The Casting of Frank Stone, the upcoming narrative horror game set in the Dead By Daylight universe by Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games, has its first gameplay trailer. The game was first announced at the 2023 Game Awards. 

The story unfolds in 1980 in the town of Cedar Hills, a town scarred by the murderous killer Frank Stone. It stars four friends who set out to create a horror film at a derelict steel mill dubbed Murder Mill. Naturally, that goes as horribly as you’d imagine, and players must survive by making choices that decide the characters’ relationships and fates. Sudden quick-time events can also be the deciding factor between whether someone lives or dies. 

Similar to Supermassive’s previous titles like The Quarry and the Dark Pictures Anthology, The Casting of Frank Stone can go down multiple paths based on your choices. Players will also solve environmental puzzles and gather clues to learn more about Cedar Hills

The Casting of Frank Stone still has no release date, but it will launch later this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. 

During our trip to Supergiant Games for our Hades II cover story, we had a chance to speak with one of the studio's original seven employees and its principal voice actor, Logan Cunningham. From providing the voice of Rucks in Bastion to Red's titular Transistor to Hades himself, Cunningham has played a vital part of every Supergiant title. In this rare interview, we ask Logan how he entered the world of voice acting, how he joined Supergiant Games, and which characters are his favorites to play (and which he'd want to redo). 

Game Informer: When did you first discover that you were good at creating or imitating voices?

Logan Cunningham: I don't think there was ever a moment that I discovered that. I always did that. From when I was a kid, my brother and I, we would record stupid little... almost like our own little radio plays but based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, just with a cassette recorder. I don't know; maybe it started there. The first time I think I realized I had a voice that people consider to be nice was in elementary school because my English teachers would always ask me to read from whatever book we were studying at the time. But I never set out to be a voice actor. [I] certainly [had] no formal training. There's not really any formal training for voice acting that I think exists. Everybody falls backward into it, just like I did. From my understanding, from my experience with everyone, every voice actor that I meet, I ask them like, 'Oh, how did you start?' and it's always the same story. 'I did one, then I did another, a third one, and now 15 years later here I am'. And my case is a little different in that the way I got my first job was from knowing one of the people who started Supergiant Games and then also knowing [Supergiant composer] Darren Korb.

Did you have any go-to characters you liked to imitate? Or was there a character you concocted that became your primary voice?

I was pretty much weaned on Star Trek: The Next Generation, so I think even at, like, six I had a pretty good Patrick Stewart. But not really. I didn't really focus on anybody in particular. If I encountered a voice that I liked, I would just sort of do it – not for anyone, just for me. Just on my own in the bathtub, which I still do.

The most sacred places to practice: the shower, the bathtub.

It's where you're at your most vulnerable. 

Yes, quite literally. When you first made your big leap into doing voice acting, as you mentioned, coming on with Supergiant, what was that initial conversation like?

It was literally my friend Amir [Rao], who I knew had left his job at Electronic Arts with his friend Gavin Simon, and they moved from LA back to San Jose, which is where we're all from, Amir, me, and Darren, into his dad's house and they started a startup; which was a game developer, which I don't even think I knew that term at the time. All I knew was a friend of mine was making a video game. And they had gotten to the point where they wanted to try something with voice-over, and so now they needed an actor, and I was the actor that they happened to know personally. And they had no money, and so I was cheap. And I was roommates with Darren in New York at the time, who was already involved. He came on board maybe, like, December '09? And then I recorded the first lines of Bastion [in] February; yeah it was Presidents Day weekend 2010. Yes, it really did just start with me doing a friend of favor.

When you look back on your first big role as a voice actor with Bastion, how did you feel about that performance at the time? And how do you feel about it now that you've had a chance to reflect on it over a decade later?

I was just trying to get through it. I had no idea what I was doing. None of us did. Darren and I certainly, that was our first time working on a video game in any capacity, but I just approached it as an actor. I just tried to keep the character consistent and give it as much life as I could. I had a lot of help from Greg [Kasavin] writing an amazing character and amazing story. Once we were working on Transistor, the Transistor performance is pretty much just me, but just kind of at a whisper. And with Rucks in Bastion, the narrator, what made a good take during those sessions was if the voice was right. And then in Transistor, what made a good take was if the performance was right.

Hades

To jump ahead to Hades II, what new characters do you provide the voice for in the game?

I'm not going to say. I'll let people guess and figure it out. Hades, I can confirm because he's in the trailer.

How did it feel when you first heard Supergiant was doing its first sequel? How did it feel to be returning to a world for the first time instead of preparing for a whole new one?

Really happy and I wasn't surprised at all. At all. Because we loved making that game so much. It was so clear, to me anyway, that we weren't done with it. There was so much still left to do and explore and characters to meet and stories to tell. So I was thrilled.

I was excited, too, especially because I really enjoyed your work as Hades in the first game. Can you talk about the process of preparing for that role, what that looked like, and what you felt you needed to bring to that role to bring that character to life?

Just imagining not the worst dad possible, but a very difficult one who's just a workaholic, is constantly busy and never has time for you, is really powerful, and has a really important job. And because of it, [he's] miserable most, if not all, the time but is also still kind of a person and has a past and regrets and all those things that make a character interesting. But yeah, coming up with the voice was a lot of fun because it is basically just Tywin Lannister and Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness in Legend, if you've ever seen that movie. So yeah, getting to play around with that.

The Voice of Supergiant Games

Here are all of the characters Logan Cunningham has voiced in Supegiant's first four games. 

Bastion - Rucks

Transistor - The Transistor

Pyre - The Voice, Bertrude, Dalbert, Lendel, Ignarius

Hades - Hades, Poseidon, Achilles, Charon, Asterius, The Storyteller

Of all the characters you've voiced in your games, do you have any ones that stand out as your favorite or most cherished characters? Do you feel particularly close to them the way some actors do about a role or character that they've played?

Favorite is probably a tie between Rucks and Hades. Rucks because he was the first and my introduction to Supergiant; my foot in the door, if you like. Hades, because he was so much fun to do. It's really fun to play someone who's just, like, a bastard. He's just like a s****y person. But what often comes to mind is the Transistor, actually. Like, if I have the opportunity to sort of do that one over, I might. Or I will at least heavily think about it. My kind of immediate reaction once I played the thing from start to finish was like, 'Okay.' I wasn't quite sure I was playing that guy. I felt I was maybe playing somebody else.

Now that you've been doing this for so long, and you mentioned before not being formally trained, what were some of the on-the-job training lessons you've learned over the years to improve as a voice actor?

All kinds of vocal warm-ups. Whereas at the start, it might take me a couple of hours to get ready. Now I am pretty much good to go in 20 minutes to half an hour. I know how much time I need to spend with the script if I'm lucky enough to have the time to see the lines beforehand because very often, it's just 'Hey, who are we doing today? Achilles? Great, all right'. And it's mostly in the recording session itself, I'll get a chance to read the line, whatever the next line is that we have to do, I'll get to read through it once or twice and then I just have to go for it. So, I guess I've gotten more efficient. But I think everyone at Supergiant, certainly all of us who worked on Bastion and we're all still there, we've all gotten more professionalized, I guess.

I always wonder about this with voice actors because I find myself doing this. You mentioned before it's fun to sort of do a voice when you're alone, you're around the house just doing a voice; do you ever find yourself doing that with any of the characters you've played in the past? Do you ever just go around the house and start talking as Hades randomly since you mentioned how much fun it is to occupy that role? Or do you sort of retire them once the project is over? 

I don't really, but I will find myself doing, randomly at times, voices that inspired some of those characters. I still love just walking around my place just doing lines from Deadwood as Al Swearengen, which was a huge influence on Rucks. At the very least, it's a nice vocal exercise. But it's just kind of one of those silly, crazy things that actors do, and one of the reasons it's good that I live alone.

Bastion

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing voice acting or to aspiring/young voice actors who want to improve?

Make sure you're an actor, that you know how to act. Because it's not just doing funny voices. I think it used to be that way years and years ago. It's not anymore. Keep working, keep improving. Take classes, take every opportunity you have. If you know people who are making things, work with them. If you know a decent amount of those people who are making stuff, one of them might make it and remember you and take you along. That is absolutely what happened to me.

How would you compare your experience working on Hades II to previous games? Has this felt the most challenging or the most exciting? How do you feel about what is being asked of you for this game compared to what you've done before?

Not necessarily more challenge. It's just different. What I will confirm, and I think this has been confirmed maybe in other places, there are a number of returning characters that I did in Hades in Hades II in addition to some new ones, which are the ones that I can't talk about. So there might be a character of mine from the first one where Melinoë, the protagonist, might mention, 'blah, blah, blah' to 'blah blah blah' and that'll inform the performance. There is a kind of melancholy that I've certainly felt with a lot of the characters that I've been doing in the sequel compared to the original, Hades 1, which hopefully adds interesting layers. I don't know, we'll see. We're still working on it.

Is there a character you've played from the Supergiant Games that you most identify with on a personal level?

Is it weird to say Charon?

Why is that?

He's someone who doesn't say words and generally would like to be left alone, I think [laughs]. I can imagine running a store just like, 'Ah, get what you want, get out.' I identify with that.

Transistor

What is the thing that you're most proud of with Hades II, both in regards to what you're bringing to it as an actor and what the game is doing to build upon the first game? What are you most excited about for players to experience?

I won't be able to speak to my own work on it until it's done. All I know is just I'm working on it, I'm doing it. Darren, who's my director, is happy with what I'm doing. I seem to be delivering what he's asking. Greg seems to be satisfied as well. It's feeling good. It's sounding good to me. I'm just happy that [Hades II] is happening, that it exists, and that it is already as good as it is. And that people are beginning to discover that on a larger scale. 

Hades was such a massive success for the studio. As someone who was there from the humble beginnings, how have you personally internalized Hades' overwhelming success?

I get recognized occasionally on the street for Hades, which is very strange. And that's largely I think due to the NoClip stuff that we did. In support of Hades once 1.0 came out, we did some videos for Twitter, for YouTube, and, obviously, through NoClip, quite a few of our faces got out there in a way that they hadn't before. Pre-Hades, the sort of public faces of Supergiant, the recognizable faces, were basically Greg and Amir. And Darren, on occasion. But now it's me at the bar that I go to all the time, and some, like, 23-year-old kid coming up to me like, 'Sir, are you are you...? And I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah, I am'. And it blows his mind, and in my head, I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm him. Somebody's got to be. It's me, yes. Thank you for playing, nice to meet you, good to see you.' So that's been an alteration or an accommodation I've had to make my life since release. Obviously, winning the BAFTA was huge. I was much more excited for all the other people who won BAFTAs. Greg and Jen [Zee] in particular, who I feel have gone unrecognized for their amazing work for far too long. 

How has it felt seeing Supergiant's growth from what it was in the beginning to where it is now?

We just have more resources now. Certainly, from my perspective, from my role there, I'm privy to this; we have access to a much higher, I don't know if caliber is the right word, but we are able to at least get in contact with and have conversations with and possibly even cast actors that we wouldn't have been able to get 100 feet in front of, or even 100 miles, even five years ago. And now, that seems to be something within our reach and is within reach, and I'm excited for people to discover that as well.

But at its heart, we're the same. We're the same people. Amir and Darren and me, we still make each other laugh with the same jokes that we made each other laugh at when we were 17 or whatever. We still share, whenever we do get together, horror stories, war stories from making Bastion. From Transistor, how terrified we all were making that one. The kind of wild child that is Pyre and how we didn't learn really how to describe that game until it was out.  But we're kind of like a shark: we don't really stop. We don't take too many breaks. We just move on. We finish something once we're happy with it, and then we let it out.

We're in a better place now than we were. Hades was our first experience with our Early Access, and that worked out really well for us. And we're doing the same with this one. We were pretty still early on with Hades, and we knew that Early Access was something we were going to do, I remember talking to Amir about it and him just saying 'Yeah, this is the game we've made so far that I'm least worried about'. Because of Early Access, anything that's wrong with the game, we'll just fix it before we ship it. So we're not gonna have to wait three years until we ship a completed thing to figure out if people like it or not. Or even know what it is or how to describe it.

Hades II is available now in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Be sure to visit our cover story hub for more exclusive features and videos about the game. 

It's a stacked month for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The long-awaited Senua's Saga: Hellblade II launches onto the service next week, and noteworthy 2023 titles such as Immortals of Aveum, Lords of the Fallen, Humanity, and Chants of Sennaar join the library. Take a look at all the games coming as well as those leaving Game Pass at the end of the month. We've also included links to our reviews for applicable titles. 

What's Coming To Game Pass

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Console, PC, Cloud) - Today | Our Review

Chants of Sennaar (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 15

EA Sports NHL 24 via EA Play (Cloud) - May 16

Immortals of Aveum via EA Play (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 16 | Our Review

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 21

Galacticare (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 23

Hauntii (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 23

Moving Out 2 (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 28

Humanity (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 28 | Our Review

Lords of the Fallen (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 30 | Our Review

Fireworks (PC) - June 4

Rolling Hills (Console, PC, Cloud) - June 4

What’s Leaving Game Pass on May 31

Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Console, PC, Cloud) | Our Review

Farworld Pioneers (Console, PC, Cloud)

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (Console, PC, Cloud)

Pac-Man Museum Plus (Console, PC, Cloud)

Little Witch in the Woods (Console, PC, Cloud)

Railway Empire II (Console, PC, Cloud)

Jake Solomon, former long-time Firaxis designer and director who spearheaded Marvel’s Midnight Suns and was a lead designer on XCOM: Enemy Unknown, has announced he’s formed a new company following his departure from Firaxis last February. Midsummer Studios is a team consisting of veteran Firaxis and Maxis designers. 

Midsummer was founded by Solomon, who serves as CEO and creative director, game director Will Miller (also formerly of Firaxis), and COO/CFO Nelsie Birch, a newcomer to games with a 25-year career in financial and operations management. They’re joined by executive producer Grant Rodiek, an 18-year veteran of Maxis Studios and former producer/director on several entries of The Sims. In addition to them, the small team currently consists of six other designers.

The company’s debut game will be a next-gen life sim that, according to the press release, “emphasizes player-driven narratives, allowing communities to share memorable moments that grow out of the creativity of players themselves.” 

“The best stories in games are written by the players,” said Solomon in the press release. “At Midsummer we’re making a life sim focused on the drama of modern life, where our players will write meaningful stories just by playing, and then share those stories with the world.”

Midsummer has secured a $6 million investment with several partners and is focused on growing a sustainable studio that values the health and happiness of its employees.

Paper Trail is a neat upcoming indie game, especially if you're into papercraft. The adventure stars Paige (get it?), a young girl with the power to fold reality like it's made out of paper. She uses this ability to run away from home in pursuit of her dreams, with players solving origami-focused pathfinding puzzles to get her from one scenic locale to the next. Join editors Marcus Stewart, Kyle Hilliard, and Wesley LeBlanc as they take a look at the opening chapter of this pleasant and mind-bending journey. 

Head over to Game Informer's YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

Last week, The Joker was announced as the first new fighter joining MultiVersus ahead of its upcoming relaunch this month. The reveal was purely cinematic, however, but today’s new trailer shows off his gameplay.

The video not only gives fans a sample of actor Mark Hamill’s new voice lines, but also reveals that Joker has an alternate costume modeled after The Batman Who Laughs. The video also shows what appears to be unique dialogue interactions between Joker and his long-time sidekick, Harley Quinn. 

MultiVersus has other new characters joining the fray that will be revealed over time. Following a lengthy hiatus since its open beta concluded last year, the game will return in an improved form on May 28.

Atlus has announced that the original version of Shin Megami Tensei V will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop on June 13. That’s one day before the launch of its expanded definitive edition, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.

On June 13, Shin Megami Tensei V’s Digital Standard and Digital Deluxe editions and all of its DLC will be removed from the eShop. However, owners of the physical and digital versions will still be able to play and redownload this content after it’s been delisted. SMT V first launched in November 2021, and Atlus declared it the best-selling game in the series in January 2022.

The original Shin Megami Tensei V Digital Standard, Digital Deluxe, and all associated DLC will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop on June 13.

Previously purchased physical and digital versions will remain playable and re-downloadable after this date.

— Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) May 13, 2024

Atlus has not provided a reason for this move, but given the timing, it’s likely to avoid confusion with the upcoming SMTV: Vengeance, which is the same game (including all DLC) but with quality-of-life improvements and an additional storyline that introduces new locations and demons. Think of it as the Persona 5 Royal of SMT V. Vengeance will also be multi-platform, whereas the original game was a Switch exclusive, and it will run for the same price as the original Standard version, $59.99.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance launches on June 14. You can read our extended preview of the game here, and you can also check out our review of the original SMT V here.

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red now has an official title: Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’ll also get our first full-length look at the series' first Japanese entry this week. 

Ubisoft announced on X that the game’s cinematic world premiere trailer will air on May 15 at 9 a.m. P.T./12 p.m. ET. Ubisoft’s use of the word “cinematic” suggests that this trailer will not include gameplay. If that’s the case, Ubisoft could be saving a gameplay reveal for its Ubisoft Forward presentation less than a month later, on June 10.

Assassin's Creed Codename Red becomes Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Tune-in for the Official Cinematic World Premiere Trailer on May 15, 9 AM PT.#AssassinsCreedShadows pic.twitter.com/GF0BWqVOhS

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) May 13, 2024

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was first announced in 2022 and will be the first entry set in feudal Japan. At the time, Ubisoft described the game as being an open-world RPG and the ultimate "shinobi fantasy." It is being developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the team behind Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It has no release window, but the game is expected to launch later this year.

Reviewed on: PC
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: 11 Bit Studios
Developer: Odd Meter
Release: May 2, 2024 (PC), May 17, 2024 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
Rating: Mature

Indika is bizarre, surprising, and captivating. It made me question its reality almost as often as its titular protagonist, a young nun tormented by the Devil, doubts her faith. This odd adventure from its aptly named developer Odd Meter may lack some design polish, but the fascinating tale at its core instilled enough faith in me to see it through to the end. 

The game unfolds in early 19th-century Russia. Indika is treated as an outcast at her monastery, and, for some reason, she’s regularly taunted by the voice of Satan himself. The story doesn’t delve into how this sacrilegious relationship began, and that’s fine. The Devil is more of a storytelling device; a symbol of Indika’s desire to be a good person, contrasted by her growing skepticism and pragmatism in the church’s rigid viewpoints on morality and sin. This conflict comes to a head when Indika finds herself in an unlikely partnership with Ilya, an escaped prisoner with his own strong religious beliefs. 

As the pair bond over seeking a divine cure for their respective ailments – Indika’s demonic presence and IIya’s wounded arm – the third-person adventure sees them trek through locations such as deserted factories and frozen wilds. Along the way, players solve environmental puzzles and, on very rare occasions, evade threats. The obstacles themselves are respectably designed and varied, often centered on Indika inexplicably operating heavy machinery like a lift to move and stack giant cans or manipulating the massive gears of an industrial elevator. Less enjoyable moments, such as fleeing a pursuing wolf in an annoying trial-and-error escape sequence, appear rarely, thankfully. 

The gameplay becomes most interesting when the Devil’s influence overwhelms Indika to the point the world around her turns hellish red, and the environment is ripped apart into a distorted version of itself. This leads to relatively simple but thematically interesting navigation puzzles as players switch between this hellscape and reality by hitting a “pray” button to find the proper path. These are neat segments that I wish occurred more often than the small handful of times they do.  

Poking around environments leads to hidden collectibles, from religious artifacts to “indecent” publications, that reward points, which manifest as literal giant pixelated gems that appear in front of Indika. This bizarre visual flourish is a wild contrast to the otherwise realistic art direction, and these points level up Indika via a two-pronged skill tree of point modifiers (themed on ideas like Shame, Guilt, and Repentance) that impact the story less literally than it appears. 

 

This is just an example of Indika’s strangeness. Overt video game-y elements such as quirky, chiptune melodies and flashbacks that unfold as playable 16-bit platforming sequences are sprinkled throughout the experience. Whether or not this approach has any thematic significance is unclear (perhaps symbolizing the comparative simplicity of Indika’s childhood), but, at the very least, it gives Indika a surreal and playful charm.

Everything in the game, from the strange people you meet to the weird camera angles to its wild intro cutscene I won’t spoil, gives the game a potent dose of absurdity that oddly works. Indika feels like a black comedy at points, and perhaps that’s the intent. It swings for the fences, and that delightful boldness is combined with poignant commentary about the struggle of maintaining unwavering faith in a harsh, unjust world. Indika’s engaging and, at times, emotional personal journey of self-discovery pulled me to a powerful conclusion that, like most everything else, leaves its interpretation up to the player. 

The result is an adventure that feels thoughtfully conceived, humorous, and depressing all at once, as well as “off” in the right ways. Indika is one of the year’s most affecting and memorable adventures, and its themes will stick with me as I continue to ponder their meanings.

Score: 8.75

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Lightforge Games is indefinitely pausing work on its upcoming RPG Project O.R.C.S. The team has been reduced to a skeleton crew as the few remaining staff members look to determine their next course of action.

In a message posted to the game’s website and social media channels yesterday, Lightforge cites a lack of publisher funding as the reason it no longer has the means to continue work on Project O.R.C.S. To minimize any prolonged struggle, the team decided to immediately pull the plug. 

pic.twitter.com/5D8Fp72J7b

— Project O.R.C.S. by Lightforge Games (@lightforgegames) May 8, 2024

“We’re making this call now so that we can provide support to our wonderful team of devs: providing them with time to stabilize, working together to help folks as they re-enter the job market, and finding new positions to continue our passion for making games," says Lightforge in the statement. 

In the coming days, the team will shut down its Discord and social channels. After that, the remaining staff will “determine what a viable path may be for the project and studio.”

Lightforge was formed in 2020 as a remote-only studio made up of former Blizzard and Epic (mainly Fortnite) developers. According to its LinkedIn page, it hired between 11 and 50 staff members with a goal to "change how the world plays RPGs."

Project O.R.C.S. was Lightforge's first project, first revealed only three months ago in February. The ambitious RPG aimed to combine world-building and collaborative storytelling of tabletop role-playing games with traditional co-op gameplay. Players crafted their fantasy world using a built-in game editor and then embarked on quests within it. It was more or less a "build-your-own Dungeons & Dragons", dice rolls and all, hence why "O.R.C.S." stood for "Online Roleplaying with Collaborative Storytelling”. With the game all but canceled, it's unclear if Project O.R.C.S. will ever see the light of day. 

Unfortunately, Lightforge isn't the only small studio to suffer from the drying well of video game investment funding. Deliver Us Mars developer Keoken Interactive was recently forced to lay off nearly its entire staff for the same reason. The industry has been a wounded state over the past year and a half, with Microsoft shuttering Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin earlier this week and over 10,000 layoffs occurring this year alone. 

 

 

MultiVersus makes its grand return on May 28, and a new trailer reveals that the Joker is joining the roster. Even better, Mark Hamill is voicing the Clown Prince of Crime once more.

Though we don’t see gameplay, a cinematic trailer sets up a dramatic confrontation (and likely emotional reunion for fans) between Batman, voiced in the game by the late Kevin Conroy, and his archnemesis. 

This marks the first game to feature both Batman: The Animated Series actors together as their respective characters since 2018’s Lego DC Super Villans. Conroy passed away in 2022, and prior to 2024's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, MultiVersus was the final game to feature his Batman performance. Following his death, Hamill had alluded to retiring the Joker role for good. However, dataminers uncovered Joker’s existence in MultiVersus in 2022 and found audio files revealing Hamill’s performance. This means he likely recorded his lines before Conroy’s passing. 

Joker is the first new character to join the existing line-up of fighters, but he won't be the last. We're curious to see who else joins the fray after MultiVersus re-launches on May 28 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. 

With the sun out and the temperature rising, it must be summer. That means it's time to stay cool indoors and watch a litany of gaming showcases airing throughout the season. Highlighted by Summer Game Fest, we've created a schedule listing every notable showcase occurring over the coming months, the date and times they air, and a summary of what they entail. Be sure to bookmark this page, as it will be updated regularly as new events are announced and airdates are confirmed. 

June 4

OTK Games Expo

Start Time: TBA

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: Hosted by popular streamer Asmongold, the event will provide a stage for over 40 games and includes sitdown interviews with their creators. 

June 6

Guerilla Collective Online Showcase 

Start Time: 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What Is It: Each year, the Guerilla Collective provides a platform for indie and AA games. The event also serves as an umbrella for other showcases taking place over the week. 

June 7

Access-Ability Summer Showcase

Start Time: 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: Host Laura Kate Dale confirmed late fall that the Access-Ability Summer Showcase will make a return in June. The event highlights accessbility-focused titles and features created by disabled developers.

Summer Game Fest 

Start Time: 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: The flagship gaming showcase of the summer returns to the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. Organizer and host Geoff Keighley will take the stage to show off what’s likely to be a litany of world premieres and game updates.

Day of the Devs

Start Time: Immediately following Summer Game Fest

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: iam8bit and Double Fine's annual showcase offers an entertaining bastion for a litany of the most creative, eye-catching, and, perhaps, bizarre upcoming titles in the industry. 

June 8

Wholesome Direct 

Start Time: 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: The coziest presentation of the year highlights over 70 artistic, emotionally resonant titles with one thing in common: they'll give you all the feels. 

Future Games Show

Start Time: 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: The seasonal event will feature 40 upcoming games in what is being billed as "the most ambitious showcase yet". We don't know what else to expect besides updates on "blockbuster games" and deep dives on in-development titles. 

June 9

Xbox Games Showcase/[REDACTED] Direct

Start Time: 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: Typically Xbox's biggest showcase of the year, it's probably safe to expect several hopefully big announcements coming from the publisher's many first-party studios. Immediately following the Showcase is a not-so-mysterious presentation centered on probably, maybe, almost certainly, the next Call of Duty game. 

PC Gaming Show

Start Time: 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: It's the 10th anniversary of the PC Gaming Show, and its celebrating by rolling out over 50 games coming this year and beyond. The batch includes world premieres, exclusive announcements, and more. 

June 10

Ubisoft Forward

Start Time: TBA

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: Ubisoft hasn't revealed what it has up it's sleeve, but it's tough not to imagine that Assassin's Creed Codename Red won't appear. Other known titles in its upcoming slate that are likely to appear include Star Wars Outlaws, The Rogue Prince of Persia, Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition, and maybe, if we're lucky, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake and/or Beyond Good & Evil 2. 

Other Confirmed June Showcases Awaiting Dates

Nintendo Direct

Start Time: TBA

How to Watch: YouTube, Twitch

What It Is: Nintendo has promised to hold a June Direct focused on games launching in the latter half of 2024. The company also confirmed that the presentation will not mention the Switch successor. 

Future of Play Direct

Start Time: TBA

How to Watch: YouTube

What It Is: The anime-themed indie showcase is a summer staple. If previous years are an indication, expect a Vtuber host, musical performances, special guests, and, of course, plenty of game trailers. 

Upload VR Showcase

Start Time: TBA

How to Watch: YouTube

What Is It: This event is for virtual reality aficionados by virtual reality aficionados. Expect to see the latest and greatest VR and AR titles racing to headsets.  

August 2

THQ Nordic Digital Showcase

Start Time: 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET

How to Watch: YouTube

What Is It: So far, THQ Nordic has confirmed that Gothic 1 Remake and Titan Quest II will appear at its digital showcase. As for speculation, we know it's publishing the remake of Disney Epic Mickey launching this year and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. We're curious to see what else the publisher has to show. 

 

In this episode of New Gameplay Today, editors Marcus Stewart and Kyle Hilliard explore Crow Country. This retro-inspired horror title by Snipperclips developer SFB Games takes inspiration from the early entries of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, delivering an adventure that's enjoyable in its comforting, eerie familiarity. To learn more, be sure to read our review of the game, in which we awarded it an 8 out of 10.

Head to Game Informer's YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: SFB Games
Developer: SFB Games
Release: May 9, 2024

The Resident Evil series has redefined and refined survival horror in recent years, arguably single-handedly. However, as the venerable series continues to push the genre forward, a growing number of indie games are looking back to survival horror’s late ‘90s heyday for inspiration. Crow Country joins those ranks, offering a respectable nostalgic homage to the past. Veterans won’t encounter anything they haven’t seen, but the experience is comforting in its spooky familiarity.  

Developer SFB Games clearly understood its self-imposed assignment. Crow Country’s grainy, low-polygonal presentation faithfully evokes the PS1/N64 era while still establishing a unique charm, thanks to its doll-esque character designs. Thankfully, the studio stops short of replicating more archaic elements like the static camera angles of the time, opting for a much preferred 360-degree camera and free movement instead of tank controls. The presentation adds a nostalgic sinisterness to the game’s setting, a derelict amusement park called Crow Country. 

As agent Mara Forest, you arrive in search of the park’s missing owner, Edward Crow, and quickly find it overrun by grotesque monsters of an unknown origin. Despite the game’s eerie vibes, scaredy cats shouldn’t fret; Crow Country isn’t anywhere near as terrifying as its Silent Hill/Resident Evil influences. That may be disappointing to horror aficionados – I count myself among them – but I didn’t mind. Outside of a few decent jump scares, the game is more about establishing an intriguing, oppressive mood, and that’s enough for me. The creatures look appropriately gross and unsettling despite having a strange cutesy charm due to the art direction. The writing has a good sense of humor that contrasts nicely with an otherwise dark and generally enjoyable mystery highlighted by a cool story twist. 

Blasting monsters with various firearms, such as a pistol, shotgun, and, if you search well enough, a magnum, feels adequate, and attachable laser sights add a contemporary assist. Evading enemies to conserve ammo is relatively easy, and the game is generous about keeping your clips full. This speaks to Crow Country’s wide approachability. It’s not challenging in regards to combat and inventory management, making it a great introduction to the genre for newcomers or a good option those wanting a lighter take on a typically tough gameplay style.

Another aspect in which SFB Games commits to Crow Country’s old-school approach is exploration and puzzle-solving. The game’s elaborate puzzles are generally clever and well-designed, but the real challenge is keeping track of over two dozen notes containing hints or solutions. That’s because you can only view these messages in save rooms, which creates a lot of backtracking to double-check an employee memo. The game’s condensed level design means a save room usually isn’t too far away, but running around did feel less convenient as my notebook expanded. To mitigate this, expect to jot down notes or take photos of clues with your phone. 

 

Additionally, intentionally cluttered environments easily hide useful items and clues, meaning it’s easy to miss things. Expect to hug the walls of every room to thoroughly comb them of their interactable elements (though the game does track how many secrets you find). As a long-time fan of the genre, I didn’t mind this nostalgic approach, and it never became a true hindrance. Consider this less a critique and more of a PSA to those hoping for a streamlined experience. 

Speaking of save rooms, the game’s intentional lack of autosaves means dying results in losing progress between your last visits. I was burned by this initially, having died before reaching the first save room and replaying the first 20 minutes. Again, your tolerance will vary; losing chunks of progress rarely becomes an issue if you’re diligent about saving. But if you’d rather not deal with that, Crow Country may be too faithfully retro for you. 

As reductive as it sounds, when it comes to delivering a classic survival horror experience, Crow Country is a good “one of those.” Familiar elements and tropes are well executed, and the succinct runtime of five to six hours is perfect for its smaller scope. I had fun reliving the genre’s golden years through Crow Country’s eyes; playing it feels like relaxing under a warm, blood-stained blanket. 

Score: 8

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Hades II has launched into Steam Early access, and it’s also Game Informer’s next cover story (which launches on May 14).  Whether you’re a returning fan or a newcomer, it may take a few runs to get your bearings as Hades II sports new progression systems, resources, and new layers to existing mechanics. It can be a lot to dig into, given the game more or less tosses you into the deep end without context for how things work, at least initially. Instead of spending several runs figuring things out, here’s a short, spoiler-free primer explaining some core new features to get you going on the right foot. 

What Are Ashes? 

Ashes are a currency used for unlocking Arcana cards. They serve a similar purpose as Darkness from the first game. They often appear as a reward for completing a room, but you can also purchase more from the Wretched Broker’s shop. 

What Are Arcana Cards, Grasp, And Psyche?

These are unlockable character perks found at the Altar of Ashes, located in The Crossroads. Fans can draw a similarity to the Mirror of Night from Hades 1. Examples of Arcana card effects include gaining two health points every time you exit a location or starting each run with 200 gold. Arcana cards require spending a certain amount of Ashes to obtain (and some require an additional resource). Cards consume portions of your Grasp. 

Grasp of the Arcana (or just Grasp for short) is a meter dictating how many Arcana cards a player can have active at once. Every Arcana card consumes a certain number of Grasp bars. If the Grasp meter has 10 bars, then equipping cards that consume 5, 3, and 2 bars would max it out. If you’re a Transistor fan, this system is similar to how managing Functions worked in that game. 

By spending a large amount of Psyche, another currency obtained by completing rooms, you can increase the limit of your Grasp. For example, instead of having only 10 bars, it could have 12 or 16. This way, you can have more cards active or use more powerful cards that consume a larger portion of Grasp. 

What Are The Purple Bones?

This is another resource/currency called Ancient Bones. It’s a reward for completing encounters and is primarily used to purchase resources from the Wretched Broker’s shop. 

How Do I Mine Ore, Fish, And Compel Shades?

During runs, you’ll come across metal ores prompting you to mine. In the first area, Erebus, you’ll find piles of silver crescent moons, for example. Additionally, certain shades prompt you to “compel” them, and you’ll also encounter fishing holes. 

These situations require one of Hades II’s Gathering Tools. Mining ore requires a pickaxe, fishing holes need a respective rod, and compelling shades require a magical tablet. You gain Gathering Tools at the Cauldron, but you’ll still need to trade specific resources to unlock them fully.

How Does The Cauldron Work? 

The Crossroads features a giant cauldron situated in front of Hecate. This is where you’ll bring resources/currencies gathered during runs to perform “incantations,” which are permanent upgrades for The Crossroads and general quality-of-life perks. 

For example, one incantation summons the Wretched Broker, allowing him to permanently set up shop in the Crossroads. Another unlocks the aforementioned Gathering Tools. One incantation even allows you to view the recipes for other incantations in the menu (before unlocking this, you can only view these recipes at the cauldron itself). One particular incantation is called Fated Intervention; without spoiling, prioritize unlocking this one. It likely won’t have an immediate effect, so be patient. 

One incantation that becomes available early (that you should unlock as soon as it does) is called Divination of the Elements. It allows Melinoe to perceive the elemental affinities of Olympian boons. 

What Are Elemental Affinities?

Olympian boons now have one of four elemental properties tied to them: fire, water, air, and earth. After unlocking Divination of the Elements, you’ll see small icons indicating each element on every boon you encounter. Demeter’s frost-based boons are generally (but not always) water types, while Hestia’s tend to be fire. 

The elemental affinity matters because there are now boons that can only be used if you possess enough boons of a certain elemental type. One may require you to have three wind-based boons in exchange for a powerful ability, for example. This adds another layer of strategy to selecting boons, as you’ll be torn between chasing a long-term investment or short-term power gain. 

Hades II is available now in Early Access on Steam and in the Epic Games Store. Be sure to check out our cover story hub below for exclusive Hades II stories and videos throughout the month. 

This month, Hades II graces Game Informer's cover. After playing several hours of the Early Access build (which is publicaly available as of today), we traveled to Supergiant Games' studio in San Francisco to interview several of the core team members – creative director Greg Kasavin, studio director Amir Rao, art director Jen Zee, composer Darren Korb, and voice actor Logan Cunningham – to get the full story of the game's creation. The cover story reveals why Supergiant decided to create its first sequel, how it chose a new protagonist in Zagreus' sister, Melinoë, along with her mythological origins, and how the team is changing its approach to early access and the content it has planned for the future. It also features an in-depth breakdown of Hades II's new features and our impressions of the game so far. 

We want our cover story on Hades II to be a celebration of the game and a peek behind the curtain at Supergiant, with the hope that anyone who reads it will have a more exciting and informed experience when they play the much-anticipated sequel. If you're a fan of the original game or this new installment, we suspect you'll read about what we learned and discover even more about what makes the franchise so special.

The stunning cover art is an original piece by Supergiant's famed artist, Jen Zee. It depicts Melinoë, princess of the Underworld, as her mentor, Hecate, gazes at the moonlit horizon. 

Other features appearing in issue 366 include an interview feature with Digital Eclipse's Chris Kohler about how the studio conceived its Gold Master Series consisting of The Making of Karateka and Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story. Nolan Good discusses the history and continuing legacy of the long-running MMO, Final Fantasy XI. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, editor-in-chief Matt Miller visited Wizards of the Coast to preview its upcoming set of new rule books aimed at evolving the tabletop game. Wesley LeBlanc flew across the globe to Seoul, South Korea, to get an in-depth look at Nexon's upcoming free-to-play looter shooter, The First Descendant. For soon-to-be graduating students, cash in that success with your parents using our annual graduation gift guide. In addition, we have previews for titles including Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, The Rogue: Prince of Persia, Monaco 2, and Still Wakes the Deep. 

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Print subscribers can expect their issues to arrive in the coming weeks. The digital edition launches on May 14 for PC/Mac, iOS, and Google Play. Individual print copies will be available for purchase in the coming weeks at GameStop.

 

Indika is very strange. The third-person adventure stars the titular character, a nun who hears voices from the devil himself. His demonic influence manifests into world-distorting gameplay sequences as Indika explores the rural wilds of early 20th-century Russia. Tack on bizarre pixel art flourishes and other overt video game elements, and we can't tell if Indika is taking itself seriously or not. But we do know that we want to keep playing it.

Join editors Marcus Stewart and Kyle Hilliard as they explore an early section of this attention-grabbing adventure available now on PC (and PS5 and Xbox SeriesX/S later this month). 

Head over to Game Informer's YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

Keoken Interactive, developer of Deliver Us The Moon and Deliver Us Mars, has laid off nearly its entire staff. The studio’s two founders are the only remaining employees.

Founders Keon Deetman (CEO) and Paul Deetman (managing director) announced on social media that after the studio failed to secure funding during the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in March, it had “exhausted all our possible options for publishing, work for hire, and co-development.” As a result, the remainder of its staff has been let go. GameIndustry.biz confirmed that 13 employees were affected, 11 of which were full-time and 2 freelance contractors. 

The Deetmans have made a call for any studios with open positions to hire its affected staff. The founders plan to stay in business and have vowed to rebuild, which includes launching a Kickstarter to crowdfund Deliver Us Home,  a sequel to Deliver Us Mars. 

It was clear Keoken was in trouble when the founders posted a video in March revealing it had been unable to land a publishing deal after spending two years pitching five games to over 40 publishers. Instead, the founders decided to publicly reveal these projects to help garner interest, one of which was Deliver Us Home and two were Deliver Us The Moon spin-offs, including a VR game. 

Keoken once employed 45 employees, but the headcount was reduced to 20 by March 2024 before four more employees were let go that month. In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, the Deetmans revealed they had gone months without collecting a salary to help stay afloat. 

Remedy has provided updates on its portfolio of upcoming titles via a quarterly business review. In addition to painting the overall financial health of the studio, the report shares details on the current development state of Control 2, Max Payne 1&2 Remake, the Control multiplayer spin-off Codename Condor, and more.

According to the report, the Control 2 team is “focused on finalizing the proof-of-concept stage, in which the game world, game mechanics and visual targets are proven.” The project is expected to move into the production readiness stage in Q2 of this year. Control 2 was first announced in 2022. 

Max Payne 1&2 Remake, first announced in 2022 as a rebuilt version that combines both games into a single title, remains in the production readiness stage, as first announced last October. However, the game is expected to enter full production in Q2 2024.

Codename Condor has entered full production. Remedy describes its core loop as “engaging” and that “the game brings a unique Remedy angle to the genre.” Codename Kestral, Remedy’s other multiplayer title described as a “premium game with a strong, cooperative multiplayer component”, remains in the concept stage. 

Remedy also shares that Alan Wake 2 has sold 1.3 million units as of early February, recouping a “significant” chunk of its development and marketing expenses in the process. The development team continues to work on its upcoming expansions, Night Springs and Lake House. 

Following Remedy’s acquisition of the rights to Control from publisher 505 Games in February, the studio is now free to do what it wants with the IP. CEO Tero Virtala states, “We are currently weighing self-publishing and related business models. Simultaneously, we are actively looking into different partner publishing models and evaluating potential partners.” Remedy also expects to have two projects in full production simultaneously, stating "We are confident that the good progress of the beginning of the year carries over to the full production stages."

You can read our review of Alan Wake 2 here and for Control here.