Agility based weapons is the most efficient strategy stats wise. There’s little need to scale into elemental magic as the arrows have elemental types. Raising Vitality for extra HP is always a fine idea, especially early game.
Note from the Developer:
Picking up targets from afar on the move, landing headshots in this type of melee focused game will always be satisfying. Especially landing critical bow hits on the bosses, hitting their weakpoints which are otherwise unreachable most of the time by melee. Aside from this, playing a cunning woodsman from the frozen wastes, feels like an apex predator on the prowl.
Condemned
This is a masochistic character class choice for pain gluttons. The Condemned is a wretched prisoner who has suffered indescribable torment. Flimsy and feeble, they make for a very poor starting class. They use their waste buckets from their cells as a melee weapon. They can throw rocks at their enemies, but that won’t achieve much except annoyance. As pitiful as that sounds if they are fast on their feet they can make reasonable progress, albeit paid in blood.
The Condemned has the lowest stats in the game and this makes them quite the dark horse when it comes to builds. They can build absolutely anything early on since level ups will come quickly and they won’t have points invested in stats that they don’t need. This is an expert class to be sure.
Note from the Developer:
No question they have one of the most iconic looks and they are perfect for experts that are keen on optimizing their builds. If the idea of starting with the ‘worst’ class and thriving with it for bragging rights sounds appealing, then the Conemned is the class for you. But the number one reason to play this class is the two handed sprint heavy attack: the dive kick. Dive kicking people off ledges puts the “Fall” in the Lords of the Fallen.
Dark Crusader
A powerful melee class with Radiant powers, and a Longsword capable of massive sweeps and deadly vertical strikes, the Dark Crusader is indomitable in melee, even more so than the Hallowed Knight. While it lacks in the ranged department, it more than makes up for it with excellent physical protection. The Crusader can charge into enemies, wielding the sword in the two handed stance, performing devastating spins, and few can withstand the onslaught, especially early game
Starting Gear:
Crusader Greatsword, Crusader Heavy Armor, Rosary Catalyst
Stats to Focus:
Strength will help with the melee damage and keep up with the heavier weapon requirements. Endurance for Stamina and carrying capacity, and for maintaining a reasonable encumbrance. And of course, Radiance to be able to cast more advanced protective spells.
Note from the Developer:
The Crusader is our poster boy, looks absolutely metal and is by far the most lore appropriate character to crusade and right the wrongs in Mournstead.
Exiled Stalker
The Exiled Stalker is an advanced class that fits the mold of the cunning and stylish rogue. This class wields twin daggers and is best described as a dervish of death. Getting in, chaining hits, and then disengaging in a flash only to re-engage half a second later is their specialty. He can also poison weapons like an assassin. This is an advanced class; it requires a lot of precision in execution and mastery of the terrain. As such, it is not recommended for beginners.
Starting Gear:
Two Daggers, Medium Stalker Armor, Throwing Daggers, Poison salts
Stats to Focus:
Agility and Endurance to boost Stamina and dagger damage, and so you can inflict as much damage as possible before being forced to disengage. This class does not do a lot of posture damage, which means, if not careful, they will end up trading hits with enemies. Increasing HP at the early levels is never a bad idea.
Note from the Developer:
The medieval assassin cut throat trope is obviously incredibly important. The Stalker is a stylish daredevil that appeals to many, since it is the epitome of confidence and martial artistry. A deadly dervish of death with poisoned blades. That being said, this is a very demanding class and its lengthy combos can land the players in hot water quite often.
Hallowed Knight
The Hallowed Knight is a classic sword and board archetype, who is very versatile, with a fast attack rate, while also having fairly good armor. Despite how heavy the armor looks, the class is medium encumbered, allowing for decent dashes and rolls. Open to spellcasting from the onset.
Starting Gear:
Short Sword, Knight Shield, Heavy Armor, Grenades, Healing-over-time consumable.
Stats to Focus:
Ideally Vitality and Endurance for HP and Stamina. Can then go either into Agility (for halberds and spears) or Radiance to cast Radiant spells.
Note from the Developer:
This is an all-rounder, a jack of all trades. Great defenses, fast attacks, popular weapon. Tossing grenades is always good fun. The most popular archtype: the errant knight
Mournstead Infantry
Extremely long melee range, with an emphasis on defense, ranged javelin tossing, and being quick on their feet. Despite this class starting off with comparitively low damage, their ranged capabilities more than make up for those shortcomings. Two handing the spear opens up massive lunging thrusts and multiple fast pokes.
Starting Gear:
Spear, Light Shield, Heavy Armor, Throwing Javelins, Healing-over-time consumable.
Stats to Focus:
Despite the heavy armor, the weapon and shield are fairly light, and alongside the Condemned, the Mournstead Infantry is free to specialize in anything. Either continue pumping Agility to get more damage out of the spear, or raising Strength to pick up the early halberds in the hub is also a great idea. Magic can also be easily be embraced since this class has decent melee and great range.
Note from the Developer:
This class is the infantry soldier archetype. Spear on the shoulder, small shield, poking at enemies from afar. The common type of medieval warrior that conquered the lands, poking at its enemies with spear and javelin. The common rank and file soldier rising above its status is another juicy medieval trope.
Orian Preacher
The pious evangelist of the Orian church, bestowing the wisdom of Orius, one hammer blow at a time. This is meant to be an advanced class for experienced players. While lacking in physical protection by donning robes and a flimsy shield, the Preacher more than makes for that with a tremendous hat. The hammer is weighty and impactful, breaking the will and posture of the heretics, and the starting healing spell grants the Preacher unparalleled sustain. Not that they need it – their faith alone will see them through these trials and tribulations.
Radiance is the number one priority. Not only does it boost the damage of the Radiant spells, but also increases mana. Vitality or Strength come next in terms of importance, both improving the Preacher’s survival in melee, since the Radiant spells are less about destructive power and lean more towards buffs and support. That being said, Preachers naturally branch into either full blown ranged spellcasters, or the paladin archtype, a heavy melee class drawing upon divine power.
Note from Developer:
Given how religion permeates all aspects of the game, the Preacher feels like the most lore appropriate class – Bringing justice to the heretics, redeeming the Sentinels, and smiting the demonic back from whence they came. And then there is that majestic hat that they sport.
Partisan
A variant of the Hallowed Knight, the Partisan is a Mournstead Knight champion. His starting weapon, a flail, is more specialized and comes along with a crossbow, which gives him quite powerful single target ranged options, especially compared to the knight’s bomb that focuses more on area of effect damage. The Partisan style of play is meant to be very relentless in their attack, especially given their Unripe Berries that buff stamina regeneration.
Starting Gear:
Flail, Knight Shield, Crossbow, Heavy Armor, Unripe Berries for Stamina regen.
Stats to Focus:
The Partisan has great defense, so increasing Agility to get more out of the flail, and Endurance to keep the momentum of swings is a great early strategy. As always, early investments in Vitality for HP is incredibly useful.
Note from the Developers:
Clad in chainmail, swinging flails and shooting crossbows, the Partisan is the skirmisher archetype. Perfectly balanced, with armor that is not as heavy as the Hallowed Knight. It reflects the fantasy of an effective duelist for all situations.
Pyric Cultist
The Pyric Cultist is an advanced class who is a fervent worshipper of Adyr and has sworn to see the natural order and humanity’s one true god finally restored. A mage wielding pyromantic spells that engages enemies from afar with a very effective fire projectile. They also make good use of the heavy polearm at their disposal when things survive the fiery barrage and close in. The staff is particularly effective against groups of enemies, while his initial fire magic is strong against single targets or closed grouped targets. This may seem exceptionally strong, but take heed: the early area features Rhogar enemies, and fire spells are not particularly effective against them.
Starting Gear:
Cultist Staff Polearm, Rhogar Catalyst, Infernal Orb Spell, Medium Armor, Small Manastone consumable
Stats to Focus:
Infernal is their most important stat – boosting spell damage as well as mana. Their armor is quite reasonable, which makes them fairly resisitant to physical damage. As such, investing in Endurance to maintain a high Stamina to keep flinging those spells and dodge out of harms way is a good first choice. Alternative they can branch out, investing heavily into strength to wield the heavy devastating Rhogar weapons that have high stat requirements as well as weight.
Note from the Developer:
With their masks made from human skin, these pyromancers are the anti-Preacher so to speak. Human cultits yearning for Adyr’s return, spreading its pestilent teachings in the human communities and immolating the opposition. Aside from being agents of chaos and destruction, they also revel in bloodletting, collecting hands and using them as catalysts. This is a very “Lords of the Fallen” kind of class, since the embracing of the unfettered power that the Rhogar wield is very satisfying. And damning.
Udirangr Warwolf
All out offensive class that focuses on overpowering melee strikes that can stagger foes, while still being fast on their feet. Right from the outset, this class has the ability to set their weapon on fire using Fire Salts and swing it arouind like a maniac.
Starting Gear:
Long Sword, Throwing Axes, Medium Armor, Fire Salts
Stats to Focus:
Strength to increase the melee damage and keep up with the influx of the juicy strength scaling weapons and high strength requirements. Leveling Vitality for Health is always desirable, especially early game.
Note from the Developer:
The Warwolf is the barbarian archtype, fur clad berserker. No shield, all in, devastating wide sweeping attacks and really handy axes to throw. This class fulfills that melee glass cannon fantasy. WIth a little bit of Radiance or Infernalm, you can learn buffing warcries to further deepen the fantasy.
Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit
Baldur’s Gate is estimated to clock in at around 100 hours on a first playthrough. Review copies were distributed this past Sunday morning; this first draft you’re reading was due the following Wednesday. I am, sadly, not a Time Wizard (yet), so I’m going to do my best to help you make a day one buying decision based on what I’ve played so far and update this article as I go along with new thoughts and insights until we can roll credits. At around 22 hours deep – still within the first act that was available to Early Access players – I can say that I more or less love Larian’s latest high-fantasy behemoth.
One issue video games often run into when trying to adapt the experience of playing Dungeons & Dragons on the tabletop is the freedom and imagination you get to express in overcoming problems using real-world logic. And while no game will probably ever match that level of freedom, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a big step forward from the likes of Skyrim or Dragon Age. And that goes such a long way toward making the world feel more real and making me feel really smart for coming up with unconventional solutions.
If something looks flammable, you can probably light it on fire with a fire spell. If an enemy is standing in water and you zap the water, it does about what you would expect. You can get to a lot of secret areas by climbing and jumping. Just about anything that looks like you should be able to pick it up, including most furniture, can be picked up and even thrown if you have enough strength. This level of care extends to the people who inhabit the world, as well. Everyone has a name and is fully voice-acted – including, astoundingly, all the animals. Playing through as a ranger with the Speak to Animals spell, I have yet to find a single bird, ox, or wolf who didn’t have something to say. I was even able to talk a ferocious owlbear out of eating me.
The writing is strong so far, as well. (My biggest criticism of Larian’s Divinity: Original Sin games was that they didn’t really succeed in making me care about the plot.) Baldur’s Gate 3 starts with an appropriately epic intro featuring a squid-like spaceship being chased through magic portals by dragons, and the player characters becoming infected by mind parasites that will slowly turn them all into brain-eating cthulhu monsters called mind flayers if they can’t find a cure. The voice acting across the board has been excellent, too. And while I don’t exactly like all of my traveling companions, they’re all very interesting with lots of secrets and rich backgrounds I’ve only begun to unfurl.
And while Faerûn may be a more grounded and serious world than Divinity’s Rivellon – and I definitely prefer it that way – there are still some quirky and off-the-wall side quests to vary the tone. At one point I accidentally walked in on a female ogre and a bugbear about a quarter of her size… um… spending some quality time together. It didn’t end well for anyone, but I got a good laugh out of it after I did my best to will that image out of my mind forever.
I have run into several bugs, but nothing game-breaking. In one area, a goblin I spoke to failed to play her dialogue lines, the camera hung on a shot of one of my party member’s faces for far too long, and then a different party member from the one who had initiated the conversation was forced into the negotiating role – something she was very poorly suited for. There are also some cases of clothing on models clipping into their bodies when they bend a certain way, lighting glitches in certain dialogue scenes, and other visual weirdness. It could all be filed under annoyances. We’ve also gotten two large bug fixing patches since the review build dropped, so I’ll go back and check if these issues are still present once the final launch version of the code is available.
There are simply too many spells
Combat has been improved from the Early Access version I first played in 2020, and it feels much more fluid and flowing now. That being said, it does suffer somewhat from trying to be such a faithful adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, a system that works better on the tabletop than it does in the digital realm. There are a lot of buttons to learn about and deal with even at first level, and every caster you add to the party makes this worse. Leveling up a spell-focused character is an exercise in decision fatigue. There are simply too many spells, many of which I feel like no one will ever use. And the amount of damage enemies do in comparison to your health pool at lower levels can make even small battles really stressful.
At the same time, death has been made somewhat meaningless – you meet a character fairly early on who can resurrect any party member for 200 gold, which honestly isn’t that much. I would have much preferred a Baldur’s Gate 3 balanced around a lower risk of death, but with higher consequences if you do kick the bucket.
Progression also feels a bit stingy. There are only 12 levels available out of the 20 in 5th Edition, meaning you will level up 11 times over 100-plus hours. Gaining a level does feel like a significant event, but the fact that my party is still only level 4 after over 20 hours of play feels kind of glacial. I have been rewarded with other power increases like magic items along the way, and those can make a big difference. But many times I’ve completed a big quest, seen how little it filled up my experience bar, and sighed in disappointment.
The art and music, though, I have almost no complaints about. Both bring the Forgotten Realms to life as a colorful but grounded high fantasy world with everything from humble halflings to terrifying red dragons rendered in a style that feels realistic without becoming uncanny or weird. It’s exactly how I would want an infinity-style CRPG in 2023 to look. The character creator is wonderful, too. I spent at least an hour or so messing around with the different playable races and all of the visual options available to them.
On the whole, I really am loving Baldur’s Gate 3
On the whole, I really am loving Baldur’s Gate 3 so far. It definitely has some blemishes, from minor bugs to a combat system that I don’t exactly adore at lower levels. But I’ve been waiting 14 years for another alignment of the planets like Dragon Age: Origins, when an old-school CRPG got a big enough budget to look like a high quality animated movie – but the design hadn’t been completely steered in the wrong direction in a misguided attempt to reach a different market like the later two Dragon Ages. This is the closest anyone has ever come to recapturing that magic.
Check back in the coming days for more of my thoughts as the story progresses, and stick around for the final review in the coming weeks.
If you’re into stylish color schemes for your controllers, you should probably get an Xbox. Not only can you design your own, but Microsoft is always coming out with new official controller color schemes. The latest Xbox controller design is called Stormcloud Vapor, and it looks great. It costs $69.99 and it’s out soon, on August 8, but preorders are live now (see it at Amazon).
The design is a blue and black swirl that basically looks like mist. The exact design of the swirl is unique to each controller, so you won’t have to worry that your swirl looks just like everyone else’s. And for added grippiness, the back case of the controller has rubberized blue diamond-pattern grips. I don’t know if you’ve used an Xbox controller with rubberized grips, but the comfort level and ease of holding the thing are actually noticeable. Grips, it turns out, are good.
Aside from the appealing surface-level style, this latest Xbox controller is, in my opinion, the best standard controller ever made. The shape is basically perfect; it feels phenomenal in your hands. The buttons, triggers, and sticks offer just the right amount of resistance. And although I was skeptical of the disc-shaped D-pad design when it was first unveiled, I actually like it more than the plus-shaped ones I used to favor. This is a terrific controller.
If you like the swirl design of the Stormcloud Vapor controller, lock in a preorder. If not, there are plenty of other designs you can choose from. I’m sure you’ll find one that works for you. And if not, hop over to the Xbox Design Lab and make your own. For more, also check out the best Xbox deals happening now.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on (long inhale) Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and the social network formerly known as Twitter.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has leaked once more and Activision is officially in on the joke.
As reported by MP1st, the reveal date, weapons, and key art of 2023’s Call of Duty have reportedly leaked and Activision has tweeted its own “key art” in response.
“Jokes on you, real key art here,” the tweet said (below), alongside a Microsoft paint drawing of a Call of Duty cover. “We’ll share our artistic abilities and even more next week.”
The full reveal date is reportedly August 17, though the “next week” suggestion from the official Call of Duty account suggests at least a tease will be coming earlier. One key art image for the game, which appeared on Imgur, shows a spooky skull with a snake going through it while another shows Captain Price.
A list of weapons also appeared through a datamine, which includes the Bushmaster ACR in 5.56 assault rifle, Heckler & Koch SL8 marksman rifle, Glock 21 pistol, Uzi Pro submachine gun, SVCh sniper rifle, and more. The long-range acoustic device killstreak was also leaked alongside an AeroVironment Switchblade.
Notably, the list includes Metroid Prime 4 (which still carries a “temp” title and ‘TBA’ release date). Here’s the list in full:
Detective Pikachu Returns 10/6/2023
Super Mario Bros. Wonder 10/20/2023
WarioWare: Move It! 11/3/2023
Super Mario RPG 11/17/2023
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (temp.) 2024
Princess Peach will star as the main character in a brand new game (temp.) 2024
Metroid Prime 4 (temp.) TBA
Metroid Prime 4 has suffered a tumultuous development since it was announced three years ago. Development was restarted in 2019 with the help of Retro Studios, developer of the original Metroid Prime games. At the time, Nintendo said it took the decision because the fourth entry “has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series”. While not confirmed by Nintendo, Eurogamer reported Metroid Prime 4 was being developed by Bandai Namco Studios Singapore.
Nintendo has been silent on Metroid Prime 4 ever since, leading some to speculate the game was either in development hell or had switched focus to launch on the Switch’s next-gen successor, rumoured to launch late in 2024.
Metroid Prime 4 failed to show up during June’s Nintendo Direct, but given Nintendo itself still lists the game as a Switch title, perhaps the company plans to re-reveal it later in 2023 as its final Nintendo Switch game and a next-gen console launch title, much like Breath of the Wild was the last Wii U game from Nintendo as well as a Switch launch title.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Nintendo saw huge revenue and profit gains off the back of the enormous success of Tears of the Kingdom and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold an impressive 18.51 million units as of the end of June 2023, Nintendo said. Reporting its financial results for the three months ending June 30, Nintendo said Tears of the Kingdom “got off to a good start” following its launch on May 12, “significantly” increasing overall software sales but also driving sales of the Nintendo Switch. In fact, sales of first-party software this quarter reached the highest level for a first quarter since the launch of Nintendo Switch in 2017.
“Sell-through of this one title constitutes approximately half of the first-party software sold this fiscal year,” Nintendo said. “Consumers who played the previous entry, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, have been the primary driver, but as the weeks have passed, we have seen that a growing percentage of purchases are being made by consumers who have not yet played that title.”
Zelda wasn’t the only big contributor to Nintendo’s bottom line. The April 5 release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was enormous. Nintendo said as of July 30, a whopping 168.1 million people worldwide have now seen the movie, and as of July 26, global box-office revenue hit $1.349 billion. That’s the highest ever for an original film based on a video game, and the second-highest for an animated film. “This is helping us build a lasting affection for our Super Mario IP around the world,” Nintendo said.
The success of the Mario movie had the knock-on effect of growing sales of Mario games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario merchandise. The eternally-popular kart racer shifted another 1.67 million sales during the quarter and has now sold an eye-watering 55.46 million units.
“By expanding Nintendo IP in areas outside the dedicated video game platform we create new opportunities for consumers to encounter Nintendo IP, and this invigorates our overall business,” Nintendo said. “Based on the various effects that we have confirmed through the release of this movie, we will continue our efforts towards visual content-related initiatives.”
Nintendo Switch sales increased 13.9% year-on-year to 3.91 million units, and software unit sales increased 26.1% year-on-year to 52.21 million units. The number of Nintendo Switch annual playing users between July 2022 and June 2023 was the highest ever, exceeding 116 million users. As of June 30, Nintendo Switch now sold a total of 129.53 million units.
The end result is sales were up 50% year-on-year to 461.3 billion yen ($3.2 billion), and net profit was up 52.1% to 181 billion yen ($1.2 billion).
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Remnant II has sold more than one million units across all platforms in its first week, so Stella, Kahlief, and Destin discuss how Remnant II has improved from its original game formula and how unique the gameplay loop is. Plus: Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t be releasing on Xbox for quite some time, your Xbox controller will be easier to repair on your own, and we have the full list of games joining and leaving Xbox Game Pass for August.
Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out my recent interview with Todd Howard, who discussed the realization of his vision for Starfield after eight years, how Red Dead Redemption 2 was something of an inspiration, what his future holds, and more!
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
When Square Enix originally announced Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, I thought that creating a streamlined experience of the Final Fantasy VII compilation seemed like a great idea. The main question that came to my mind, however, was how a game like that was going to work. Over the course of each Final Fantasy VII project there have been different gameplay elements and genres, like Final Fantasy VII being a turn-based JRPG while Dirge of Cerberus is a third person shooter. And then there’s Advent Children, which is a full-fledged movie, leaving me to wonder how that was going to translate. Unfortunately, after spending a significant amount of time with Ever Crisis during its recent closed beta test, these questions still float in my mind unresolved. Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is shaping up to be a well-designed gacha game, but I’m having trouble reconciling that with the attractive original pitch that was shared when it was first announced.
I got to play the beginning segments of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, and the new story The First Soldier with several different levels that make up a single chapter. Each one can consist of combat and a small bit of exploration, but some only have cutscenes continuing the story. After getting a chance to ask the development team whether or not the entire Final Fantasy VII compilation was going to be covered, their response was that they couldn’t share any additional details on other works and as to whether or not they were being included.
Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is shaping up to be a well-designed gacha game, but I’m having trouble reconciling that with the attractive original pitch that was shared when it was first announced.
The most noteworthy thing to bring up for Final Fantasy VII fans is the third narrative that was a part of this beta, The First Soldier. This is the campaign that’s teasing the inclusion of a young Sephiroth. Outside of the opening cinematic, my time playing through the first two chapters left me empty-handed. The main cast includes three Shinra SOLDIERS; Glenn, Lucia, and Matt, who all crash land in a remote area. The three protagonists are a part of the SOLDIER Project: Project 0, which was a main lore point from the original First Soldier game, the now shut down battle royale. Why Square decided to name another story the same thing remains to be seen.
Combat is a combination of the original Final Fantasy VII and FF7 Remake. It’s turn-based, but both your team and the enemies will auto attack over time. There is also an ATB bar where your abilities and spells require a certain number of segments to use. Additionally there is an auto-battle button that allowed me to step away while I was grinding for materials and other items. It’s a relatively straightforward system, but the new sigil and shift mechanics add a new layer of strategy to building your party and approaching each battle.
Combat is a combination of the original Final Fantasy VII and FF7 Remake.
Some encounters include enemies that prepare a devastating attack while the fight continues on. Certain skills will have a sigil marked on its select tile, and after using it enough and marking the sigil to zero, the enemy will be staggered – giving the party time for an all-out assault. The shift system is pretty simple, but can be crucial to your success in battle. By being in the attack shift you will deal more damage, and more sigils added to an attack while defense shift you deal less damage, but you take less and healing is more effective. There were definitely times where I was saved from death after switching to defense when I didn’t have enough time to heal my party. It is also satisfying to unleash all my limit breaks at once while I’m in attack mode.
Rummaging through the menus can prove tiresome, because just about every single thing you want to do will take you to another screen to do it. It’s most egregious when you want to enhance your gear. Whether it was my weapons or materia, I had to go to separate areas to do it, and there were no shortcuts. If I was customizing my party and switching things around, there was no upgrade button from that screen. I had to go back to the main menu and choose the enhance screen from there, which took several extra steps for something that should be readily available. This never failed to be frustrating.
Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis so far checks all the boxes you would expect from a premium gatcha game, but there are definitely some updates that could make the menu interface go a lot smoother.
Weapons are unlocked through Ever Crisis’s draw system. By using tickets that can be earned through gameplay (and are likely purchasable at launch) I was able to pull a wide variety, including the special weapon that was being promoted. Even though weapons will have different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to their stats, it is really the ability that determined whether or not I would equip it to a party member. For example: Cloud’s iconic Buster Sword had Braver as its ability, while the Murasame sword that I received had Thunderstrike. Aerith, on the other hand, had a staff with a Curaga Burst, and what made me want to prioritize that ability over a curaga spell from materia is that not only does it heal my whole party, it went off instantly instead of preparing the cast like other powerful spells would.
Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis so far checks all the boxes you would expect from a premium gatcha game, but there are definitely some updates that could make the menu interface go a lot smoother. The lack of controller support also feels like a major misstep. If a high-quality and high-budget gacha mobile game is what you’re looking for, then I think you will enjoy your time with it. I had fun myself despite the significant interface issues. However, if you were hoping that Ever Crisis would be the game to help give you a quicker overview of the Final Fantasy VII series I suggest looking elsewhere.
Striking Distance Studios, the studio behind the 2022 survival horror and Dead Space spiritual successor the Callisto Protocol, has laid off 32 employees in what it’s calling a move to “realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success.”
Spotted first by X user @bogorad222 and independently confirmed by IGN, more than 30 employees were impacted by the recent layoffs.
In a statement sent to IGN, a spokesperson for Krafton confirmed the studio had layoffs and that 32 employees were impacted.
Striking Distance Studios and KRAFTON have implemented strategic changes that realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success. Unfortunately, these changes have impacted 32 employees. Honoring the invaluable contributions of each departing team member with material support in the form of outplacement services and meaningful severance packages is our top priority during this difficult moment.
Striking Distance struggles forward
Striking Distance was founded over three years ago and is led by Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space and co-founder of Sledgehammer Games. The studio was originally formed to create a narrative-driven game set in the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) universe, later revealed as The Callisto Protocol. However, in May 2022, Schofield revealed that The Callisto Protocol no longer takes place in the PUBG universe, stating that it “grew into its own world..”
Des licenciements chez Striking Distance Studios (@sd_studios ), 1 mois après la sortie du dernier DLC de The Callisto Protocol. pic.twitter.com/8sXaHnH7Hp
However, when The Callisto Protocol was released, it was met with mixed reviews and several issues, from performance issues to studio crunch, and issues with crediting people who worked on the game. Additionally, it was reported that The Callisto Protocol failed to meet the sales expectations set forth by Striking Distance Studios’ parent company Krafton.
In our review of The Callisto Protocol, which we awarded a 7 out of 10, my colleague Tristran Ogilvie said “The Callisto Protocol is a satisfyingly gory spiritual successor to the Dead Space series, but it’s ultimately more of a striking modern mimic than a scary new mutation.”
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
