Format - PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Developer - Deck Nine
Publisher - Square Enix
Origin - US
Release - 2021
Anyone could be forgiven for suffering from franchise fatigue – or expanded-universe exhaustion, perhaps – in recent times. Not least because the handful of monolithic corporations which exert something of a stranglehold on modern pop culture seem intent on prolonging the dominance of a single genre. It’s refreshing, then, to hear Philip Lawrence, senior narrative designer on the Life Is Strange series, insist that it isn’t interested in telling a superhero story. Its protagonists might well be able to call upon otherworldly abilities, but “we never want to stray into that kind of territory.” That shouldn’t come as a surprise, though – since day one, Life Is Strange has been created with a very different approach from most of today’s mega-franchises.
Each entry has its own protagonist, central power (or, in one case, no special skills at all) and story to tell, with no need to tie into any wider narrative arc. Yes, there might be nods to locations and characters from previous games, but each time we get a new, self-contained story with a beginning, middle and end, and no post-credits stings trailing the next release that must be watched to keep up with some broader plot. With one exception: 2017’s Before The Storm, in which original developer Dontnod Entertainment passed the reins to Colorado-based studio Deck Nine.
Esta historia es de la edición Christmas 2022 de Edge UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Christmas 2022 de Edge UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles
Anyone familiar with the concept of kitbashing is already halfway to understanding what Tomas Sala’s open-world builder is all about.
Children Of The Sun
René Rother’s acrid revenge thriller – an action game with its limbs broken and forcibly rearranged into the shape of a spatial puzzler – is at once a bonafide original and an unlikely throwback. Cast your eyes right and you wouldn’t blink if we told you this was a forgotten Grasshopper Manufacture game from the early PS3 era (we won’t be at all surprised if this finds a spot on Suda51’s end-of-year list).
Post Script
What does Rise Of The Ronin say for PS5 exclusivity?
Rise Of The Ronin
Falling in battle simply switches control to the next person up, and then quick revive fixes everything
Post Script
The pawn and the pandemic
Dragon's Dogma 2
The road from Vernworth to Bakbattahl is scenic but arduous. Ignore the dawdling mobs of goblins, and duck beneath the chanting harpies that circle on the currents overhead, and even moving at a hurried clip it is impossible for a party of four to complete the journey by nightfall.
BLUE MANCHU
How enforced early retirement eventually led Jonathan Chey back to System Shock
THE MAKING 0F.... AMERICAN ARCADIA
How a contrast of perspectives added extra layers to a side-scrolling platform game
COMING IN TO LAND
The creator of Spelunky, plus a super-group of indie developers, have spent the best part of a decade making 50 games. Has the journey been worth it?
VOID SOLS
This abstract indie Soulslike has some bright ideas