Game Informer

Game Informer

Watch This Exclusive Clip Of Superman Wrecking Things In Injustice

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 01:40 PM PDT

The animated film Injustice will have a segment during this Saturday's DC FanDome event, but we have an exclusive clip from the movie before the festivities kick-off. In case you're new to the Injustice lore, Superman has gone bad after Joker kills Lois Lane and establishes a global dictatorship to enforce essentially martial law. That doesn't sit well with Batman and others, and a civil war erupts between DC's roster of heroes and villains. 

The clip below provides a glimpse of how Superman flexes his strength to, shall we say, convince the leaders of the world to bend to his whim. 

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Injustice takes its story from the pair of well-received fighting games of the same name developed by Netherrealm Studios, the team behind the Mortal Kombat series. It also draws upon the comic series that came after those games. You can buy it on October 19 on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD. For a longer and darker look at the film, check out the previous Red Band trailer here. 

DC FanDome should be an exciting event for fans. On the gaming side, the celebrity-laden show will have new looks at Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. We'll also get new trailers and updates for films such as The Batman, The Flash, Aquaman 2, and Black Adam, not to mention the myriad of DC TV series. The all-digital convention kicks off at 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific. Unlike last year's show, the event takes place in one day and will run for about four hours. You can watch it at the event's official website here. 

Batman-Themed Haunted Hallows Event Starts Tomorrow In Rocket League

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 12:49 PM PDT

Rocket League has revealed that its Haunted Hallows 2021 event begins tomorrow and runs through November 1, and it will bring Batman-themed cars, decals, and more to the arena. 

More specifically, Haunted Hallows 2021 will feature a new Gotham City Rumble limited-time mode, new items, and the return of all three Batmobiles previously sold in-game. Alongside all of this, new Halloween Hallows challenges will be added to Rocket League to give players the chance to unlock villain-themed items. 

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Everyone who logs in will be able to earn the Dark Knight Player's Title and by completing challenges, players can earn special limited items like the Joker Dominus Decal and Boost, the Gotham's Finest Merc Decal, the Harley Quinn Wheels and Topper, the Poison Ivy Boost, and more. 

In Gotham City Rumble, drivers can expect the same Rumble gameplay but with the added twist that power-ups in the mode are themed after Batman and his rogue gallery. Some of the power-ups include Joker's Boxing Glove, Harley's Hammer (instead of the Boot), and Poison Ivy's Vines (instead of the Grappling Hook). 

To coincide with this new mode, the Beckwith Park (Gotham Night) arena has been added to the game and it includes plenty of easter eggs for Batman fans to spot. It's the arena seen in the Haunted Hallows 2021 event trailer above. 

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If you missed out on the release of the 1989 Batmobile, the Dark Knight's Tumbler from the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, or the 2016 Batmobile from Batman v Superman, all three will be available in the Rocket League Item Shop. Each comes with the Reel Life Decal, too, which gives the Batmobiles their signature black color from their respective movies. 

The Bat-Signal Goal Explosions triple-pack available in the Item Shop starting tomorrow features a Bat-Symbol that explodes on-screen. The explosion will be either the Bat-Symbol from the 1989 Batman movie, the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy or that of Ben Affleck's Batman in the recent Zack Snyder movies. 

More details about the Haunted Hallows 2021 event can be found over on the Rocket League blog.

Will you be jumping into this year's Haunted Hallows event? Let us know in the comments below!

Splice The Abominations Of Your Dreams In Let’s Build A Zoo This November

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 11:53 AM PDT

The quirky Let's Build A Zoo opens its doors to enterprising zookeepers on November 5. The game hands you the keys to your own sanctuary of animals that you can take in several directions. Whether you want to promote conservation, turn it into a soulless money-making machine, or concoct brand-new creatures using a gene-splicing mechanic, Let's Build A Zoo has you covered.  

This goofy title lets you erect and design enclosures, buildings, and other infrastructure to house your furry attractions and entertain guests. Though it looks simple, layers of systems allow for a deeper level of play and plenty of customization, including a morality system. Kind-hearted players can properly care of their animals, promote environmentalism, and even save some species from going extinct. Those who prefer to walk on the dark side can exploit critters by building factories designed to squeeze as much cash out of them as possible. 

The game's other prominent feature is gene splicing. Do you find plain old giraffes boring? Mix its DNA with, say, a bat and see what you get. The game boasts over 300,000 possible combinations of animals; maybe your zoo can exclusively showcase your horrific mistakes miracles of life. Let's Build A Zoo is coming to PC via Steam for $19.99. 

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Solar Ash Delayed To December, Less Than Two Weeks Away From Release Date

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 11:07 AM PDT

Heart Machine's Solar Ash has been delayed. 

Originally set to release on October 26, Heart Machine and publisher Annapurna Interactive announced today that Solar Ash will now release on December 2. The studio says it needs more time to polish the game and squash some bugs. 

Heart Machine and Annapurna Interactive have decided to delay the release of Solar Ash until December 2, 2021," Heart Machine's statement reads. "We want Solar Ash to shine, and we need a bit more time to get the last pieces of polish and bug fixes into the game, while still navigating this global pandemic as a highly dedicated team. This short delay will help us get there.

Solar Ash was announced during the PlayStation 5 event held in July of last year and revealed as a fast-paced 3D platformer with Shadow of the Colossus-inspired boss battles. It is the next game by Heart Machine following its critically acclaimed Hyper Light Drifter. 

In it, players control Rei, a spacefaring spelunker who explores alien planets for resources, artifacts, and more, while traversing environments through rollerskating-like mechanics. Rei's world becomes threatened by a massive black hole known as the Ultra Void and she must make her way through it in order to save all that she knows. 

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It will hit PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC on December 2. 

For more about Solar Ash, find out why it's on Game Informer's most anticipated holiday 2021 games list and then check out the trailer recently released during the Annapurna Interactive showcase. Check out this brief look at one of the massive bosses Rei will be fighting in Solar Ash after that. 

Are you excited for Solar Ash? Let us know in the comments below!

Exclusive Look At The Driving And Car Combat In Saints Row

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 10:56 AM PDT

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Many of you asked for action-focused footage following the release of our last Saints Row cover video, and we're happy to finally oblige. Today we're showing off an exclusive first look at the reboot's revamped driving system, which includes new ways to engage in car combat! I played a build of Saints Row for several days last month, and the vehicles of Santo Ileso were a joy to maneuver. I'm never the biggest racing fan in the room, but this reboot delivers a delightful arcade racing experience that reminds me of the soft spot I have for series like Need For Speed Underground, Grand Theft Auto, and even the earlier Saints games. 

The game features plenty of driving mechanics that we've seen in other games, like drifting, speed boosts in certain vehicles, and weapon blindfiring, but one of my favorite additions is the ability to surf on top of vehicles. You can ditch the steering wheel while driving solo and let your car's natural momentum carry you forward while you unleash your favorite assault rifle on unsuspecting enemies, or you can ride on top while a co-op partner steers the vehicle. If the car has enough speed while you're surfing, you can even deploy your wingsuit and launch straight into the sky, which feels amazing when you pull it off. You can even land on another car when you're ready to come back down to earth.

Please note that this Saints Row gameplay is pre-alpha footage supplied by Deep Silver and represents a game still in development.

If you haven't yet, also be sure to check out our Saints Row exclusive coverage hub, read our 12-page cover story on the game with a digital or print subscription, and subscribe to the Game Informer YouTube channel so that you don't miss any of our exclusive gameplay videos.

Live-Action System Shock Series In The Works, Will Air Exclusively On Binge

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 09:07 AM PDT

Binge, the video game-focused entertainment streaming platform that will launch in 2022, is working on a live-action adaptation of System Shock.

This adaptation will steam exclusively on Binge as a series and is being produced with help from Nightdive Studios. According to Deadline, Nightdive has owned the rights to System Shock since purchasing it from the now-defunct Looking Glass Studios in 2012. 

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More specifically, Nightdive Studios founder Stephen Kick and director of business development Larry Kuperman will be executive producers for the series. Allan Ungar, who directed the fan-made Uncharted short film featuring Nathan Fillion as Nathan Drake, is Binge's chief content officer and will produce the series. 

"I've always believed that a live-action adaptation of System Shock would be the perfect medium to retell the harrowing story of Citadel Station and its rogue AI that subjects the crew to unimaginable horror," Kick said. "We're very excited to see the talented team at Binge bring System Shock to life in horrifyingly real and new ways." 

Ungar told Deadline that Binge believes System Shock helped redefine what it means to play an FPS and that this series will do right by it and that genre. 

As noted by Deadline, System Shock joins a lineup of other video game live-action series adaptations in the works at Binge. The platform is also working on a live-action series based on Ubisoft's Driver. 

System Shock is a 1994 game developed by Looking Glass Studios that helped pave the way for franchises like BioShock, Dishonored, and more. It's about a rogue AI named SHODAN that essentially takes over a space station and reprograms/mutates everything aboard the station to kill you. 

Nightdive Studios is working on a remake of System Shock that's available for pre-order now. It also received a final demo earlier this year. Check out this video showcasing 20 minutes of System Shock remake gameplay to learn what to expect.

Do you think System Shock needs a live-action adaptation? What other video games would you like to see adapted for television? Let us know in the comments below!

Call of Duty: Vanguard Might Be The First Game In A New Trilogy

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 08:15 AM PDT

The Call of Duty franchise covers multiple theaters of war, often opting to tell fictional stories within a web of historical conflict (e.g., World at War, Black Ops, the first few games in the entire franchise, etc.). We take on the role of soldiers on the front lines, and sometimes these player characters become mainstays – Captain Price/Roach in Infinity Ward's original Modern Warfare trilogy and Mason/Woods in Treyarch's Black Ops franchise. Call of Duty: Vanguard is the latest entry in the long-running CoD universe and its writers want the game's characters to be mainstays. Vanguard might end up being the first game in another Call of Duty trilogy. 

During a New York Comic-Con panel, Vanguard's writers spoke about the future they envision for the game's protagonists:

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"We came into this process saying 'how do we make iconic CoD characters' because we don't really have that in Call of Duty right now," Sam Maggs, writer at Sledgehammer games, said. "We came into this being like, 'who could be our flagship CoD characters' because we want to make Vanguard 2 and Vanguard 3. We have two more stories that we really want to tell with these characters, so we're hoping that if people love them as much as we do, we get to continue to tell the story of these people and make them figureheads for this era of CoD." You can listen to Maggs and the rest of the writing team talk about this around the 43-minute mark in the video above. 

Call of Duty: Vanguard's campaign follows an elite task force – Sergeant Arthur Kingsley, Lieutenant Polina Petrova, Private Lucas Riggs, Lieutenant 1st Class Wade Jackson – as they venture deep into Nazi Germany to bring the Reich's mysterious Pheonix Project down to its knees. 

Call of Duty: Vanguard drops on November 5 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

[Source: VGC]

Unsighted Review – The Ultimate 'Beat The Clock' Challenge

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 07:55 AM PDT

Publisher: Humble Games
Developer: Studio Pixel
Release:
Rating: Teen
Reviewed on: Switch
Also on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC

Unsighted combines entertaining and thoughtful combat and engrossing exploration with a devilish premise. As Alma, you're a human-like automaton who awakens with amnesia and faces two problems. First, your partner, Raquel, is missing. Second, the world has lost its Anima, the energy source that gives automatons emotion and free will. When an automaton runs out of Anima, it devolves into an Unsighted, a mindless monster. Alma's action-adventure romp becomes a genuine race against the clock to spare as many friends as possible from this fate. 

I love that Unsighted's unique premise isn't a bluff. You and everyone you meet has a timer, visible in conversations and measured by in-game hours, indicating how long they have before they turn into monsters. Friends, shopkeepers, quest-givers, your fairy-like sidekick. No one is exempt – yourself included. If someone goes Unsighted, you'll have to put them down, which means you miss out on sidequests or, if it's a vendor, the option to buy certain goods. An Animal House-style "where are they now?" ending shows what happens to the people you save and provides plenty of good reasons to replay the adventure. 

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These genuine stakes kept me engaged throughout the journey as I tried to save whoever I could, making me question my actions in ways I normally wouldn't. Do I spend precious minutes solving an optional puzzle for its prize or hunt for scarce, time-extending Meteor Dust to prevent someone from turning? This system can be stressful, but time doesn't fly too fast, providing room to comfortably explore for the most part. Unsighted further alleviates the pressure in other creative ways. For example, if you lose a vendor, you can craft goods instead and perhaps save Meteor Dust for someone else. There's even a character who can kill an NPC of your choice and add their remaining time to yours. This option poses an interesting moral quandary, but I utilized her services twice and always left feeling dirty but relieved.

Unsighted does an excellent job covering its bases in the event everyone gets wiped, and while selfish players can get by letting everyone suffer, I found compelling reasons to keep characters around. Meteor Dust also raises NPC's affection level, which rewards discounts on valuable gear or opens side missions that you discover as you talk to folks about their backstories. I fought tooth and nail to keep Iris, Alma's fairy-like companion, around long enough to learn the fate of her missing sister. I genuinely felt bad when someone turned, either because I lost easily accessible items or because I grew to appreciate their colorful personality. 

To save the world, you must collect five meteor shards scattered across interconnected, multi-level biomes, each guarded by a big boss. Unsighted's slick combat allows players to dual-wield combinations of melee weapons and firearms. The action feels great and requires a thoughtful approach thanks to a stamina meter and a satisfying parry, which stuns foes for devastating counterattacks. I loved deflecting multiple incoming assaults, then one-shotting stunned attackers. Pistols, shotguns, and even flamethrowers sport an active reload for added tension, but nailing that timing is a bit tricky. The wide variety of enemies and creative bosses are tough but hit the sweet spot between challenging and fun. 

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I enjoyed tinkering with Alma's capabilities using ability-granting chips, which let you create specific builds and negate more restrictive elements. For example, I found a chip that removed the stamina cost for running. Cogs compliment chips with temporary effects like an instant revive or limited invulnerability. Platforming feels great and is more fluid than I expected in a top-down game but judging distances and angles during certain jumps is tricky given the perspective. Falling doesn't damage Alma, but it is still irritating. As a whole, though, Unsighted plays like a dream. 

I had a great time exploring the beautiful, pixel-art world and uncovering hidden upgrades and shortcuts. Dungeons boast exceptional design and plenty of variety, each with a distinct theme centered around fun items such as a grappling hook or ice grenade. Marching through a lava-filled factory in a mech suit is as entertaining as surfing rail networks atop a giant, Beyblade-esque spinning top. The puzzles are well designed overall, although the back-and-forth runaround required to complete some of them is tedious and clearly designed to force you to burn time. Like the best Metroid-style games, progression-based abilities serve more purposes than opening paths. I loved using the grapple hook to yank enemies towards me as much as zipping across gaps. 

Unsighted hooked me thanks to its fascinating world, awesome combat, and a doomsday clock that enriches the adventure. It's one of my favorite surprises of the year because my actions made a genuine impact on the world, and they didn't always pan out the way I hoped. Though I lost friends along the way, my desire to see this exceptional adventure to its end only grew with each passing hour.

Score: 9

Summary: Unsighted is an engrossing and action-packed race against time where everything you do impacts which of your friends survive who turns into monsters.

Concept: As a machine with amnesia, you must rescue your lost lover and restore your allies' lifeforce before they turn into monsters

Graphics: The pixel art world looks great, and biomes have a nice visual variety. Animated cutscenes sell the drama while further showing off the art

Sound: Unsighted is full of jazzy, hum-worthy tunes, especially in its dungeons

Playability: The hack n' slash combat requires a fun mastery of parrying and stamina management. Shooting works, too, though the active reload is tough to execute

Entertainment: Unsighted boasts engaging gameplay and lore, strong dungeon design, all wrapped around an effective and impactful countdown mechanic

Replay: High

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ArenaNet, Undead Labs Founder Jeff Strain Opens New Studio

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 06:26 AM PDT

Industry veteran Jeff Strain has opened Possibility Space, a new game development studio embracing remote work to draw on talent from around the world. 

Strain is a former Blizzard developer, having co-founded ArenaNet, the studio behind Guild Wars, over 20 years ago. He also founded Undead Labs, the studio behind State of Decay that Microsoft acquired in 2018. Possibility Space has already gathered up some impressive talent, too, featuring former developers from Campo Santo, Ubisoft, Insomniac, Double Fine, BioWare, EA, and more. 

"We felt this was the right time to create something new – a studio built from the ground up to embrace evolving needs and perspectives for both players and developers," Strain writes in a press release. "Like many others, the past year and a half has been a fraught time for me. While I am grateful that my family is safe, the anxiety, fear, and isolation of the last 18 months has been almost unbearable at times. That fear and isolation was the catalyst for Possibility Space, a modern kind of game studio, where we are creating a joyful game that's been my dream for many years." 

That COVID-19-related anxiety also seemingly inspired Strain to make Possibility Space a "distributed game development studio" that allows "developers to live and work wherever they want." While the company welcomes remote work, Possibility Space will be based in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Some of the talent joining Strain at Possibility Space includes Firewatch's former lead environment artist, Jane Ng, who also served as an artist on Half-Life: Alyx. Ng is Possibility Space's visual director. Liz England, who previously worked as the lead designer of Watch Dogs: Legion and on Sunset Overdrive, will join the studio as its narrative systems design director. Making the jump from games media to game development, former Waypoint editor-in-chief Austin Walker will work as Possibility Space's IP director. 

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Beyond its commitment to remote work, which opens the doors to developers worldwide, Possibility Space also aims to serve underserved communities where its developers might reside. 

"[Possibilty Space] is built from the ground up as a distributed studio, allowing staff to live where they want to live and work where they want while supporting the communities they love," a press release about the studio reads. "Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, the studio also works to identify, mentor, train, and hire individuals from underserved and overlooked communities and backgrounds." 

Today's news comes two months after Strain called for the gaming industry to unionize in light of the ongoing lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, citing that "enough is enough." In the open letter where Strain said this, he also said that he welcomes his own employees to unionize and that they have his "full endorsement."

Are you excited to see what Possibility Space is cooking up? Let us know in the comments below!

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl | New Gameplay Today

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 06:00 AM PDT

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Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Ilca, Game Freak
Release:
Platform: Switch

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are just over a month out from release. These remakes of the fourth-generation classics on Nintendo DS are visually getting a new coat of paint and some updated quality of life functionality.

In this New Gameplay Today, your master trainers Alex Stadnik and John Carson talk about a recent preview event where Nintendo and The Pokémon Company showed off all of the updated features players can expect in the duo of Switch games. We touch on some of the most important additions to the games and show off five whole minutes of new gameplay. Hey, that's like the title of the video series!

Originally released in 2006, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl brought monster catching, training, and trading to Nintendo's dual-screened handheld device. Handling the updated version for Switch is Pokémon Home developer ILCA, who has had its hand in delivering other JRPGs like Dragon Quest XI, Nier: Automata, and Yakuza 0. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will hit Nintendo Switch on November 19.

For more great video content from our Game Informer editors, check out our YouTube and Twitch channels. You can also catch recent videos like this exclusive introduction to Santo Ileso, the new city in Saints Row, or a look at the new Hearthstone game mode, Mercenaries.

How do you think Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are shaping up? Do you like the modern updates brought to the games? Do you have a favorite Sinnoh Pokémon? Let us know in the comments!

What's New In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl?

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 06:00 AM PDT

Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Ilca, Game Freak
Release:
Platform: Switch

Upcoming remakes to the first Nintendo DS Pokémon games, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl from ILCA are two of the biggest releases set for Nintendo's holiday lineup. With just over a month until their expected release on November 19, we were allowed to go eyes-on the games in a preview event. We got a glimpse at what's staying the same in these updated games and which modern conveniences are added to the Sinnoh adventure.

Our demonstration began with a look at the world, which remains faithful to the vision of the original Diamond and Pearl. The camera remains overhead, and the characters populating Sinnoh are presented in chibi models. However, everything has been remade with 3D models, with new textures and all, which we had known since the initial trailer some months ago. What is new about wandering the routes from town to town is the option to let one of your Pokémon companions stroll behind you at all times. It's a cool feature from Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee and the Sword and Shield Isle of Armor DLC that I'm very happy to see return.

If you want more Pokémon from your party out and about, head to Amity Square. It's a location that allows predetermined "cute" Pokémon to spread out around the park, causing a sort of hide-and-seek game to play out. Your monsters will find items around the area, and as you find each one, they'll begin to follow you wherever you roam in Amity Square. With more than one member of your party at your side, the developers allow you to have a little bit of fun by adding a zoom function to the in-game camera so you can snap pictures with your partners. Bring all of your favorites (deemed cute by the Amity Square front desk attendant, of course) and make some memories.

Speaking of cute, the Pokémon Super Contest Shows return as well. Super Contests are a way to compete in different categories, including Cuteness, Toughness, Coolness, and more. You'll play a simple rhythm game during the competitions and try to unleash a pre-chosen move from your Pokémon at the perfect time to wow the judges. You'll also be able to see the fruits of your Ball Capsule customization. With Ball Capsules, you can add stickers to specific Pokéballs, creating unique animations and flourishes whenever you bring that Pokémon out. I saw a combination of flames and water effects applied to one of the Pokémon our demoist brought out. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will have over 90 of these stickers, and some can be earned by winning the Super Contest Shows.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl aren't going to be completely faithful to the originals, as the remakes are bringing in some well-tested features from the most recent mainline games. First, Pokémon battles use the full 3D models you'd expect to see in Sword and Shield. Your trainer is also given a full-sized model so that you can show off your character's outfits in battle. EXP Share is applied to all Pokémon in your party when a battle concludes. However, it was confirmed that it's not a feature that can be turned off this time around. Other quality of life additions like autosaves and seeing move effectiveness on your attacks also return.

A big question going into these remakes was whether Hidden Machines made the cut since they're in a very different state in the modern Pokémon games. This time around, winning Gym badges will unlock HM moves that can be used in the world, but you do not have to teach them to your Pokémon. Using an HM like Strength to move a boulder will make a wild Pokémon appear and use the move for you. It doesn't really make sense, but I'll take the convenience over wasting precious move slots. You can call on these helpful wild monsters using the new and improved Pokétch, the watch-like device from Diamond and Pearl, which is now more like a modern smartwatch. Apps on this new Pokétch include a step counter, Pokémon friend checker, a calculator, an item dowsing machine, and a drawing pad.

 

My favorite part of the demo was when we ventured into the Grand Underground, a massive subterranean map that compares in size to the above-ground region of Sinnoh. Down in these depths, trainers can excavate items from the cavern walls. Here is where you can sometimes find Pokémon statues, decorations that can be set in your Secret Base. These Secret Bases are special customizable rooms found in the Grand Underground. Depending on which Pokémon figures you decorate with will affect which Pokémon you can find and catch in larger Underground rooms called Hideaways. Use certain bug Pokémon statues? You're more likely to find more bugs in the local Hideaway. A device at the front of your Secret Base will let you know how the Hideaways will be affected. Statue collection will be a big part of the Grand Underground experience and your overall Pokémon collection strategy. Some statues even come in rare Shiny versions that give a different effect from their standard counterpart.

My demo with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl was short, but as you can see, very informative of the overall package. From what I've seen, I'm very excited for these remakes and to get back to Sinnoh and check out all of these changes for myself.

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Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | New Gameplay Today

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 05:00 AM PDT

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release:
Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac

Final Fantasy XIV gets its next big expansion with Endwalker this November, and it's set to be the biggest expansion for the MMORPG yet. It certainly has a tough act to follow given how awesome Shadowbringers was, but it looks like it's up to meeting that challenge. During a preview session, we were able to get hands-on with the expansion in a limited fashion, including a dungeon dive into The Tower of Zot. Yep, it's got the jamming tunes we all remember from its inception in Final Fantasy IV. I love Final Fantasy IV, so this dungeon really conjured up some bonus nostalgia.

And yes, you may see some other familiar faces from its Final Fantasy IV inspirations within its walls as well. The Magus Sisters are here, and you better believe they can use the Delta Attack! While I was very new to the Reaper class during this episode (We started with everything, so I had a lot of buttons to figure out), we made it to the end successfully, embracing many of the same gameplay mechanics that are already prevalent in both Final Fantasy XIV and the genre in general, like staying out of hazards and keeping a careful eye on boss attacks.

Join us for a look at the Tower of Zot in this episode of New Gameplay Today! Are you looking forward to Endwalker? What class are you going to play? Let us know in the comments!

 

We Played Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker And It’s Awesome

Posted: 13 Oct 2021 05:00 AM PDT

Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release:
Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac

In a demo session, I had the opportunity to play a small slice of Final Fantasy XIV's Endwalker expansion, which arrives on November 23. Obviously, demo sessions for MMORPGs and a variety of other genres are complicated beasts, but I did have plenty of time to get some nice hands-on with the new jobs and explore a dungeon, The Tower of Zot. As anyone who has played Shadowbringers probably already expects, Endwalker is shaping up to be as awesome as its predecessors in the expansion realm.

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The bulk of my time was spent playing a new melee DPS class, the Reaper. This class ebbs Bloodborne aesthetic, so that pretty much sealed the deal for me. However, the Reaper doesn't just look cool – based on the demo session, it should be a fairly challenging and dynamic damage class for those looking to stay on their toes during all phases and styles of combat. With a ton of various contextual abilities to draw from and several different resource meters, the Reaper presents savvy damage-dealers with tons of possibilities to handle any situation. While most players are familiar with the concept of filling up a resource reservoir to unleash powerful skills, the Reaper must juggle several. 

Granted, it's absolutely possible to play Reaper without mastering the timing of the multitude of skills and enjoy it too, but hey, if you want to min/max your potential, some training is needed. That said, I was far more comfortable after a few hours of play than I was staring at stacked skillbars when I picked up the character, so I do think it's going to be doable (and fun!) for the vast majority of players. Turning into the actual Reaper after charging up and unleashing massive damage feels great. As is the case with all melee combatants, you need a way to get out of the action just as fast as you get in. Luckily, the Reaper has a cool little teleport portal you can set up, allowing you to get in or out of the thick of things as the encounter dictates. In summary, I am playing a Reaper in Endwalker, and it's not close.

I didn't spend much time on the Sage because, well, I don't play healer, ever, but I'll say this – the visual identity of the two new classes here is top-notch. Who is going to want to be a white mage after you have electro doctor Sage available? That's a good question. Sage exudes coolness with its kit, and honestly, I almost thought about playing a healer. Okay, not really.

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While I got to roam around a few levels, quests weren't really available in the zones, and the Fates (public quests) that I completed were fairly standard – I won't spoil the surprises there, either. However, we did get to spend some quality time in the Tower of Zot, one of Endwalker's new dungeons. I played the dungeon both with other players and with a Trust (NPCs that are available to do group dungeon content that debuted in Shadowbringers). Immediately upon entry, you get hit with that legendary track from Final Fantasy IV. As someone that places Final Fantasy IV very high, if not the top, of the FF pyramid, that's really all I needed.

The amount of "trash" (regular enemies) in the dungeon seemed about right, and the boss fights also felt solid for entry-tier expansion content. Yes, we had to dodge a lot of things on the ground. Yes, we had some contextual movement situations. And yes, the Magus Sisters are the bosses inside the Tower, culminating in an epic battle where you fight all three at the same time, and they unleash the Delta Attack. That particular encounter can be fairly stressful until you get the first Sister down, as the Delta Attack requires dodging many attacks in succession. It's not a trial or raid or anything, but it definitely perked my interest levels in what lays beyond.

Obviously, a couple of hours with an MMORPG is a drop in the bucket. But everything I saw in Endwalker speaks to the greater game and its continued path of progression, where they've upped the quality of the title with each expansion. With Endwalker representing the grand finale of the current story arc, I expect a lot. And everything I've seen so far thinks that we'll get it. See you in November!
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