007: First Light hands-on report — using stealth, action, and charm to become a legendary spy

007: First Light hands-on report — using stealth, action, and charm to become a legendary spy https://ift.tt/uNkSA0o

When it was first announced that Hitman: World of Assassination developer IO Interactive was taking on the James Bond franchise with 007: First Light, it sounded like the perfect match of license and studio. The Hitman games focus on stealth, cunning, planning, and improvisation — a perfect fit for the legendary spy.

I recently went hands-on with 007: First Light across three missions, and saw first-hand how IOI has created a Bond game that combines action with a more thoughtful spy experience.

Bond from the beginning

Unlike the Bond film series, 007: First Light tells a new story, set in the modern era, that delves into Bond’s origins. When we first meet IO’s take on James Bond, he’s serving in the Royal Navy, a crewman on a mission in Iceland. Suddenly, missiles hit the two helicopters on the mission, and they crash on a nearby coastline. Bond makes it to shore and immediately finds himself sneaking past hostile mercenaries as they search for any survivors.

Before long, Bond is contacted via radio by an MI6 operative, and with no one else left, he’s pressed into service to retrieve some mysterious item. The mission gives a sense of Bond’s capabilities — even at this early point in his career, he’s able to keep his cool and analyze the situation thoughtfully, quickly donning a parka to disguise himself among the mercenaries and gather information.

But we also see that this younger Bond isn’t easily swayed from his convictions, and that he can be impatient and maybe a bit reckless. He eventually ignores his new MI6 handler and risks his life to save other operatives who’ve been captured by the enemy soldiers. After a harrowing trip through the camp to save the captives, the mission culminates in an action-packed chase as everyone escapes.

Welcome to MI6

Despite disobeying orders, Bond’s performance in Iceland got him noticed. After First Light’s take on Bond film opening credits, we headed to Malta for MI6 training.

Bond’s goal here is to make it past a group of soldiers patrolling ruins while his instructors look on. You can use stealth, staying behind cover or hiding in tall grass, or go loud with your fists and any weapons you find along the way. You’re also outfitted with Q gadgets, which provide lots of ways of dealing with enemies, both in and out of combat.

Holding L1 activates your Q Lens, which lets you see enemies through walls and highlights devices you can hack by hitting the X button to create distractions. Your watch can also fire a laser with Square to do things like cut ropes or explode devices to injure nearby enemies.

If you are spotted, you can take on enemies with Bond’s fists. Throwing punches is done with the Square button, and you can block and parry blows with Circle or sidestep with X. Timing those moves correctly is essential — even on the easier difficulty settings, First Light’s enemies are brutal fighters, especially when they gang up.

Luckily, Bond’s good at finding ways to gain an advantage. You can bounce enemies off hard surfaces to stun them, or grab nearby objects with Triangle to bash them. Holding L1 also gives you access to all your gadgets during fistfights and gunfights, so you can use your Q Watch’s laser to blind opponents or hack something to knock them off balance, before you come in with a haymaker. With an enemy off-balance, you can execute a takedown to finish them off by pressing X and Circle buttons together.

In the training mission, I felt Hitman’s influence on 007: First Light in its mix of stealth and action, its emphasis on improvisation, and its freedom to approach problems from multiple angles. But 007 stands apart with how many ways you can put together different actions to get out of trouble, and how quickly Bond can switch between all of them. The fun is in chaining together options on the fly to beat enemies down or just slip out of sight.

Practicing the craft

The third mission, Kensington, showed how you’ll need to use Bond’s fast thinking, spy capabilities, and charm as much as his fists and his marksmanship skills.

The level starts with Bond returning to his apartment after a mission, only to be attacked by assassins. After a tough fight, gunfire explodes through a window, forcing you to scramble over rooftops, staying behind cover and hacking distractions, to reach the shooter. 

He escapes, but Bond manages to track him across London to a gala at a museum.

The gala is where 007: First Light drew most from Hitman in my preview, opening up into a “wide-linear” level with lots of options. To find a way into areas off-limits to guests, you can eavesdrop on conversations and talk to characters to gain information. You can also use your gadgets, including a poison dart that temporarily makes whoever it hits feel sick, to distract people so you can pick their pockets or sneak by.

I overheard a public relations director talking about a journalist she was supposed to meet and opted to impersonate him to get past security. But while Bond is a smooth talker, you still have to listen closely; the director had actually mentioned two names, and I had to choose one.

I picked the journalist she’d seemed less annoyed with, and she happily directed me past security to the press room — but when I used the same name at the press room, the woman handing out credentials said he’d already checked in. Bond smoothed over the flub with some flirting, and I used a dart to get the woman to leave so I could steal what I needed.

All kinds of improvisation

Tracking down the assassin in the museum’s basement led to an intense boss fight. Since Bond was unarmed, I stealthily used Bond’s gadgets to hit the assassin with traps, like dropping a chandelier on him. After some developments in First Light’s story, I spent the rest of the mission trying to escape the museum.

When machine gun-armed mercenaries streamed into one art exhibit with walls covered in display panels, I combined all of Bond’s tricks — stealth, fistfighting, gadgets, and improvisation — to take them on. I thinned them out by dropping more chandeliers and blowing up the panels, confusing and disabling them. 

They eventually caught up with me, but a takedown on one let me grab his gun. I dodged from cover to cover as I shot at the mercenaries, before detonating a fire extinguisher with my watch laser to distract them as I slipped out the door.

The mission eventually ended with the 007 theme music ramping up as Bond hijacked a garbage truck, with mercenaries in hot pursuit. I plowed through buildings, ran mercenary cars into walls, and eventually smashed through a mall to escape.

The three missions in the preview highlighted how IOI’s combination of action, improvisation, and freedom captures not only the action of the Bond franchise, but the experience of being a smooth and savvy spy, too. You can earn your 00 status when 007: First Light hits PlayStation 5 on May 27.

Resident Evil Q&A: Director Zach Cregger shares inspirations and a new film teaser

Resident Evil Q&A: Director Zach Cregger shares inspirations and a new film teaser https://ift.tt/A4sKfp8

A new teaser trailer has revealed the first terrifying look at Resident Evil, director and writer Zach Cregger’s ode to the beloved horror franchise. We had the chance to sit down with Cregger to dive into how he’s crafting an original story that stays true to the series.

PlayStation Blog: What is your earliest memory of Resident Evil as a series?

Zach Cregger: My earliest memory of Resident Evil had to be playing [Resident Evil] 2. I think I played 2 before I played 1, and I don’t think I played anything like it, it’s the first survival horror game that I remember playing. I definitely played it before Silent Hill, and I just loved this new mechanic of resource conservation. You had to be completely aware of how many bullets you had, and how many healing items you had. You’d make these tough decisions about – what am I going to carry with me? What am I going to leave behind? It was such a unique mechanic. And it felt for me, with all the Resident Evil games, or with most of them, some of them get a little too arcade-y for my taste, but I really like the survival horror mechanics of moving slow and with deliberation. That was something that was really important to me to bring into the movie.

Everybody has a favorite moment from the games just jumping out of their skin terrified. What is your favorite scare in the Resident Evil series?

Now, I have to say I was playing it in VR, so I’m gonna put that out there, but it was in [Resident Evil] Village. It’s when you go into the doll house, and you go down in the basement, and you’re assembling that giant doll on the table, and you get hunted by this giant baby. There was something about the sounds that baby made, and the lights cut out, and you’re running through these halls and you have to hide under a bed.

It was the only time playing a video game I’ve ever actually just noped out and taken a break. I was just like, “This is too intense.” I took the headset off, I had a cup of coffee or something, went back in and finished it later. But I mean, that really got me, it’s honestly terrifying.

What initially sparked your interest to create a Resident Evil film?

I wanted to do a movie that was following a character from point A to point B, because that’s what those games do so well. You go on this crazy journey, and you go through all these different environments, and things just seem to be escalating and escalating. That feels so cinematic to me. So I wanted to tell a story that could take place in the Resident Evil world, but wasn’t telling a story that the games had already told. To me, I would feel like there’s kind of no winning there if I were to tell Leon’s story, because the games do such a great job. It would just be kind of redundant, and ultimately, I think, disappointing. So I would rather just kind of celebrate everything I love about the games by telling the story that could exist on the sidelines of one of the games.

So the world of [Resident Evil] 2 is kind of where this takes place, even though I’d make a couple of little shifts for dramatic license. It’s just following a different person who’s on a mission in this horrible night when things are going wrong in Raccoon City, and they’ve got to get something from point A to point B. And as they go, they encounter all of the same sorts of things you would encounter in the games. I wanted to keep true to like [in the games], you start with a pistol, you graduate to a shotgun, and then eventually you find an MP5. You’re always worried about how many bullets you have, and you’re getting injured and all those things. So it was such a fun challenge for me to try and write a game as a movie.

As you mentioned, this is not a retelling of the games, this is something set in the world of it. What would you say is essential to the world of Resident Evil?

Well, the world of Resident Evil is that this T-virus that the Umbrella Corporation is responsible for has caused a terrible zombie mutant breakout. And so things are going completely amok everywhere you look, and that’s a fun playground for me.

We’ve seen the heroes in Resident Evil games – Leon, of course, is tactical, he has training, he knows what he’s doing. But we’ve had newer characters like Ethan Winters (Resident Evil 7 and Village) and Grace (Resident Evil Requiem) in the games that are sort of dropped in this world and they don’t know what they’re doing. Is Austin [Abrams, who plays lead character Bryan] following that tradition of trying to figure out what to do?

Austin is very much like an avatar for me, or what I expect the average video game player would react if they were thrust into the game themselves. So he’s just a normal guy. He’s not particularly good at combat in any way, shape, or form. He’s athletic, but he’s not an athlete, he’s just a guy. He’s just a good natured, hapless dude who gets sucked into a nightmare. And so it was really fun to just think, how would I react authentically if I saw a mutant dog attack me? What would that gamut of emotion look like? And Austin’s just so fun to watch, he’s perfect for it.

In the Resident Evil games, the environments themselves feel like a character. What are some of the environmental setups that you feel are going to be the most important for a movie like this?

I think the key for the environment to make a movie out of Resident Evil, is it has to keep changing. Even though, [Resident Evil] 2 famously, most of it takes place in one location, the police station. Still, you’re always kind of unlocking new areas within and then you eventually go down into the parking garage, and then you go to other places. So the environment has to keep changing, and you have to be able to keep discovering new places. That’s something that this movie really leans into. You’re on a journey, and you really don’t spend too long in any one spot. And every new location that you go to harbors a new, unique danger.

As you mentioned, this movie is something that exists outside of the games. But did you feel a call to include easter eggs from the games?

Yeah, there’s a lot of easter eggs for the games, and that goes beyond things like the weapon progression and the resource management. [Resident Evil] 4 is probably the game I played the most, so I took a lot of healing items, I mimicked them exactly, I put them in the film. I don’t want to say [too much], gamers will see it and they’ll recognize it. But there’s a lot of little visual things and thematic things, there’s lots of the games in there, for sure.

Is there anything that you would like to say to fans before the movie comes out?

I feel so sensitive about talking about the movie on behalf of the game fans, because I think some of the fans are only going to be happy if I tell the story of the games. And I’m not doing that, because I feel like I wouldn’t do it justice. I feel like the games do such a great job of telling that story.

If you were personally stuck in the world that you have created, which Resident Evil gaming character do you wish was there to help?

Oh, well, that’s easy. If I was stuck in my movie and I could pick any Resident Evil character, I would bring Leon because I would just bear hug myself around him, close my eyes, and just let him protect me.

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil movie hits theaters September 18.

NBA The Run comes to PS5 this June

NBA The Run comes to PS5 this June https://ift.tt/w0jnPzi

Get ready to Run! Today, our team at Play by Play Studios is excited to drop our first gameplay trailer and to let PlayStation fans know NBA The Run will be releasing this June.

Today, we wanted to break down some different parts of the game fans have been asking about, so let’s get to it:

Knockout tournaments 

Every game in NBA The Run  throws you into a four-round knockout tournament, played on iconic streetball courts around the world. Games are short, quick burst rounds that keep you on your toes with randomized rulesets that will force you to change up strategy on the fly, game to game. How many Trophies can you stack?

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In the zone

This is a momentum-based system that unlocks powerful, signature abilities that vary depending on the player – think of it like activating an “ultimate” in a hero game or just like when your favorite NBA player heats up, takes over, and can’t be stopped. From blowing through defenders at the rim with Posterizer to clamping up on defense with The Shadow, these boosts can flip a game in a heartbeat. Make big plays to unlock it quickly, then time it right to swing the momentum of the game and take over.

The Shop

We know your time is valuable, and we wanted to create an unlock system that lets you prioritize which rewards you get for getting dubs. Win matches to earn Cred, our in-game currency used to unlock cosmetics like jerseys, advanced dunks, taunts, badges, and banners. From throwback NBA fits to 720 dunks, too small taunts, and more, there are plenty of ways to show off your own style. The ultimate prize for many, including us on the dev team, is Rookie Variants. From young Steph Curry in ‘09 to KD on the Super Sonics, we have 5 rookies of NBA All-Stars who not only look different, but play different too.

Street legends

The Shop isn’t the only way you unlock things in NBA The Run. Ranking up also gets you one of the most anticipated aspects of the game – our own streetball legends. These characters were with us since the start of development. They’re some of the best players in certain areas, but they also have huge, glaring weaknesses. We can’t wait to see how the community uses them. We’re excited to announce today that our own announcer, Bobbito Garcia, will be a playable legend – his sick handles are sure to break some ankles.

We’ve said it from the very beginning that we’re building NBA The Run brick by brick with our player community. We built our last court going into the game at launch after a fan vote, we’ve taken their suggestions for advanced dunk animations, taunts and even some different ways to play, including adding a Shootaround mode for practice, and Knockout Friends, a private tournament mode that lets you play alone against AI, with friends against AI, or head to head against anyone you want to invite in (up to 48 players at launch).

This is truly a dream project for all of us at Play by Play Studios. We’re a small team of industry veterans and lifelong hoop fans who grew up in a golden era of basketball games. We hope you and your friends can also join us on this epic run. Wishlist at PlayStation Store now.

Meet the new enemies of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2

Meet the new enemies of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 https://ift.tt/ieRY4gF

Auroch Digital’s upcoming title Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is the sequel to their explosive retro shooter promising more – more enemies, weapons, and new ways to purge.

Today Matt Bone, lead designer, and Mark Chambers, lead artist, share their favourite new enemies and provide some insight into their creation and role. There are a few exclusive reveals to discover too as you read on.

Matt Bone: One feature of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 we’re really excited about is including all four Chaos god factions for the first time. That means players will be fighting against Nurgle, Tzeentch, Khorne, and Slaanesh enemies, as well as the returning Black Legion forces. 

Slaanesh: Daemonette 

Bone: For me Daemonettes are the quintessential Slaanesh unit, so it was not only vital we include them as a new enemy, but that we really spent time doing them justice. 

With the Slaanesh faction we’re leaning into themes of elusiveness, showing off, and disorienting the player. So, the Daemonettes have a bunch of ambitious abilities we’ve never done before in Boltgun. They perform huge arcing leaps around the battlefield, as if playing with their prey below, before rapidly closing the distance with a zigzagging phase attack. Up close, their beguiling presence causes a special screen effect at the same time they’re trying to claw you to death. They’re quite a handful.

Mark Chambers: We wanted to make Daemonettes a visual spectacle, particularly when they’re performing these phase attacks, in which we’ve developed a freeze frame technique to capture a sprite trail across the screen. 

I’m also a fan of how we channeled the unsettling nature of Slaanesh into a horrific facial change when seen up close, and an underwater motion effect that’s been applied to details like hair animations.

 

Khorne: Bloodcrusher 

Bone: The Bloodcrusher was another technical challenge for us. This is the first mounted unit we’ve done in Boltgun and was worth the effort in terms of gameplay. 

During combat, the Bloodletter rider can leap off the Juggernaut mount, meaning you now have two bloodthirsty Khorne enemies to deal with. I have a particular soft spot for the Juggernaut’s consume ability, where it gorges itself on any nearby corpses on the battlefield to regain health – sometimes including its former rider.

Chambers: We really pushed the complexity of our animation rigs by combining two separate enemies into one. Not only is this an impressive visual feat, but the effects used on the charge ability in particular really emphasizes the unrelenting force bearing down on targets like a daemonic runaway train. 

The sheer height scale involved here also adds to the in-game presence, as these enemies tower above players on the battlefield.

 

Nurgle: Blightlord Terminator 

Bone: It was important to us that if we were going to commit to including all four Chaos factions, we include Chaos Marine units for each. This meant adding Plague Marines and Blightlord Terminators to the Nurgle faction. 

I love the tabletop models for the Terminators especially, so it was a thrill to get them in the game. With Nurgle we’re leaning into area denial gameplay as well as emphasising the gloriously disgusting pox-ridden and pestilent nature of these enemies. 

Blightlord Terminators in Boltgun 2 are walking plague factories, launching blight grenades and slamming massive corrupt flails into the ground. Both of those attacks create a noxious hazard zone, really keeping the player moving.

Chambers: Anything Nurgle is a joy to create art for as there’s so much detail to choose from. The Blightlord Terminators are no exception, and the sprite quality we’ve managed to capture is impressive to say the least. 

Boils, pustules, tentacles, slime, filth, it’s all there, and effects used adds to this glorious in-game corruption. 

The debris trails left in the wake of some of our ground attacks are particularly eye-catching, and the enemy death sequences also remind me of gigantic biological grenades going off. In a good way.

Tzeentch: Scarab Occult Terminator

Bone: I couldn’t resist showing off another terminator here. We’re also adding Rubric Marines to the Tzeentch faction, but I love playing against the Scarab Occult Terminators in particular. 

One has a Hellfyre Missile Rack attached to his back, which fires a rapid deluge of missiles at the player. A big part of Boltgun 2 is making sure each faction feels different to fight against. With Tzeentch we’re focusing on bullet hell gameplay, which is never more apparent than when a dozen Hellfyre Missiles are screaming towards your face.

Chambers: I’ve always liked the strong visual characteristics of Tzeentch, and we took this opportunity to really push things like colour schemes and effects to make these Terminator based units worthy of the faction. 

Astra Militarum: Death Korps of Krieg

Bone: A special bonus reveal for anyone who made it this far: in Boltgun 2 we’re including allied units for the first time in the form of the Death Korps of Krieg. 

As unwaveringly loyal devotees of the Emperor, these troopers will fight alongside you in several levels as you take on the Archenemy. This being the grim dark far future however, their life expectancy might not be that great…

Chambers: I’m a huge fan of the Deathkorps of Krieg, and it was a thrill to bring these allies to life in sprite form. We studied the miniatures closely, and I hope when the player sees them fighting side by side, they feel we’ve done them justice. 

The lasgun weaponry in particular is something I think we’ve accurately captured, as well as the iconic gasmask and trenchcoat look. Really, what’s not to like about this character’s design?

There’s an abundance of new enemies joining the fight in Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, along with a new character, new weapons and new worlds to explore. 

Make sure to wishlist Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 on PlayStation 5 to be notified when it releases later this year!

Choices and consequences in The Blood of Dawnwalker, out September 3

Choices and consequences in The Blood of Dawnwalker, out September 3 https://ift.tt/w0jnPzi

There’s an excited energy at Rebel Wolves’ Warsaw studio. For the first time since Gamescom 2025, the development team is showing off an extended live demo of its vampire-laden, open-world RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, as it nears release on PS5 September 3.

Within minutes of the extensive presentation it’s easy to see why they’re so passionate. The demo’s prologue doesn’t delay its promise of a brutal 14th century Europe. Our first introduction to the game’s protagonist, Coen, is him trying to protect his Black Death infected sister Lunka from an unjust execution, only to find themselves saved by powerful vampire lord Brencis and his deadly undead lieutenants.

After being forced to drink Brencis’ blood, Lunka makes a startling recovery… but it signals a new rule of terror as Coen’s Carpathian Mountains village is forced to pay a regular ‘blood tax’. Vampiric protection in exchange for their human blood. And the weak or insubordinate are quickly made an example of. Through the disastrous events of the village trying to free itself from Brencis’ rule – I won’t spoil it here – Coen is stricken with the vampire curse and left for dead, his family taken.

The stakes of time pressure

Coen only has 30 days and nights to save his kin. For you, that means every major action you take ticks the clock forward – some side quests, certain dialogue choices, and even learning particular abilities to populate his skill tree have a visible time cost. For a game which features a massive world full of caves, mines, settlements, swamps and hidden paths to explore, as well as interesting people seeking help, the time limit might feel anxiety inducing, but the dev team heavily tested the system to ensure it doesn’t restrict you.

“We don’t want to punish you for doing stuff,” says Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, CEO and game director. “So we aimed to get it to the perfect point where you’re not stressed about the time, but still feel that this big event is coming closer and closer.”

“You’ll be able to complete a majority of the game before the time runs out,” agrees Creative Director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz. “And it’s not necessarily a game over when it happens. There are consequences [for running out of time], but the game moves on.”

On the flip side, once you get to a certain point in the story, you can decide to go straight to Brencis if you want, rather than engage with any of the many other parts of the game, although obviously the challenge will be far sharper. “In a way it made many of the game’s stories optional,” says Rafał Jankowski, lead quest designer. “So we were able to include many different endings and solutions to those stories, all which can still allow you to finish the game at a certain point.”

Every choice comes with a cost

Naturally, consequences are a huge part of The Blood of Dawnwalker. This isn’t a surprise given several members of the now 160+ strong team are former staffers of CD Projekt RED who worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but the time mechanic adds an extra level of spice.

In the demo, Coen is given a number of quests to perform, one is to grab healing herbs for his mother’s sickness, and another is to help the villager Gremla. You can take on many objectives simultaneously, or ignore them in favour of other quests or actions. The results of your choices in this particular aspect become clear in Brencis’ latest black mass, where Gremla is savagely strung up, and mother Esme killed.

Whether it’s a minor or major NPC who dies, the game continues, leaving you with its ramifications. Something to take in mind given Coen has a blood hunger meter. If you let it get too low, he’s consumed by insatiable hunger, its black tendrils noticeable even when talking to an NPC, turning every dialogue option into a juddering red ‘Give in to the hunger’, which cannot be refused.

“This wasn’t in the game from the start,” reveals Mateusz. “It emerged organically, and it just fit the formula so well it feels like it was always there. That being part of the narrative sandbox was a big challenge because it’s so open ended, but it’s worth it because you get a much more interesting game.”’

Seeking morality with… pigs?

Satisfying Coen’s bloodlust isn’t restricted to humans. From deer, to bears, to packs of wolves, Konrad says you can feed on all the animals you encounter, which might cause fewer problems than you killing off an important NPC or one of the many allies you can befriend to help you in your quest. That said, some allies will betray you, and don’t expect many of your choices to come without shades of grey. “The player has a lot of agency but we like to explore complex people with complex personalities,” says Mateusz.

As a light hearted thematic example, an early side quest offers you the chance to find a villager’s beloved pig, using a handy focus mode to see her tracks and footprints in the dirt. Returning the pig reveals the villager’s intent to slaughter her, giving you the choice of joining in, declining, or even buying the pig to save her bacon, as long as you have the coin.

Sharpening your skills via the tree

The team is also keen to stress that Coen’s experiences as a vampire at night are very different to his journey as a human during the day, with specific NPCs and quests only available at certain times, and obvious differences in abilities. His skill tree consists of three main branches, each with passive and active upgrades: witchcraft for the daytime, vampiric powers for the night, and sword fighting overlapping both.

“Some abilities are even locked behind a specific vampiric blood,” explains Mateusz. “In our lore, when you become a vampire you get your own unique mutation or power. And you can have more than one. So if you drain another vampire, then you steal theirs.”

But if you want to rely on the virtues of sharpened steel, just as much testing and thought has been given to the game’s directional combat, resulting in customisable options for both hardcore action fans and more story-focused players. From the demo, it appeared fluid and intuitive, with clear markers for incoming assaults to help block and parry timing, and red skulls marking unblockable attacks – as demonstrated by The Forgotten Guardian, a lumbering armoured skeleton mini-boss roaming a dank underground ruin.

The future looks bright

Even after its lengthy demo, it was clear Rebel Wolves was keeping a lot under wraps. For example, when asked about the weather system in the game and how it interacts with the characters and environment, Konrad smiled, saying he’d prefer the players to discover that for themselves. Likewise with the number of multiple endings and the extent of characters and monsters you can meet, which tap into Slavic myth and legend, as well as medieval history.

Even so, Konrad reveals that for some team members the game is currently taking anything from 55 to 70 hours to complete, so expect an epic adventure that explores how much we’re willing to sacrifice to save the ones we love. And the hunger to craft a tale which leaves a lasting mark on players doesn’t stop with this one. “The Blood of Dawnwalker isn’t the endpoint, it’s an origin story,” smiles Konrad. “We have already planned its tale through the ages. This is only the beginning.”

Anticipate even more info to come to light from Rebel Wolves as The Blood of Dawnwalker stalks ever closer to its undead launch on PlayStation 5 September 3.  

4:Loop – designing the ominous cube-shaped Scanner boss

4:Loop – designing the ominous cube-shaped Scanner boss https://ift.tt/B3E6pOy

Hi, I’m Mike Booth, Chief Creative Officer at Bad Robot Games, and Game Director of 4:Loop. In my last post, I shared how our core gameplay systems come together to create an unpredictable and endlessly replayable experience. Today, I’d like to share more details on one of our co-op shooter’s high-stakes boss fights. 

Specifically, I’d like to talk about how our team approaches designing these battles, and how these considerations led to one of our most unique enemies so far: The Scanner. 

No two bosses are alike

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One of our main goals when designing bosses in 4:Loop is making each of them unique – not only in their visual design, but in how they behave. We know we’re on the right track when a boss requires players to adopt new forms of cooperation, improvisation, and combinations of equipment and abilities. All of this results in the kind of creative problem solving at the heart of 4:Loop. When we first started exploring the Scanner, or “The Cube,” as it’s called internally, I wanted to do something a bit different: create a boss battle that wasn’t about direct combat, but navigation, spatial awareness, and cross-map coordination.

Keep moving to stay alive

For some of our boss battles, players can succeed by finding cover, hunkering down, and dishing out heaps of damage. But with the Scanner, that’s a sure-fire way to get yourself killed. Rather than attacking players directly, the Scanner emits a Laser Matrix over the entire map. This “Grid of Doom” (to use another internal name) is an interlocking grid of bright red and extremely dangerous lasers. One hit is enough to knock a player down. A second hit and you are out of the fight. 

The grid is slow moving and easy to see, making it manageable enough at the start of the encounter – and seemingly safe enough to lull you into a sense of complacency. But as the fight progresses, the laser grid becomes tighter and tighter, making navigation and survival increasingly difficult to manage. Of course, it’s not enough to just survive the Scanner. Players must destroy it to win.

Your doom is six sided

Being a cube, the Scanner has six faces. On each of these faces, we’ve put nine destructible tiles, making 54 targets in total. To actually damage the Scanner, players must knock out all 54 panels at once, forcing the machine to reveal its vulnerable Reactor Core. 

Sounds straightforward enough… until the Scanner starts moving.  We built the Scanner to constantly rotate and swap sections like a giant Cube Puzzle from Hell. On top of that, damaged panels reset over time. This creates a boss fight that requires players to spread out and attack from multiple angles, while navigating the Scanner’s ever-tightening Laser Matrix.  All of this results in a unique gameplay challenge. Stay mobile enough to avoid the Grid of Doom, while remaining focused enough to knock out panels and coordinate a team-wide attack on the Reactor Core once it’s exposed.

Hit the Scanner with everything you’ve got

Once all 54 tiles have been knocked out, the Scanner reveals its vulnerable Reactor Core for a brief window. This is the moment where the team – who could be on opposite ends of the map by this point – strike together as a cohesive unit to inflict as much damage as possible. The coordination that occurs in these brief windows are intuitive and natural. They emerge from the boss’s core design, rather than telling players what to do. 

Your choices matter

In 4:Loop, we’re constantly trying to design gameplay moments that ask players to make interesting decisions – and then live with their consequences. The Scanner is no different. 

The game’s Probability Map makes it clear what boss you’ll be facing at the end of the Act. This forces players to think about what kind of gear and abilities to select leading up to the fight. Sure, shotguns are powerful… but they won’t be effective against the Scanner’s Reactor Core at range. Or maybe rather than taking that totally sweet Cloaking Backpack, you might want to choose equipment to help you navigate the Laser Matrix instead.

Different by design

The Scanner is just one of several bosses in 4:Loop, each built to push on players’ coordination, cooperation, and creative problem-solving skills. We hope all our bosses will generate crazy moments you’ll be talking about with your friends for a long time after you win or lose. 

The Scanner started from a simple image: A giant, floating cube puzzle with breakable panels. Over time, it grew into one of our most iconic enemies, and one that touches on almost every layer of how players can improvise to overcome overwhelming obstacles together. And it does all of this without firing a single shot at the players.

You can also join our growing community at discord.gg/4LOOP.

Marathon: Bungie shares official DualSense Edge controller setting recommendations

Marathon: Bungie shares official DualSense Edge controller setting recommendations https://ift.tt/3wDJ4Vy

In Marathon, sharp aim matters, but so does healing, utility, movement, communication, and how you use your shell abilities. The DualSense Edge wireless controller gives you the flexibility to tailor the controls around your preferred playstyle, and save multiple custom profiles for your favourite shells and loadouts.

Marathon’s default settings already gives you a strong baseline alongside extra flexibility with options for presses, taps, holds and double presses. For most players, the best overall approach is to keep the default settings, then use the DualSense Edge controller to bring your highest value actions closer at hand.

Read on for setting recommendations straight from the Marathon dev team at Bungie.

Button remapping

In many shooters, the first instinct is to map jump and reload to the back buttons so you can keep your thumbs on the sticks during combat. That works great in Marathon too, but the back buttons are even better used elsewhere.

Mapping them to the consumable radial and equipment radial gives you quick access to two of the most important survival tools in the game. Since those actions normally require you to hold Directional Button Down and Left, moving them to the back buttons means you can heal and prepare utility, without interrupting your aim and movement.

Finger on the trigger

DualSense Edge controller gives you both physical trigger stop sliders and the option to fine tune trigger input ranges within custom profiles.

In Marathon, most weapons fire before the trigger reaches full travel, so setting the medium trigger stop on R2 can make repeated shots feel faster and more controlled, especially with semi automatic weapons. If you prefer an even more responsive feel, try the short trigger stop.

In your custom profile, adjust the trigger input range on L2 from 0 to 70. This can make aiming down sights feel more immediate, since less trigger travel is needed before the input kicks in, while still maintaining the comfort of a full trigger pull.

Steady your aim

Marathon already offers a strong set of in-game aim curves and sensitivity settings, with Classic serving as the standard curve used for decades in Bungie action games. It’s a great baseline, and players who prefer to tune everything in game have a lot to work with.

If you are shaping your setup through the DualSense Edge controller, keep Marathon’s defaults and make your refinements at the controller level instead. With custom stick sensitivity, sensitivity curve, and deadzone settings available in each profile, you’ve got plenty of room to tailor the feel to your preference.

Stick sensitivity curves

The DualSense Edge controller offers six different stick sensitivity curves, with one of the most effective combinations for Marathon being Precise on the right stick and Quick on the left stick.

Precise helps the right stick feel more controlled during smaller movements, like making fine aiming adjustments with precision weapons such as the Longshot sniper rifle. Quick gives the left stick a more immediate response, which helps with fast repositioning and evasive movement when a fight breaks out.

The result is a setup that feels nimble when you need to move, but calm and deliberate when you need to aim.

Stick sensitivity

There is no single perfect sensitivity setting for everyone. Start with Marathon’s default feel, then use the DualSense Edge controller to make small adjustments that suit the way you play. If you favour close quarters fights and want rapid turns, try nudging your sensitivity up. If your aim starts to feel twitchy, dial it back until it feels controlled again.

Stick deadzones

If your controller feels stable and you want a faster, more immediate response, lower the stick deadzones carefully within your DualSense Edge controller custom profile. If you prefer a little more buffer before movement or aim kicks in, keep them closer to the default feel.

The key is not to overcomplicate things too early. Small, targeted changes will give you better results than trying to change everything at once.

Try one profile for each Runner Shell

You can store up to three custom profile shortcuts on the DualSense Edge controller and quickly swap between them during gameplay using the Function (Fn) buttons, making it easy to keep one core setup alongside shell-specific variants. Try out these quick tips for each shell and let us know your favourite DualSense Edge controller layouts.

Destroyer

Map a back button to jump, giving you faster Thruster activations while staying locked on target, and another to sprint for speedy activations of Tactical Sprint.

Assassin

Map a back button to crouch so stealth movement feels more natural while aiming. A Steady sensitivity curve on the left stick works well for controlled movement during stealth.

Recon

Set up push to talk on one back button, with quick ping on the other back button to help your teammates stay on top of the active situation. A Precise sensitivity curve on the right stick works great for picking off fleeing enemies with a long-range weapon.

Vandal

Mapping crouch to a back button lets you power slide while maintaining aim control. A snappier sensitivity on the right stick suits Vandal’s momentum and fast, aggressive movement.

Thief

Map a back button to grapple to quickly push an advantage or make an escape. A Steady left stick sensitivity curve works well if you want more controlled, stealthy movement while sneaking.

Triage

Map the consumables wheel to one back button, with quick ping on the other and you have a profile built around rounded backline support with fast callouts.

Rook

Back buttons mapped to consumables and equipment radials, with a Steady left stick sensitivity curve for careful movement and stealth, keep this profile simple and survival focused.

Now clean up on Tau Ceti IV

On Tau Ceti IV, staying mobile and keeping your most important actions within easy reach on the DualSense Edge wireless controller can make the difference between a messy escape and a clean exfil. 

Marathon is available now.