The sepia-soaked noir roster of Deadlock is packed with character, and characters it turns out—a total of 22 of them so far, with more in the murky future. There’s an argument for anything of them as the best Deadlock character, each having nuances that could fill a textbook: with four abilities per character, base and scaling attributes, and any number of ways to equip them from Deadlock’s packed item shop, the options are truly dizzying. We’ve all been there, when you’re new to a game and trying to get the lay of the land to decide which character you should try out, or have a really bad game and are left wondering—was it me, or is that big blue demon guy really strong?
Thankfully, between deep dives into strategy chats, tournament footage, community opinions, and hundreds of hours of gameplay, Deadlock’s pecking order is starting to take shape. RIsing from the foggy mists of MOBA island, down near hero shooter bay, a Deadlock tier list sits on an amorphous throne, prepared to guide your picks and remind you why you might be struggling in lane. Just remember that the team at Valve is tweaking Deadlock regularly, sometimes multiple times a week, so this list is as fluid as Viscous himself.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727922742_The-big-Deadlock-hero-tier-list-Who-is-dominating-Valves.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2024-10-03 01:26:022024-10-03 01:26:02The big Deadlock hero tier list: Who is dominating Valve’s new MOBA in the early days
Epic boss Tim Sweeney reckons we’re in the midst of a “generational change” in the videogame industry—one that’s going to see games like Fortnite stick their flag on top of a pile of (largely singleplayer) blockbuster corpses. But all he’s doing is repeating a fallacy that has been touted for years, with little evidence to back it up. The metaverse ain’t the future and singleplayer games will never stop coming.
“One of the manifestations [of that change] we’re seeing right now is that a lot of games are released with high budgets, and they’re not selling nearly as well as expected,” Sweeney said. “Whereas other games are going incredibly strong. What we’re seeing is a real trend where players are gravitating toward the really big games where they can play with more of their friends.”
(Image credit: Epic Games)
Now, to be fair to Sweeney, the picture he paints of the current state of the industry is not entirely inaccurate. We’ve witnessed a slew of high-profile flops and disappointments over the last year, most recently the actually-quite-good Star Wars Outlaws. And there’s no denying that Fortnite is a gargantuan powerhouse which, along with the likes of Roblox, demonstrates the popularity of not just multiplayer games, but social platforms.
It’s impossible to say “This is what gamers want”.
The videogame industry is a constantly evolving animal, and in the nearly four decades I’ve been gaming, it’s never sat still. It wasn’t all that long ago that PC gaming was allegedly dead, but now it’s the most vibrant platform around. I’ve watched the rise of MMOs, the downfall (and resurrection) of adventure games, the advent of MOBAs, and the massive impact of free-to-play and live service games. These aren’t generational changes, though, because the industry doesn’t evolve in spurts, it’s in constant flux. And it’s so vast now, that it’s impossible to say “This is what gamers want”.
Sweeney’s prediction implies that a certain type of gamer is going to die out and then be replaced by a younger kind of gamer who wants different things. But that’s absolute nonsense. The average gamer is approaching middle age: a demographic that largely isn’t catered to by Fortnite and Roblox. And while plenty of middle-aged gamers, myself included, are more than happy to play social games—sicko that I am, I’ve got three MMOs on the go at the moment—it’s actually a lot easier to make time for a game where I don’t even need to think about other humans.
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)
Time and time again, it’s proved to be foolish to pigeonhole gamers. Just look at EA. Back in 2010, EA Games’ then-president, Frank Gibeau, basically said the same thing Sweeney is saying now: “I firmly believe that the way the products we have are going they need to be connected online,” he said. “Online is where the innovation, and all the action, is at.” Singleplayer games “are finished” he thought. And that kind of thinking infected EA for a decade, resulting in things like BioWare’s most catastrophic flop, Anthem.
In a 2018 annual report, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot insinuated the same thing. “New releases now only represent a part of our business, which is now focused on long term engagement with players,” he said, before celebrating The Division, For Honor and Steep. The model he wanted to push was one that wasn’t dependent on new releases, but “developing numerous multiplayer games”. And yes, that has led to some successes. But it’s also given us Skull & Bones and Hyper Scape. Multiplayer games have just as many risks as singleplayer ones.
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These games fit into a more traditional multiplayer mould, of course, while Sweeney is more invested in securing the future of metaverse games—platforms not just for gaming, but also watching virtual concerts and advertising Star Wars. He says that the value of a game “grows in proportion to the number of your friends that you can connect to”, but that is only true for a very specific type of—usually younger—gamer. And there’s no guarantee they’ll keep wanting that one kind of game forever.
(Image credit: Ubisoft)
When I was a kid, Pogs were more popular than any videogame. But nobody thought kids only cared about physical games where they could slam colourful discs into other colourful discs, or that Pogs were going to transform the way we played games. Kids are mercurial, and eventually my colossal Pog collection just became a pile of cardboard rubbish. And while Fortnite almost certainly has an incredibly long life ahead of it, it would be a huge mistake to assume that it was going to define the future of videogames, or usher in the metaverse.
Nobody aside from Epic or the Roblox Corporation has really created anything of value that could be considered a metaverse.
Indeed, the metaverse is still largely considered a joke by normal people who haven’t thrown their fortunes at it. It’s a product of Covid-19 madness, like NFTs. Unless you’re a wealthy tech investor, you probably haven’t even thought about it once this year. And nobody aside from Epic or the Roblox Corporation has really created anything of value that could be considered a metaverse. With that in mind, you can’t even say they’re part of a trend. They’re just a couple of—albeit massively popular—games. If anything, they’re anomalies.
On Steam, six of the most currently played games are multiplayer affairs (if you include GTA 5), but they all fall into more traditional categories: MMOs, shooters and battle royales. None of this is evidence of a generational change. And Sweeney’s talk of big budget flops also ignores the notable success stories. Black Myth: Wukong, for instance, is an extremely conservative game in terms of its mechanics—it’s largely linear and staunchly singleplayer. And people went wild for it. Space Marine 2 is similarly extremely traditional and enjoyed a fantastic launch.
(Image credit: Game Science)
Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to be one of the biggest things in PC gaming, meanwhile, and that’s a year after launch. It’s a premium, mostly singleplayer game with none of the trapping of live service, and it couldn’t be further away from the metaverse. Its impact has placed it firmly in the middle of the gaming culture. So while, on their own, big singleplayer games might not draw in the same number of players as Fortnite, together they have a huge audience, and there are a lot more of them than there are metaverse experiments. This is not remotely a type of game that’s on its last legs.
Granted, a successful multiplayer live service game can generate a stupid amount of money, making them attractive propositions, but to create this consistent income endless development is required: constant patches, hotfixes, updates and expansions—year after year. And a huge amount of infrastructure is needed on top of that perpetual development cycle to cover things like cash shops, subscriptions and community support. This is not something most studios are set up to handle. And for every multiplayer hit, there are countless games left by the wayside, devoid of players or a future—most recently Concord, which Sony had a lot riding on. It’s an incredibly risky bet.
(Image credit: Firewalk Studios)
What is true is that expectations have risen, or at least changed, and there’s absolutely a malaise when it comes to the massive open-world games that continue to dominate our hobby. That’s just boredom, though, and not indicative of a dramatic shift in the way people play games. Developers of blockbuster games are going to need to go back to the drawing board and stop relying on the old stalwart tactics, but this has happened countless times before. Every genre starts as a novelty, we get sick of it, and developers adapt. This is simply business as usual.
So you can file Sweeney’s speech away in the same place you put all the over-the-top claims about how AI will improve everyone’s life or how we’ll be living on Mars in a few years. It’s just another CEO trying to usher in their ideal future by spouting a lot of rubbish.
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727886716_Fortnite-isnt-the-future-its-an-anomaly-and-Tim-Sweeney.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2024-10-02 17:17:042024-10-02 17:17:04Fortnite isn’t the future, it’s an anomaly, and Tim Sweeney is just another CEO wrongly predicting the death of big singleplayer games
Devolver will start publishing game adaptations of films, comics, TV shows and “cult heroes” under the label Big Fan, the company announced today. Like Devolver itself, Big Fan will focus on indie studios, which will presumably lead to more risky (or at least more realistically budgeted) adaptations. Think stuff like John Wick Hex, which was not coincidentally published by Devolver subsidiary Good Shepherd.
That may not result in more niche adaptations, mind: Big Fan is already “actively working” with some heavy-duty partners including Disney, Dark Horse Comics, Rebellion and Lionsgate, and the team has experience working on properties including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Blair Witch, Dune and more. Most of Big Fan is, in fact, Good Shepherd, just with a different name and a more focused mission statement.
“We believe (and have seen firsthand) that great games that propel existing franchises can offer a connection with a fan that only an interactive experience can offer,” Devolver’s announcement reads. “Independent games created in these universes can explore them in new and unexpected ways, and it’s our goal to raise the bar of what fans can expect.”
The announcement also, perhaps ill-advisedly, invites people to get in touch if they have any ideas. It doesn’t say they have to be good, so go nuts. (Since you’re listening, Big Fan, I think a Telltale Games approach to Curb Your Enthusiasm would be a multi-billion-dollar seller, and Larry David is definitely a “cult hero”.)
Some relevant titles formerly published by Good Shepherd or Devolver have now been relabeled under the Big Fan title, including the aforementioned John Wick Hex, but also Hellboy Web of Wyrd and Reigns: Game of Thrones. As for what Big Fan has in the pipeline, representatives from the studio confirmed with Gamesindustry.biz that there are six active projects.
Videogame adaptations of films, TV, comics—you name it—used to have the reputation of being soulless, half-assed cash-ins, but the last decade has seen a marked shift from that narrative: think the Arkham trilogy, the Spider-Man games, etc. Whether that’s because studios making film tie-ins have woken up to smell the daisies, or just that certain mass market entertainment properties have become more punishingly ubiquitous over the last two decades, is a subject up for separate debate.
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https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727850610_Devolver-has-a-new-label-dedicated-to-making-games-based.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2024-10-02 06:14:332024-10-02 06:14:33Devolver has a new label dedicated to making games based on comics, films, TV shows and ‘cult heroes’
Earlier today, Merriam-Webster announced that it’d added 200 new words and phrases to its online dictionary in its latest effort to maintain relevance in the arms race against the ever-changing English language. We can only guess at what arcane metrics and procedures Merriam-Webster follows to determine when and why a term is worthy of entering its record, but I do know this: “dungeon crawler” is in there now, and that’s pretty neat.
To paraphrase countless essayists who weren’t sure how to start their school papers: Merriam-Webster defines a “dungeon crawler” as “a videogame where the gameplay is primarily focused on defeating enemies while exploring a usually randomly generated labyrinthine or dungeon-like environment.” According to the dictionary, its first known use was in 1989, which—considering that people were making games like dnd and Moria back in the ’70s—seems a little late to me, but I’m not Merriam or Webster.
Other new additions range from foods like “burrata” and “capicola”—Tony Soprano would be thrilled—to media genre terms like “true crime” and “beach read.” Phrases like “nepo baby,” “cash grab,” and “late capitalism” round out the political and economic entries, which probably isn’t some kind of troubling omen.
“Our lexicographers monitor a huge range of sources to select which words and definitions to add,” said Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large for Merriam-Webster. “From academic journals to social media, these give us a very thorough view of the English language.”
I don’t envy Merriam-Webster’s task, given how quickly terms and phrases can be swept up in the maelstrom currents of our digital hellscape until they spill out into common parlance. The dictionary made a pretty quick turnaround on “touch grass,” though. You’ll probably want a screenshot of that one. I’m sure it’ll get plenty of use.
I am, of course, left wondering what videogame terms will hit the dictionary next. “FPS” and “MMORPG” have already gotten the Merriam-Webster treatment; if dungeon crawlers made it in, “roguelike” seems like a logical next step. Maybe a dictionary will be brave enough to tackle “immersive sim” or “Metroidvania” so we can finally put those arguments to bed.
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https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727814548_Dungeon-crawler-enters-the-Merriam-Webster-dictionary-alongside-touch-grass-and.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2024-10-01 21:14:462024-10-01 21:14:46‘Dungeon crawler’ enters the Merriam-Webster dictionary alongside ‘touch grass’ and 200 other new words and phrases
It feels like a long time ago when I stopped being surprised by bizarre promotional tie-ins. I think my breaking point might have been when Korn appeared in AdventureQuest 3D. Now Monster Hunter is getting a signature Fender guitar, which is the kind of thing usually reserved for iconic or highly-regarded players with a history of playing Fender guitars. You know, musicians like Jimi Hendrix.
As far as I know (and granted, I’ve only played three Monster Hunter games) the Rathalos is not known to play the guitar or any other instrument. That’s because the Rathalos is a monster, and not in the Gwar sense. And yet, here we are: the Monster Hunter Rathalos Telecaster is a collaboration model celebrating Monster Hunter’s 20th anniversary, and coming in 2025.
“The majestic presence of the Rathalos has been meticulously incorporated throughout the instrument with its icon on the body back and 12th fret inlay, the distinctive feather and flame patterns as well as the guild mark on the body front,” so reads Fender’s spiel. “From the original body color to tortoiseshell pickguard and black hardwares inspired by the dominating ferociousness of the Rathalos makes this a one-of-a-kind guitar.”
Here are some more pictures:
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Fender)
(Image credit: Fender)
(Image credit: Fender)
There’s no real reason why Fender shouldn’t make a Monster Hunter guitar I guess, but I probably would have opted for a Street Fighter Stratocaster, or a Resident Evil Jazzmaster. Maybe even an Ace Attorney Jaguar.
The Monster Hunter Telecaster will release in March 2025, just weeks after Monster Hunter Wilds hits Steam. The guitar will set you back $1,999 / £1,849 / AU$3,499, so better start saving.
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https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727778526_Monster-Hunter-will-get-its-own-Fender-guitar-in-2025.jpg8001200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2024-10-01 07:28:032024-10-01 07:28:03Monster Hunter will get its own Fender guitar in 2025, joining the hallowed company of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Yngwie Malmsteen
I liked the shared-world puzzle game Islands of Insight quite a bit when it came out in 2023, and so did some of my PC Gamer compatriots. Alas, it wasn’t able to find an audience, and today publisher Behaviour Interactive announced that, like so many other online games, the servers will be shut down at the end of August. But the good news is that even without remote servers, you’ll be able to keep on playing.
An offline mode was released in July that keeps the game world intact, with the same biomes, respawning puzzles, and daily quests, without requiring an internet connection. Social functionality isn’t available, of course, but that’s not really a huge loss because interactivity with other players was never all that great in Islands of Insight anyway—one of the notable weaknesses in an otherwise very good puzzle game.
Behaviour Interactive said at the time that the offline mode would “expand our play experience and provide more players with the opportunity to join us in the islands,” but that didn’t work out: As recorded by SteamDB, player counts have been in a long, slow decline after a giveaway the end of June brought in an all-time peak concurrent player count of 7,755.
And so, here we are. The final Islands of Insight update, set to roll out on October 30, “will permanently modify the game to be offline-only,” Behaviour said. “This will allow Islands of Insight to live on for all Seekers to find and enjoy, while we focus our efforts onto our next projects.”
Players have until October 30 to transfer their online progress to the offline version through a “Download Gameplay Progress” option in the account settings. Once that’s done, exit the game, restart, and choose “Play Offline” to continue where you left off.
No further content or bug fixes are planned for Islands of Insight, which left some players unhappy: As detailed in this Steam forum thread, the game’s offline mode writes saves at an extremely high frequency, causing performance issues on some PCs and also putting significant stress on SSDs. Publisher Behaviour Interactive has since edited the post to confirm that while no bug fixes are coming, “we are reducing the frequency of player position saving in response to community feedback about SSD wear and potential file corruption.”
So many games just dry up and blow away, leaving their players with nothing but memories and maybe a defunct Steam listing—it’s enough of a problem that the US state of California recently enacted a law requiring sellers to warn consumers that they don’t actually own the online games they buy. It sucks to lose online support and I really do wish Islands of Insight had been able to live up to its early promise, but I give full props to Behaviour and original developer Lunarch Studios for ensuring the game remains playable after the servers are gone.
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As for Lunarch, it’s got a new project in the works, although it’s not ready to fully reveal it just yet.
“Lunarch was not planning on posting anything today, but we saw many of our fans disappointed by this announcement, and several of you have reached out to us,” the studio wrote. “So we wanted to share a bit of what we’ve been secretly cooking up this year. Since March, Lunarch has been working on several upcoming projects. One of them is a new single-player logic puzzle game. It is unrelated to Islands of Insight, but features new creations by the same team of world-class puzzle designers that worked on IoI.
“We learned a tremendous amount working on Islands of Insight and are incredibly proud of the puzzles and the world we created. Please check back soon for future announcements.”
Hello everyone,I’m sure many of you have seen the “What’s next for Islands of Insight” announcement posted this afternoon by the IoI community team.Lunarch was not planning on posting anything today, but we saw many of our fans disappointed by this announcement, and several… pic.twitter.com/2DT0cQdDtgSeptember 30, 2024
https://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1727742433_Finally-an-online-game-shutting-down-the-right-way-Islands.jpg6751200Carlos Pachecohttps://gamingarmyunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Website-Logo-300x74.pngCarlos Pacheco2024-10-01 00:22:402024-10-01 00:22:40Finally, an online game shutting down the right way: Islands of Insight will close servers next month and ‘permanently modify the game to be offline-only’ so the promising puzzler can live on
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