PlayStation VR2
Sony’s long-awaited PS VR2 is finally on sale, which is not a small number, but the enthusiasm of players to buy is still very high, I consulted the local Sony flagship store, four days after the opening of the store has sold dozens of sets, the store also did not leave the prototype, but the store’s PS specialist contributed the set of self-purchase, for players to try out the store.
PS VR’s two generations are almost six years apart, the second generation of hardware quality to enhance the strong (Sony has a very detailed description of the document, not here to repeat), although with the Meta Quest 2 and other contemporaneous, independently run devices, there are still some gaps in the operating experience, but PS VR’s approach is different, after all, will be backed by a huge host of game content ecology to grow, and see Sony later in the The PS VR2 debut game lineup, in addition to a few killer exclusives such as Horizon Call of the Mountain, the remaining three dozen have mostly landed on other mainstream VR hardware platforms, the virtuous cycle begins when more Call of the Mountain faster. The virtuous cycle will begin with more Call of the Mountain coming sooner.
Hogwarts Legacy
The 3A game based on the Harry Potter novels was rumored to be in development as early as 2018, and after two rounds of jumping the gun, it was finally officially launched this year. The game is developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros. Games, which used to be part of Disney and focused on making Disney Infinity and other Disney IP-based adaptations in recent years, and was later acquired by the latter in 2017, and Hogwarts Legacy is the first game from Avalanche Software. The Legacy of Hogwarts is Avalanche Software’s first independent production after entering the Warner system, and is probably the developer’s largest work to date.
The game adopts the ARPG style, and the stage is, as the title suggests, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, except that this time the story takes place more than 100 years before Harry and the others were active, and the development team chose this time to avoid as much as possible some of the “heroes” that fans of the series are familiar with The development team chose this time is to avoid as far as possible some series of novels fans familiar with the “hero” role, in order to make the player more play the main character, located in the center of the stage feeling. One of the core elements of the game is to recreate the school life of Hogwarts – which of course contains some kind of intrigue and awaits players’ adventures, and many of the classroom, social and leisure aspects depicted in the Harry Potter novels and movies are presented in The Legacy of Hogwarts (e.g., designed as QTE missions), and players’ abilities to create their own characters are enhanced in the process; in the remarkable In terms of magic performance, the development team has encapsulated the magic familiar to fans into a single active and passive skill, presenting the instant battle aspect of magic against magic in a more enjoyable way.
The game has been selling quite brilliantly since its release, and I personally think it should have exceeded the expectations of the publisher and the development team, because from the series of news after the release, it seems that Warner and Avalanche Software did not plan ahead for the follow-up Harry Potter game (nor did they say anything after revealing the shocking sales), which shows that the producer did not do enough to prepare for the success of Hogwarts’ But the enthusiasm of Harry Potter IP fans around the world has certainly raised the possibility of a sequel and market expectations – and the debate over J.K. Rowling may be a long time coming.
Atomic Heart
In case you’ve forgotten – or find it hard to believe – Atomic Heart was first announced in May 2018 and was said to be ready for release within the year. Back then, Atomic Heart became a major industry sensation with its eye-catching design, depicting an adventure set in a parallel world, the Soviet Union, where Soviet-developed robots became a key element in filling the global labor shortage after World War II, and Soviet scientists developed an artificial intelligence that could connect to every robot. The protagonist, who is a member of KGB, will try to save the world by entering the danger zone with the help of surviving “benevolent” neurotechnology.
Atomic Heart is the first work of developer Mundfish, and the publicity for this work has gone to great lengths to boast of the game’s impressive results in terms of art design and graphics, which made me worry that the game would not meet the expectations of the player community on the inside; in fact, the feedback from the press and community after the game’s release unfortunately confirms this, but what I did not anticipate was that Atomic Heart I didn’t anticipate that Mundfish would insist on releasing such a playful Soviet title at a sensitive time for the entire world, given the changes in the external world during the years of its development.
However, after combing through the developer’s background information, Atomic Heart’s attitude of not shying away from controversy is not difficult to understand: Mundfish’s most important investor is the Russian investment institution GEM Capital (the latter’s founder used to work for a Russian backbone state-owned enterprise), Tencent, War Thunder’s developer Gaijin Entertainment also participated in Mundfish’s Series B funding in 2021; prior to the current round of geopolitical conflict, Mundfish had already moved its headquarters to Cyprus with the help of investors, and according to some reports online, Mundfish revised its company profile after the fight, stating instead that the company’s development team consisted of creative people from ten countries around the world. Nine countries other than Russia are listed immediately afterwards.
WILD HEARTS
EA launched a game incubation brand called EA Originals in 2017, where EA funds and publishes development teams (mainly indie developers), and any additional revenue generated from sales will be fully enjoyed by the development teams after EA recoups its investment through the final game product. The brand has incubated works such as “Unravel”, “A Way Out” and “It Takes Two”, and now Omega Force, a division of Glorious Tecumseh, has become another major player under EA Originals with its new title “Wild at Heart”.
From the promotional material, it is easy to give people familiar with related works two major impressions: one is that its overall content framework is very similar to CAPCOM’s Monster Hunter (MONSTER HUNTER) series, and the second is that this work also seems to mix some Fortnite (Fortnite) construction elements. In fact this is not the first time that Glorious Tkuma and Omega Force have tried to benchmark Monster Hunter, many “true hunters” will not forget the 2013 Sony handheld work “Toukiden”, and today the “Toukiden” bloodline is flowing again in “Wild at Heart”. Despite the overall similarity to Monster Hunter, the development team has not forgotten to try to inject differentiating features, such as the “Karakuri” mechanic that allows players to build auxiliary combat devices on the battlefield, and the huge, flamboyant and fantastical enemy design that tries to give players a relatively greater sense of oppression.
According to multiple sources, both EA and Omega Force seem to have high hopes for Wild Hearts as a new IP: on the one hand, the release of the 3A title Wild Hearts means that EA Originals is starting to transform its business from supporting independent developers and focusing on niche markets, and the performance of Wild Hearts is a clear indicator of the initial evaluation of the transformation. Good luck to Omega Force, who, according to The Verge’s interview with Omega Force, has only had one “pillar” in the family, Dynasty Warriors, for years.
OCTOPATH TRAVELER II
Divergent Traveler” still maintains the original lineup published by Square Enix and developed by Acquire, still has the iconic and upgraded “HD-2D” audio-visual style, still has the story pattern of eight different professional travelers alternating and intersecting with each other, and still maintains the turn-based combat commonly used in classic Japanese RPGs. Compared to the medieval stage of the previous game, this game has taken a step forward, and the story takes place in Solistia, the era of the first industrial revolution, and the main characters of this game are also the new eight.
For OCTOPATH TRAVELER II, the media’s view is relatively consistent: in addition to new story content, audiovisual further tuning, the second generation is very little difference from the first generation, which means that players worried about “Divergent Traveler” radical reform to “divergent paths” will feel safe, but those who look forward to the freshness may not be so excited.
Like a Dragon: Ishin!
The 2014 Dragon Among Men Vespa! According to an interview in 2022, Sega’s decision to remake this game was inspired by the success of Ghost of Tsushima, which made them smell the business opportunities of the Japanese samurai genre.
This work will be integrated into the “Dragon in the People” series so many years to explore the new experience, with better audio-visual level, allowing players to take on the role of the leader of the Restoration Sakamoto Ryoma, once again to enjoy the end of the Shogunate era in Japan, “Dragon in the People” style adventure story, which also means the style of outstanding ARPG combat, the city life in living color (this time in Kyoto instead of Kabukicho). However, from the feedback of the community, this remake seems to be less sincere in quality, HD does not cover every corner of the game, the old and new “in the same room” is embarrassing, but also very confused Sega, since they have revealed themselves to be with the “Soul of Tsushima” to bring up the heat, originally made is a high-definition reproduction rather than a brand new work, can not let themselves face some.