Free-to-play, team-based dodgeball game Knockout City is about to be, well, knocked out. According to an official post today, it’s shutting down in June.
We have an important announcement about the future of Knockout City.
Season 9 will be our final Season. All servers will be shut down on June 6th. We have more in store, so stay tuned!
In the full blog post, developer and publisher Velan Studios says that Season 9 will be the final season for Knockout City, with the game shutting down on June 9, 2023 — over two years after launch. This means that all servers will shut down and Knockout City won’t be playable at all.
Beginning February 28 (the same day that Season 9 starts), all real-money transactions will be removed. However, Velan reassures that Season 9 will include copious rewards in the form of XP, style chips, and the currency holobux. Additionally, “almost every cosmetic we’ve ever sold” will end up in one of the upcoming event sale shops, and rewards for login bonuses, league play, and other elements will be increased.
A final, two-week-long event on May 23 will conclude Knockout City’s run with triple XP, “massive rewards,” and a community-favorite playlist.
In its FAQ on the shutdown, Velan did say that a private hosted server version would be released on PC, which should allow players in pre-formed groups to enjoy the game and keep it alive for posterity. However, the live version of the game will be gone.
Notably, game director Jeremy Russo wrote in the same blog post a very detailed explanation for why Velan Studios is opting to shut down Knockout City, saying that it had become extremely challenging for Velan to create a large, live service game with “no points of comparison,” noting that there were many aspects of the game that needed overhauls to become sustainable longterm.
Since we are a small, indie studio, it’s simply impossible for us to make those kinds of systemic changes in the live game while continuing to support it. So it became clear to us that we needed to take a step back and pave the way for Velan to do what we do best by innovating. Now we can take everything we learned, everything that succeeded and everything that needs improvement, and get to work on exploring new possible experiences for Knockout City and other games and products we are very excited about. We’re currently in the process of doing a comprehensive retrospective on every aspect of the game, all the community feedback and analytics data, and even our development processes. Our hope is that sometime in the not-too-distant future, all this information can be used to start work on what comes next in the Knockout City universe. While we can’t promise that Knockout City will be back, what we can promise is that you’ll continue to see new and innovative games from Velan Studios that will surprise and delight players around the world.
It’s been a week of live service game shutdowns, incidentally, with EA announcing Tuesday that Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile would be sunsetting soon, and Iron Galaxy almost simultaneously announcing that Rumbleverse would also be closing. Like both Rumbleverse and Apex Legends Mobile, Knockout City was critically praised, with our own reviewer calling it “one of the best team-based PvP games to come out in years.” Hopefully Velan’s able to bring the IP back for another round one of these days.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
The last thing I expected from developer Tango Gameworks was a vibrant, fun-loving action game with the heart of a cartoon I would’ve absolutely loved. The studio’s primarily known for the dark and creepy likes of The Evil Within or Ghostwire: Tokyo, but Hi-Fi Rush is instead filled with a joyous, youthful personality seen in its stunning animation, art style, and characters. And while the surprising change of pace is already refreshing, Tango’s greatest accomplishment is how it expertly executes on the singular concept that permeates Hi-Fi Rush’s design — that rhythm is everything.
Right from the jump, Hi-Fi Rush establishes its reverence for modern garage and alt-rock, kicking things off by using The Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy” to introduce the cheesy but endearing protagonist Chai and the colorful, high-tech industrialized world he lives in. Labeled a “defect” by robotics megacorp Vandelay Industries after a surgical mishap leaves him with an iPod stuck in his chest, Chai can see and feel the pulse of his music coursing through the world around him. From that point on, nearly everything is impressively tied to the rhythm of Hi-Fi Rush’s soundtrack as this boyish goofball bashes Vandelay robots with a makeshift sword in the shape of a Gibson Flying V.
This playful setup sets a strong tone, and things only get better from there as Hi-Fi Rush layers on a fantastic crew of allies, charismatic villains, and bombastic fights — and often wrapped in a poignant satire of our tech dystopia. It’s done with effortless humor and some genuinely warm moments. From so many angles, Hi-Fi Rush is able to showcase its uniquely charming spirit.
It Takes You to Tango
At its best, Hi-Fi Rush’s combat creates a unique harmonious flow where music is your guide every step of the way. Chai always executes his attacks on the beat regardless of your own input timing, but keeping in rhythm with the BGM’s BPM rewards you with extra damage rather than punishing any missed notes. Using a similar foundation as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, each combat encounter across the roughly 10-12 hour campaign is graded on completion speed, elegance, and the ability to stay on beat with combos, but that constant tie to the music results in a type of satisfaction I just don’t get from other stylish-action games.
This rhythmic system leaves no ambiguity in combo timing and paces itself in a way that allows for room to consider each follow-up move. Deciding whether I should use a light or heavy attack to mix up my combo string, a dodge or parry in anticipation of incoming hits, the grappling hook to close the gap on targets, or a summon to have a companion break shields or stun enemies never felt overwhelming since I could just pace myself to the music. It doesn’t linger on any one concept or gimmick for too long either, steadily throwing in new ideas to toy with before bringing them all together to test my mastery, which meant I never felt like I was simply hammering away to a basic 4/4 time signature.
I never felt like I was simply hammering away to a 4/4 time signature.
Every enemy’s attack pattern also plays by the same rules. Whether it be charge-ups, AoEs, sword slashes, or projectiles, the rhythm let me confidently avoid telegraphed attacks and approach them like a dancing rhythm game. Sometimes that inspiration even becomes more explicit – tougher foes and some bosses break into brief standalone rhythmic quick time event minigames that require a sequence of parries to counter their last-ditch efforts and deliver a final blow. The rhythm game die-hard in me got hyped every single time I had to do this, and getting perfect strings of parries left me nodding in satisfaction. In fact, one boss fight solely based on this concept is still my favorite encounter, even after some bombastic battles with dazzling spectacles in the late-game.
My natural ability to clap on two and four wasn’t enough to get past Hi-Fi Rush’s tougher battles. Enemies gradually evolve in complexity with different offensive styles, and things can get chaotic in encounters that mix and match enemy types. The targeting system did leave me in precarious positions on occasion – since there’s no manual lock-on, I’d sometimes hook onto or gravitate towards enemies I didn’t intend to target, leaving me vulnerable or swinging at the wrong foe. That can become a problem when Hi-Fi Rush layers on flame-wielding robots and electrified floors, for example, but it works well-enough for most fights. Thankfully, with all the tools at my disposal, I could overcome any moments of frustration by changing my approach or at least playing it safer.
Seeing Sounds
Because music is the driving force behind Hi-Fi Rush’s design, anything that syncs to the beat through audio cues is also represented with distinct visual cues. For example, powerful combo finishers called Beat Hits use colored circles to show their proper timing, while big incoming attacks leave AoE markers on the ground that change color to the beat to indicate when they’ll land. Additionally, you can activate an on-screen metronome at any point to help keep time more explicitly. I can’t be the judge of whether or not it’s enough from an accessibility standpoint, but those who may struggle with rhythm games or need assistance with the audio do have some options here, and it’s worth acknowledging the importance of including them and the effort put forth to level the playing field.
The attention to detail is one of the most impressive parts of Hi-Fi Rush.
The closer you look at Hi-Fi Rush’s world, the more you see how deep the rhythmic ethos runs. Chai’s footsteps, his snapping idle animation, the pulsing light rings on his robotic cat companion 808, the trees and rocks bouncing in the environment, and even building infrastructure all move to the groove – this level of meticulous detail shows the whole world is in on the action. No matter where you turn, someone or something is jamming out to the same song as you. That attention to detail is still one of the most impressive parts of Hi-Fi Rush, and it gives a sense of momentum into an already vivid world.
Platforming and puzzle sections between the staged combat encounters operate on the same principles, with platforms and key objects retracting and moving to the same beat. There’s no mistake when it comes to timing – Hi-Fi Rush can’t pull any cheap tricks or hit you with inexplicable difficulty spikes when it always plays by the same rules. The beat establishes a ruleset and dance you understand, nailing the timing is about seeing the environment as an extension of the music. That said, for as slick as it is on a conceptual level, movement during platforming isn’t quite as fluid as it is during combat. The consequences aren’t dire for misjudging a jump, but the fact that you can do so fairly easily is still a minor but noticeable inconvenience.
You Know the Vibes
While the harmonious fusion of rhythm and action is an outstanding achievement, what makes Hi-Fi Rush truly memorable is seeing its charismatic crew and world come to life. Chai’s great as the goofy, irreverent everyman, but it’s the supporting cast that makes the journey feel whole.
Peppermint is the slick badass who’s the brains behind the operation to take down Vandelay’s band of comically evil executives. She steals every scene she’s in, and in many ways, this story is more about her. 808 acts as a vessel for the squad to communicate, but she’s also an adorable little baby tiger who’ll steal your heart simply doing cat things. Macaron is the big softie whose adorable demeanor contrasts with his brute force capabilities. It’s a strong dynamic in a crew of lovable personalities shining brighter than the protagonist himself – sorry Chai, you’re cool but I wish I could take control of your cooler friends on this journey!
Hi-Fi Rush has some of the best animation in games, period.
Hi-Fi Rush breathes life into these characters with some of the best animation in games, period. Cutscenes let their personalities shine bright as they fight to the beat and express themselves in such charming fashion. They’re also critical to call in during battle, and I always loved seeing their partner attacks play out. The camera cuts for tandem special moves are sweet as hell, too. Juggling an air combo and finishing it off with Peppermint’s partner attack where she whips out a massive laser beam or Macaron’s ground pound never gets old. They’re also super effective against the toughest foes and it really sells the idea that taking down Vandelay is a team effort.
There are so many cute quirks that ensure they just don’t end up as supporting characters in the background and they naturally bounce off each other and the villains. Genuinely funny dialogue, impeccable comedic timing, and superb voice performances make warmhearted and laugh-out-loud moments possible. And that stayed consistent throughout the entire story, even bringing a tear to my eye as I marched towards the conclusion. There’s also an amalgamation of nerd culture references that surprisingly fit the tone and a bunch of clever little goofs and gags with some sobering satire of modern work culture and the tech industry within a capitalist dystopia. Hi-Fi Rush makes melding all these seemingly disparate elements look effortless.
The Sound of Rebels Fighting
While Hi-Fi Rush is filled with tons of original music, licensed tracks are interspersed to define key moments and make for some sick needle drops, like Number Girl’s “Inazawa Chainsaw” coming on during an exciting getaway. These aren’t just licensed songs for the sake of having them either, because they also play by the rules of Hi-Fi Rush’s universe, layering on instrumentation and matching the beat of the world – for example, Nine Inch Nails’ “1,000,000” and “The Perfect Drug” play for their respective bosses, only progressing through the whole song as you get deeper into the fight’s phases. Yet neither of those examples come close to the flawless implementation of The Prodigy’s electro-punk tune “Invaders Must Die”, genuinely invigorating me to tear through robotic hordes and barrel towards the end, or The Joy Formidable’s “Whirring” to really capture that bittersweet feeling.
Between those moments of licensed spectacle, Hi-Fi Rush bounces off the beat of original tracks from composers Shuichi Kobori and Reo Uratani, which replicate the modern garage rock sound nicely. These songs tend to blend into the background; catchy enough to get me to tap my foot as I’m playing but mostly serving their purpose as a guide for combat and puzzle timing rather than standout songs of their own. Outside of one, I’m not sure if I can hum a melody or recall a specific song off the in-house tracklist. It may also be a symptom of having every other aspect of Hi-Fi Rush be outstanding that anything that’s simply “good” gets lost in the shuffle.
However, that aforementioned stand out track comes from a late-game stage that, dare I say, gives me Persona vibes. Upbeat acid jazz with a Rhodes piano backed by sharp orchestral strings and funky guitars as I pull up to infiltrate a gaudy museum? Madarame, eat your heart out. I thought to myself, I’ve been waiting for this – an original, evocative song to perfectly frame the moment. Every layer of this intoxicating track blast in combat, but they revert nicely to a toned down version in exploration and build up additional elements the further you get in the stage; it’s a prime example of how Hi-Fi Rush wields its music, and the most memorable one at that.
The monstrous hero Swamp Thing is coming to the big screen thanks to DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU plan, the first part of which is dubbed Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Looks like we know which section of that title Swamp Thing fits in…
The character has gotten his fair share of cross-media attention in recent years, including being in the roster for the 2017 fighting game Injustice 2 as well as having his own live-action TV series on the DC Universe streaming app. Alas, that show only lasted one season, and the service itself is long gone as well now.
Still, Swamp Thing has had a long and interesting history at DC Comics. Here’s everything you need to know about the roots of this character (pun intended) and the role he plays in the larger DCU.
Who Is Swamp Thing?
Alec Holland was a brilliant scientist developing a “bio-restorative formula” that promised to change the fields of botany and medicine forever. But when Holland refused to sell his formula, his lab was sabotaged. Holland was doused with burning chemicals and dove into the nearby swamp to save himself. Instead, he emerged as a giant, plant-like monster. His old life gone, Holland was left to roam the bayou and punish anyone who threatened his new home.
Swamp Thing has few real connections to the human world. One of those is Abigail Arcane, the one woman capable of seeing and loving the man beneath the moss. The other is John Constantine, who actually got his start as a supporting character in Saga of the Swamp Thing before spinning out into his own adventures.
Swamp Thing’s Powers and Abilities
It’s obvious just from looking at Swamp Thing that he’s a powerful monster, but super-strength is the least of his skills. With a body that’s more plant matter than human tissue, Swamp Thing can alter his shape, change his size and extend various vines and tendrils. He can even grow wings when he needs to fly from Point A to Point B.
Most impressively, Swamp Thing has direct control over all plant life – not just on Earth, but essentially anywhere in the universe. While his body isn’t quite invulnerable, Swamp Thing is basically immortal. As long as there’s plant life to cling to – be it a tree or a a bush or piece of tobacco – Swamp Thing can transmit his consciousness and rebuild his body anew. He often uses this ability to travel from plant to plant, meaning he can go pretty much anywhere in the world that has plant life.
You can see why many consider Swamp Thing to be one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe.
Swamp Thing: Origin and Background
Swamp Thing made his debut in 1971’s House of Secrets #92, where he was depicted as an early 20th Century man who was murdered by a jealous rival and returned as a plant monster to defend his wife. The character was given his own series the following year, and creators Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson reworked the concept to fit a more contemporary setting. But the basics remained pretty much the same, and hence Alec Holland was born in 1972’s Swamp Thing #1.
Swamp Thing’s very existence is defined by the question, “Is he a man who looks like a plant or a plant that think’s it’s a man?”. That question was at the heart of Alan Moore’s Saga of the Swamp Thing run, widely regarded to be the greatest in the character’s long history. Early on, Moore revealed that Swamp Thing isn’t actually a transformed Alec Holland. Holland died as a result of his injuries. Swamp Thing is merely a mysterious form of plant life that absorbed fragments of Holland’s consciousness and memories. Naturally, this is a character prone to questioning his own existence and place in the universe. That existence always seems to be in flux, as recently DC’s comics have taken a hard turn and suggested that Alec Holland does still exist within Swamp Thing.
Swamp Thing’s mythology was further complicated with the addition of elements like The Green and the Parliament of Trees. The Green is sort of like The Force in that it’s a living energy field that links all plant life in the universe and is the source of Swamp Thing’s powers. It coexists with other mystical energies in the DCU, including The Red (animal life), The Rot (death and decay) and The Grey (machine life).
These energy fields also exist as actual locations, and The Green is home to the Parliament of Trees. These ageless, powerful Plant Elementals oversee all plant life in the universe. As it turns out, the Parliament has always relied on a Swamp Thing to carry out their will in the human world, and Alec Holland is simply the latest in a long line of Swamp Things.
Swamp Thing: Beyond the Comics and Into the DCU
Swamp Thing has enjoyed a pretty healthy career outside of the comics. He was actually the first DC hero after Batman and Superman to star in his own live-action movie. Horror icon Wes Craven directed 1982’s Swamp Thing, which was fairly well received. That was followed up by 1989’s ultra-low-budget sequel Return of the Swamp Thing, which wasn’t.
Swamp Thing also starred in both a live-action and animated TV series in the early ’90s, with the former enjoying a pretty healthy run from 1990 to 1993. More recently, he’s appeared on the animated series Justice League Action and in the direct-to-video animated movie Justice League Dark. Alec Holland was mentioned on NBC’s short-lived Constantine series, but unfortunately that show was canceled before he was able to appear in the flesh (plant-flesh?). And of course, he also got a one-season series on DC Universe which starred Andy Bean and Derek Mears as Swamp Thing, Crystal Reed as Abby Arcane and Virginia Madsen as Maria Sunderland.
Aside from Injustice 2, Swamp Thing has appeared in a variety of games. Several video games were developed based on the 1991 animated series. Swamp Thing has also been a playable character in the MOBA game Infinite Crisis and LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.
Swamp Thing was expected to return to the big screen in Dark Universe, a horror-flavored DC movie inspired by the comic book series Justice League Dark. That project seemed perpetually trapped in development hell, and now it’s clear that James Gunn and Peter Safran have figured out a different way to bring the character to the big screen. In fact, Logan and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold is said to be in talks to write and direct Swamp Thing for Warner Bros.
Note: This story was updated on Feb. 2, 2023. It was originally published when the DC Universe series was released.
This console generation — the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and (kind of) Nintendo Switch OLED — has been an unusual one, to put it mildly. Finding current-gen consoles in stock, either in brick-and-mortar stores or online, has been far more difficult than usual. For the average consumer, the PS5 in particular was nearly impossible to find in stock at pretty much any point over the past two years.
Sony recently said the PS5 shortage is essentially over, and we’re finally seeing that bear out. Right now, you can order all of the latest game consoles at one retailer or another, and they will ship almost immediately. It’s about time.
Where to Buy Current-Gen Consoles
Naturally, there are a couple of caveats. For the PS5 disc edition, the only SKU that’s currently available is the one that comes with God of War: Ragnarok and costs $559. Back in the old days, game pack-ins came at no additional cost, but those days are over. (Thankfully, it’s a great game; see our 10/10 God of War Ragnarok review). And the PS5 Digital Edition isn’t as widely available as the disc version. It still requires you to request an invitation to order from Amazon, or it ships out in a week from Walmart.
Still, it’s a rare thing to see all models of all the current consoles available to purchase online without any major delays. Let’s hope it stays this way.
I suspect several factors are at play here. By all accounts, the chip shortages that kept these machines scarce before are finally easing up. It’s also likely that demand for these machines is slowing down, as usually happens in the first quarter of the year.
All of which is to say, if you’ve been looking for a new console over the past couple of years and have struggled to find it in stock, this is good news. Now the question is whether stock will stay this easy to find going forward. We can only hope.
Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed or on Mastodon @chrislreed.
While there are clearly many millions of players who have secured their own PS5 and Xbox, lots are still looking. Whether you are trying to figure out which outlets have them available, which console and accessories you should actually buy, and what the pros and cons for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are, we’ve got you covered. Read on to find all that and more.
Where to Buy a PS5
Walmart has PlayStations available right now, while Amazon is still requiring you to apply for an invitation. However, the turnaround for those invitations is getting faster and faster.
Where to Buy Xbox Series X
Should I Buy a PS5 or an Xbox?
That’s a complicated question that has a lot of answers. First, what types of games do you like? If you like single-player games with more serious tones, PlayStation arguably has the lead (at least right now), although some feel that there is a degree of “same-ness” to them, which is something to keep an eye on.
Xbox currently has what some consider to be less compelling single-player exclusives, but Xbox is arguably better for those who love multiplayer games, with better chat integration, cross-platform functionality with PC, and several exclusive games that feature multiplayer prominently. PlayStation 5 has some of the most celebrated and popular exclusive franchises, like Last of Us and God of War, while Xbox has heavy hitters like Halo, Forza and Flight Simulator, to name a few.
You should also keep in mind how important multiplayer games are to you on a friend level. Do your friends all have PS4/PS5, and you will play games with them regularly? You should probably get a PS5 and stick together. Same goes for Xbox. If your Destiny clan or Call of Duty friend group is all on Xbox, you should probably stick together. If that isn’t important to you, look at the games that have come out, and the ones that are announced, and see which platform has more you are interested in.
Finally, a big factor is controller comfort. Personally, I’ve been a PlayStation guy for a long time, but I find the DualSense very uncomfortable, so I find myself playing much more often on PC or Xbox using the (for me) vastly superior Xbox Series X/S controller. There are workarounds for this if you want to stick with a particular platform (like a Brooks converter), but those can introduce input latency, so keep that in mind as you weigh your options. But again, it mostly comes down to personal preference. The DualSense has some pretty cool haptic feedback, which has to be experienced to be truly appreciated, but it comes at the expense of battery life.
Services are another huge contributing factor to which platform is superior. Personally, I’m squarely in the Xbox Game Pass camp. With every first-party Xbox game included, the ability to get a higher tier to play those games on PC too (with most save games moving back and forth with you), and an incredible swath of awesome AAA and indie games, it’s a value proposition that simply can’t be beaten. Xbox backward compatibility also reaches all the way back to the original console in some cases.
However, the success of Game Pass caused Sony to take notice, and it introduced new tiers to its PlayStation Plus service that introduce the first steps toward a “Game Pass-like” service on PlayStation. The PS5 features backward compatibility with basically every PS4 game, and signing up for PS Plus at the Premium tier gets you access to streaming PS3 games. It’s not as robust, or as simple, as Xbox Game Pass, but the newly revamped service is still in its early stages.
Exclusive games VS services. PlayStation’s popularity VS Xbox’s budget-friendly nature. There is a lot to consider, and you honestly can’t make a bad decision, regardless of which you choose.
What’s the Best 4K TV for Gaming?
There are tons of great gaming TVs, and right now the best is the LG C2 OLED Evo, but whether you want to spend a chunk of change and grab the best TV you can, or just get something you can use for less cash, we have tons of great recommendations.
Generally, you want to go for a TV that has a low input latency, a screen big enough for your play space, compatibility for high refresh rates and resolutions, and HDMI 2.1. If the screen has all of those, and the number and type of ports you need, you’re golden.
What PS5 Accessories Should I Get?
There are tons of great PS5 accessories that will help you make the most of your new console. From extra controllers to gaming headsets, high capacity internal NVMe drives, and more, we’ve got you covered.
What Xbox Accessories Should I Get?
There are tons of great Xbox Series X/S accessories, but here are some of the best. Whether you need a great chat headset for when you hop online with friends, new expansion cards to hold all your favorite games, racing or fighting game controllers, or controller charging stands, we’ve got everything you need to make your awesome Xbox experience even better.
Is the PS5 Shortage Over?
Essentially, yes. While PlayStation 5 has been tricky to acquire, there have been several avenues for those who have been keeping their head on a swivel.
Sony has also confirmed that it has sold over 30 million PS5 consoles, and Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan said, “Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward.”
Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on Twitter (@Ribnax) and Twitch (Ribnax) or check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Twitch & Apple Podcasts.
Turtle Rock Studios announced that it will not be adding any more content to Back 4 Blood and will be focusing on its next big game. The game has already received three expansions: Tunnels of Terror, Children of the Worm, and River of Blood.
“Turtle Rock Studios is actually pretty small for a studio making AAA games,” Turtle Rock Studios said in a statement. “We don’t have quite enough folks to continue working on Back 4 Blood content while we spin up another game – yes, another game! Given this, it’s time for us to put our heads down, get back in the lab, and get to work on the next big thing.”
Turtle Rock Studios continued, “While we may be a bit quieter in the short term we promise that we’ll be Back, bigger, bolder, and better than ever!
The studio said that it will continue to support the game and noted that it is available to play via PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium as well as Xbox Game Pass.
In IGN’s Back 4 Blood review, we said, “Back 4 Blood doesn’t nail all the twists it attempts, but a creative card-based progression system, fantastic campaign, and lighthearted tone make it a fun spin on a familiar genre.”
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
Double Fine Productions founder Tim Schafer will be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) Hall of Fame this month at the 26th annual DICE Awards, in recognition of his over 30-year impact on the games industry.
Schafer’s career began at LucasArts in 1989 as a programmer working on games including Indiana Jones and the last Crusade and Maniac Mansion. He was eventually invited by Ron Gilbert to work on The Secret of Monkey Island and its sequel, both of which received massive acclaim. Schafer went on to design games such as Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango before eventually leaving LucasArts in 2000 to found Double Fine Productions and create Psychonauts, Psychnauts 2, Brutal Legend, and Broken Age.
AIAS Hall of Fame status is given to “game creators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward.” Schafer will join past honorees such as Ed Boon, Connie Booth, Bonnie Ross, Todd Howard, Hideo Kojima, and others.
“Tim has been a beacon of creativity and innovation in the games industry for decades,” said head of PlayStation Creators Greg Rice, who will be presenting the award. “Since the early days of LucasArts he’s been setting the benchmark for storytelling in games, and with the formation of Double Fine he created a place that not only allowed him to continue to deliver incredible games, but also inspire and support others doing the same. He truly is a legend.”
We praised Double Fine’s most recent work under Schafer, Psychonauts 2, for its “weird and wonderfully written story” and its expansion of its predecessor “toward both grander and more intimate threats without losing the joyous childhood adventure vibes of the original.”
The 26th annual DICE Awards will take place on Thursday, February 23, in Las Vegas as a part of the 2023 DICE Summit.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
The difference between PlayStation and Xbox over the past generation-plus isn’t just the quantity of exclusives, it’s the quality of them. Microsoft has had precious few exclusives at all, which in and of itself has been a big problem. But worse, the number of those that have been not just good but fantastic is embarrassingly small. And that’s why last week’s surprise reveal and immediate shadow-drop of Tango Gameworks’ rhythm-action game Hi-Fi Rush was so huge for Xbox. It surprised, it delighted, and it’s a viral hit – and it’s exactly what Xbox needs right now.
Rhythm-action games aren’t new. But they’ve also never really been “hit” games. We’ve enjoyed a steady diet of them over the past few years, likely from game developers who themselves are, like many gamers, mourning the seemingly permanent death of the plastic-instrument genre that Guitar Hero and Rock Band pioneered in the late-2000s. And while a number of the new-age rhythm-action games have been good – last year’s Metal: Hellsinger leaned hard into its theme and was an incredibly fun game for doing so – there’s something more approachable and appealing about Hi-Fi Rush. Maybe it’s the literal-cartoon art style and its equally cartoonish plot about a teenager who cuts the line at Vandelay Technologies to get his disabled right arm replaced with a functioning robotic limb, only to end up getting rockstar powers courtesy of the iPod that gets mistakenly fused to his chest during the automated, factory-like procedure.
Hi-Fi Rush makes this silly-sounding premise sing though, with humor, liberal use of the entire color palette (recalling past Xbox cult classics like Jet Set Radio Future and Sunset Overdrive), and gameplay that rewards combo moves and special attacks pulled off to the beat of its incredible soundtrack – including cuts from Nine Inch Nails and The Black Keys – but, crucially, doesn’t penalize you for failing to stay in rhythm. Every moment literally exudes joy, as even the normally boring bits of the environment bop to the beat as your rockstar avatar Chai snaps his fingers or taps his foot.
Both Microsoft and the Xbox community needed this
The result is an instantly lovable game that feels fresh and has taken the gaming community by storm. And Bethesda knew it had something special. Everyone has been talking about Hi-Fi Rush for the past week, and deservedly so. It’s also the beneficiary of great timing; the only other significant release around the same time was the Dead Space remake, which, while outstanding, is hardly gunning for the same audience. Dead Space and Hi-Fi Rush couldn’t be more opposite if they tried!
Furthermore, to be blunt, both Microsoft and the Xbox community needed this. We thought the cloudy days were gone forever in 2021, but the dark skies returned last year, with even Xbox boss Phil Spencer acknowledging the dearth of exclusive game releases over the past 12 months. Xbox’s no-show at The Game Awards in December only further tested fans’ patience. And so, the fact that Microsoft didn’t just give us release dates for key first-half-of-the-year exclusives at its recent Developer_Direct broadcast but also released a kickass new game that very day was a jolt of positivity, enthusiasm, and downright fun that Xbox has been lacking in for much of the early part of this new console generation.
So where are we now as we head into the second month of a critical year for Xbox? Forza Motorsport seems to be pushed to the second half of 2023, and Starfield is still something of a question mark, release-date-wise, but for the moment Xbox fans are eatin’ good thanks to a joyous, totally-out-of-left-field surprise from one of the studios it acquired to solve its first-party game problem. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some more evil corporate bosses to beat down with my robot guitar arm…
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.
After the infamous WWE 2K20 misstep, the hugely popular WWE 2K22 arrived last year to course-correct the series and revolutionize the way we play simulations of the squared circle. Hot on its heels and looking to capitalise on its predecessor’s revolution this year is WWE 2K23. But from what I’ve played so far, it feels less like it’s standing on the shoulders of the giant, and rather peaking over cautiously.
As to be expected, WWE 2K23 comes with all the bells, whistles, and powerbombs you’d expect from a new WWE game. There’s a whole new roster featuring the likes of the returning Cody Rhodes and the up-and-coming NXT champion, Bron Breakker. Also receiving a yearly upgrade is the wrestler’s attire, music, and general presentation. It’s all as up-to-date as it could be, but outside of these upgrades, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that, at its core, it was largely the same game as before.
Much like the way lots of sports games iterate on their established winning formula, everything in terms of gameplay in WWE 2K23 has rolled over from the previous game. So much so that despite only having an hour to play the game, I immediately felt at home with the breaker system, combos, reversals, and all the grappling intricacies. If you’re familiar with 2K22, you’ll know exactly what to expect.
For the first time in the series, WWE 2K23 extends the canvas with the addition of an extra ring.
That’s not to say there aren’t a few new clever additions though. The first to stand out is the arrival of the long-awaited and heavily requested match type; WarGames. For the first time in the series, WWE 2K23 extends the canvas with the addition of an extra ring. WarGames features two rings side-by-side with a cage surrounding both, with entrants from either a three or four-man team entering in intervals. From a glance, this could appear like a re-purposed version of any other six or eight-man speciality matches like Hell in a Cell, but there are a couple of interesting details that not only help break this apart from the pack, but also help it stand out in its own right.
Like its real-life counterpart, the WarGames match features an interesting swing in the advantage for either team, with one team being a wrestler short at several intervals. At this point the team with the handicap has to fend off their rivals knowing that they’re at a severe disadvantage, biding their time until one of their teammates can enter the action. That teammate, however, can choose to grab a weapon (or weapons) to not only even the odds but perhaps flip the advantage the other way.
Unlike Hell in a Cell or Elimination Chamber, WarGames’s two-ring setup also affords the player more space to work with, preventing the congestion and clumsiness seen in the aforementioned modes. There’s also an interesting drama that comes from the bout being settled by one pinfall, which could easily happen whilst you’re duking it out in the other ring. This presents an interesting risk/reward conundrum, forcing you to separate from your teammates and potentially miss the important save so you can afford yourself the space to do maximum damage to your opponent. All of this presents an interesting swing in match dynamics and one I’ve not experienced before in a wrestling game. And with WarGames being available as an online mode, I’m excited at the prospect of this back-and-forth concept playing out against other players.
The 2K showcase makes a predictable return to the series, but with its potentially freshest, most exciting pivot yet. Despite the showcase having John Cena – this year’s cover star – as the focus, you never actually get to play as the sixteen-time World champion. Instead, the series of matches now focus on every time John Cena lost an important match, with the player taking control of the superstar who took him down. Not only is the tale of all his losses an interesting story to be told by the man himself between matches, but it also has the benefit of providing variety to the player by not forcing them to play as one character a dozen times in a row.
Even though the mode now offers that much-desired playable character diversity, I’m still slightly cautious about the entertainment value of this showcase. I only got to experience one match from this series which involved the historic ECW One Night Stand match, where Rob Van Dam dethrones Cena as the WWE champion. But from what I saw there appears to be an over-reliance on the (albeit impressive) switch to real-life footage, with several periods of just watching the actual match for minutes at a time. I found myself feeling like I wanted to be back in the action and create these moments myself, not just watching clips of footage that are already burned into my brain. It’s a small niggle from a small sample, and I’m still very interested in playing the full showcase, but I’m slightly worried it’s not everything I hoped for.
I took to this alternate pin kick out option immediately, which surprised even me!
Despite what I said about the gameplay earlier, there is one advertised change that did make a difference to the core mechanics. WWE 2K23 now introduces an optional variety to kicking out of pin attempts, offering the choice for players to flick the right stick in a timed window as opposed to mashing a button. The kick out zone is a sliding bar that decreases in size and moves more unpredictably as the match progresses and your vitality decreases. I took to this alternate option immediately, which surprised even me, but the tactile feel of the flick, the one-to-one representation of the movement, and the last-gasp nature sold me on the concept of accurately reflecting the drama of a WWE match. With the rapid button-pressing option, knowing you’re out for the count is telegraphed early, but the new timed window system always provides the elusive chance of a kick out that you don’t get when the button-pressing demands are beyond the realms of human capability. And what could be more wrestling than the drama of that shocking kick out?
It can be argued that 2K22 set a new benchmark in terms of grappling gameplay, with my personal (and perhaps controversial) opinion being that the series is currently the best it’s ever been. But with this comes the struggle for the next game in the series to do more beyond small iterations, and I feel like this year’s game is in the unfortunate position of struggling to make its own dramatic statement. From what I’ve seen so far, there are certainly some worthwhile and fun steps in WWE 2K23, and fans of WarGames, John Cena, and having an up-to-date roster are in for a treat. I just worry that the final game might not make the impact its revolutionary younger brother did.
Dale Driver is the UK Video Lead for IGN and a lifelong WWE fan/apologist who acknowledges his Tribal Chief. Be thoroughly bored by following him Twitter at @_daledriver.
Sony’s video game division has experienced its best financial quarter since launching the PlayStation 5, boasting a huge increase in console sales and first-party software.
As revealed in Sony’s 2022 third-quarter financial results, the PS5 saw its best ever sales quarter with 7.1 million consoles sold during the three months ending December 31, 2022. That puts the console at 12.8 million sold during the 2022 financial year, and 32 million units shipped since launch. That’s a 34% increase year-on-year, a figure that demonstrates the supply issues that once plagued the console may well and truly be behind us.
The PS5’s success has seen Sony increase its annual sales target, from 18 to 19 million.
Sales revenue for the Game & Network Services Segment of Sony clocked in at ¥1246.5 billion, a 53% year-on-year increase, while operating profit came in at ¥116 billion, a 25% year-on-year increase. This makes for not just the best quarter of the year, but the best quarterly results of the PS5’s entire lifespan.
Sony has had similar good news beyond just console sales. It’s 86.5 million video game sales didn’t quite hit the highs of Q3 last year (92.7 million), but this year’s Q3 saw a substantial increase in first-party game sales; of the 86.5 million games sold, 20.8 million were first-party. 11 million of those alone were God of War Ragnarok.
PlayStation Plus saw a small increase in subscribers, up from 45.5m to 46.6m. That doesn’t bring it back up to its peak of 48 million users, but the service’s monthly active users has grown to 112 million. PS Plus revenue has also increased for a second consecutive quarter, probably thanks to subscribers of higher-tier PS Plus plans.
It’s been a strong quarter for PlayStation, then. But while it seems that supply issues will no longer hinder the console, it has certainly prevented it from attaining the same figures as its predecessor. By this same point in its lifecycle, the PlayStation 4 had shipped just under 38 million units.
