Halo is reportedly staying at 343 Industries, but the franchise’s direction is unclear amidst layoffs and a pivot away from Halo’s Slipspace engine.
In a report from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the studio’s leadership overhaul, mass layoffs, and other big changes are causing 343 to essentially hit the reset button on the franchise. The report also claims that at least 95 people were laid off from 343 as a part of this month’s mass layoffs at Microsoft, and that 343 was not working on new missions for Halo Infinite’s story over the last year.
After the layoffs, rumors started circulating claiming that Microsoft could pass Halo development to another studio entirely. According to today’s report, Halo is staying put, despite concerns over the studio’s ability to develop new Halo games after the big hit to the staff.
However, it would seem that big changes are still in store for the franchise. Namely, Halo is said to be pivoting to Unreal Engine, leaving the controversial Slipspace engine behind. Development challenges posed by Slipspace are reportedly holding back two Infinite multiplayer modes that are nearly finished: Extraction and Assault.
The reports of the engine swap come after years of rumors surrounding 343, Slipspace, and Unreal Engine. The pivot will reportedly begin with the Halo project codenamed Tatanka, which has been rumored for quite some time. This game is in co-development at 343 and Certain Affinity, and began as a Halo battle royale, but the game may now evolve in different directions. Future Halo games will also explore using Unreal Engine.
343 isn’t preparing any additional story content for Halo Infinite’s campaign, the report claims. Rather, developers have spent the last year working on Unreal Engine prototypes while pitching ideas for new Halo games. Many of the developers working on these projects were laid off this month, as 343 isn’t actively working on any new story content.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Avatar Generations launched today for iOS and Android, with developer Navigator Games and publisher Crystal Dynamics Eidos Entertainment celebrating with a new trailer. It is free-to-play with in-app purchases.
The trailer shows several characters from the series in battle and some brief glimpses of the user interface. It seems like characters will have a star rating to indicate their strength ranging all the way to 6 stars. Additionally, characters will have different skills to utilize during combat. Players can also level up Arts in order to make them more powerful.
The game is a turn-based RPG where players collect different characters from the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe to create a team and play through different iconic moments from the franchise. There will also be new scenarios too.
A variety of characters will be available to collect, including the main cast of Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Toph, as well as supporting characters like Blue Spirit, Princess Yue, and Kyoshi Warrior Suki. Future updates for Avatar Generations will provide additional characters, companions, cosmetics, and customizable gear.
Avatar Generations is the latest game based on the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise since 2014’s Legend of Korra by developer PlatinumGames. In IGN’s The Legend of Korra: The Game review, we said, “What a disappointment. Even with a reputable developer behind it, The Legend of Korra game left us bent out of shape.”
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
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, the asymmetical multiplayer ghost-hunting game based on the popular films, has unveiled its first free DLC including a new map, ghost type, and other updates. And it’s all out today.
The new DLC includes The Facility, a new map set in an abandoned health center closed in the 1980s, but set to reopen…if its construction crews can get past the ghost problem. We’ll also see a new ghost type, the Glutton, a class that includes the Muncher ghost and two other variants. Developer Illfonic says the Muncher is the most-requested ghost type thus far – we were first introduced to the metal-eating ghost in in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Additionally, the DLC will bring new character customization options, improved matchmaking, and improve AI behavior both for teammates and ghosts.
Illfonic reiterated that it plans to continue releasing free DLC each quarter of this year for Spirits Unleashed, so we should expect more content along these lines at least three more times this year.
We enjoyed Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed at launch, finding it an entertaining asymmetical multiplayer game, but did lament that it was held back by some balance issues and map wonkiness at the time. We noted that it also badly needed more content, which this DLC and future ones hopefully will alleviate.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
Microsoft has announced that it will raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the Xbox Series X|S in Japan, starting on Friday February 17.
“After carefully evaluating the market condition in Japan, we have decided to change the suggested retail price of Xbox consoles in the country,” said a Microsoft representative in a statement to Famitsu, which was translated by Gematsu.
“We regularly evaluate the impact of local pricing to maintain reasonable consistency across regions. This price revision affects our customers and was a difficult decision to make, but going forward we will continue to provide the ultimate Xbox experience that our customers expect.”
The price of the Series X is set to rise from ¥54,978 ($423) to ¥59,978 ($462), while the Series S will similarly rise from ¥32,278 ($248) to ¥37,978 ($292) for a price rise of roughly $40 each.
“I do think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices,” Spencer said. “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games, and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things.”
In December 2022 Microsoft announced that the price of games developed exclusively for the Xbox Series X|S would rise from $60 to $70 in order to account for the “content, scale, and technical complexity” of upcoming titles including Starfield and Forza Motorsport.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Dragon Ball and Fortnite have crossed over once again with Piccolo and Son Gohan from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero making their debut in the Battle Royale.
Announced on the Fortnite website, both new skins include the regular inclusion of additional accessories. Son Gohan comes with Gohan’s Cape Back Bling, Gohan’s Beast Axe Pickaxe, the Capsule No. 576 Glider, and the Charging Up emote to switch to Super Saiyan.
Piccolo comes with Piccolo’s Cape and Turban Back Bling, Piccolo’s Demon Symbol Back Bling, Piccolo’s Handheld House Pickaxe, the Red Ribbon Army Aircraft Glider, and his own Charging Up emote that turns him into the Power Awakening version.
The Kamehameha attack item and Nimbus Cloud mobility item are also returning to Fortnite, and as before will increase in frequency as the storm closes in meaning games will often end in anime-esque battles.
Dragon Ball Adventure Island is also returning, letting Fortnite players explore iconic locations from the Dragon Ball anime including Goku’s house, Kami’s Palace, the Room of Spirit and Time, and Beerus’s Planet. A weekly quest on the island starting on January 31 will unlock the Gohan Beast Spray and a weekly quest starting on February 7 will unlock the Orange Piccolo Spray.
Epic Games has promised that other Dragon Ball items will be returning to the Fortnite shop in the future, but didn’t share more on which items or skins will return.
It seems you’ll finally be able to shout “1v1 me, bro” in developer Second Dinner’s superhero-themed mobile card game, Marvel Snap.
The popular licensed collectible card game, which won Best Mobile Game at the Game Awards, will finally be getting one of its most requested features since launching in October of last year: the ability to challenge your friends directly. The so-called Battle Mode will be available tomorrow.
It’s coming…
Get ready for Battle Mode where you can challenge your friends and see who’s really the best! pic.twitter.com/XPxkPXtRN8
Up until now, players have been at the mercy of Marvel Snap’s one and only playlist, a competitive matchmade mode that pits you against a random opponent in your skill bracket. In a recent blog post Second Dinner announced that Battle Mode would be a tournament-style mode where players play multiple games against one another until a clear winner emerges.
“Battle Mode pits two opponents against each other through multiple rounds. Each player starts with 10 health,” the post said. “Instead of Cubes, what’s at stake is the amount of damage the winner will deal to the loser. If you can deplete your opponent’s health to zero, you win!”
It’s still unclear if Battle Mode will come alongside a friends list or some way to keep track of people in your network to invite others to your game, something that doesn’t exist in Marvel Snap’s current form.
Sony San Diego revealed that Miami Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the cover athlete for MLB The Show 23. The studio also announced that the game will launch on March 28, 2023, for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
MLB The Show 23 will also be heading to Xbox Game Pass on release day, and preorders for the game start on February 6. It features full cross-platform, cross-progression, and cross-save functionality so your card inventory can be carried between all console platforms. The exception to this are PS5 and Xbox Series X|S exclusive features such as Stadium Creator.
The game’s Collector’s Edition will also be fully revealed on February 2nd. It includes dual entitlement to both the PS4 and PS5 versions, with the former being a physical disc while the latter is a download code. Those who purchase the PS4 version can upgrade to the PS5 version for $10 later.
Chisholm’s reveal trailer details his background growing up in the Bahamas. With his friends, he played 6v6 matches with no catchers or umpires. Last year’s cover athlete was Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels.
In IGN’s MLB The Show 22 review, we said, “MLB The Show 22 is mostly a retread of an already great game, but more bugs than usual and the not quite ready for primetime co-op mode are signs this series may be losing some velocity.”
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
This article was originally published in 2018 as the “13 Best Zombie Games of All Time,” and then updated in 2019 to include 19 games. As we enter 2023, we’ve revisited and revamped our list, expanding it to 25 and crowning a new king of zombie games.
Zombies make marvelous antagonists. They’re plodding, dark parodies of society’s short-sightedness. They’re plentiful and emotionless eaters of flesh, which makes them perfect cannon fodder for action films and twitch shooters. Their wasted visages serve the purposes of both horror and humor with equal effectiveness. They’ve been a part of the video game landscape for decades, so long they’ve carved out their own subgenre: the “zombie game.”
The still-shambling corpses of the damned have been important to some of gaming’s more notable narratives and innovations. These are the 25 best zombie games of all time.
25. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a bizarre and colorful SNES action game from the golden days of LucasArts. It’s a wickedly funny shooter that relies on adorable and bizarre animation for most of the laughs, and the delightful cartoon enemies are half the fun. Before the journey is over you’ll battle space bugs, save cheerleaders, leap on trampolines, and fight a giant baby. Beyond the garish trappings, it’s a very well-designed cooperative shooter that manages to find environmentally destructive uses for everything from squirt guns to rocket launchers. Since the main thrust of each level is rescuing civilians rather than defeating enemies, it also requires a lot more thought to finish than your average arcade-style game, a design innovation that adds a great deal to the challenge and replayability.
24. The House of the Dead
Along with Resident Evil, this iconic on-rails arcade shooter helped restore zombies’ pop culture relevance in the ’90s and aid in the revival of the zombie film genre a decade later. In a 2013 interview with Paul Weedon, George A. Romero, long considered the father of zombie movies, credited House of the Dead and RE with popularizing modern zombies “more than anything else.”
23. State of Decay 2
The State of Decay series debuted as an Xbox Live Arcade game in 2013, and tackles the trials and tribulations of surviving and thriving among the undead. As such it’s a slower, more thoughtful apocalypse experience, though there’s no shortage of opportunities to satisfy your zombie bloodlust with a range of weapons and vehicles. The 2018 sequel built on the original’s zombie-sandbox premise by expanding in scope and adding four-player co-op while maintaining the near-constant tension that accompanies the threat of permadeath.
22. Zombi
ZombiU (later released as Zombi) is a punishing first-person survival horror game set in a zombie-infested London. While it doesn’t possess the best narrative on this list, nor does it receive high marks for combat, its novel, roguelike approach to death makes it worth checking out. When you’re bitten, your character dies, permanently, and you come back as a new survivor who must track down your previous (now reanimated) body to retrieve lost items. This cyclical system of death and rebirth (and death again) is thematically fitting for a zombie game, and the necessary killing of your previous corpse cleverly wraps a blood-covered bow on your previous run. Meanwhile, survivor mode requires you to complete the entirety of Zombi with a single character (i.e., without dying). It’s among the most difficult challenges of survival available on this list.
21. Days Gone
Days Gone’s open world is a post-apocalyptic playground on which you’re let loose with protagonist Deacon St. John’s rusty, trusty motorcycle and dozens of ways to (re)bury the undead. It was one of Sony’s less-celebrated exclusives from the PS4 era, yet it’s carved out a spot in the zombie-game pantheon thanks largely to its horde sequences. These encounters, of which there are 40, pit Deacon against up to 500 ‘freakers’ (Days Gone’s term for zombies) at once in a heart-pumping trial of quick wit and quicker reflexes.
20. Project Zomboid
Project Zomboid leans hard into the simulation aspects of surviving a zombie apocalypse. It’s a systems-heavy zombie game in which all actions must be considered; you’re not just fending off the undead but depression, starvation, and loneliness too. This level of depth is deeply rewarding for those with the patience to navigate these more mundane survival mechanics, which the developer continues to fine-tune with regular updates almost a decade after its release.
19. Zombie Army 4: Dead War
Developer Rebellion made a name for itself with the Sniper Elite series and its cringe-inducing, X-ray kill-cam, which lets players watch bullets rip through Nazi’s insides in super-gross, super-slow-motion. With Zombie Army it’s the same idea, but the Nazis are zombies.
Zombie Army brings the signature kill-cam into an alternate WWII, in which Nazis are raised from hell to chase the Allied troops out of Germany. The story lives up to its outrageous premise and is supported by fine-tuned sniping, gut-wrenching gore, and a killer soundtrack fitting of the finest ’80s horror flicks.
18. DayZ
The survival games genre owes a great debt to DayZ, which began life as a mod for military simulator ARMA II. DayZ contrasted the surrealism of a zombie infestation with the hyperrealism of exposure, infection, hunger, and the degeneration of human nature in the face of disaster. You simply never knew whether the next person you met was out to help or murder you. Just how much fun can playing as a cowering, nearly powerless victim in a world full of lumbering AI zombies and ruthless human scavengers really be? Turns out it’s an addictively captivating and exhilarating experience. Everything from Fortnite to Rust owes DayZ a tremendous debt for its willingness to throw unarmed players into a hostile land with their fellow humans to see what happens next. Turns out the zombies are rarely the real monsters.
17. They Are Billions
They Are Billions, specifically its survival mode, is an excellent mashup of zombie horror and RTS gameplay. Players must build and manage a post-apocalyptic city, while knowing hordes of undead are en route to tear it to the ground. With an emphasis on defense — a necessity considering you’ll face thousands of zombies at once — They Are Billions uniquely progresses from a city builder to a tense, often overwhelming game of survival.
16. Dead Rising 2
Following the success of its Resident Evil series, Capcom introduced a new, lighthearted take on the zombie genre with Dead Rising. Absent is the tense horror of Resident Evil, replaced by a fast-paced, campy zombie slaughter-fest. Its biggest strength lies in its weapon variety: from instruments to condiments, the many casinos and stores within Dead Rising 2‘s Fortune City are stocked with countless ways for protagonist Chuck Greene to lay the dead back to rest — not to mention the ability to combine weapons, resulting in extraordinary feats of apocalyptic engineering such as the Freedom Bear (robot bear + LMG) and the Hail Mary (football + grenade).
15. Resident Evil Village
Over 25 years after the original, Capcom still wears the industry’s survival-horror crown thanks to the continued excellence of Resident Evil. The series’ latest installment moves zombies to the backburner in favor of another form of flesh-eating enemy (lycans), yet Resident Evil illage earns its spot on this list for its world-class survival-horror gameplay and its late-game twist that pulls the undead back into the spotlight.
Planescape is one of those games that you occasionally hear is really good and then you look up one screenshot and go “nope, I’m never playing that” and walk away and your life is worse for it. Listen, I get that the appearance is anachronistic, but this game is too good to miss. It’s so good I can barely find words worthy to describe the magnitude of its goodness.
Planescape: Torment is an RPG about being immortal, crammed with more undead than you can shake a severed limb at, including zombies assigned to alternately sad and hilarious purposes. The necrotic atmosphere permeates every moment in the game: you start the story laying on a slab, your best friend is a disembodied skull, and there are so many dead things running around that there’s a special ability dedicated just to talking with them. Torment is a deeply biting and tragic RPG that turns practically every trope and convention of the genre on its head. It’s also quite accessible today, with ports to mobile and a nice shiny GOG wrapper to play on modern PCs.
13. Call Of Duty: World at War
World War II, zombies, and multiplayer shooters… together at last. Nazis have long been identified with occultism (both in reality and popular fiction) and Treyarch’s decision to go all-in on the campy grindhouse aesthetic changed the face of multiplayer shooters forever in Call of Duty: World at War. Zombies helped lighten the mood in a series that was increasingly mired in its own self-importance, reminding players, critics, and creators that it’s all a game.
12. Plants vs. Zombies
The original Plants vs. Zombies blended solid, approachable tower defense gameplay with whimsical charm, leading to its mass appeal on PC, consoles, and mobile. It found immediate success in its simplicity, and longevity in its well-crafted variety of plants and zombies. Its addictive, wave-based loop spawned a number of official follow-ups and countless imitators, making this family-friendly take on the undead worthy of a spot on our list.
11. Dying Light
Survival mechanics meet grappling hooks in Dying Light, a big, messy genre mash-up. It combines some of Minecraft’s greatest strengths, like scavenging for materials in an open world, item crafting, and scary monsters that come out at night, with solid hand-to-hand combat, a fun and speedy traversal system, and grappling hooks. Zombies and grappling hooks: a match made in video game heaven.
10. The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners
Pop culture’s zombie renaissance of the 2000s culminated in the breakout success of The Walking Dead, which excelled at exploring the blurred lines of morality and humanity amidst constant threat and inescapable dread. The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners honors that exploration with moral flexibility in its decision-making, where “right” and “wrong” look awfully similar when viewed from different angles. And, as a VR game, Saints and Sinners is easily one of the most immersive and therefore intense zombie experiences available.
9. Resident Evil HD Remaster
The original Resident Evil doesn’t boast the scope of its sprawling sequel, but the tighter, almost claustrophobic design of the mansion works to heighten its horror. The constant threat of the fearsome double-reanimated Crimson Heads in areas you’ve previously cleared fuels a compounding sense of dread that you’re in continual zombie danger no matter how heavily armed you become. The legendary cheesy dialogue is icing on the cake.
Also, if you finish the game in under three hours, you can blow up zombies with an infinite-ammo rocket launcher.
8. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
How do you make your already successful open-world cowboy game even better? Release a reimagining of the western drama where all the characters you know and love now eat the flesh of the living! Undead Nightmare was pure zombie-blasting bliss with a healthy dose of supernatural armageddon to boot. Turns out John Marston was born to slay the undead and ride the horses of the apocalypse. Undead Nightmare set the gold standard for single-player DLC and, years later, remains a standout example of reimagined excellence.
7. Resident Evil 4
Though it reportedly went through four versions before being released, Capcom’s scrupulous development process paid off in 2005 with a horror masterpiece. From its opening, panic-inducing run-in with the villagers through its final boss and jet-ski escape, RE4 is filled with memorable scares and set pieces still discussed over 15 years later. It’s equally smart and scary in its design, which led IGN to call it the “best survival horror game ever created” at the time it was released — an argument that could still be made to this day.
Capcom is looking to build on its excellence with Resident Evil 4 Remake, due out on March 23.
6. The Last of Us Part 1
Yes, the clickers are technically big fungus people, but really they’re zombies. And yes, this is largely a game about throwing bottles and bricks at people, but who cares? It’s scary, it’s heartbreaking, it’s infuriating, and it’s beautiful. Two generations after its launch, The Last of Us remains a benchmark against which great video game drama is compared and retains its cultural relevance thanks to a masterful PS5 remake and successful HBO adaptation.
5. Dead Space
“It’s pretty obvious when you play Dead Space, to look at it and go, ‘Yeah, it’s almost like they decided to make Resident Evil 4 in space,’ which is exactly what we were doing.” That quote from Dead Space designer Ben Wanat (via PC Gamer) speaks to the type of survival-horror game Dead Space was designed to be, and its spot on this list speaks to its success at bringing that vision to fruition.
Dead Space’s variety of undead are necromorphs, grotesque corpses reanimated by an alien infection that line the tight, twisting corridors of the USG Ishimura spaceship. Their flayed skin and malformed bodies are a recipe for repulsion, adding to the satisfaction and relief when melting off necromorph limbs with a plasma cutter. And never has that dismemberment been more visceral than in the essential Dead Space remake.
4. The Walking Dead: Season 1
“Carly will remember that.” What a gut punch.
Long ago, before the TV show started to suck, The Walking Dead made us giggle a little and made us cry a lot. Through the masterfully written inaugural season, Telltale proved that point-and-click adventure games could somehow manage to terrify. The writing and delivery are minimal and masterful, with the bulk of the effort spent creating flawed characters we love or loathe and then stripping them away one by one. By the end, we wonder if anybody is getting out of this alive. The Walking Dead Season 1 helped kick off a revival of adventure game storytelling which continues to influence game design today. Telltale as we knew it may be gone, but their horror masterpiece remains undead in our hearts.
3. The Last of Us Part 2
The Last of Us Part 2 elevates the drama and action of its predecessor, masterfully weaving the two together over a relentless 25-hour campaign. Evil favors no form in Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic universe, as you’ll encounter murderous slavers, militias, cultists, and infected alike. The Last of Us’s mycologic variety of undead are creepier than ever in their aesthetic, sound design, and movement, and Part 2 introduces two new types of infected, including a one-of-a-kind monstrosity that calls to mind the horrors of Inside’s final chapter.
2. Left 4 Dead 2
Around the same time Treyarch was bringing Zombies into World at War, Valve introduced us all to their own cooperative take on battling the forces of undeath. Left 4 Dead pitted teams of four allies against mobs of zombies ruled by an invisible enemy: the innovative AI director, a carefully constructed protocol designed to dynamically influence the game as it unfolded. The result was a ridiculously replayable zombie shooter.
Just a year later, Valve brought us Left 4 Dead 2, building upon that successful formula with a familiar yet enhanced team-based shooter. Its gameplay tweaks, improved campaigns, new weaponry (including melee weapons), additional modes (Scavenge and Realism), and introduction of new zombie types (Jockey, Spitter, and Charger) make Left 4 Dead 2 one of the best co-op games of all time and nearly our pick for the best zombie game ever made.
1. Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 2 is a triumph of survival horror, a sprawling, weirdly compelling epic that somehow managed to overcome its famously lackluster controls. And with those control issues remedied in the 2019 remake, alongside vastly improved graphics and various other tweaks, RE2 has only gotten better with time.
RE2 allows you to experience a single terrifying night through the unique perspective of two victims, their occasionally overlapping paths both snaking toward horrific discoveries in a city torn apart by an unleashed bioweapon. It’s a tremendously moody and atmospheric game with great pacing, a growing sense of dread, twisted monster design, frequent jump scares, and just enough resource scarcity to maintain a hum of tension throughout.
What’s your pick for the greatest zombie game of all time? Let us know in the comments.
Whether I’m enjoying my favorite memes or going back to rewatch one of the only cartoons I still legitimately laugh at as an adult, it’s hard to understate SpongeBob SquarePants’ influence on my life. Through it all, the porous goofball I’ve known for years feels like the perfect mascot for an over-the-top, cartoonish platformer. While 2003’s SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom proved it could be done, we’ve been in dire need of a modern take on that idea starring everyone’s favorite fry cook. And yet, like a collapsing Squidward Souffle, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake dried up my optimism the more I played: it’s merely a thin, by-the-numbers sequel to the 20-year-old Bikini Bottom rather than the ground-up redesign that absorbs the progress genre heroes like Mario or Ratchet and Clank have made in the decades since that we deserve. So although Cosmic Shake does benefit from the quirky SpongeBob characters and their world, as a platformer it’s a terribly bland journey that feels painfully frozen in time even as the fans of the show that ended eight years ago have continued to age (also painfully).
As I’ve come to expect from this delightful sponge, the story begins when he makes a series of extremely ill-advised decisions which cause the very fabric of Bikini Bottom to be torn apart at the seams. Determined to put things right, SpongeBob and a newly transformed balloon version of Patrick begin hopping through portals and fighting samey jelly monsters in search of their friends. What little plot follows is basically just a thinly veiled excuse to revisit memorable SpongeBob episodes, whether you’re running around the prehistoric version of Bikini Bottom or the creepy depths of Rock Bottom, which is a nice trip down memory lane but not exactly an original or memorable SpongeBob tale that can stand on its own.
That nostalgic indulgence is helped greatly by the appearance of so many recognizable characters – voiced by their original voice actors – including SpongeBob, Patrick, Pearl, The Flying Dutchman, and Mr. Krabs, most of whom have more than a few amusing lines or gags that they’re a part of. I got a chuckle out of seeing Mr. Krabs as a western bandito or Pearl as a medieval fantasy princess, and the resulting hijinks felt very much like it was straight out of a long-lost episode of the show. Similarly, all the realms you visit along the way are such colorful and vibrantly cartoonish reimaginings of the world of SpongeBob and friends. It’s even got an amazing loading screen where that classic French voice says “one hour later,” and those way-too-detailed closeup images of characters that gross you out, both of which are fantastic nods to the show.
It’s shocking how little the formula has been changed.
That’s what makes it a massive bummer that Cosmic Shake falls so woefully short when it comes to actual gameplay. It’s been almost 20 years since the release of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – and just over two since the “Rehydrated” remaster reminded us of how poorly that game’s mechanics have aged – and it’s shocking how little that formula has evolved for this followup. In one of the dullest platformers in recent memory, Cosmic Shake serves up a recipe that’s almost identical to that of its predecessor and had me nodding off as I played. Dreadfully simplistic jumping puzzles and combat against the same handful of enemies who posed absolutely no challenge wore thin quickly. Sure, you can double-jump, ground pound, glide across gaps using a pizza box, attack with your bubble wand, and sometimes activate context-sensitive prompts to do special things like karate kick enemies or swing on a fishing line, but that toolbox is extremely light and never puts you into situations – mandatory or optional – that require a mastery over any of these skills. After the first few hours of its 10-hour campaign, I’d seen just about all the tricks up Cosmic Shake’s sleeves and had to press on through humdrum platforming and combat ad nauseum.
Every level has you jump through some metaphorical and literal hoops, broken up by waves of enemies that can easily be swatted away in seconds before going back to platforming. Variety, both in combat and in the “puzzles” that the platforming offers, is a major pain point, and even as you’re traveling through a pirate-themed realm or a Hollywood movie set, you’re fighting the same pushover purple enemies or hopping on the same floating rectangles. Even when you do get a special sequence, like a chase scene atop a seahorse or an extremely brief stealth section, it’s either incredibly short-lived or hardly different enough from the rest of the grind to keep things interesting.
The only unique moments are at the end of each level when you fight a boss, like an evil Sandy the Squirrel in a Bruce Lee outfit, though even these highlights aren’t breaking any new ground in terms of gameplay – they just feel loads better than the rest of the boring trek.
It’s not that the controls or ideas in Cosmic Shake are poorly implemented, but that they haven’t learned a thing from practically any modern-day platformers that are far more interesting. For example, you don’t get any of the highly entertaining gymnastic platforming feats or unique and silly combat options you’d find in Psychonauts 2 – a game that feels like a lot of its bones would have suited a SpongeBob platformer perfectly. Instead, it plays like every forgettable, middling platformer I’ve played in the past 20 years, and that stunning lack of creativity in an underwater world that’s known for its hilarious originality is a throbbing disappointment for the entirety. As a result, playing Cosmic Shake made me feel like I had put on a high-quality foam SpongeBob costume to attend a costume party, but was forced to perform excruciatingly dull chores while wearing it instead of goofing around; it’s amusing only in the charming disguise that accompanies the otherwise tedious experience.
There are just so many better platformers out there already, even for kids.
I understand that Cosmic Shake was almost certainly designed with children in mind and I’m sure a kid who hasn’t played a lot of better games would enjoy it just fine, but even so, I can’t imagine any of the children I know enjoying this as much as they would Super Mario Odyssey, which does practically everything better. There are just so many great kid-friendly platformers out there already in 2023, and aside from having SpongeBob’s face in it, Cosmic Shake gives you no reasons to play this one over the multitude of alternatives. I mean, you can only blissfully swat around the same three types of enemies or double-jump across identical gaps so many times before you’re sick of it, regardless of your age.
Aside from getting through the main story, Cosmic Shake does offer some optional collectathons to complete and even some side quests to go on. Most aren’t worth the trouble, like one side quest that has you cook Krabby Patties for hungry fish in a short minigame. That said, there’s plenty of new content hiding in areas that can be revisited once you’ve gained new abilities, some of which hide interesting secrets and areas that can only be accessed later. Usually, though, they just lead to more of the same dull combat and rote platforming you’ll already be bored with.
Hogwarts Legacy is incredibly close to releasing in the UK, and the hype continues to build. The game is now consistently number two on the Steam charts (sitting closely behind the Steam Deck), and is set to have a colossal launch. If you’re looking to preorder the game, or even preorder the deluxe edition to get early access, we’ve collected all the current best Hogwarts Legacy deals in the UK in one easy place.
But that’s not all, as there are plenty of other great UK deals to check out right now, including Horizon Forbidden West for £25, Dead Space Remake for £59.95, Mass Effect Legendary Edition for £12.95, and so much more as well. Check out all the other great discounts just below, and make sure you’re following @IGNUKDeals on Twitter for even more UK deal updates.
TL;DR – My Favourite UK Deals Today
Best Hogwarts Legacy Preorder Deals in the UK
These deals from Green Man Gaming are incredible, and definitely worth considering if you’re getting Hogwarts Legacy on PC or Xbox. This is especially good for those who use Steam, and even better if you’ve got a Steam Deck, as Hogwarts Legacy is confirmed to be Verified at launch.
For just £42.49 you can preorder the game and be ready to play on February 10 (or go for the Deluxe Edition for £50.99 and play on February 7 instead). See here for our final preview of the game.
Lunar New Year deals are looking pretty great at the moment, and there are a brilliant few sales going on at Xbox, Steam, and Green Man Gaming. My favourite sale is definitely at Green Man Gaming, however, as there are loads of brilliant Steam, Epic, and GOG PC games on offer at a fraction of the original price (my Steam Deck backlog is ready)!
George Orwell Sale Kindle Free Books
These are both relatively short reads, but absolutely worth checking out if you’ve never gotten around to reading them. Both are free on Amazon Kindle right now, so you can read both on the Kindle App on your phone as well.
Elden Ring Art Books Preorders Down to £48.99
It seems that From Software is really onto something with Elden Ring. Not only was it IGN’s Game of the Year 2022, but it’s also been a massive success with fans, selling millions and millions of copies. If you count yourself an Elden Ring fan, you might want to check these out: up for preorder on Amazon right now are volume 1 and volume 2 of the Elden Ring official Art Books. They’re set to publish on July 25, and they’re both on sale for £48.99 (down from the origianl RRP of £53.99).
Whenever a new HBO show comes out, we collectively as a nation go, so how do we watch it? HBO Max is infamously still not available in the UK, so every new HBO original show is normally shown via Sky or NOW (the streaming service owned by Sky).
So, if you want to watch The Last of Us TV series today, you’ll need to sort yourself out a NOW subscription for the next couple of months. Or, if you’re a Sky customer, you should already have access to watch the show right now.
Xbox All Access from £20.99/Month – 24-Months at 0% Interest (AD)
Here’s the gravy; if you minus the £10.99 you’re paying for Game Pass Ultimate, effectively you’re paying £10/month on the Xbox Series S, or £18/month on the Xbox Series X. Funnily enough, this means you can actually save money on an Xbox Series X|S with Xbox All Access (over the course of the 24-month payments). This is as it’s 0% interest over the 24 months, so you pay just £240 for the Series S (~£10 less than the RRP of £249.99), and £432 for the Series X (~£18 off the RRP for £449.99).
So, if you’re already paying for Game Pass Ultimate monthly, or you were definitely going to sign up for it when buying your console; Xbox All Access does seemingly save you money. (Just remember you are still paying for Game Pass in this deal, and it will still be £20.99/ £28.99 every month, Game Pass Ultimate can’t be removed from the offer).
