The sudden staff exodus at Annapurna Interactive caught most of us by surprise. We’re still sort of watching to see what the fallout is going to be. But whatever the outcome is, it’s thankfully not going to have an effect on Control 2, according to Thom?as Puha, communication direct at Remedy.

The worry comes from a previous announcement by the company that they are partnering with Annapurna Pictures to fund the sequel to 2019’s Control. The deal saw Annapurna Picture gain the rights to produce film or TV based on Control and Alan Wake in return for funding 50% of the development budget of Remedy’s Control 2.

As Puha points out, this deal was with Annapurna Pictures. And again, while we’re still waiting to hear what the ultimate outcome will be after the exodus of most of Annapurna Interactive’s staff, Puha is suggesting that it won’t affect Annapurna Pictures. Moreover, Remedy is self-publishing Control 2, so the fate of it?s release is tied to Remedy?? itself.

This should come as some relief for fans. Annapurna Interactive’s entire gaming division staff resigned following a failure of negotiations with the company’s founder, Megan Ellison, to spin the gaming division off to its own company. I’m still kind of processing the event myself because that’s an incredible failure of leadership. It remains to be seen if a completely new staff will be brought in or if the publisher will cease operation.  In the meantime, Ellison says, “Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition.â€?/p>

Coming so soon after Humble Games “restructuredâ€?/a> by laying off the entire staff and Adult Swim Games abruptly shutting down, itâ€??™s been an awful time for small-budget publishers and deve?lopers who rely on them. Oh, gosh. This has all been in 2024. What a year.

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Every staff member in Annapurna Interactive, the publisher behind games like Stray, Neon White, and Sayonara Wild Hearts, has collectively resigned following a leadership dispute, as originally reported by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg's reports highlight that Annapurna Interactive's president, Nathan Gary, had been negotiating with the company's founder, Megan Ellison, to turn the current gaming division into a se??parate company. The negotiations e??nded up falling through, with Ellison pulling out of the discussion and Gary resigning shortly after, resulting in mass resignations across the entirety of Annapurna Interactive's 25-person team.

"All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectiv?ely resigned,� Gary and the staff told Bloomberg in a joint statement. "This? was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly."

A spokes?person for Annapurna later confirmed to Bloomberg that a spinoff discussion was taking place. They'd failed to reach an agreement, leading to th?e division and all of its games staying under the Annapurna Pictures umbrella.

"Our top priority is continuing to support our developer and publishing partners during this transition," Ellison highlighted in a separate statement within Bloomberg's report. "We're committed to not only our existing slate of games but also expanding our presence in the interactive space as we continue to look for opportunities to take a more integr??ated approach to linear and interactive storytel?ling across film and TV, gaming, and theater."

Following ??the incident, Annapurna Interactive and game de?velopers working with them have been scrambling to figure out how this will affect their ongoing and upcoming projects. Since then, President of Interactive and New Media at Annapurna, Hector Sanchez, has reassured developers they'll "honor existing contracts and replace staff who have left," suggesting things will get back on track soon.

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Every day is a holiday if you have the right calendar, and August 8 is International Cat Day. That served up the perfect opportunity for Annapurna Interactive to announce a November 19, 2024 release date for the Nintendo Switch version of Stray.

The BlueTwelve Studio-developed adventu???????????????????????????re first launched on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam on July 19, 2022, with Xbox One and Xbox Series versions following in August. Now it's almost Nintendo's turn, and you can see a purrfect snapshot of what the game has to offer on Switch below.

For those who haven't checked it out yet, Stray makes for a unique little sci-fi journey, putting you in control of a brave little cat. With the help of a flying drone called B12, you're ??tasked with escaping a neon-ti??nged cybercity full of threats and on the verge of decay. 

Stray has picked up positive reviews and accolades since launch, including awards for Best Independent Game and Best Debut Indie Game at the 2022 Game Awards. While it didn't win, it was also up for Game of the Year at the same event. It was nominated for multiple BAFTA awards in 2023, as well, and took home a pair of wins at the 2023 NAVGTR (National Academy of Video Game Tr??ade Reviewers) Awards. 

We got our first look at the Switch version of Stray during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct. As far as ports go, other than being on a less powerful platform it doesn't seem as if there are any additional bells and whistles of note. On the other hand, much like those who have it o?n their Steam Deck, you'll now be able to explore the dystop??ian adventure on the go. That's precisely how a cat would prefer to play.

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Developer Ivy Road and publisher Annapurna Interactive revealed the developers debut title, Wanderstop, during Summer Game Fest 2024. Ivy Road, an outstanding development team full of talent, lead by the creator of The Stanley Parable Davey Wreden, is making a

In Wanderstop players will take on the persona of Alta, a fallen fighter, tasked with managing a tea shop in a magical forest. Players will tend to customers passing through the forest, making their tea and cleaning up and decorating ?the shop. But there's a catc?h: Alta doesn't want to be at the tea shop.

If you've played The Stanley Parable, you'll know that Alta's wandering mind and thoughts have her questioning why the world's greatest ch??ampionship warrior is toiling away at a Tea Shop in the middle of the forest. In the trailer, Alta sits on a bench, trying to convince herself she's happy running the Tea Shop before having a bit of a panic attack.

Quickly what looked like a happy cozy Tea Shop management title changed into something more. I'm not sure what exactly?? play??ers will have to contend with as playing Alta, but I'm very ready to find out.

Wanderstop is comi??ng soon to PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.

[This news is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.]

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Though much of PlayStation's success has come from its stable of first-party games, it has also benefitted from third-party titles that receive Sony's support. In an interview with Boardroom, S??hawne Benson, who is the global head of third-party portfolio and acquis?itions, shed some light on how some of these deals come about.

A typical workday will include meetings with prospective partners. During these meetings, it's not just the quality of the games that's considered. The team ?also has to ask whether the titles?? resonate with the PlayStation brand and appeal to its audience.

By the end of it, if a partnership is established, "it doesn’t always end with a traditional deal." Some partners a??re disappointed by this because they think it means t?hat the game isn't good. However, that's not the case at all.

One of the notable success stories when it comes to PlayStation supporting third-party teams is Stray. Released in 2022, the cyberpunk game has you pla?ying as a cat trying to find its way home. According to Benson, PlayStation's "team worked really closely with Annapurna Interactive and the development team behind it, BlueTwelve Studio" and guided them on how to make the most of the DualSense controller.

This guidance is important, as haptics give a layer of immersion when it comes to playing as a cat and feeling sensations such as a purr. Though PlayStation's team, which consists of 11 people, provides their input, they are sure to not tell partners how to make their games. They "just give them tips and tricks on ??how to be best on PlayStation."

While on the PS Plus catalog, Stray has "brought in the highest number of players that have accessed that title over the first 12 months" according to Nick Maguire, who is PlayStation's vice president and global head of subscriptions. Several other titles have received support from Sony with successful results, including games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

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BlueTwelve Studio's cat-centric action-adventure game Stray is about to venture into new territory. Publisher Annapurna Interactive's own Annapurna Animation is working on an animated adaptation of the material. The feature is in development, and it won't be the last from the stud??io's li?brary to receive such treatment.

Annapurna shared an update on its creative leadership, including the addition of Nimona co-director Nick Bruno and producer Julie Zackary. The only other project listed for development is Foo from Oscar-winning director Chris Wedge (Bunny, Ice Age). 

There isn't much in the way of further info on the adaptation of Stray. Beyond mentioning it as part of the?? slate, the press release says there are plans to "adapt more titles from their extensive Annapurna Interactive library."

[caption id="attachment_401984" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Annapurna Interactive[/caption]

The cat's pajamas

Considering Stray's relatively brief length, it seems like a solid fit for a film adaptation. BlueTwelve's futuristic feline fantasy launched on PlayStation consoles and PC in July 2022 before heading to Xbox platforms in August 2023. It garnered a lot of positive attention along the way. The story follows a stray cat as it prowls the streets of a walled city and attempts to unravel its mystery with the help of trusty drone B-12. How well the film will capture exploring a decaying cybercity through the eyes of a cat remains to be seen. 

Annapurna announced the launch of its animation division in December 2022, with former Disney Animation execs Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein on board. While we wait for more on Stray, you can catch the studio's adaptation of ND Stevenson's Nimona on Netflix. 

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Neon White gets physical

The indie hit Neon White earned itself a cult following after it launched in 2022. The developer, Angel Matrix, recently announced? that the game will be receiving a physical release soon. Depending on what version you buy, you can also expect a few extras.

[caption id="attachment_391922" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid.[/caption]

What you get with Neon White's physical edition

The physical editions for the PS5 and Nintendo Switch launch on September 12 this year. If you grab it at retail stores, you'll r??eceive a bonus 11 by 17 inches poster ??by Rebecca Ryan. It launches with a $39.99 price tag.

Pre-orders for exclusive ia??m8bit versions are availab?le for preorder. Both the Switch and PS5 versions include a physical copy of the game along with five anime-style "character peeker" stickers, music by Machine Girl, and a cover sheet by Rebecca Ryan. Both versions of the iam8bit exclusive cost $44.99, and they will be available in this year's fourth quarter.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmofCFI3JuQ

Xbox players shouldn't despair, as it appears a port is on the way. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted an ESRB rating for Neon White that includes the Xbox Series X/S, suggestin?g that developers haven't forgotten about the? platform.

For gamers looking for a unique FPS, Neon White is a criticall??y accl??aimed title worth checking out. This physical release comes at a time when studios are opting to not include physical versions of titles. This is the case with Remedy Entertainment which currently has no plans to release physical editions of Alan Wake 2.

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[Insert cat pun here]

Let your mind wander back to summer 2022. This period saw the release of a new Xenoblade Chronicles after five years of waiting. The anticipated reboot of Saints Row was a huge let-down for many. But among all these was BlueTwelve Studio's Stray, a dystopian-look??ing adventure game? that lets you control a cat lost in the city.

It was very well-received (in fact, we nominated it for Best PlayStation Game of 2022, putting it up against such titans as Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok), so you Xbox owners might be interested to know that ?Stray is coming to Series X/S o??n August 10. This information was revealed at the recent showcase for Annapurna Interactive, the publisher behind the game.

//twitter.com/Xbox/status/1674559605471412225

While we were pretty certain that Stray would be coming to Xbox, it's nice that it's finally been confirmed. What's interestin?g about this announcement is that it's also coming to Xbox One, so if you're still on previous-gen consoles, you're in luck.

Curiosity...did something to the cat

In an era of remasters, remakes, reboots, sequels, and preq??uels, the likes of Stray provide something a little different. I mean, who among us wouldn't want the chance to take control of a cat on an exciting (if somewhat gritty) adventure?

When it launched last year, it was available on PC and PlayStation, so a lot of you Xbox use?rs out there were probably hoping you'd get to play it at some poi??nt. The fact that the game hasn't been in the public eye much this year (if at all) means that this Xbox announcement could renew interest across the board.

So, just to reiterate: Stray will be available on the Xbox? Series X/S and Xbox One this August ?10.

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You can't go home (without a boss battle)

As part of the Annapurna Showcase 2023, the publisher has revealed that Thirsty Suitors will be arriving on November 2, 2023.

Initially revealed back in 2021, Thirsty Suitors is a stylish mash-up of so many things. Coming to us from developer Outerloop Games, it takes skateboarding, combat, and cooking and drops them into a slice-of-life casserole. “Battle your exes, disappoint your parents, find yourself,�the trailer says. Yeah, I can totally relate to all of those things on a nauseatingly deep ?level. It’s all about g??oing back home and seeing familiar faces again. That sounds like hell! Count me in!

//youtu.be/4LIj46_R62M

There’s a lot here, so it’s fortunate that Destructoid’s very own Eric “Peachfuzz�Van Allen went toe-to-toe with its demo last year. I’m still not entirely sure what to make of this whole thing, but Thirsty Suitors looks pretty awesome. It brings together relatable themes gussied up with some irresistible weirdness. I don’t know what I’m looking at, but I am entirely on board. There's currently a demo that you can check out if, l??ike me, you are curious about what this game has to of?fer.

Thirst Suitors relea?ses for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Swit??ch platforms November 2, 2023.

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One word or two?

As part of the Annapurna Showcase today, the publisher unveiled Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth. Alongside it, they’ve dropped a trailer that shows practically nothing, but I still want it righ?t n?ow.

Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth is coming from Annapurna Interactive’s internal development team. Set between the original movie and Blade Runner 2049. It occurs after the Great Blackout depicted in Blade Runner Black Out 2022. You’re cast as a retired Blade Runner who is doing�something.

//youtu.be/QCgmRTexkEU

Details are sparse! We see the aesthetics that make the franchise so memorable, and there’s some spooky narration, but not much else. That's good enough for me! The only additional details I can find are on the Steam page, which has the tags “Adventure,�“Exploration,�and “Investigation,�but nothing else really ?solid. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Dammit.

In the meantime, I can catch up on some of the Blade Runner flicks. I've only really watched the first film.

Blade Runner 2033: Labyrinth is currently slated for PC and “console.�There’s no ??release window, but it will?? probably be within the next decade. It would be really weird to see it actually released in 2033 or after.

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Take a walk on the wild side

Annapurna Interactive, the indie publisher renowned for its strange, unusual, and aesthetically pleasing properties, has announced that it will be throwing its own ??hat into the summer gaming s??tream ring. The studio will host its own special showcase presentation on Thursday, June 29.

While no titles have been specifically announced for the stream, Annapurna Interactive promises reveals and updates alongside one of its "biggest announcements yet". A short teaser trailer accompanying the showcase reveal features some of the studio's recent hits, including the dystopian kitty adventure Stray, the gorgeous sci-fi platformer Solar Ash, and the critically acclaimed smash hit Neon White. We do know that Silent Hill: Townfall will be in attendance during the presentation.

Whatever it has up its sleeve, we can be sure of a flurry of color and st??yle, as some of the most creative indie studios in gaming tod??ay show off the titles that they hope you will be playing over the course of the coming years. The Annapurna Interactive Showcase kicks off Thursday, June 29 at 12:00 PT / 15:00 ET / 20:00 BST. We will be sure to bring you all of the cool kids newz right here on Destructoid.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tgpdLrY6k8&ab?_channel=A?nnapurnaInteractive

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Kit-E-Kat... That's Livin'*

Annapurna's sci-fi kitty adventure Stray is seemingly headed to the Xbox platform, at least according to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which has uploaded a listing for a new port the award-winning dystopian ??tale, currently available on PlayStation and PC platforms.

First spotted by Twitter user MACOS380, (and reported thereafter by VGC), the ESRB rating all but confirms that the interesting and unique release will be headed to Xbox One and Xbox Series X at some point in the near future, bringing the futuristic feline's adventures to a wider audience. Annapurna Interactive is yet to announce an Xbox port of Stray, but the revelation of the rating may mean ?that one is imminent.

//twitter.com/MACOS380/status/1658387346520145924???s??=20

Released in the summer of 2022, Stray, sees the player guide an inquisitive kitty through a miserable walled city, devastated by an A.I. run amok and abandoned by all human citizens. Utilizing deft movement, adaptation, and ingenuity, the moggy embarks upon a quest to reach the surface of the city, aided by a robot drone, B-12, and threatened by the city's security droids and a mysterious, sentient bacteria known as "Zurk". Stray was praised on release for its world-building, animation, and uniqueness, as well as its ability to tell a deep ?and complex tale through minimal dialog??ue.

Stray is available rig?ht meow on PlayStation and PC platforms.

An Xbox version of Stray ha?s been rated by the ESRB [VGC]

_{*If you get this reference then you're old and British and my condolences.}

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Check out Abzû's chill older brother

If you've yet to play Giant Squid's gorgeous action-adventure title The Pathless, now's your chance, because it's finally getting a port to the Nintendo Switch and Xbox next week on February 2. The game is already available to play on pretty much every other platform, including PlayStation, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Apple Arcade. Porting it out to the two remaining major consoles will make The Pathless as widely accessible as it gets, which ??is a pretty big deal for?? an indie game.

//twitter.com/A_i/status/1618655130026393614

In the game, the player takes on the role of the Hunter, "a master archer who travels to a mystical island to dispel a curse of darkness that grips the world." There'?s an emphasis on smooth, acrobatic-like platforming and making slick trick shots alongside an eagle companion who will help you along on your journey. The game even offers some boss fights to add a bit of challenge, but overall, exp??loring the open world entirely uninhibited will lull you into a soothing flow state in no time.

Giant Squid is also the developer behind the calming diving game Abzû, and they've managed to further build upon their gameplay systems to create a relaxing yet engaging experience with The Pathless. If you're looking for a short experience to dive into for an evening, The Pathless is a great bet w??ith th?e average playthrough coming in at around five hours.

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Craft your own narrative in early 2023

As a fan of both literature and puzzle games, Storyteller has been one of my most anticipated games of the year. The game takes place in the pages of a storybook, and requires players to combine different elements like characters, settings, and objects to create coherent stories. There are multiple ways to solve each puzzle, making for some fun, creative, and challenging gameplay. Storyteller was first announced during last year's Annapurna Interactive Showcase, which showed off the basic mechanics of the game in a short trailer. After almost a year and a half of waiting, Annapurna finally announced Storyteller's official release date for Steam and Nintendo Switch: March 23, 2023.

While indie darling factory Annapurna Interactive is publishing Storyteller, the entire game was a made by a single developer, Daniel Benmergui. It's a simple premise for a game, but after playing the demo, I can say that it's impressively crafted and polished. Storyteller is by far the most quaint little ??puzzle game I've seen in a long time, and based on its engaging gameplay, I expect it will make a real name for itself as one of the most delightful releases of next year??.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwfI0L40480

Many of Storyteller's puzzles are based on classic stories like Romeo & Juliet, Dracula, the Biblical book of Genesis, and more, much to my delight as a former literary classics-focused English major. Aside from the time-looping take on Hamlet that is the 2019 adventure game Elsinore, and I can't think of many other games that draw on classic lit, but they really should. I would give anything for a Telltale-style narrative game based on John Steinbeck's East of Eden, or a Jane Austen-inspired dating simulator. We're always talking about the intersection between games and film, but I'm much more intrigued with games that take heavily from literature, like the beloved and elegantly-written Disco Elysium.

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Explore the universe in 4K

The magic and wonder of Outer Wilds gets a nice upgrade for newer console owners today. Outer Wilds and its DLC Echoes of the Eye are out now on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a free upgrade for owners on previous-gen cons????oles.

The space exploration adventure will run at native 60 FPS on the new hardware, with 4K support. Th??at's a whole lot of beautiful space pixels to blast into your eyes.

If you own the game on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One already, you can upgrade within your respective console family at no cost. Just use your respective digital storefront, either PlayStation or Xbox, to bump it up.

Otherwise, Outer Wilds is currently available for $24.99, with the Echoes of the Eye DLC running $14.99, or $39.99 for a bundled package. It's also on Game ????Pass, as of this writing.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMcTusNAc5w

A universe full of wonders

If you haven't played Outer Wilds yet, then good heavens, what a?re you waiting for? This time-looping space exploration game, developed by Mobius Digital and published by Annapurna I??nteractive, is an incomparable experience.

When I was recently thinking about the kinds of stories you can only tell in games, Outer Wilds was one of the first to come to mind. It is ??warm and sentimental, cold and haunting, and expertly crafts its mysteries and story in the span of one galaxy.

Its DLC expansion, Echoes of the Eye, is even more of the same. I think the base game hit me harder, as I knew what I was getting into once I booted up Echoes. But ??the trees, lights, and hidden puzzles of that place stick with me.

With the PS5 and Xbox Series upgrade out and free for anyone who's already picked the game up, this seems like a great excuse to dive back into Outer Wilds.

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Sometimes it just doesn't click

My love of gaming came a little bit later in life than most, so there are a ton of well-loved games that I need to catch up on, whether they're old classics or recently-released bangers. What's nice is that there's an endless stream of hits for me to pull from, which means I've been binging titles like Pokémon, Ratchet & Clank, and Mass Effect over the past? few months, just to name a few. For the most part, it's been really great to have so many games to play that knock it out of the park �playing the all-time greats all in a row has me ree??ling over how awesome this medium is.

While I've loved a vast majority of the games I've played recently, there have been one or two that just didn't connect with me, which is a shame considering they're such well-loved titles. The prime example of this is Annapurna's smash hit from 2019, Outer Wilds. In the game, you play as an alien caught in a twenty-two-minute time loop as you explore nearby planets and try to unlo??ck the mysteries of the universe.

When I've asked people what are some must-plays that I missed out on over the past few years, Outer Wilds always seems to make the list, so I gave it a shot a little while ago. People describe it as a "once in a generation gaming experience" or "one of the best adventure games ever made," ??and I can't miss out on? something like that, right?

I can't put my fin??ger on the exact reason why, but there's just something about that game that didn't work for me. Maybe it's the fact that space unlocks an existential horror spiral in me, or that I'm even worse at flying mechanics than I am at platforming, or that I was going through a bad depressive episode when I was playing it �I'll never know for? sure.

I watched a video essay about the game from someone who loves it, and it all made so much ??sense. I could understand why it was a masterpiece and all that, but that still didn't make me want to pick it up again.

These days, it feels like we've gotten pretty combative about liking or disliking media. Something is the best, or it's the worst, and a lot of times we fall on either side of that binary. I kind of had to have this moment with Outer Wilds where I let myself be okay with not loving the game?, even if I thought it was really cool on paper. Sometimes we don't like things �that doesn't make them bad, it means they're just not for us.

Maybe one of these days I'll rope in my friend who sings Outer Wilds' praises all the time and have him sit down with me and walk me th?rough why he loves it, because I find that to be helpful when a piece of media doesn't connect with me. For now, though, I'll just have to be okay with the fact that there are some games that ??I won't really get.

So, are there any well-loved games out there that you bounce off of, ??or can't get yourself to finish? What's the l??ast game you abandoned, and why?

Let's discuss in the comments below!

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The beloved game inspires a slew of charity fundraisers

As if Stray couldn't get any better, the game that has cat-lovers and gamers alike fawning over its adorable, fuzzy protagonist is also helping out cats in real life. Streamers and Annapurna Interactive, the game's publisher, have facilitated a whole host of events and services to benefit animal shelters and other cat-related charities, as initially reported by AP.

Annapurna reached out to the Nebraska Humane Society ahead of the game's launc?h on July 19 to give them copies of the game to be raffled off as a fundraiser for the shelter. Within a week, they had raised over $7,000 for the cause, including a $1,035 donation from Annapurna themselves. A va?st majority of those who donated to the shelter were also new to them, including some international fans of the game.

Annapurna also rented out a cat cafe and cat adoption agency in New York called the Meow Parlour to host an event where visitors could play the game (while being surrounded by cats, no less) and purchase exclusive Stray-themed merchandise. The publisher also donated $1,000 to? the institution.

[caption id="attachment_338376" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{[Image Source: GamesRadar]}[/caption]Gamers themselves have also ta??ken up the ma??ntle of doing some good for the stray cats of the world.

A platform called Tiltify, which allows streamers to donate their earnings to nonprofits, has shared that their platform has at least nine new campaigns that mention Stray, and another charity livestream organization JustGiving has identified two more. North Shore Animal League America, a no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization, said they received over $800 from a gaming campaign. A streamer named TreyDay1014 also teamed up with the Nebraska Humane ??Society, helping them raise over $1,?500 by the end of a four-and-a-half-hour stream.

Stray is an undeniably sweet, uplifting game, so it's not a surprise in the least th?at the community behind ??it has rallied to make some awesome real-world change.

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Memories are all we have

The Annapurna Interactive Showcase from last week might have only been 25 minutes, but it was packed with all kinds of new trailers and info on upcoming releases. One game I hadn't seen before wa??s Hindsight, and as a lover of? narrative games (especially those published by Annapurna), I?? knew it was one I wanted to try out.

In Hindsight, you play as a woman named Mary, traveling through her memories as sh?e recounts her relationship with her parents, her mother in particular. The two have a somewhat strained relationship, wherein Mary's mother is controlling, which is often at odds with Mary acting like a normal kid.

Hindsight (PC, Nintendo Switch [Reviewed])
Developer: Team Hindsight
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Released: August 4, 2022
MSRP: $14.99

Here's my problem �when looking at the big picture, the story of Hindsight is perfectly functional. It gives us hints here and there about the true nature of Mary's relationship with her mother, of the underlying resentm??ent for her mother's cold, distant behavior even when she needed her most. But I'm afraid? in this case subtlety may have been mistaken for underdeveloped characters. 

If our dramatic question is "how do we reconcile with the difficult relationships we had with the people we love, especially after they're gone?" the game l?eaves us sti?ll hanging on that idea rather than addressing it �even going so far as to outright ask the player that question nearly verbatim in its final moments. 

I needed more

I'm all for ambiguity, but it needs to be earned. I felt like the whole game, I was being told, not shown who these characters were. I wanted it to really dig in and show me how one character's actions affected another, and vice versa. Instead, it was scene after scene reiterating the relationship dynamics that had been in place from the start with very few variations. There were brief, much-needed glimpses into the characters' hidden internal lives, b??ut they felt drowned out in a game whose run time far exceeded its narrative development.

My biggest takeaway from the narrative is that it never felt unique in any way. The dialogue was? generic most of the way through (there were ?a few lines that connected with me, but I can count them on one hand), and the events of the story itself were just all moments I had seen before in the "slice of life" genre. 

This line from the game's prologue is a pretty good example of what you're getti??ng a lot of the time with the dialogue: "Things begin, and sometimes, when you least expect it, things end." I understand the sentiment here, but it's not specific enough. I felt like the first few minutes of the game was reciting clichés? at me, when all I wanted it to do was dive deep into what made Mary and her family most unique. Even the best details, like her mother's insistence on teaching Mary about her Japanese heritage, left me wondering how this story was different from other stories centered on immigrant families I've seen before.

That's not to say that this version of the story couldn't work. I just wanted more from the moments that were there: more introspection, more conflict, s??cenes with a clear clashing of values between mother and daughter, etc. I wanted scenes that would show me whole new facets of these characters that I hadn't seen before, rather than repeating the idea that Mary never truly knew or understood her mom �there are only so many ways to say the same thing over and over.

Structure? What structure?

Another thing that didn't quite work for me when it came to t?he story was the game's structure. The story was divided into seven chapters, and despite my best efforts, I could not for the life of me parse out how these chapters were supposed to be divided up. Part of the problem was that the story had us going in and out of memories, jumping timelines and settings sometimes as often as every few seconds �after a while, everything blurred together into one colorful, tedious drudge, and I found it impossible to differentiate one chapter from the next. I'm all for non-traditional story structures, but in this?? case it never felt like we were building toward anything because I spent too much of the game feeling disoriented.

In terms of gameplay, Hindsight's main mechanics are most akin to the point-and-click genre �players simply click on the highlighted object or next vignette to progress. The spin here is that often the way forward is through memories, and players need to rotate an object or manipulate the setting in order to see the memory from the right angle before diving into it. This made for some really beautifu?l visuals, and those moments were some of the strongest in the game for me. There's also the thematic connection in that seeing memories from a new perspective �from hindsight, one might say �can help us understand them better. 

That was all good in theory, but in practice, it often meant that I was fumbling to find just the right angle that didn't feel very intuiti??ve when I finally found it, or that I was searching for the item to click on to progress that was so small I walked past it four or five times. There were also times when I found myself moving forward in one direction only to have the character turn and walk back to where I came from for seemingly no reason. It's a small gripe, but moments like that left me feeling like they were trying to pad out the runtime.

Let's talk gameplay

Mechanically, there just wasn't all that much there. That's fine for the narrative genre �it's not always about having super in-depth game me??chanics. Even so, the novelty wore off fast, and aside from moving some bo??oks on a shelf, or creating a time-lapse with a melting candle (activities I wouldn't wager are the most fun things to do in practice), you're left with a pretty rigid, repetitive experience. The game was only two or three hours at most, but unfortunately, I got bored with it pretty fast.

Aside from getting frustrated when I was unable to find tha??t perfect angle or whatever tiny object I needed to click on, I ran into what I assume was a soft lock bug at one point in my playthrough, which means it halted my progress but wasn't game-breaking. In a scenario where I could click on a few different vignettes, I chose one at random and sat for a good few minutes trying to figure out how to progress. 

After giving up an??d going back to the main menu, I realized that I had to go to another vignette first to get an item I needed to progress. Like I said, not game-breaking, but I definitely got a little frustrated there. I also had some framerat??e hitches, but there's a good chance I got those because I was playing on my Nintendo Switch.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this one. The idea of reconnecting with the past and reflecting on how family relationships have affected us into adulthood is a staple of the walking sim/narrative genre �games like Gone Home and What Remains of Edith Finch have paved the way in that regard. While it would be ridiculous to say no one can ever explore? those themes in a narrative game ever again, the reality is that it's been done before. In 2022, I think we need some more iteration on games with story at the center, because at this point, linear games with minimal mechanics don't feel like they're up to snuff anymore.

In order to make a game with this subject matter really stand out, you have to put a new spin on it like we've never seen before. Unfortunately, Hindsight didn't really manage to do that, either in its gameplay or its story. At the end of the day, story is what's supposed to matte??r the most here, and if the writi??ng were stronger, I'd be able to forgive Hindsight many more of its transgressions.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Hindsight appeared first on Destructoid.

This feature contains massive spoilers for the entirety of Stray. Do yourself a favor and go play it before you read this.

Putting the cat in catastrophe

The second I saw the announcement trailer for Stray, I knew it was a game I was going to play on release day, no questions asked. I am a cat mom, after all, so anything with a cat, let alone as a playable character, is a big win in my book. While it was pretty easy to get me on board with the premise of Stray alone, one thing I wasn't expecting was just how rich and compelling the story was going to be in this game. I mean, it was published by Annapurna so that should have been my first clue, bu??t even so, it slipped my mind.

To sta?rt, the worldbuilding was incredibly detailed and made talking to NPCs, a pretty important mechanic when you're trying to gather information for your quest, a fun and surprising part of the game. It's the details that really got me, like the robot laying on the roof in the Slums looking up at the "stars" that are actually just lights on the roof of the city, or the robot in Midtown who was sitting reading a book and philosophizing about the "metaphor" of the Outside, or the grim detail that robots in jail can have their entire memories wiped so that they're left as the perfect model citizen.

A story in vignettes

A vast majority of the NPCs had their own little stories, not just in what they were physically doing, but in what they thought of the city they live?? in and how they cope with being stuck there. We have a clear throughline with the cat and B-12 having their own narratives respectively, but most of what we learn about the state of the world and the underground city comes from NPCs giving us glimpses into their lives and inside their heads.

While the whole story of how the city met its demise is an interesting one, what I found most fascinating was how everyone talked about the Outside. Some were afraid of it, because it was unknown and because of the risks they would take to get there. Some were mystified by it (like the Outsiders). And some didn't even believe it existed at all. Regardless of what th?ey thought individually, the Outside had become som?ething of a legend among the robots after hundreds of years in the city, and I can't say I blame them.

I also found it so interesting how the robots would speak about humans �they seemed almost sentimental about who the humans were and what they left behind. With the world seemingly in constant decline these days, I've had a lot of existential panic about the idea of humans all dying out one day. I actually find the way Stray discussed life after human existen??ce comforting rather than terrifying, which isn't usual for me.

One of the most charming games I've ever played

The whole game has this underlying charm that runs through everything, because it not only has an adorable cat protagonist and cute mechanic?s like scratching at carpets or taking a nap on a cozy pillow, but because it ?somehow manages to be really hopeful in the face of a bleak situation. All of the characters that help you along your journey, although they may be dreaming of the Outside themselves, selflessly put themselves in harm's way or stay behind just to keep you moving forward.

Even what you might consider the antagonists of the game, the security robots, weren't acting with any kind of malicious inte?nt �the protocols that they were carrying out to keep everyone in the city are just remnants from a time when the Outside was still a dangerous place.

Hope, even in the end

What Clementine said in that final moment where she helped us escape the prison really stuck with me �even if it meant she couldn't go with us, just the idea of someone making it to the Outside was enough for her. Then, of course, there's? the heartbreaking finale of B-12 sacrificing himself so that the cat could open the door.

The image of that little ora?nge cat curled up with his friend on the floor of the Control Room made me cry more than a game has in years. They leave us on the note that while there has been great loss, this cat, and the residents of the city, are at a new beginning full of new, beautiful possibilities. Even in a world where people have gone extinct, love and hope can still thrive, and that's one of the most comforting sentiments I can think of in the face of�well what we're facing.

Stray is certainly one of my favorite games not only of this year, but maybe of all time. Its story is one that I find myself still thinking about, and Stray honestly might have helped change my perspective when it comes to dr??eading the end of the world. It's only a matter of time before I dive back in and immerse myself in its story again, because I'm certain there are still plenty of hidden details I missed. There's certainly so much more to it than I was even able to touch on in this article.

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Stray has a refreshingly ??hopeful view of the en?d of the world appeared first on Destructoid.

Whatever's coming from Cardboard Computer, it'll be worth the wait

Kentucky Route Zero is probably in my top five favorite games of all time. The game's whole feel, its subject matter, the process that went into making it �I'm fascinated by the whole thing, which is why I'm so thrilled to get absolutely any news from the development team behind it, otherwise known as Cardboard Computer. While it hasn't been all that long since the release of Kentucky Route Zero's final act back in 2020, the team has been hard at work on their new project, as they showed during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase.

While we have almost no information about what type of?? game it will?? be, where it will be set, any story points, etc., we did get a brief look at Cardboard Computer's new workflow, and what little we saw already has me giddy to learn more. Developers Jake Elliot, Tamas Kemenczy, and Ben Babbitt showed off their new animation software, which utilized some kind of face-mapping tech rigged up to a character model.

//youtu.be/UeQYiKQoH_g?t=1312

They stated that this is the first project where they will be focusing more on performance, and while Kentucky Route Zero was a fairly slow, static game, this new project will be more "lively" with fully-animated characters. The story will also be more upbeat this time, they said after reminding themselves that while Kentucky Route Zero had comedic moments, it was ultimately a tragedy. Apparently they started working on the new game right away after Kentucky Route Zero wrapped up??, and they've had this idea kicking around for as long as their debut title.

I'm thrilled to even get an update, and will be awaiting any more with bated breath. Although the details are sparse right now, Cardboard Computer is one of those developers that I have faith will deliver?? something amazing every time.

The post K??entucky Route Zero devs tease their mysterious new ?project appeared first on Destructoid.

It's a free upgrade for those who already own it

2017 was a stellar year for video games. So many excellent titles launched that you might have even let some slip you by. And if What Remains of Edith Finch is one of you, there's some good news: th??is emotional story is out now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Seri?es X|S.

Revealed as part of today's Annapurna Interactive summer showcase, What Remains of Edith Finch got a next-gen update today, bringing Giant Sparrow's adventure game to the new console hardware. It arrives with 4K and 60 FPS support. And what's more, owners of the game on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 can upgrade to the newer genera??tion versions for free.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKpcpwM5onA

Otherwise, the game is available on the Xbox store and PlayStation Store. (It is also on Game Pass, at the time of this writing.?)

What's left of those who came before

If you need a pitch on Edith Finch, it's a narrative adventure game where you play as the titular heroine Edith. The Finches are a superstitious family, governed in part by one constant rule: every member of the family h?as their own room. And the house the Finches live in just keeps growing, up and up.

As you enter new areas and ??learn more about the Finches who came before, trying to discover why Edith is the last Finch alive, you also learn about your family ?members. Each area is a new vignette, often with its own mechanic and narrative device, exploring what happened to them and why. And also, maybe a little bit about their life.

It is a sublimely beautiful game about life, legacy, family, death, mourning, and a really, really big house. As we covered five years ago and still today, What Remains of Edith Finch i??s very worth your time. And those rooms will likely look even better with all that hardware bolstering them.

The post The absolutely s??tellar What Remains of Edith Finch hits PS5 and Xbox Series consoles today appeared first on Destructoid.

The next game from Richard Hogg, Hollow Ponds, and Annapurna Interactive

Hollow Ponds and Richard Hogg, the creators behind Wilmot's Warehouse, Loot Rascals, and I Am Dead, are back with a relaxing co-op game about the "joy of flight" called Flock. The upcoming PC, PlayStation, and Xbox game made its debut during this afternoon's Annapurna Interactive S??howcase, and it was my highlight ??of the stream. It's so pure!

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANeJSsV3Js

Unsurprisingl?y, the art direction is fabulous, as I've come to expect from Hollow Ponds.

I'm also into the laid-back vibes I'm seeing so far �the idea is to accumulate a hoard of cute critters as a flying shepherd, and you'll be joined by other players, adding to the coziness. The Steam page mentions online co-op; I'm hoping for couch co-op, too.

According to ??the developers, you can "charm" creatures into joining your flock, a??nd with hover-sheep in the mix, you can use wool to make "hats, cardigans, and even socks."

[caption id="attachment_337096" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Soaring with other shepherds in co-op.}[/caption]

Flock is coming to PC (via Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox On?e, Xbox Series X/S, and Game Pass.

Another cool game that Richard Hogg worked on, Hohokum, has found its way onto Steam. After seeing Flock for the first time,?? my mind immediately went back to that PS3/Vita-era game about exploring fantastic worlds. Some found it a bit dull, but I loved it.

Even if they haven't caught on with a massive audience, I really appreciate this team's games. This one, in particular, seems like it has the?? right ingredients to resonate.

The post Flock is a co-op flying game with such a wholes??ome vibe appeared first on Destructoid.

Clever girl

We saw some glimpses and updates from some really great titles, both new and old, during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase today, and they closed out the show with a look at a new title from Giant Ape Games called The Lost Wild.

The trailer opens showing off a lush landscape teeming with dinosaurs, and a protagonist running through a dark forest with a compass. As the protagonist finds what appear to be old research facilities, it's only a matter of time before some T-rexes show up, and we get a glimpse at tense encounters with the giant predators. It looks like the core of the game is going to be exploration and stealth, and I'm sure there's even more to this adventure than we got to see toda?y.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA1AkZn2PrE

The whole thing is definitely giving off the tense, grounded feel of the first Jurassic Park film, and I can tell just from this short trailer alone that this game is going to scare the crap out of me in the best way. The game was announced previously, but this is the first time we're seeing Annpurna's ??name attached to the project.

We don't have any word on a release window yet, but The Lost Wild is available right now to wishlist on Steam.

The post The Lost Wild is a Jurassic Par?k-inspired? survival horror game appeared first on Destructoid.

The Morose Tale of Graveyard Clem looks like a rip-roarin' good time

The old west is about to get flooded with a whole bunch of scrap. Bounty Star is a new game from Dinogod, mergi?ng big mechs and the wild, wild? west next year.

Publisher Annapurna Interactive revealed the new game today, as part of its 2022 summer showcase. In the trailer, we see a look at the cliffs and deserts of Bounty Star, before diving right into the action.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC-dNxex5Jc

Bounty Star is described as an over-the-shoulder mech action game. But it also has some ??farming and base-building elements as?? well.

Taking on the role of war ve??teran Clem, you fight in the Red Expanse, a "post-post-apocalyptic version" of the American Southwest.

Clem's D??esert Raptor MKII is a customizable suit, so the player can swap around to equip a ton of neat pieces of gear. Siege weapons, firearms, or a big ol' sword??. Or maybe some booster and thrusters, for zipping around the field.

No rest for the wicked

Clem is a bounty hunter, who pursues various targets and takes down marks for government cash. That means, of course, mech fights. The action looks like Armored Core by? way of cowboys and hi??gh-noon shootouts, which is already a plus.

Then, when you return home, there's more to be done. Clem's run-down garage serves as a base of operations, but also a homestead. Over time, you build up water and power supply, grow food and cook, raise animals, and produce the ammo and fuel you need for combat. It's like Stardew Valley, if you were also ru?nning a mech bounty-hunting business ??on the side.

It's a pretty great pitch, and looks great in motion too. Considering Annapurna's recent rep for picking up fantastic action games, I'm pretty inter?ested in seei??ng where Dinogod goes with the western mech concepts they have right now.

Bounty Star is aiming for a launch in 2023 on?? Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4,?? PS5, and PC via Steam. It will also be coming to Game Pass.

The post Bounty Star mixes t?he Wild West and mechs next year appeared first on Destructoid.

Can't Cat-ch Me

When I cracked into Stray for the first time, I didn't think I'd have to worry about how best to zig-zag, juke, and even "drift" as a cat �but when a coveted trophy is on the line, everything's on the table. Half an hour of fa??iled atte??mpts and several slow-mo guide videos later, I've finally gotten Can't Cat-ch Me, a simple yet deceptively hard trophy.

It's one of the earliest trophies/achievements you can (theoretically) get in Stray, but I'm here to say that it might be best to save it until after you've finishe??d the game. It could put you ??into a sour mood if you try to force it, so don't let it gnaw away. Come back later.

**Spoilers below**

[caption id="attachment_335683" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{The hungry Zurk horde.}[/caption]

In the second chapter, there's a tense chase sequence on the city streets with Headcrab-esque creatures called ?the Zurks. They'll scurry, leap, and glom onto your cat, and if you don't shake them off quickly enough, that'll be the end of this journey. Tr?y again.

In a puzzle-solving adventure game that is overwhelmingly chill, these little creeps are very threatening. They're relentless, as they're meant to be, and that works well in the context of the ruined city's story. But? when it comes to this trophy, the struggle is real.

• Can't Cat-ch Me: Complete the first Zurk pursuit without being caught.

The chase sequence is a??bout a minute long �how hard could it be? I feared the two-ho??ur speedrun more than anything else, but that seems way less stressful by comparison; there's room for error, at least. Here, you have to memorize every rushdown and pray.

That's your home!

In general, zig-zagging is the play. But sometimes, it's best to strategically run into a group of Zurks and swerve at the last second. Other times, you mig??ht need to take a wide swing from one wall all the way to the other, to draw out certain Zurk leaps. It's not so much avoiding coming into contact with them as it is making sure they don't land on top of you.

Of course, in practice, it feels like devi?ous RNG is pulling the strin??gs.

Are you too good for your home?

Here's a successful Can't Cat-ch Me run from Stone Edge Gaming:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0o695DxlH8

And another from PowerPyx:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSOPHZcmmXU

Visualizing it can help.

If you're going for the Can't Cat-ch Me trophy in Stray, I would recommend rebinding the run input to something comfortable (not the default R2 on PS5), just i??n case you're stuck her??e for a while. Other players recommend increasing the sensitivity, but I kept it as is.

Misery loves company

A few reactions from other Stray players to help ease the pain:

• "This is purely on random luck."
• "Took a solid 45 minutes, sometimes zig-zagging works sometimes they get you no matter what."
• "This trophy really makes me wonder why we trophy hunters do this to ourselves."
• "Stray isn't free if you want the platinum. It costs at least one controller."

Good luck. You can do it!

The post A surpris?ingly tricky trophy ??is driving Stray players up the wall appeared first on Destructoid.

Homeward bound

Stray isn't just a good time for cat lovers, it's ?a good video game, period. ?A great one, even.

The unassuming protagonist �a normal cat in a not-so-normal sci-fi world in which humans are long gone �is the star of the?? show. But the game's surprisin?gly endearing robot companions, and strange, decaying yet vibrant city they inhabit, are also high points. I didn't expect the setting to draw me in and capture my imagination this much.

If you like the sound of a puzzle-adventure game that rewards curiosity and stays fresh the whole way through with a wonderfully fleshed-out world, you've gotta play Stray.

[caption id="attachment_335077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{The lighting and color deserve a shout-out.}[/caption]

Stray (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed])
Developer: BlueTwelve Studio
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Released: July 19, 2022
MSRP: $29.99

Just as a general concept, I was afraid Stray would end up feeling too one-note �anyone else? Coming ?into this review, I fe??el like that's one of the main questions to answer.

It's something we've seen b??efore with games that capture the wider internet's attention with a flashy idea. And as a fan of more simulation-minded games that try to nail a specific animal's vibe while still being fun to play, I've been burned before, definitely.

Stray pulls off the balancing act, though �it's inherently engaging to explore as a cat, and the ruined city is a perfect playground.? There's so much space to explore vertically as a nimble cat, yet the "way forward" is never overwhelming or obtuse. In less capable hands, this game wouldn't?? have nearly as much flow, and I think that's the crucial ingredient.

In Stray, if it looks like the cat can leap onto a surface, chances are, it can. And to keep things moving along, instead of manually? jumping and landing like in a 3D platformer, you'll just tap "jump" when you see a visual "land here" prompt. The result is a game about mentally charting a path ahead, rather than one where you need to make meticulous precision jumps. You'll never worry about falling off, and it all feels believable enough.

[caption id="attachment_335080" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{With your helper B-12, you can chat with the locals.}
[/caption]

Look up (and every which way)

Earl?y on, in the first of two major hub-like chunks of the c?ity, I spent so much time leaping on pipes, air conditioners, walls, roofs, you name it �all sorts of stuff that would just be a background detail in any other game. I was determined to find energy drinks to trade with a merchant, sheet music to give to a musician, and collectible "memories" for my little drone companion, B-12, who is the guiding force for this great-escape story.

I didn't *need* to comb over the Slums to the point of memorization, but I was so absorbed in finding every tucked-away nook and cranny, I didn't mind �I was having a blast, and the effort wasn??'t wasted. The same can be said for a hustling, bustling later area, Midtown, with a couple of tricky critical-path puzzles to think through. The challenge felt right to me. When in doubt, ask around, and let the neon lights draw your gaze.

With your drone's help, you can communicate with the city's robots, and easily store puzzle-solving items, presenting them to characters mid-conversation when the situation calls for it. It's a really streamlined system �you're never juggling too ma?ny ite?ms or worrying about inventory space �and the NPC chatter is concise, yet personable.

The screen-headed bots all have names, and you'll likely remember them, too; they leave a lasting impre??ssion. Grandma, a knitting fiend, is a personal favorite. (Detail-wise, it feels like there's a reason everything is the way that?? it is, including the robots' clothing.)

[caption id="attachment_335076" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{You can actually die in Stray �and these are why!}[/caption]

Unexpected Half-Life vibes

In between the larger zones, you'll push forward in linear sequences, some of which are hectic chases. The main threat? A ravenous horde of leaping Zurks that even the robots fear �one of a few elements in Stray that reminds me of the all-time-great Half-Life 2.

At first, you don't have any real recourse other than to run �or mash a button to shake off the Zurks if they leap on you. ??Later though, you'll get a weaponized light to zap ??'em.

Thankfully, in both cases, the developers don't overdo it with this creepy crawly horde. The Zurks raise the early stakes, for sure, and the action sits nicely alongside the stress-free exploration. But Stray has more up its sl??eeve in the later chapters. I wouldn't say there's "combat," and even if I did, it's very limited. So if that was a concern (same!), don't worry.

Further in, you'll need to be sneaky, and I appreciated all the room for stealth slip-ups. If you're spotted, there's a chanc??e to leap in a cardboard box. You? know, cat stuff.

[caption id="attachment_335079" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Stray has stealth sequences, but they aren't too demanding or overdone.}[/caption]

How long is it?

I have to commend the pacing, too. I ended up (happily) finishing Stray in one sitting.

That said, the game is longer than I expected �it too??k me a good five to six hours. I searched thoroughly in most areas but still came up short on several?? collectibles.

If you know precisely where to go, you could speedrun this game in a couple of hours (there's a trophy, in fact), but that's not indicative of a first-time playthrough. I'm sure it'll take me a few more hours to find my missing secrets, and thankfully, there's a chapter select option after clearing the game, so yo??u ??can mop up without needing to start over.

All around, the scope feels spot-on �Stray will likely be more expansive than first impressions suggest, but it doesn't keep tacking on new problems to solve for the sake of it. Toward the end, you'll know when the final moments are? near; they arrive right on cue.

[caption id="attachment_335075" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{This club looks like a scene out of Hitman 3.}[/caption]

The best of both worlds

To really drive it all home, I think Stray would be worth talking about even if you didn't play as a cat. But because you do �and because the cat looks and feels and acts exactly as it should �??the game ends up hitting that much harder. At times, it can be emotional without saying a word. The little behavioral details in the animation go so far.

Again, you don't have to be a "cat person" �there's a lot to appreciate about this post-human cybercity setting, which feels appropriately lived-in (and doubles as a fun vertical play space). You can tell the creators know the full picture of this universe, but they leave room for our imaginations to fill in certain gaps. Stray ends up feeling complete.

This ruined yet hopeful sci-fi world is built in an authentic, thought-through way, and throwing in a normal cat �who likes to shred couches, knock over paint buckets, and snuggle up in the most random cozy spots �is? such great foil. Playful mischief and other cat tendencies won't get in the way of you, a human player, feeling like you're "in control."

Stray's expressive art direction, curious music, stop-and-snap-a-pic lighting,? and thoughtful level design coalesce into one of my favorite gaming experien?ces of the year.

I'm so happy Stray exist??s and that BlueTwelve Studio stuck the l?anding.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Stray appeared first on Destructoid.

Act like a cat (for the most part)

As we inch closer to launch day on July 19, one of the most fun games to think about right now is Stray, an adventure game about being a cat in a futuristic world run by robots. The trophy list is now out in the wild (courtesy of sites like Exophase and Powerpyx), and some of the descriptions give us a better idea of what to expect from Stray's scope.

Most notably, there's a pacifist challenge, one for meowing 100 times, another for being sneaky enough to go undetected, and a speedrun trophy for finishing the game in under two hours. From everything we've seen of Stray ?so far, I'm not surprised that it ??can be completed so quickly �and to be honest, that actually sounds wonderful. Two hours seems like a nice runtime for a better-informed, more efficient second playthrough.

If you rush too much, you'll miss the collectibles: badges, memories, an??d she?et music. It's reassuring to know there's a reason to comb the city beyond just the story.

Note: there are some location spoilers in a few of the trophies.

Stray PS4/PS5 trophy list

• All Done - Unlock all trophies.
• A Little Chatty - Meow 100 times.
• Cat-a-Pult - Jump 500 times.
• Productive Day - Sleep for more than one hour.
• Boom Chat Kalaka - Dunk the basketball.
• Can't Cat-ch Me - Complete the first Zurk pursuit without being caught.
• Sneakitty - Go through Midtown without being detected by the Sentinels.
• No More Lives - Die 9 times.
• Scratch - Scratch the vinyl in the club.
• Pacifist - Complete the Sewers without killing any Zurks.
• I am Speed - Complete the game in less than 2 hours.
• Missed Jump - Fall inside the city.
• Not Alone - Meet B-12.
• Cat Got Your Tongue? - Have B-12 translate a robot.
• Catwalk - Reach Midtown.
• Al-Cat-Raz - Go to jail.
• Eye Opener - Complete the game and open the city.
• Meowlody - Bring all the music sheets to Morusque.
• Curiosity Killed the Cat - Wear the paper bag.
• Cat-a-strophe - Try to play mahjong with the robots.
• Cat's best friend - Nuzzle up against 5 robots.
• I Remember! - Gather all B-12 memories.
• Télé à chat - Browse through all of the TV channels.
• Badges - Collect all badges.
• Territory - Scratch in every chapter.

When they say "scratch," they mean it.

//twitter.com/A_i/status/1545454411345842176

I'm planning to play Stray with my PlayStation Plus Premium subscription (heads-up: the PS Plus Extra tier also includes access to the game), and as good as it looks, this isn't the sort of experience I'd want to drag on and on. When it comes to game length, I always think back to Inside �a fantastic, gri?pping, potent-the-whole-way-through adventure.

Apart from PS4 and PS5, Stray will also be on PC �in fact, it recently topped Steam's "Top Wishlists" list. Clearly, a bunch of us?? would rather just be a cat right now.

The post Stray should have a pleasant platinum trophy appeared first on Destructoid.

Get some good jams for your next world-record attempt

Neon White went live today, on Nintendo Switch and PC, for anime speedrunning freaks everywhere. But even if you're not into going fast in an anime world, you should also take some time to check out the Neon White OSTs from Machine Girl that hit Bandcamp today.

Artist Machine Girl composed not one, but two OSTs—or original soundtracks—for Neon White. They're the tunes that play in the background as you speed along, zipping from demon to demon and blazing through the outer limits of heaven. They're?? ext?remely good.

Check out this track, dubbed The Wicked Heart, from the first OST. It starts out at full throttle, with punchy drums and raw noise bleeding throughout the track. The melody drops in around the 1:13 mark and is one of my favorites in Neon White.

Or maybe you want something a little more chill. We can head on down to the Neon Bar in Neon White and catch some relaxed, ?easygoing beats. It's perfect for kicking back after a long day of setti??ng records.

Tracks like Bloody Sneakers, the theme for Neon Violet, almost remind me of early PlayStation days. I think of the Racing Lagoon soundtrack, and in the best way possible.

Beats to blast your record in half

What I'm saying is, the Neon White OSTs are a jam. It's already a ??contender for best soundtrack of the year??, in my book.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0b-qZTF0Mc

As for Neon White itself, it's great. I've spent the last week setting and then besting my times, competing with other early players along the way. It's anime as heck, like the sort of series you'd find on a VHS tape in the '90s at your local mom-and-pop rental place. Suffice to say, if you like going fast, Neon White is worth your time?—and ??it's got some killer beats, too.

The post The Neon White OSTs are on Bandcamp, and they’re fantastic appeared first on Destructoid.

Running up that hill

Neon White is the latest game from Donut County creator Ben Esposito. He and the Angel Matrix team bill this level-based first-person shooter as "for freaks, by freaks." They're not wrong, either. Despite some rough narrative moments and occasional hiccups, Neon White? is a blazing-fast shooter with style, precision, and?? a lot of dead demons.

Sinners, saints, and salvation. All of these potentially await in the heaven of Neon White. To reach the end, though, you'll have to learn to go really, really fast. And, as it so happens, Neon White is a pretty good tutor.

Neon White (PC [reviewed], Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Angel Matrix
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Released: June 16, 2022
MSRP: $24.99

Surfacing in the ocean of heaven as Neon White himself, the player is a dead, amnesiac assassin stuck in a rut. White's lost soul can be ferried into heaven, ?but only if he can seize the number-one spot against all the other damned, color-coded Neons.

Over time you acquaint yourself, or re-acquaint yourself, with the other denizens of heaven's competition. There are some nameless Neons, the Believers who maintain the game and punish rulebreakers, and the pencil-pushing angels who task White with his daily missions. Mikey, the cigar-chomping Garfield-alike, is ?a particular favorite of mine, and SungWon Cho's delivery as the inconceivable presence that White's mind can only rationalize as an angelic cartoon is very endearing.

//youtu.be/fDD17TfIn7Y

Friends in low places

A few key Neons make up the core of the story though, as former life acquaint??ances of White's. They start out divided into tropes; Yellow the best bro, Violet the homicidal but childish tagalong, and Red the enigmatic femme fatale. Add in Green, the imposing top-ranker, and it's a pretty colorful crew competing for the top spot.

Though some of the gags do wear on after a while, the crew is overall pretty likable as long as you enjoy a little bit of online humor. References to memes and j??okes about other video games are pretty frequent, and it definitely has a self-aware sense of humor.

When the story gets a bit more serious, it's pretty good. Neon White quickly goes from demon-slaying and gags to questions of how one's deeds carry over into the afterlife, and whether those actions merit eternal condemnation. As the portrai??t of White in the bottom-left constantly asks, "who deserves a place in heaven?"

It's got some Cowboy Bebop vibes, which makes casting Steve Blum in the role of Neon White all the more appropriate. Really, the whole voice cast does a pretty great job across the board. But I did feel like the narrative was ultimately where Neon White falters a bit. It ce??rtainly works and provides some lighthearted asides, but aside from a few twists and cool moments in levels, it really felt like it took a backseat to the running-and-gun??ning that physically drives White towards redemption.

Make a deal with God

Of course, to reach any of that self-realization and affirmation, White has to slay a lot of demons. Each day of the Days of Judgment tasks you with tackling a host of levels, spread out across the kingdom o??f heaven. There's a bit of a demon outbreak around this time of year, so the Believers host this competition to clear them all out and see who slays best for God's salvation in the process?.

Each one is a race to the finish, navigating the environment, obstacles, enemies, and their glowing bullets. Of course, White has some tools of his own to use too. Scattered everywhere are S??oul Cards, which can be either primary-fired for a bullet type or discarded for a secondary-fire effect.

Elevate, for example, is a handgun that can be discarded for an extra jump. Purify, meanwhile, is a machine-gun that also fires a time-delayed bomb that can clear an area or give you a rocket boost. There's a pretty good variety of cards, as well as a very important economy: White can only ever hold two types of cards, at ??three apiece. Hitting Ace, the highest medal in the game, on levels usually en??tails clever use of resources to clear what you need to clear while moving as fast as possible.

Really, Neon White feels like a tutorial for speedrunning. And I don't just mean that it makes running fast through these levels fun and enjoyable. It's not even that it necessarily encourages speedrunning itself. It's that Neon White is remarkably ?good at teaching the player to speedrun.

Medals are given at different time markers cleared, to give a sense of gradual progression. At Gold, the player is given a hint specifically for bumping their time up to Ace; a ghost helper can show a place where a well-timed jump or boost can completely circumvent otherwise tedious navigation. The dual-use cards allow for a surprising number of interactions, but keeping it to two-and-??????????????????????????two (two fire types, two in your hand at any time) keeps the effectual verbs at your disposal easy to remember.

Neon White's levels are gorgeous to spee??d through as well. It's full of vaporwave, sharp-angled polygons, neon colors, and anime. But the architecture is also enormous and even imposing at times. In a few cases, I slowed down just to take in the breadth of an area. And the levels themselves play home to some interesting storytelling too. While ??the boss fights are fine, at least a couple of levels had some really compelling story tie-in moments that propelled them along.

Need for speed

It is amazing how good it feels to finally feel like you've mastered a level in Neon White. And once you've cleared the premade markers, the g??lobal leaderboard opens up, adding a new level of competition. It was always exciting to hit a new Ace time and see if I'd gone up or down in the standings, and (on Steam at least) there's also a Friends filter. Beyond that, there are even more options to run that shuffle level o?rders and add a few extra ticks of difficulty, like no health recovery.

If you're not eager to compete, Neon White is still fairly finishable without Acing every run. There are a few med??al hurdles to clear, but they're set fairly low compared to where a completionist would be. It's certainly a challenging game, even though it's fairly short in length �I'd guess anywhere from eight-to-ten hours to see credits roll �and I'm still plucking away at getting the optional off-the-beaten-path Gifts in each level that unlock visual novel chats with the cast and challenges in the hub.

Everything in Neon White revolves around running though, especially if you want to see the optional ending. Whether you dig Neon White or not will depend heavily on whether a shooter built on speedrunning through levels appeals to yo?u. Some of the best writing and in-game moments lay behind the optional social content, and that'll add a little challenge to the fold.

If shoving Toonami and the Titanfall 2 Pilot's Gauntlet into a blender and turning it to the highest speed sounds like a good time, then Neon White might be what you're looking for. It's a blood-pumping, speed-infused anime shooter with style and a decent bit of heart. While it's short and sweet, Neon White gives just enough to get the player ke??en on shaving off seconds and fractions of seconds until they are, indeed, a speedrunning freak. For anyone who likes to go ??fast, that's at least worth the price of admission.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Neon White appeared first on Destructoid.

Not sure what it is, but it looks amazing

If you're a fan of games like Inside and Limbo, you're in luck, because Jeppe Carlsen, the gameplay designer who worked on those titles, is also heading up a new project called Cocoon. It's a colorful puzzle game that's also being published by Annapurna, which is a great seal of approval in my eyes. The ga?me's puz??zles have to deal with different colored orbs, which the player uses in different ways, like opening pathways, building bridges, and even controlling little robots.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcdcCCgFrrg

Cocoon is still shrouded in a lot of mystery, but it's easy to tell how much polish it has even from this premiere trailer alone. We don't have a release window yet, but we do know that Cocoon will be coming to Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One,? and Xbox Game P??ass.

The post Cocoon is a colorful puzzle game from the lead gameplay designer of Inside ??and Lim??bo appeared first on Destructoid.