The Resident Evil origin story movie has cast nearly all of its major leads, including actors for Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy, and Albert Wesker. This is yet another adaptation of Capcom’s survival horror series separate from a planned Netflix show. Production firm Constantin Film and writer/director Johannes Roberts announced the cast for its Resident Evil origin story. Set in 1998 “on a fateful night in Raccoon City” the Resident Evil movie will star Kaya Scodelario (Maze Runner) as Claire Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell (Upload) as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy) as Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap) as Leon S. Kennedy, and Neal McDonough (Yellowstone) as William Birkin. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=resident-evil-origin-movie-cast-comparison&captions=true"] According to director Johannes Roberts in a statement, “I really wanted to go back to the original first two games and recreate the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American town that feels both relatable and relevant to today’s audiences.” It appears given Roberts’ statement and the cast that this origin movie will blend elements of the first two Resident Evil games. The first game stars Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine and is set in the Spencer Mansion, a dangerous compound full of lurking horror; while Resident Evil 2 stars Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy on a really bad first night on the job in Raccoon City. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-resident-evil-game-review-ever&captions=true"] The new movie is produced by Constantin Film, the same company that produced the previous Resident Evil movie series directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Though it doesn’t appear related to the previous film adaptations. This is also separate from the announced Resident Evil Netflix series which tells an original story about Wesker’s children after they move into “New Raccoon City.” And just because Netflix can't get enough zombies, the streamer is also premiering a new, CGI animated film titled Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness as well. Meanwhile, Anderson, who kickstarted the last Resident Evil live-action film series is directing a live-action Monster Hunter movie. This new origin movie is set to premiere in 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Watch Dogs: Legion has unveiled its post-launch DLC roadmap which includes both online multiplayer and single-player content. Alongside an expansive online mode coming in December, Watch Dogs: Legion will introduce even more single-player DLC, including its first-ever Assassin’s Creed crossover. In a new announcement trailer, Ubisoft announced several post-launch DLC coming to Watch Dogs: Legion starting with the open-world Online mode in December. The Online mode will feature the full London sandbox that’s playable with up to four players, and several activities like Tactical Ops co-op, Spiderbot PvP, and Invasion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/watch-dogs-legion-post-launch-dlc-assassins-creed-crossover"] On the single-player side, Watch Dogs: Legion continues its steady drip of adding past Watch Dogs characters to Legion. This time, Wrench from Watch Dogs 2 will join Aiden Pearce, while newcomers Mina and Darcey will also be added as playable characters. In the case of Darcey, she is a member of the Assassin brotherhood, and the first crossover between the Assassin’s Creed universe and Watch Dogs. But Legion live producer Lathiesshe Thillainathan told IGN that this crossover is more fan service, and should not be considered canon. “She’s not canon, it’s purely a fan service from our side and also the [Assassin’s Creed] side,” Said Thillainathan who added that the Legion team is “not trying to build a joint universe between [Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed].” Thillainathan acknowledged the speculation among fans that there is a connection between the two Ubisoft franchises (“We also read Reddit,” Thillainathan said) but this crossover is a result of the Watch Dogs team finding a fun way to work with the Assassin’s Creed team on a fan service project. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=watch-dogs-legion-post-launch-dlc-roadmap&captions=true"] Fans of Assassin’s Creed will find a lot of familiarity with Darcey’s gameplay and movement style, and Thillainathan confirmed that Darcey’s back story will weave in AC lore. But the easter eggs in Watch Dogs alluding to Assassin’s Creed will remain, for now, just easter eggs. In regards to Watch Dogs: Legion's crossover with Watch Dogs 2, we asked where Marcus Holloway, the protagonist from the game is, to which Thillainathan says that there will be "more to come." As for Watch Dogs: Legion Online and whether it’s closer to an open-world with multiplayer activities or similar to GTA: Online, Thillainathan says Ubisoft’s goal is to introduce a wide range of online activities shortly after release and then build out the components that gain traction. “[We’ll] look at player engagement up until next summer and continue to grow it based on our players,” says Thillainathan. He cites activities like Spiderbot PvP and Tactical Ops and depending on where players gravitate towards, that’s what the developers will focus on building out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/watch-dogs-legion-welcome-to-the-resistance-story-trailer"] Thillainathan also stressed that Watch Dogs: Legion Online runs parallel to the single-player campaign. Meaning when Online launches, there will be a short onboarding process but players will essentially gain full access to the complete London sandbox from the get-go. The London map in Online will be the same one players will venture through in the single-player campaign, only completely accessible from the start. “It has its own onboarding and its own story. So the co-op campaign is not the endgame for the single-player campaign,” Thillainathan reveals. There’s no gated content in Online either as one of the developers’ goals was to make Online as accessible as possible when it’s released in December. There will also be cross-progression between console and PC, regardless of which PC digital store you purchase Legion from. For more, check out IGN’s final preview for Watch Dogs: Legion. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Watch Dogs: Legion has unveiled its post-launch DLC roadmap which includes both online multiplayer and single-player content. Alongside an expansive online mode coming in December, Watch Dogs: Legion will introduce even more single-player DLC, including its first-ever Assassin’s Creed crossover. In a new announcement trailer, Ubisoft announced several post-launch DLC coming to Watch Dogs: Legion starting with the open-world Online mode in December. The Online mode will feature the full London sandbox that’s playable with up to four players, and several activities like Tactical Ops co-op, Spiderbot PvP, and Invasion. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/watch-dogs-legion-post-launch-dlc-assassins-creed-crossover"] On the single-player side, Watch Dogs: Legion continues its steady drip of adding past Watch Dogs characters to Legion. This time, Wrench from Watch Dogs 2 will join Aiden Pearce, while newcomers Mina and Darcey will also be added as playable characters. In the case of Darcey, she is a member of the Assassin brotherhood, and the first crossover between the Assassin’s Creed universe and Watch Dogs. But Legion live producer Lathiesshe Thillainathan told IGN that this crossover is more fan service, and should not be considered canon. “She’s not canon, it’s purely a fan service from our side and also the [Assassin’s Creed] side,” Said Thillainathan who added that the Legion team is “not trying to build a joint universe between [Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed].” Thillainathan acknowledged the speculation among fans that there is a connection between the two Ubisoft franchises (“We also read Reddit,” Thillainathan said) but this crossover is a result of the Watch Dogs team finding a fun way to work with the Assassin’s Creed team on a fan service project. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=watch-dogs-legion-post-launch-dlc-roadmap&captions=true"] Fans of Assassin’s Creed will find a lot of familiarity with Darcey’s gameplay and movement style, and Thillainathan confirmed that Darcey’s back story will weave in AC lore. But the easter eggs in Watch Dogs alluding to Assassin’s Creed will remain, for now, just easter eggs. In regards to Watch Dogs: Legion's crossover with Watch Dogs 2, we asked where Marcus Holloway, the protagonist from the game is, to which Thillainathan says that there will be "more to come." As for Watch Dogs: Legion Online and whether it’s closer to an open-world with multiplayer activities or similar to GTA: Online, Thillainathan says Ubisoft’s goal is to introduce a wide range of online activities shortly after release and then build out the components that gain traction. “[We’ll] look at player engagement up until next summer and continue to grow it based on our players,” says Thillainathan. He cites activities like Spiderbot PvP and Tactical Ops and depending on where players gravitate towards, that’s what the developers will focus on building out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/watch-dogs-legion-welcome-to-the-resistance-story-trailer"] Thillainathan also stressed that Watch Dogs: Legion Online runs parallel to the single-player campaign. Meaning when Online launches, there will be a short onboarding process but players will essentially gain full access to the complete London sandbox from the get-go. The London map in Online will be the same one players will venture through in the single-player campaign, only completely accessible from the start. “It has its own onboarding and its own story. So the co-op campaign is not the endgame for the single-player campaign,” Thillainathan reveals. There’s no gated content in Online either as one of the developers’ goals was to make Online as accessible as possible when it’s released in December. There will also be cross-progression between console and PC, regardless of which PC digital store you purchase Legion from. For more, check out IGN’s final preview for Watch Dogs: Legion. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Dave Bautista says that, in his WWE days, he used to hide inhalers underneath the wrestling ring due to his asthma. A fan on Twitter complimented Bautista on his "impressive" work as a wrestler with asthma and asked if he ever had an asthma attack during a match. "I hid inhalers under the ring and with people working around the ring," Bautista replied. "I’m not kidding. The cold venues were my nightmare."

I hid inhalers under the ring and with people working around the ring. I’m not kidding. The cold venues were my nightmare. https://t.co/kpAPQ9EKpz

— Shadow Person Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) October 6, 2020

Bautista, under the name Batista, is a six-time World Heavyweight Champion in the WWE. His first World Heavyweight Championship win gave him a title that lasted 282 days, which is still a record for longest reign in that title's history. Bautista quit the WWE in 2010 and briefly returned in January 2014, only to leave again in June 2014. Guardians of the Galaxy would arrive in theaters a couple of months later and Bautista's Hollywood career began, although he returned for some WWE appearances in 2019. Watch a classic interview with Dave Bautista and Michael Rooker from Comic-Con 2013 where Bautista compares fighting in the WWE to fighting in a Marvel movie: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/21/guardians-of-the-galaxy-dave-bautista-and-michael-rooker-interview-comic-con-2013"] In the years since the first Guardians movie, Bautista has played a Bond villain in Spectre and had a small role in the critically-acclaimed Blade Runner 2049. He reprised his Guardians role in a 2017 sequel and had a major role in Avengers: Infinity War. He teamed up with his Blade Runner director, Denis Villeneuve, to appear in Dune, which was recently delayed to October 2021. He's set to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as well as Zack Snyder's zombie movie Army of the Dead. Bautista's character in Army of the Dead is already getting an anime spinoff series at Netflix to tell his backstory. And as for Guardians 3, franchise director James Gunn said that Vol. 3 will probably be his last and it will likely be the last Guardians movie with the "current team." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-movie-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who highly recommends the movie Fighting With My Family starring Florence Pugh. Really underrated wrestling movie.

Dave Bautista says that, in his WWE days, he used to hide inhalers underneath the wrestling ring due to his asthma. A fan on Twitter complimented Bautista on his "impressive" work as a wrestler with asthma and asked if he ever had an asthma attack during a match. "I hid inhalers under the ring and with people working around the ring," Bautista replied. "I’m not kidding. The cold venues were my nightmare."

I hid inhalers under the ring and with people working around the ring. I’m not kidding. The cold venues were my nightmare. https://t.co/kpAPQ9EKpz

— Shadow Person Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) October 6, 2020

Bautista, under the name Batista, is a six-time World Heavyweight Champion in the WWE. His first World Heavyweight Championship win gave him a title that lasted 282 days, which is still a record for longest reign in that title's history. Bautista quit the WWE in 2010 and briefly returned in January 2014, only to leave again in June 2014. Guardians of the Galaxy would arrive in theaters a couple of months later and Bautista's Hollywood career began, although he returned for some WWE appearances in 2019. Watch a classic interview with Dave Bautista and Michael Rooker from Comic-Con 2013 where Bautista compares fighting in the WWE to fighting in a Marvel movie: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/21/guardians-of-the-galaxy-dave-bautista-and-michael-rooker-interview-comic-con-2013"] In the years since the first Guardians movie, Bautista has played a Bond villain in Spectre and had a small role in the critically-acclaimed Blade Runner 2049. He reprised his Guardians role in a 2017 sequel and had a major role in Avengers: Infinity War. He teamed up with his Blade Runner director, Denis Villeneuve, to appear in Dune, which was recently delayed to October 2021. He's set to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as well as Zack Snyder's zombie movie Army of the Dead. Bautista's character in Army of the Dead is already getting an anime spinoff series at Netflix to tell his backstory. And as for Guardians 3, franchise director James Gunn said that Vol. 3 will probably be his last and it will likely be the last Guardians movie with the "current team." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dune-movie-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who highly recommends the movie Fighting With My Family starring Florence Pugh. Really underrated wrestling movie.

After the indulgent Monster Hunter Rise Tokyo Game Show presentations and our developer interview, we've already learned multiple details about the next Nintendo Switch Monster Hunter. Out of all of these, there's one detail that will continue to affect all Monster Hunter games, at least for the near future: Monster Hunter games with subheads, like World and Rise, are the new norm for the series, with numbered games no longer preferred. In an interview with Monster Hunter Rise producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yasunori Ichinose (which you can learn more about in the video above), Tsujimoto said each new game is based around a specific theme or concept, and they decided that it would be better to give new Monster Hunters a title that reflects their focus – for example, World’s introduction of large, open areas, and Rise’s emphasis on verticality. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/6-hype-monster-hunter-rise-details-and-2-letdowns"]

Specifically, I asked if Rise and World were examples of a new normal naming convention, and if we were done with numbered Monster Hunters. Tsujimoto responded with: “Yeah… Each new game is based around a specific theme or concept, and we decided that it would be better for the players to understand what kind of, what the game is about, if we give the game a title that reflects what it's about rather than just a number. So yes, we will be doing this in the future as well."

Though we can't be completely certain numbered Monster Hunters are permanently put to rest, expect more descriptive titles in the near future.

For more on Monster Hunter Rise, read about Monster Hunter Rise's Skippable Cutscenes and More New Details we learned in our full interview, and watch the Monster Hunter Rise Tokyo Game Show gameplay presentation above.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=new-monster-hunter-rise-screenshots-oct-2020&captions=true"]

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Casey DeFreitas is an Editor at IGN who loves monster hunting, slaying, and catching. Catch her on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD.

After the indulgent Monster Hunter Rise Tokyo Game Show presentations and our developer interview, we've already learned multiple details about the next Nintendo Switch Monster Hunter. Out of all of these, there's one detail that will continue to affect all Monster Hunter games, at least for the near future: Monster Hunter games with subheads, like World and Rise, are the new norm for the series, with numbered games no longer preferred. In an interview with Monster Hunter Rise producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yasunori Ichinose (which you can learn more about in the video above), Tsujimoto said each new game is based around a specific theme or concept, and they decided that it would be better to give new Monster Hunters a title that reflects their focus – for example, World’s introduction of large, open areas, and Rise’s emphasis on verticality. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/06/6-hype-monster-hunter-rise-details-and-2-letdowns"]

Specifically, I asked if Rise and World were examples of a new normal naming convention, and if we were done with numbered Monster Hunters. Tsujimoto responded with: “Yeah… Each new game is based around a specific theme or concept, and we decided that it would be better for the players to understand what kind of, what the game is about, if we give the game a title that reflects what it's about rather than just a number. So yes, we will be doing this in the future as well."

Though we can't be completely certain numbered Monster Hunters are permanently put to rest, expect more descriptive titles in the near future.

For more on Monster Hunter Rise, read about Monster Hunter Rise's Skippable Cutscenes and More New Details we learned in our full interview, and watch the Monster Hunter Rise Tokyo Game Show gameplay presentation above.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=new-monster-hunter-rise-screenshots-oct-2020&captions=true"]

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Casey DeFreitas is an Editor at IGN who loves monster hunting, slaying, and catching. Catch her on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD.

Just before Fall Guys came out, we discussed the creation of one of its hardest games, Slime Climb, with lead game designer Joe Walsh and junior level designer Joseph “JJ” Juson. Two months later, as we approach the release of Fall Guys Season 2, we invited the pair back to talk through a level that might just take Slime Climb’s crown. Yesterday, we were pleased to exclusively reveal a new level, Knight Fever, and you can watch footage of it in action below. But what went into creating this medieval gauntlet of spikes, scythes and drawbridges? This is how Mediatonic created Knight Fever, your new favourite level to fear. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/05/fall-guys-season-2-exclusive-knight-fever-level-reveal"]

What Is Knight Fever?

Joseph “JJ” Juson: Knight Fever is, I guess, familiar in a sense that it's a race level. It's one of our big 60-player, race-to-the-finish-line, be top 75% [events]. We knew that this was going to be dropping after people had got to grips with these kinds of levels, and had got quite good at them, and so we thought, “Let's make one for these players who've conquered everything else so far and do a really hard version of that.” On a smaller scale, we have a lot of new obstacles in Season 2, and a lot of these are showcased in this level. So we have rotating spike logs, and we have these scythes that swing really fast, and we have these massive log swings with spikes on them that are trying to get you. So when we were looking at this level, it was really about, “How can we show these off in a difficult way, and also in a way where it's back-to-back obstacles?” I think, more than our other races, you can fall off at any point – there are some bits that I still find really hard and I'm falling off all the time.

The Inspiration

Joe Walsh: There are just a couple of obstacles in game shows that we'd seen when we were researching Fall Guys in general. One of the things we looked at is Richard Gere in The First Knight – he goes through this epic swinging obstacle course of swinging scythes and that was in our brains, like, "That's pretty good. We should probably use that." Then the other one is this TV show called Raven that used to exist back in the day, and it had this thing called The Way Of The Warrior, where the person who was rubbish at Raven would get a go at completing this obstacle course in order to qualify. For those who don't know, it's a kids’ TV show with a high fantasy style and an amazing Scottish host. It's just a great obstacle course with some really scary-looking obstacles. I think we just had really good ideas for medieval obstacles that felt too good to put into the launch game, because it felt like we could do a whole season just around medieval stuff. Knight Fever is like a greatest hits of all of our favorite medieval obstacles from these shows that we like. [caption id="attachment_2417405" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Knight Fever concept layout.[/caption]

The Concept

JJ: The first step of working on a level like this was basically taking those obstacles and brainstorming around different sections that would fit them. There are some obstacles where it feels very natural, what you're going to be doing with them. The scythe for example – at least to start with, you're going to be running through a row of these scythes. And then it was kind of like, “OK, well how do we make that interesting? How do we make that feel like Fall Guys?” Because we obviously still want it to feel like it's a game show, and this is an obstacle course. So, I spent a few days doing that and put together a document of some ideas for sections with these obstacles. The obstacle designs were so good that it was like they kind of made themselves. We realized quite early that there was a lot of balancing, basically. You're either running along a beam and avoiding scythes, or you're running along a beam and avoiding the swinging log, or you're running across this spike log and it's like, “OK, well it's a bit overboard on balancing, that's all you're doing.” So we then took it back a little bit and looked at different ways to use these obstacles that weren't necessarily just about staying on a tight beam. One of the things I knew, even actually before we started, probably before we even had the obstacles, was I knew that I wanted a drop halfway through the level, like a slimy drop. Kind of reversed to the end of Hit Parade where you're going up and there are the things moving across – let's give people the opportunity to just go down as a fun moment halfway through. So that kind of forms the basis of the structure. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3840"] Knight Fever's obstacles.[/caption] Once we had that on paper and we were happy with that, we went into the blocking out phase and I would make these sections separately. It's an interesting way to make a level, especially a level like this that’s pretty big and quite long – you have no idea how any of the sections are really going to play or feel until you have the whole thing together. I could go down that little slide on its own and it's like, "Well, great. Does it feel like I earned that in the level and does it feel like it's actually fun in conjunction with the other stuff?” So you have to make it all to then know if these sessions are going to work. We had one section, which had these giant logs swings, and it was kind of like a maze that you would be going through, under the log swings. On paper it looked quite cool, it felt like you'd be able to make some interesting choices and jump across. Then when I actually got in the [level] editor, it probably should have been something I saw before, but the log swings were just hitting each other, because they were massive and there was no space. It was so cramped and it just didn't really work as a section. I was playing around with it a bit, but I think you get that inherent feeling now, I think having worked on these levels for a long time, you just know, “This doesn't Fall Guys and it's not going to work.” I think we realized, we don't need that many because they're so big and so tricky to get past, that two is enough. So we have this massive half pipe with loads of holes in it, and you've got to avoid these giant log swings. I think it's much more enjoyable than the original section we wanted to make. Joe: [Knight Fever] is more of a skill check, I think. It's definitely harder and I think it creates this nice image of storming the castle, which is something we talked about really early on – we wanted the finish line to be these two big crenelated towers and it's like a hoard of badly dressed, wacky, overweight Fall Guys charging through. It just seemed like the right thing and we wanted to, just for this one at least, really funnel players together and have them getting in each other's way and tripping over each other and stuff like that. [caption id="attachment_2417404" align="alignnone" width="3000"] Knight Fever concept art.[/caption]

The Future

JJ: I think when you think you've mastered how to make a Fall Guys level, it changes because people master this stuff and get better at it and are like, "Well, where's the new challenge? What's the next new thing for me to tackle in this game?" Part of [dealing with] that is we've been doing this level variation stuff where we've got different versions of the levels we know. I think having these new obstacles, the Season 2 drop isn't the end of how we can use this stuff. It just gives us a really good platform for the future. Joe: I do think we're asking more of players with Season 2, for sure – both in these levels and then later on when we bring these obstacles elsewhere in the game – I think it's going to be really exciting to see people try and master these ones. JJ: If every race level was as hard as Knight Fever, I don't think the game would be as fun as it is, but I think when you can sprinkle this into the mix of levels that are already there, you really give different play styles and different people the opportunity to shine or have fun – I think that's really cool. One of the things we're thinking about when we're making our levels now, which is different, is how we’re going to remix this more down the line. We know exactly how the system works and we know what's fun. We know what people like. I think the thrill of it is those surprises, moments that you didn't expect to see in this level because you know it so well. So we definitely want to keep this level fresh – we're leaving these sections, giving them more space to be able to play with in the future. [caption id="attachment_2417406" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Knight Fever in action.[/caption] Joe: I dread to think what you've got up your sleeve for Knight Fever remixes down the line. JJ: There's some really good stuff. I'm a bit obsessed with Big Yeetus as well, because it always feels inherently fun to jump into a hammer and get flown across a map. But now it's like, how can we do this in a different way? How can we give players who care more about finishing in style than just finishing? Yeah, that's really exciting. Fall Guys Season 2 will be released on Thursday, October 8. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Just before Fall Guys came out, we discussed the creation of one of its hardest games, Slime Climb, with lead game designer Joe Walsh and junior level designer Joseph “JJ” Juson. Two months later, as we approach the release of Fall Guys Season 2, we invited the pair back to talk through a level that might just take Slime Climb’s crown. Yesterday, we were pleased to exclusively reveal a new level, Knight Fever, and you can watch footage of it in action below. But what went into creating this medieval gauntlet of spikes, scythes and drawbridges? This is how Mediatonic created Knight Fever, your new favourite level to fear. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/05/fall-guys-season-2-exclusive-knight-fever-level-reveal"]

What Is Knight Fever?

Joseph “JJ” Juson: Knight Fever is, I guess, familiar in a sense that it's a race level. It's one of our big 60-player, race-to-the-finish-line, be top 75% [events]. We knew that this was going to be dropping after people had got to grips with these kinds of levels, and had got quite good at them, and so we thought, “Let's make one for these players who've conquered everything else so far and do a really hard version of that.” On a smaller scale, we have a lot of new obstacles in Season 2, and a lot of these are showcased in this level. So we have rotating spike logs, and we have these scythes that swing really fast, and we have these massive log swings with spikes on them that are trying to get you. So when we were looking at this level, it was really about, “How can we show these off in a difficult way, and also in a way where it's back-to-back obstacles?” I think, more than our other races, you can fall off at any point – there are some bits that I still find really hard and I'm falling off all the time.

The Inspiration

Joe Walsh: There are just a couple of obstacles in game shows that we'd seen when we were researching Fall Guys in general. One of the things we looked at is Richard Gere in The First Knight – he goes through this epic swinging obstacle course of swinging scythes and that was in our brains, like, "That's pretty good. We should probably use that." Then the other one is this TV show called Raven that used to exist back in the day, and it had this thing called The Way Of The Warrior, where the person who was rubbish at Raven would get a go at completing this obstacle course in order to qualify. For those who don't know, it's a kids’ TV show with a high fantasy style and an amazing Scottish host. It's just a great obstacle course with some really scary-looking obstacles. I think we just had really good ideas for medieval obstacles that felt too good to put into the launch game, because it felt like we could do a whole season just around medieval stuff. Knight Fever is like a greatest hits of all of our favorite medieval obstacles from these shows that we like. [caption id="attachment_2417405" align="alignnone" width="1600"] Knight Fever concept layout.[/caption]

The Concept

JJ: The first step of working on a level like this was basically taking those obstacles and brainstorming around different sections that would fit them. There are some obstacles where it feels very natural, what you're going to be doing with them. The scythe for example – at least to start with, you're going to be running through a row of these scythes. And then it was kind of like, “OK, well how do we make that interesting? How do we make that feel like Fall Guys?” Because we obviously still want it to feel like it's a game show, and this is an obstacle course. So, I spent a few days doing that and put together a document of some ideas for sections with these obstacles. The obstacle designs were so good that it was like they kind of made themselves. We realized quite early that there was a lot of balancing, basically. You're either running along a beam and avoiding scythes, or you're running along a beam and avoiding the swinging log, or you're running across this spike log and it's like, “OK, well it's a bit overboard on balancing, that's all you're doing.” So we then took it back a little bit and looked at different ways to use these obstacles that weren't necessarily just about staying on a tight beam. One of the things I knew, even actually before we started, probably before we even had the obstacles, was I knew that I wanted a drop halfway through the level, like a slimy drop. Kind of reversed to the end of Hit Parade where you're going up and there are the things moving across – let's give people the opportunity to just go down as a fun moment halfway through. So that kind of forms the basis of the structure. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="3840"] Knight Fever's obstacles.[/caption] Once we had that on paper and we were happy with that, we went into the blocking out phase and I would make these sections separately. It's an interesting way to make a level, especially a level like this that’s pretty big and quite long – you have no idea how any of the sections are really going to play or feel until you have the whole thing together. I could go down that little slide on its own and it's like, "Well, great. Does it feel like I earned that in the level and does it feel like it's actually fun in conjunction with the other stuff?” So you have to make it all to then know if these sessions are going to work. We had one section, which had these giant logs swings, and it was kind of like a maze that you would be going through, under the log swings. On paper it looked quite cool, it felt like you'd be able to make some interesting choices and jump across. Then when I actually got in the [level] editor, it probably should have been something I saw before, but the log swings were just hitting each other, because they were massive and there was no space. It was so cramped and it just didn't really work as a section. I was playing around with it a bit, but I think you get that inherent feeling now, I think having worked on these levels for a long time, you just know, “This doesn't Fall Guys and it's not going to work.” I think we realized, we don't need that many because they're so big and so tricky to get past, that two is enough. So we have this massive half pipe with loads of holes in it, and you've got to avoid these giant log swings. I think it's much more enjoyable than the original section we wanted to make. Joe: [Knight Fever] is more of a skill check, I think. It's definitely harder and I think it creates this nice image of storming the castle, which is something we talked about really early on – we wanted the finish line to be these two big crenelated towers and it's like a hoard of badly dressed, wacky, overweight Fall Guys charging through. It just seemed like the right thing and we wanted to, just for this one at least, really funnel players together and have them getting in each other's way and tripping over each other and stuff like that. [caption id="attachment_2417404" align="alignnone" width="3000"] Knight Fever concept art.[/caption]

The Future

JJ: I think when you think you've mastered how to make a Fall Guys level, it changes because people master this stuff and get better at it and are like, "Well, where's the new challenge? What's the next new thing for me to tackle in this game?" Part of [dealing with] that is we've been doing this level variation stuff where we've got different versions of the levels we know. I think having these new obstacles, the Season 2 drop isn't the end of how we can use this stuff. It just gives us a really good platform for the future. Joe: I do think we're asking more of players with Season 2, for sure – both in these levels and then later on when we bring these obstacles elsewhere in the game – I think it's going to be really exciting to see people try and master these ones. JJ: If every race level was as hard as Knight Fever, I don't think the game would be as fun as it is, but I think when you can sprinkle this into the mix of levels that are already there, you really give different play styles and different people the opportunity to shine or have fun – I think that's really cool. One of the things we're thinking about when we're making our levels now, which is different, is how we’re going to remix this more down the line. We know exactly how the system works and we know what's fun. We know what people like. I think the thrill of it is those surprises, moments that you didn't expect to see in this level because you know it so well. So we definitely want to keep this level fresh – we're leaving these sections, giving them more space to be able to play with in the future. [caption id="attachment_2417406" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Knight Fever in action.[/caption] Joe: I dread to think what you've got up your sleeve for Knight Fever remixes down the line. JJ: There's some really good stuff. I'm a bit obsessed with Big Yeetus as well, because it always feels inherently fun to jump into a hammer and get flown across a map. But now it's like, how can we do this in a different way? How can we give players who care more about finishing in style than just finishing? Yeah, that's really exciting. Fall Guys Season 2 will be released on Thursday, October 8. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

Capcom featured Monster Hunter Rise prominently at Tokyo Game Show, with not one, but two 20-minute gameplay demos with developer commentary. After that showcase, we had the opportunity to interview Monster Hunter Rise producer Ryozo Tsujimoto and director Yasunori Ichinose, and learned even more.

Here is some of the most important new information about Monster Hunter Rise for the Nintendo Switch, from skippable cutscenes to how Capcom is handling Nintendo Switch Online.

1. The New Normal Naming Convention

This is more of a big picture detail, but you should know Monster Hunter games with subheads, like World and Rise, are the new norm.

Tsujimoto said each new game is based around a specific theme or concept, and they decided that it would be better to give new Monster Hunters a title that reflects their focus – for example, World’s introduction of large, open areas, and Rise’s emphasis on verticality.

Specifically, I asked if Rise and World were examples of a new normal naming convention, and if we were done with numbered Monster Hunters. Tsujimoto responded with: “Yeah… Each new game is based around a specific theme or concept, and we decided that it would be better for the players to understand what kind of, what the game is about, if we give the game a title that reflects what it's about rather than just a number. So yes, we will be doing this in the future as well."

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2. Rise Is “Very Much Its Own Unique Thing”

Though it has shared similarities with Monster Hunter World, Tsujimoto and Ichinose insisted it’s “very much its own unique thing” and “not just a carbon copy of World.”

Ichinose was the director for Monster Hunter Generations, and had been wanting to make a new portable Monster Hunter, which he began working on largely in tandem with Monster Hunter World - this game became what we now know as Monster Hunter Rise.

“If you try out the game, I'm sure you will notice that it is very much its own unique thing,” Ichinose said. “We have some of the same quality of life improvements [as Monster Hunter World], but it is very much focused on the Switch as a platform.”

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As for whether Rise “feels” more like World or a more classic Monster Hunter like Generations, Ichinose said "there are elements from Generations and from World, but, [Rise is] going to have its own unique, new things as well. Some of which we are not allowed to talk about yet. So there's a lot to look forward to."

Ichinose also said that Rise will certainly feel like a Monster Hunter, and every game in the series has to meet those standards as not to alienate fans. With that in mind, any experience from any past game, whether it's World, Generations, or an older Monster Hunter game, will prepare you for a new game in the series.

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3. Single-Player and Multiplayer Quests are Separated

If you’ve only played Monster Hunter World, you'll be used to the idea that all key quests can be completed either solo or with friends. But in previous Monster Hunters, there was a separation between the two playstyles, with single-player quests accepted in the “Village Hub” and multiplayer quests accepted in a “Gathering Hub”-like location.

This more traditional method of quest separation returns in Monster Hunter Rise – but don’t worry, single-player progression won’t affect your ability to progress in multiplayer quests and vice versa. However, past Monster Hunters did require players to progress the single-player campaign in order to unlock certain features and facilities, and we don’t know if this is the case for Rise just yet. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-monster-hunter-review&captions=true"]

4. Monster Hunter Rise’s Cutscenes Can Be Skipped

In Monster Hunter Rise, cutscenes are skippable in both multiplayer and single-player. This means they will no longer create a barrier to joining multiplayer quests, like they did in World.

“We made sure not to put too many restrictions on that,” Ichinose explained. “...So, you can play with anyone you want. The only restrictions that are in place are your Hunter Rank [your character level in multiplayer].”

Thankfully, you will always be able to rewatch these cutscenes at your leisure, even if you do choose to skip them initially.

5. No, Monster Hunter Rise Is Not Inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

In Monster Hunter Rise you can climb and explore pretty freely, so it’s not hard to make comparisons to another familiar and explosively popular Nintendo Switch game. I’m sure Ichinose and Tsujimoto have heard this comparison quite a bit already, because they burst out laughing when I asked if Rise was inspired at all by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But contrary to what people might think, Breath of the Wild isn’t the inspiration behind Rise, as the team has wanted to create a Monster Hunter with a lot more freedom of movement ever since they completed Generations – which was released in 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS.

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“[Monster Hunter games] already had a lot of exploration elements to them, and we basically wanted to build on that. We wanted to give the player even more freedom to move around,” Ichinose said.  “Just moving around alone is going to be a lot more fun in this game.”

As far as how this freedom of movement affects combat, I was told “it doesn’t mean that you have to use the Wirebug during the battle, but monsters’ attacks have different variations, and depending on where the hunter is, there are monsters that will change their attack methods.”

So don’t expect to be able to cheese monsters too badly by taking advantage of being able to traverse walls. Ichinose also said, “We hope that players enjoy having the freedom to do various actions by using the Wirebug.”

6. All About the Wirebug (and More Surprises to Come)

In both the trailers and TGS gameplay, we've been able to see quite a few flashy new attacks made possible by consuming the Wirebug gauge. These attacks remind me of Generations’ Hunter Arts – however, Ichinose explained that while Hunter Arts were mostly used as a “sort of special moment that could only be used occasionally because of long cooldowns,” the Wirebug attacks are something they “actively want players to use during combat in between attacks to make new combos.”

Also unlike Hunter Arts, these Wirebug attacks are not customizable.  However – here comes the exciting part – there are other new elements regarding actions that they can't talk about yet. They said to please look forward to that. (And as a bonus detail about combat, they told me there would be no armor skills that augment the Wirebug’s abilities.)

7. Icons Are Being Adapted to Suit the Nintendo Switch’s Small Screen

I must admit, I didn't actually notice this myself, but I did see plenty of buzz around it online – and like me, the director and producer were surprised that so many people were talking about it:  the change in the antidote icon. In previous Monster Hunter games, the antidote icon looked exactly like a potion except it was blue. However, in Monster Hunter Rise it has a totally different shape. This is because they are adapting some icons to be more legible on the smaller screen of the Switch. As a result, they've been looking over existing icons and fixing them to suit the Switch as necessary, like Bowgun ammo as well.

8. NintenDon’t Voice Chat

Speaking of adapting for the Nintendo Switch (and unfortunately moving on to the “not so hype” part of this list),  there will be no voice chat on the Nintendo Switch or on the Switch mobile app. This is pretty much the norm when it comes to Nintendo Switch games, however I can't help but be a bit disappointed. When asked to elaborate as to why, they said they "cannot comment on Nintendo Switch hardware features."

Instead, you will be able to input messages, create quick commands, post stickers, and use gestures in order to communicate with your fellow hunters. Capcom also confirmed a Nintendo Switch Online subscription would be required to play online multiplayer.

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9. Prowler Mode Is Not Returning

Finally, one final bit of mildly disappointing news we learned is that the Prowler mode, which let you play as a felyne in Generations, will not be returning in Monster Hunter Rise. But hey, at least you can play with your adorable Palicos and Palamutes by your side instead!

Of course, we learned a ton more than that during the gameplay videos shown at Tokyo Game Show – like how you won't need paintballs or scout flies to track monsters in Rise. You can read more about what we learned during TGS in Monster Hunter Rise: Gameplay Shows Off New Abilities, Combat and More or watch in the presentation above.

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Casey DeFreitas is an Editor at IGN who loves monster hunting, slaying, and catching. Catch her on Twitter @ShinyCaseyD.