Monthly Archives: August 2020
Murder-Mystery Horror Martha Is Dead Coming to Xbox Series X and PC in 2021
Murder-mystery horror game Martha Is Dead is coming to Xbox Series X and PC in 2021, and we have a exclusive new gameplay and a trailer to show you.
Announced last year, Martha Is Dead comes from LKA, the team behind The Town of Light, which blurred the line between real-life history and fictional horror. Martha Is Dead takes a similar line: set in the Italian countryside as World War 2 draws to a close, a woman is found drowned, and her twin sister is left to reckon with her murder as the war draws closer to her home.
LKA has now confirmed that the game will be coming next year to PC (via Steam) and Xbox Series X. You can check out a new trailer below. Warning: some of the images in the trailer are graphic.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/20/martha-is-dead-lake-trailer"]
Built in Unreal Engine 4, and played in first-person, the game will combine real-life locaitons, Italian folklore and psychological horror.
“Martha is Dead is set in a really interesting and distressing period of history, with Italy at this time torn between two major powers fighting for the future", said LKA founder Luca Dalco. "Martha’s brutal murder brings with it a mirrored sense of misery. This game will shock, make players question the truth and like The Town of Light, help continue a conversation around subject matters that still carry much stigma.”
We have 10 minutes of exclusive gameplay to show you too, showing off a section of the game's first chapter:
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/20/martha-is-dead-gameplay-reveal"]
Luca Dalco sums up the prject by saying: “At LKA, we start with a story. Often it’s uncomfortable, not painless and based in truth. We learned a lot with The Town of Light, and Martha is Dead is taking everything we know, and turning it up to 10."
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
PGA Tour 2K21 Review – Talk About A Hole In One
Sports games generally tend to be more arcadey than simulation, with easy-to-learn basic mechanics that make the experience breezy off the bat while also having enough depth to appeal to competitive players. HB Studios' The Golf Club series has consistently defied that mantra by embracing the exacting challenges and unpredictability of golf since its debut title in 2014. With the 2K Games rebrand, I thought PGA Tour 2K21 might aim to be more like EA's defunct golf series. Instead, what's here is a refinement of The Golf Club 2019, with welcome new features and mechanical tweaks that make for a smoother experience on the course.
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, PGA Tour 2K21 is technically the fourth entry in The Golf Club series that was originally self-published by HB Studios. It's the second title to be published by 2K Games following The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour, which 2K helped polish ahead of its release in 2018. The transition to the 2K Sports naming convention will likely garner more eyeballs, but for dedicated fans of The Golf Club like myself, you don't have to worry about HB Studios messing with the formula too much.
PGA Tour 2K21's major gameplay change comes with the motion you repeat over and over: your swing. HB Studios removed backswing tempo, which in turn promotes consistent, crisp ball-striking. Every golfer at all levels of play--including Tour pros--has different backswing timing, making this change quite welcome. Overall, I found it much easier to get "perfect" tempo swings. That's not to say the analog stick swing mechanics are too easy now. You still have to make the transition to your downswing in one smooth turn to hit the golf ball on target; the removal of backswing timing merely tosses one unnecessary variable out of the equation, freeing you up to get into a nice groove. Solid swings have a cleaner and fluid look in PGA Tour 2K21, with speed feeling more in-step with real life.
Continue Reading at GameSpotPGA Tour 2K21 Review – Talk About A Hole In One
Sports games generally tend to be more arcadey than simulation, with easy-to-learn basic mechanics that make the experience breezy off the bat while also having enough depth to appeal to competitive players. HB Studios' The Golf Club series has consistently defied that mantra by embracing the exacting challenges and unpredictability of golf since its debut title in 2014. With the 2K Games rebrand, I thought PGA Tour 2K21 might aim to be more like EA's defunct golf series. Instead, what's here is a refinement of The Golf Club 2019, with welcome new features and mechanical tweaks that make for a smoother experience on the course.
For those unfamiliar with the franchise, PGA Tour 2K21 is technically the fourth entry in The Golf Club series that was originally self-published by HB Studios. It's the second title to be published by 2K Games following The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour, which 2K helped polish ahead of its release in 2018. The transition to the 2K Sports naming convention will likely garner more eyeballs, but for dedicated fans of The Golf Club like myself, you don't have to worry about HB Studios messing with the formula too much.
PGA Tour 2K21's major gameplay change comes with the motion you repeat over and over: your swing. HB Studios removed backswing tempo, which in turn promotes consistent, crisp ball-striking. Every golfer at all levels of play--including Tour pros--has different backswing timing, making this change quite welcome. Overall, I found it much easier to get "perfect" tempo swings. That's not to say the analog stick swing mechanics are too easy now. You still have to make the transition to your downswing in one smooth turn to hit the golf ball on target; the removal of backswing timing merely tosses one unnecessary variable out of the equation, freeing you up to get into a nice groove. Solid swings have a cleaner and fluid look in PGA Tour 2K21, with speed feeling more in-step with real life.
Continue Reading at GameSpotLEGO Launches Braille Bricks For Children With Vision Impairment
LEGO is launching Braille Bricks, a new method of play designed to help children with vision impairment develop new skills and learn the Braille writing system.
After a successful pilot scheme launched in April 2019, LEGO Braille Bricks have now launched in seven countries, partnering with sight loss organizations in Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, UK and the USA.
LEGO plans to account for "eleven languages across twenty countries" by early 2021 and has prepared a website full of suggested activities for how children and educators can use LEGO Braille Bricks to learn the writing system.
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Each toolkit will have "300+ LEGO Braille Bricks covering the full alphabet in the chosen language, numbers 0-9, and select mathematical symbols and punctuation marks." The famous LEGO studs have been moulded so that they correspond to the Braille alphabet, with the appropriate letters and symbols marked on the bricks so that they can be used in collaboration with sighted players as well.
LEGO Braille Bricks toolkits will be distributed for free to "select institutions, schools and services catering to the education of children with visual impairment" as they roll out around the world in the coming months.
In other LEGO news, here's every IGN LEGO game review for those of you keen to dig into one of the brick-based titles. The latest in the series is LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which recently received an October release date.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/16/lego-super-mario-is-great-once-it-clicks"]
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
LEGO Launches Braille Bricks For Children With Vision Impairment
LEGO is launching Braille Bricks, a new method of play designed to help children with vision impairment develop new skills and learn the Braille writing system.
After a successful pilot scheme launched in April 2019, LEGO Braille Bricks have now launched in seven countries, partnering with sight loss organizations in Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, UK and the USA.
LEGO plans to account for "eleven languages across twenty countries" by early 2021 and has prepared a website full of suggested activities for how children and educators can use LEGO Braille Bricks to learn the writing system.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=lego-braille-bricks-images&captions=true"]
Each toolkit will have "300+ LEGO Braille Bricks covering the full alphabet in the chosen language, numbers 0-9, and select mathematical symbols and punctuation marks." The famous LEGO studs have been moulded so that they correspond to the Braille alphabet, with the appropriate letters and symbols marked on the bricks so that they can be used in collaboration with sighted players as well.
LEGO Braille Bricks toolkits will be distributed for free to "select institutions, schools and services catering to the education of children with visual impairment" as they roll out around the world in the coming months.
In other LEGO news, here's every IGN LEGO game review for those of you keen to dig into one of the brick-based titles. The latest in the series is LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which recently received an October release date.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/16/lego-super-mario-is-great-once-it-clicks"]
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Gorgeous Action-RPG Black Myth: Wukong Revealed with Extended Gameplay Trailer
Black Myth: Wukong - an action-RPG based on classic Chinese tale Journey to the West - has been announced for consoles and PC alongside an impressive 13 minute gameplay video. That video is getting some sections of the internet very excited indeed.
Developed by Game Science, Black Myth appears to be taking soulslike approach to gameplay, but with a vibrant environmental art style (created in Unreal Engine 4), and a neat stealth mechanic in which you turn into a cicada to avoid bigger threats.
You can check out 13 minutes of pre-alpha gameplay below, including exploration, combat, stealth, boss battles, a montage of different environments, and a giant battle thrown in for good measure:
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/20/black-myth-wukong-official-13-minutes-gameplay-trailer"]
It's safe to say the first impressions have been very good, with the gameplay flying up the r/games subreddit, and comments almost universally positive. "This looks awesome", said Reddit user xg4m3CYT. "The game came out of nowhere, is made by an indie studio, and completely swiped the floor with most of the announced AAA games."
For a measure of quite how well this is going down, the gameplay - which was uploaded today - has already had over 4.6 million views on Chinese video streaming website BiliBili alone.
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No release date's been given, and with good reason - Game Science explains that the team is currently very small, and is using the early announcement to attract new talent to the studio to help build the final version.
An FAQ on the game's website explains that "it shouldn't take 500 years", but that the game will only be released when the studio is satisfied by the end product. It seems likely, then, that this will be a game aiming for next-gen platforms.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and that little bit of gameplay where this started to look like next-gen Dynasty Warriors made him yelp. Follow him on Twitter.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Gorgeous Action-RPG Black Myth: Wukong Revealed with Extended Gameplay Trailer
Black Myth: Wukong - an action-RPG based on classic Chinese tale Journey to the West - has been announced for consoles and PC alongside an impressive 13 minute gameplay video. That video is getting some sections of the internet very excited indeed.
Developed by Game Science, Black Myth appears to be taking soulslike approach to gameplay, but with a vibrant environmental art style (created in Unreal Engine 4), and a neat stealth mechanic in which you turn into a cicada to avoid bigger threats.
You can check out 13 minutes of pre-alpha gameplay below, including exploration, combat, stealth, boss battles, a montage of different environments, and a giant battle thrown in for good measure:
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/20/black-myth-wu-kong-official-13-minutes-gameplay-trailer"]
It's safe to say the first impressions have been very good, with the gameplay flying up the r/games subreddit, and comments almost universally positive. "This looks awesome", said Reddit user xg4m3CYT. "The game came out of nowhere, is made by an indie studio, and completely swiped the floor with most of the announced AAA games."
For a measure of quite how well this is going down, the gameplay - which was uploaded today - has already had over 4.6 million views on Chinese video streaming website BiliBili alone.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=black-myth-wukong-11-screenshots&captions=true"]
No release date's been given, and with good reason - Game Science explains that the team is currently very small, and is using the early announcement to attract new talent to the studio to help build the final version.
An FAQ on the game's website explains that "it shouldn't take 500 years", but that the game will only be released when the studio is satisfied by the end product. It seems likely, then, that this will be a game aiming for next-gen platforms.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and that little bit of gameplay where this started to look like next-gen Dynasty Warriors made him yelp. Follow him on Twitter.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
The Eternals: Marvel Comics to Launch New Series in November
Just in time for the debut of the new movie, the Eternals will be back at the forefront of Marvel's comic book universe. The publisher has just revealed a new ongoing Eternals series set to kick off in November 2020.
Eternals boasts quite an impressive creative team. Writer Kieron Gillen (Star Wars: Darth Vader, Journey Into Mystery) is returning to Marvel to helm the series alongside Secret Wars and King Thor artist Esad Ribic and The Mighty Thor colorist Matthew Wilson.
Marvel hasn't revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline "Never Die. Never Win." That may be a reference to both the Eternals' immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018's The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins.
Ribic's cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized.
"I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I've never done before. This is exactly that," said Gillen in Marvel's press release. "This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.”
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Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I'm applying all the skills I've developed when I was away. It's a lot. It's everything. There's enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you'll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially 'Eternal' has to mean 'never going out of style' which means we're aiming for 'Instant classic.' Also - fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!"
Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel's The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic's art and character designs.
For now, be sure to check out our Eternals Explained and Deviants Explained features, as well as our breakdown of the movie's two villains, Kro and Arishem the Judge. Then learn how the movie could potentially set the stage for the X-Men in the MCU.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/08/marvels-eternals-movie-villains-the-deviants-explained"]
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Marvel hasn't revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline "Never Die. Never Win." That may be a reference to both the Eternals' immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018's The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins.
Ribic's cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized.
"I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I've never done before. This is exactly that," said Gillen in Marvel's press release. "This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.”
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=who-are-the-villains-kro-and-arishem-the-judge-from-marvels-eternals&captions=true"]
Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I'm applying all the skills I've developed when I was away. It's a lot. It's everything. There's enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you'll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially 'Eternal' has to mean 'never going out of style' which means we're aiming for 'Instant classic.' Also - fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!"
Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel's The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic's art and character designs.
For now, be sure to check out our Eternals Explained and Deviants Explained features, as well as our breakdown of the movie's two villains, Kro and Arishem the Judge. Then learn how the movie could potentially set the stage for the X-Men in the MCU.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/08/marvels-eternals-movie-villains-the-deviants-explained"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.The Eternals: Marvel Comics to Launch New Series in November
Just in time for the debut of the new movie, the Eternals will be back at the forefront of Marvel's comic book universe. The publisher has just revealed a new ongoing Eternals series set to kick off in November 2020.
Eternals boasts quite an impressive creative team. Writer Kieron Gillen (Star Wars: Darth Vader, Journey Into Mystery) is returning to Marvel to helm the series alongside Secret Wars and King Thor artist Esad Ribic and The Mighty Thor colorist Matthew Wilson.
Marvel hasn't revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline "Never Die. Never Win." That may be a reference to both the Eternals' immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018's The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins.
Ribic's cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized.
"I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I've never done before. This is exactly that," said Gillen in Marvel's press release. "This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.”
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=who-are-the-villains-kro-and-arishem-the-judge-from-marvels-eternals&captions=true"]
Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I'm applying all the skills I've developed when I was away. It's a lot. It's everything. There's enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you'll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially 'Eternal' has to mean 'never going out of style' which means we're aiming for 'Instant classic.' Also - fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!"
Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel's The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic's art and character designs.
For now, be sure to check out our Eternals Explained and Deviants Explained features, as well as our breakdown of the movie's two villains, Kro and Arishem the Judge. Then learn how the movie could potentially set the stage for the X-Men in the MCU.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/08/marvels-eternals-movie-villains-the-deviants-explained"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Marvel hasn't revealed much about the plot of the new series beyond the tagline "Never Die. Never Win." That may be a reference to both the Eternals' immortality and their seemingly never-ending conflict with the Deviants. Most likely the series will deal with the fallout of 2018's The Avengers #4, which showed Ikaris and his people seemingly killing themselves after learning the truth about their own origins.
Ribic's cover to Eternals #1 depicts the evolution of man culminating with the birth of Ikaris. Interestingly, the Eternals and Deviants have always been depicted as separate races from humanity, but this image could imply the Eternals are more fundamentally linked to mankind than they ever realized.
"I said if I was ever to do a book again at Marvel, it would have to be something I've never done before. This is exactly that," said Gillen in Marvel's press release. "This is me teaming up with literally my favourite artist of the epic, taking one of those lightning-storm Kirby visions and re-making it to be as new as the day it was forged.”
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=who-are-the-villains-kro-and-arishem-the-judge-from-marvels-eternals&captions=true"]
Gillen continued, “While Esad makes whole worlds on the page, I'm applying all the skills I've developed when I was away. It's a lot. It's everything. There's enough scale packed in here that I believe that when you look at the comic, you'll see the pages slightly bulge. Essentially 'Eternal' has to mean 'never going out of style' which means we're aiming for 'Instant classic.' Also - fight scenes, horror, human drama, emotions, explosions. Comics!"
Eternals #1 will be released in November 2020, while the movie Marvel's The Eternals is currently scheduled for release on February 12, 2021. You can head over to Marvel.com to check out a new video teaser for the comic that shows off more of Ribic's art and character designs.
For now, be sure to check out our Eternals Explained and Deviants Explained features, as well as our breakdown of the movie's two villains, Kro and Arishem the Judge. Then learn how the movie could potentially set the stage for the X-Men in the MCU.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/08/marvels-eternals-movie-villains-the-deviants-explained"]
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.Halo Infinite Denies Claims That Halo TV Show Impacted Development
Halo Infinite's developer 343 Industries has shot down some of the claims of a report that surfaced earlier alleging development woes for the now-delayed next Halo entry.
In a statement provided to IGN by a 343 Industries spokesperson, the Halo Infinite developer refuted the claim in a report that the Halo TV show in the works at Showtime distracted the developer's leadership and had a major impact on Infinite's development.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/11/halo-infinite-delayed-to-2021"]
The spokesperson labeled Infinite and the TV show as "completely independent projects" whose development did not impact one another or prove a "distraction," as the original reports sources claimed.
"343 Industries has a devoted transmedia team that is working with Showtime on the creation and production of the Halo TV show. This group is separate from the Halo Infinite development team. These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another," the spokesperson said in a statement to IGN.
A source speaking anonymously to Thurott for the original report claimed the show was "taking their priority instead of focusing on making sure development progress is on the right path to reaching its targeted deadline."
While 343's response rebukes this claim, the spokesperson did not speak to the report's claim that "a significant portion of the game is being outsourced to third-party contractors," which the report described as a source of some of Halo Infinite's alleged development problems.
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Halo Infinite had its first proper unveiling at E3 2019, with an extended cutscene teasing Master Chief's next adventure. But after a recent gameplay showcase that was met with some blowback by viewers for perceived technical limitations, 343 and Xbox announced Halo Infinite would be delayed into 2021 and miss the Xbox Series X launch.
For more on Halo Infinite, check out this episode of Next-Gen Console Watch 2020 where the team dig into the Halo Infinite delay, wondering how the Xbox Series X can compete without its flagship launch exclusive.
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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor and host of Podcast Beyond!.