Microsoft Flight Simulator Airports and Planes Showcased in New Trailer
It's getting closer to the launch of Asobo Studios' Microsoft Flight Simulator, the game that looks to take players on an incredibly high-quality journey through the skies and through fluffy clouds made up of numerous layers for added realism. And now there's a new trailer showing off the airports and some of the aircraft. The trailer details that all footage has been captured in real-time and in 4K. The airports are also noted to have been hand-crafted.
To start though, the trailer shows off the Microsoft Flight Simulator standard edition planes, going through the list from Beechcraft Bonanza G36, to an Icon A5, through to a Cessna 172 Skyhawk G1000. The list continues as it transitions from propellor planes to jets and airliners.
Then we're given a good look at what the airports available in the standard edition are. There are airports based in the USA, France, Nepal, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Austria, Uganda, Ireland, Peru, and Indonesia. There are also airports in Bhutan, New Zeland, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dutch Caribbean, Costa Rica, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Honduras.
If that wasn't enough for you, the Microsoft Flight Simulator trailer also includes the exclusive airports and planes that will be made available with the deluxe edition and the premium edition. The airports include some new ones in locations already listed above, however, there are new locations such as Spain, South Africa, Egypt, the Netherlands, UAE, and Germany.
If you're planning on picking the game up digitally, you'll find it requires around 150GB of HDD space. If you do choose to go the physical route, it was revealed that the game would come with 10 discs. This is unsurprising considering how much data the game uses, such as taking real-world data to build an atmosphere along with the light scattering and more.
I'm quite excited to see all of the airports shown from the comfort of a digital cockpit, I just hope that my flying skills have improved from my time with games such as the 1998 version, or IL-2 Sturmovik.
The post Microsoft Flight Simulator Airports and Planes Showcased in New Trailer by Ben Bayliss appeared first on DualShockers.
Dead by Daylight Cross-Play Now Available For PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch
Yesterday I wrote up news about Behaviour Interactive, the developers of Dead by Daylight, teasing the possibility of cross-play heading to the game. It turns out, later in the day they went ahead and pushed an update that did indeed introduce cross-play.
The cross-play update is now live and to coincide with its release, a FAQ has been published to clear some things up. Players will be able to play Dead by Daylight with players between PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Those on mobile devices won't get the feature, and when the game launches on Google Stadia, cross-play will be available at launch for that platform too.
It's noted that there are no current plans for mouse and keyboard support, and in-game chat isn't available for those on console. PC users will still have access to pre-game and post-game chat. Those wanting to communicate are encouraged to use a third-party application such as Discord.
For those wanting to add their friends from another platform, you head to the in-game friend's list, click the Friend icon + and search for your friends Dead by Daylight ID.
At current, the game now supports cross-play and cross-friends, but as for cross-progression, Behaviour Interactive says it will reveal more information when the feature is ready and closer to launching the update.
Dead by Daylight is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
The post Dead by Daylight Cross-Play Now Available For PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch by Ben Bayliss appeared first on DualShockers.
EA Sports UFC 4 Review — A Paper Champion
In the mainstream sports video game scene, the UFC series occupies a wholly different space than its contemporaries. Whereas games like FIFA, Madden, and NBA 2K have to churn out annual releases, the UFC team gets a two-year gap to work in. In theory, this means the development team should use the opportunity to introduce more important changes than the iterative updates most sports franchises receive from year-to-year. Unfortunately, UFC 4 reveals that, even with two years, those iterative changes are all you should expect.
Now, to be clear, UFC 4 is not a terrible game by any stretch of the imagination. The updated career mode, on its own, has buckets of potential. However, with two years to work with, I was hoping for more than this.
Let's talk first about career mode. It certainly is one of the points of focus for EA Canada. The aim of the changes is all about giving players more control over their narrative. Through things like social media interactions, you'll create rivalries and friendships with different fighters and then use those relationships to generate hype for your next fight.
On paper, that sounds cool. However, in my journey toward being the G.O.A.T., the system was pretty bland. Sure, it's a more natural way of building your personal story, but that doesn't make it interesting. A more curated career mode that sets you up with actual antagonists would be so much more effective.
And, it definitely seems like the team considered going in this direction at some point. Your career mode begins with you taking part in amateur fights. There, you meet your coach who serves as a tutorial. I was expecting him to play a major part in my career. However, after the initial series of fights, I didn't see him again until I won the UFC Championship 15 fights later.
Take a character like your coach and actually integrate him into your career and you might have a story worth playing through. As it stands, UFC 4's career mode is just a flashier version of UFC 3, which is a shame.
On top of that, the mode suffers from some weird forms of slowdown in odd places. For instance, after every fight, you have to watch highlights of your victory or defeat on a fake iPad. Then, after you watch around 30 seconds of footage from the fight you just played, the game starts to load and you watch fake highlights from other fights. Why they can't load while you're watching your highlight is a mystery to me. The end result is you staring at a screen for a minute or two after every fight.
Those weird loads are all over the place. You'll just stare at a tip screen for a decent chunk of time and then it's like the game remembers it's supposed to be loading. It's really weird. I can't explain why it happens because I'm not a video game developer, but it slows everything down. If I wasn't reviewing the game, I probably would've stopped playing the mode just because this became so frustrating when trying to get to the next fight. Hopefully, it's something the team can iron out with a patch down the line.
It's not all bad on the career mode front though. I absolutely love the new way the team has you building out your fighter. Instead of training under different fighters to learn different ranks of your skills, you'll rank up moves as you do them. So, if you want to build a versatile strike game, you'll do so by banging heads with your sparring partners and opponents.
It's a fluid system that makes much more sense than past games. You can bring in fighters from your division to learn completely new skills, but those start at rank one and have to be leveled up. I never would've guessed that using Morrowind for the basis of UFC's career mode would work, but it does expertly well.
While the stats system of your fighter is my favorite part of the game, the customization side of things is, to put it charitably, not my bag. Look, I won't shame you if you want your fighter to have a man's body and a tiger's head, I'm just not into it. Outside of the basic options, everything here is flashy in a way that would work in a WWE game because it's not a real sport but feels out of place in the UFC.
Sure, there are new arenas where coming into the octagon with glowing text scrawling "WARNING" across the waistband doesn't stand out too much. But, for me, it feels like that Steve Buschemi "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme as a feature.
Fortunately, while you can spend real money on making your UFC fighter into Cheetara masquerading as a character from Tron, there don't appear to be purchasable loot boxes. You do get randomized rewards as you work your way through the objectives in the new player hub. However, you can also either outright buy or earn through achievements all of the gear. So, while you can spend real-world money on buying cosmetics, at least you know what you're getting.
Outside of the updated career mode and increased focus on building your avatar across all game modes, the EA Canada team has put a big emphasis on multiplayer. Ultimate Team is gone and Blitz Battles are the new talk of the town. These give players a new way to quickly hop into a series of fights under rotating rules. Of course, the standard ranked play returns, which culminates in a world title if you're good enough. However, I think, outside of the hardcore crowd, Blitz Battles will be what most people play.
Even in the early stages, there's quite a bit of variety in Blitz. The rotating rulesets force you to improve your fight game in all kinds of ways. Plus, the matches happen fast, meaning you can get in and out in a timely manner. I can see this becoming something you pop in every night after dinner to get a few games in.
Of course, it's hard to give a final verdict of the online aspect in the early access period. Kinks are still being worked out and the player base is still relatively small. It never took unbearably long to get into a match, but several of my opponents' connections dropped. I won't be mad about the free wins. They just don't feel as rewarding.
That said, I think the team found a solid replacement for Ultimate Team. I mean, no one was playing that mode anyway, but Blitz adds something that injects a bit of fun into how you play UFC 4.
None of that really matters if the game isn't fun to play. With confidence, I can say that, if you liked UFC 3's gameplay, you'll probably like UFC 4. They've changed a few things. Some good. Some bad. But, for the most part, it feels like its predecessor.
Striking continues to be my favorite part of the UFC franchise. I know there are some who don't love how the team handles it, but, I love the simplicity of each face button corresponding to a different limb. For me, it feels intuitive and lets me pretend like I'm playing the Fight Night reboot we deserve. Expect, in this case, I can kick a dude's head off with a roundhouse.
Outside of striking, EA has overhauled the clinch and submission systems. As alluded to before, I prefer to focus on the stand-up game. It's just more exciting to pop someone in the mouth than it is to lay on them for three minutes before locking in a choke.
That said, from the minimal grappling I did employ, the clinch definitely feels more fluid and natural. I felt more in control of where and when my attacks happened. It's far from perfect, as some things still feel kind of random, but, from my novice perspective, the clinch feels more realistic.
My one caveat is that single- and double-leg takedowns feel very hard to stuff. It's entirely possible that I just didn't wrap my head around the controls. However, it felt like if someone went for it, they were scoring that takedown more times than not.
Once things do get to the ground, I think most players will find mixed results. For submissions, the team appears to have taken a page out of the WWE games' book in hopes of making the system easier. You're sliding a bar around a circle to lock in a choke or switching between RT or LT to catch your opponent in a chokehold. It's certainly easier than last year, but I think veteran fans will find it less rewarding.
You can, of course, turn the old mode back on. So, players who like that system don't need to fret. On the other side of things, ground-and-pound feels much better. The camera takes a more overhead view, letting both fighters more easily see what they're doing. You also have more options for both striking and blocking, in addition to finally being able to sway your head and dodge punches.
Personally, I still don't think they've quite nailed how exciting the ground game can be. They've made some steps to streamline everything and make it feel more fluid. However, there are far fewer big moments than when you're on your feet.
In a lot of ways, that sums up UFC 4. There's a lot here to love. The way you level up your fighter in career mode is a dream. Striking continues to be impactful and provides moments that will bring you out of your seat. But the total experience just feels like so much wasted potential.
I absolutely think UFC fans will get a ton out of UFC 4. There is a ton to do and Blitz Battles seem like the perfect way to get players hopping in daily. However, if you didn't like UFC 3, there's not much here to entice you to hop on.
In short, UFC 4 is the definition of fine. While you'll probably get several hours of fun out of beating the sport's best to a pulp, I think I'd still rather dig out my Xbox 360 and play through Fight Night Champion or Undisputed 3 again.
The post EA Sports UFC 4 Review — A Paper Champion by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.
Following Apple, Google Kicks Fortnite off the Google Play Store
Today's Fortnite news isn't over yet. Just a few hours ago, the free-to-play battle royale was removed from Google's Play Store, just like it was removed from Apple's App Store.
Going back to the beginning of today's debacle, Fortnite snuck in an update for its iOS and Android versions that allowed players to circumvent built-in systems for in-app purchases. Instead, players would have the option to pay Epic directly for their v-bucks.
If you missed what followed, here's the rundown. Apple removed Fortnite from its App Store, then Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple to "end Apple's unfair and anti-competitive actions that Apple undertakes to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in two distinct, multibillion-dollar markets," those being the App Store and what the suit refers to as "the iOS In-App Payment Processing Market."
As if that wasn't enough, Epic went on to parody Apple's iconic 1984-style ad for the Macintosh home computer with a new Fortnite event. It was at this point that my managing editor Logan and I began to go a bit mad.
But now that's old news, from when Fortnite was still available on Google's Play Store. The reason for that removal is, unsurprisingly, the same as Apple's. Here's a statement from Google regarding the game's removal.
The open Android ecosystem lets developers distribute apps through multiple app stores. For game developers who choose to use the Play Store, we have consistent policies that are fair to developers and keep the store safe for users. While Fortnite remains available on Android, we can no longer make it available on Play because it violates our policies. However, we welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic and bring Fortnite back to Google Play.
The similarities between the tech giants don't end at removing Fortnite, as they've also both had lawsuits filed against them by Epic. Google's suit came tonight, just hours after Apple's.
BREAKING: Epic has filed suit against Google as well pic.twitter.com/ldlTVpkUso
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 14, 2020
Android users however have come out better than Apple users in this situation. While Fortnite is no longer available on the Google Play Store, Epic is pointing to the Epic Games App and the Samsung Galaxy Store. Via these two marketplaces, players can not only download the game but also purchase v-bucks at a lower rate.
The post Following Apple, Google Kicks Fortnite off the Google Play Store by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.
Scott Pilgrim Creator Says Ubisoft Has Finally Reached Out to Him About Video Game
Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game is one of the most well-documented game delistings ever. Warranting mass disappointment, including from Scott Pilgrim's Creator, Brian Lee O'Malley, the Ubisoft-published beat-em-up's disappearance is especially poignant considering it turned 10 years old today.
Over the past few days and weeks especially, fan demand for the game's return has been at an all-time high, especially since iAm8Bit and O'Malley have very publicly discussed how the game would be perfectly suited for a re-release and various parties involved have teased its return. Today, O'Malley announced via Twitter that Ubisoft has finally reached out to him to get the game back on digital storefronts.
PS. ubisoft has reached out to me
— Bryan Lee O'Malley (@bryanleeomalley) August 13, 2020
While we've seen situations like this in the past with other games being removed from online stores, fans demanding it come back and the company making some moves to bring back the game, only to disappoint in some way, this seems like the closest Ubisoft has ever been to bringing the popular game back.
Not only is O'Malley campaigning for the game's return, but Anamanaguchi, the group that composed the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim that debuted their latest album last night has also been very supportive of the game's return.
the guys at @iam8bit released
mega man 2
mega man x
inside
psychonauts
untitled goose game
donut countycould be cool for @Ubisoft to add to that list pic.twitter.com/CepN79bYMT
— Anamanaguchi (@anamanaguchi) August 12, 2020
The prospect of an iAm8Bit re-release of the game and/or the soundtrack is especially enticing, because their collector's editions and physical versions of previously digital-only games, like Untitled Goose Game and their re-releases of classic games like Street Fighter II are incredibly high-quality. IAm8Bit also specializes in pressing game soundtracks to vinyl, and Scott Pilgrim's soundtrack is just begging for a physical release.
Ubisoft proper has yet to say anything about the game's re-release, but considering they're in talks to bring it back, they could be sharing more news soon.
The post Scott Pilgrim Creator Says Ubisoft Has Finally Reached Out to Him About Video Game by Charlie Wacholz appeared first on DualShockers.
Dragon Ball FighterZ: Roadmap And Trailer Coming August 16
It's been a few months since Bandai Namco put out a new character for Dragon Ball FighterZ with the release of Ultra Instinct Goku in May, but it seems like the evergreen anime fighter is getting its next character soon. This past Monday, Bandai Namco eSports announced that they would be hosting an online event dedicated to the future of the game.
On top of teasing the next character reveal, the next iteration of the Dragon Ball FighterZ Show, premiering on August 16th, will also discuss Bandai Namco-supported tournaments for the rest of the year. Announced via Twitter, the event is scheduled to take place on the game's official Twitch channel.
What's on the road ahead of us?
Join us on this Sunday for our next #DBFZShow.
We'll showcase all our plans for 2020: competitions, game updates … as well as an exclusive trailer
Sunday 16/08
11:00 PDT /
14:00 EDT /
20:00 CEST pic.twitter.com/SAzNbE0ZBY
— Bandai Namco Esports (@BNEesports) August 12, 2020
The announcement has been met with both speculation and excitement from the game's active community. The competitive Dragon Ball FighterZ community, much like many other fighting game communities, in particular, has had a rough year because of the mass shift to online competitions. Many members of the community are hoping that improved netcode is one of the game's potential updates, but it's likely in vain considering Bandai Namco's notoriously tone-deaf practices with their games' communities.
The next episode of the Dragon Ball FighterZ Show is premiering on Sunday at 2PM Eastern Time on the official Dragon Ball FighterZ Twitch channel. Bandai Namco hasn't provided any details about how long the show is going to be, but considering they've been all but radio silent the past few months, they should have a decent amount to share about the future of the game.
The post Dragon Ball FighterZ: Roadmap And Trailer Coming August 16 by Charlie Wacholz appeared first on DualShockers.
Metro Developer 4A Purchased by Embracer Group, Hints at Multiplayer Content
4A Games, the developer behind the highly successful Metro franchise, has recently been purchased by Embracer Group, a Swedish video game holding company. And before you ask, no, the purchase wasn't made in bullets, but rather to the tune of $36 million.
If you're not familiar with Embracer Group that's fair, as it was known as THQ Nordic until September of last year. That's not to be confused with the THQ Nordic that still operates under Embracer Group and recently published SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. Instead, Embracer Group is a massive holding company with multiple publishers under its wing, each of which has multiple developers under their own.
In this case, 4A Games was purchased by Embracer Group through Saber Interactive, which 4A will act as an independent studio under. In a press release from Embracer Group, 4A Games CEO Dean Sharpe announced his excitement and teased the next project the studio will be working towards. "Embracer Group and Saber Interactive are the perfect partners for 4A Games and for our next phase of growth. Together we will continue to build on the Metro franchise and will focus on bringing a multiplayer experience to our fanbase."
Of course, what really stands out there is Sharpe's last sentence. The Metro franchise has always focused on single-player content and has only ventured out of linear level design in the latest entry in the series, Metro: Exodus. To come out, in a press release of all venues, and hint towards a multiplayer experience for the Metro series is surprising first and exciting second. No other information on a new title from 4A, Metro or not, wasn't hinted at in the press release.
The post Metro Developer 4A Purchased by Embracer Group, Hints at Multiplayer Content by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.
Fortnite Just Got Booted Off of the iOS App Store by Apple [UPDATE]
UPDATE: And now Epic is suing Apple. Well, this sure has been a day.
Epic Games has filed legal papers in response to Apple, read more here: https://t.co/c4sgvxQUvb
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 13, 2020
Clearly, Epic knew this was ready to play hardball today. This is going to be interesting to watch develop over the coming weeks.
Mere hours after implementing a new payment system on the iOS and Android version of Fortnite that would circumvent certain fees, Epic Games has found its mega-popular game kicked off of one of the world's largest gaming platforms.
In a message given to The Verge, Apple announced today that it has officially removed Fortnite from the iOS App Store following Epic's new monetization scheme. The move on Epic's part is said to have broken Apple's terms when it comes to those who sell goods or services on the platform. "Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services," a representative from Apple explained.
Here's the full statement from Apple:
Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.
Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem – including its tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we're glad they've built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has long been critical of sellers fees on various platforms, including those on both PC and mobile. Oftentimes, sellers have to charge higher prices on platforms in order to ensure that the eventual money they do see helps them break even more quickly. For instance, in Fortnite's new storefront that was added today, V-bucks which would have normally cost $10, were now retailing only $8. This reason is also a major part of why Epic created its own Games Store back in 2018 on PC, to make sure that developers and publishers received a larger cut of the final money made compared to sales that transpire on platforms like Steam.
It remains to be seen what will happen between Epic and Apple in this situation. The move on Epic's part today seemed to be one about making a statement more than it was trying to dodge payments to Apple altogether. In all likelihood, both parties will surely come to terms that will see Fortnite returning to iOS in time, but this sure has been a surprising situation to see unfold all the same.
Meanwhile, Fortnite itself will be hosting a new short tonight that it's calling "Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite" and dear lord if this somehow ties back into the larger story at play here, I will hate everything.
Fortnite Party Royale will premiere a new short: Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite. Join us at 4PM ET. pic.twitter.com/BWvndK3gDt
— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) August 13, 2020
The post Fortnite Just Got Booted Off of the iOS App Store by Apple [UPDATE] by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.
Trick Renamed In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 To Honor Its Creator
When the Warehouse demo for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 goes live tomorrow, a longstanding trick will have a new name.
The "mute" grab, which has been in the Tony Hawk games from the start (and skating long before that), will now be going by the "The Weddle Grab" to honor the trick's creator, Chris Weddle.
Hawk himself revealed the name change in an Instagram post made Wednesday, and explained the reasoning behind it.
"For nearly 40 years, we've shamelessly referred to this trick as the "mute" air/grab. Here is the backstory: around 1981, a deaf skater and Colton Skatepark local named Chris Weddle was a prominent amateur on the competition circuit. The "Indy" air had just been created & named so somebody proposed that grabbing with the front hand should be known as the "Tracker" air. Others countered that Chris was the first to do, so it should be named after him. They referred to him as the "quiet, mute guy." So it became known as the mute air, and we all went along with it in our naive youth. In recent years a few people have reached out to Chris (who still skates) about this trick and the name it was given. He has been very gracious in his response but it is obvious that a different name would have honored his legacy, as he is hearing impaired but not lacking speech. I asked him last year as I was diving into trick origins and he said he would have rather named it the "deaf" or "Weddle" grab if given the choice. His exact quote to me was "I am deaf, not mute." So as we embark on the upcoming [Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2] demo release, some of you might notice a trick name change: The Weddle Grab. It's going to be challenging to break the habit of saying the old name but I think Chris deserves the recognition."
Hawk wrapped up his post with thanks to Darrick De La O, another deaf skater who was the catalyst for name change, and noting that Weddle said he was "so stoked" when told about his trick's new name.
You can check out Hawk's Instagram post in full below:
: @yousta_storytellers_clubThe Warehouse demo will be available to players who pre-ordered the game digitally for either the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC. The full game is due out Sept. 4.
The post Trick Renamed In Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 To Honor Its Creator by Nick Tricome appeared first on DualShockers.
Gamedec Preview — The Crimes Are in the Computer
Gamedec is an upcoming isometric RPG from the team at Anshar Studios. You play as a Gamedec or game detective who is tasked with solving various crimes taking place in the virtual world. Recently, I was able to sit down with a pre-alpha build of the game and try out an early level. You can check out some of my early impressions on our YouTube channel or read below for some more in-depth thoughts.
At its core, Gamedec is a narrative-driven RPG. The demo version begins with some very basic character creation; however, this isn't like your standard action-based RPG. You're not putting points into skills like "small guns" or better health. Instead, Anshar takes quite a few cues from Disco Elysium.
Both games attempt to replicate the free-form storytelling you would find in a tabletop RPG session. Skills aren't combat-based and instead it's all about the different ways you can converse with the people around you. In Gamedec, you don't earn skill points by gaining experience. Instead, you'll level up as you engage in different conversational tactics in your mission to solve a case.
It is, as you might expect, difficult to really tell how much depth the system has in a short demo. That said, it's clear that Gamedec is set to provide a unique experience for players looking for something a little different in their RPG games.
Obviously, with it being a beta, you can't be surprised when things are a little fiddly. Even in the small mission available in the demo, there are several different branching options for you to move through. It wasn't always clear what was unlocking which branch and how. That said, it appears that, even in a short mission like this, you'll have plenty of different options to choose from.
For example, in the demo, you are investigating what happened to a rich man's son when he went into the virtual world. Through your conversations in the real-world, you open up a few different virtual worlds to visit. I made it all the way to the end of the mission and only saw one of the worlds. And, even if the game does force you to eventually go where I did, there are seemingly multiple paths to find the end.
That's important for a game that deals only in conversation. Obviously, games with fake branching paths (think Telltale games) can effectively provide an illusion of choice. However, it's the truly great ones that actually let the tale branch out.
I'm interested to see which camp Gamedec falls into. My early time with the game suggests it will sit more in the illusion of choice camp. With several worlds to explore, a fully branching story seems next to impossible. Disco Elysium was able to get so much out of its story because it was confined to one area. You didn't need to be filtered to new places. That let ZA/UM really delve deep into its characters and lore.
Gamedec, on the other hand, doesn't seem like it's set up to do that. That said, I don't know if it has to.
We already know games that only provide an illusion of choice can be great. Just look at Telltale's The Walking Dead series. And, Gamedec boasts a feature that I think could make it stand out even more.
Certain conversations in Gamedec make use of the equivalent of a likeability bar. Basically, as you talk to specific characters, your standing with them goes up and down. Both sides of that meter unlock new secrets for you to uncover. So, while I was nice to the rich kid's friend from the first mission and learned his in-game handle, you might take another tact and learn completely different information. Not only does that add replay value, but it means two players are unlikely to have the exact same playthrough.
That, combined with the conversation-based skill system has me pretty excited to check out Gamedec when it launches later this year. I'm not sure if it can match the critical highs of something like Disco Elysium, but it will provide RPG players with an intriguing take on what narrative RPGs can be.
The post Gamedec Preview — The Crimes Are in the Computer by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.