It took one day to shoot down this radical idea

Earlier this week, Halo Infinite was delayed into 2021. It'll no longer release alongside the Xbox Series X, which is a serious blow to the new Xbox's launch lineup. However, Microsoft gave some consideration to salvaging some of Halo Infinite for this November bef??ore d??eciding better of it.

Xbox head Phil Spencer appeared on Gary Whitta's "Animal Talking" podcast to discuss Halo and the Xbox Series X. Spencer immediately apologized to players, saying "Let me start just by recognizing the fans and the fact that this is a bummer." He continued "It is disappointing to people, it's disappointing to us. We were looking forward to the alignment of Halo Infinite and the Xbox Series X."

Then, Spencer confessed that Microsoft was tossing around a very extreme idea for a series that has only dealt in gigantic high-profile retail releases. Rather than fully delaying Halo Infinite, Microsoft considered releasing it in chunks. Ultimately, it only took about 24 hours for the decision-makers to swat down this episodic model. Spencer justified the decision by saying "It just didn't feel, to all of us, like the Halo release that we would want."

So, Halo Infinite will show up sometime next year as one complete product. Launching a new console without a flagship system-selle??r nearly led to quite the nontraditional approach though.

Phil Spencer talks Halo Infinite's delay in?to 2021 [Stevivor]

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Whistle while you work

There has been no shortage of video game development horror stories over the past decade, as plenty of ?studios have been exposed for their soul-crushing and awful work conditions. That's miserable, but what if you put up with that work environment only to make ?games that were universally hated? 

That's the idea behind 3 Out of 10, a name that kinda tells you everything you need to know. Set?? at the fictional Shovelworks Studios, this interactive sitcom is an irreverent Adult Swim-like take on bad gam??e development. 

The bad news: Only the first episode of 3 Out of 10 is free this week. The good news: The remaining four episodes in Season 1 are free in subsequent weeks. Epic paid for the entirety of the five-episode run of 3 Out of 10 to make it an exclusive launch on the Epic Games Store; part of the logic behind that decision is because developer Terrible Posture found a way to create the show entirely within Unreal Engine without switching to third-party software, as Engadget details.

The second Epic freebie dabbles in career-change escapism too. Amazon fulfillment simulator Wilmot's Warehouse is up for grabs this week. Wilmot's Warehouse is a clever cooperative sorting game that rewards creative organization. Jordan lavished praise upon the Switch version late last year. In our Slack DMs this morning (all work conversations are subject to being turned into #content), he said it's "a ??GOTY for me in co-op" and that "as a puzzle fiend, [I] would love? it."

Next week, Epic is back to stuff you (probably) can't get in real life. Souls-like-but-with-guns action looter shooter Remnant: From the Ashes is the high-profile free game next week. Indie, artsy scenic snowboarder The Alto Collection makes up the other half.

3 Out of 10, Wilmot's Warehouse [Epic Games Store]

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Would you like to hear a story?

Dontnod Entertainment has established it as one of the best studios for storytelling in all of video games. Last year, it revealed its next tale would be a story of siblings called Tell Me Why. During today's ??Xbox Games Showcase, we got a new trailer for the?? game and the confirmation that its first chapter will launch on August 27. 

The post The first chapter of Dontnod’s Tell Me Why hits August 27 appeared first on Destructoid.

It's gotten better since the first week

A few weeks ago we checked in on the new story mode in Apex Legends Season 5, the "Broken Ghost." And the verdict there could be distilled to "neat, but shallow." Still, the model appears to be working well for Respawn, as it has reported its best player retention rate yet for the battle royale. Requiring players to log in and play on at least five separate days (or pay extra) i??n order to keep up with the weekly episodic narrative has had its intended effect. I can personally attest: it has changed my habit to a nightly jaunt into King's Canyon where it was previously just a weekend binge.

And for what it's worth, the story missions have gotten better over time. After completing the first one, it felt like a proper introductory mission, laying out the structure and keeping it fairly easy without throwing in too ma??ny?? twists. And I could imagine each episode being roughly the same, just with the difficulty tweaked upward once players had a handle on it. Thankfully, it has exceeded those expectations, if only by a bit.

Thus far, we're n??early halfway through the series at four of nine episodes released. (As an aside, Respawn isn't calling these "episodes," but I am, as the weekly bite-sized releases are the closest thing to episodic gaming I've played since the term was invented.) The first episode introduced the basic structure that all would follow: start in one location, move to another location, defend that location for a short period of time, then move to a third for extraction.

The second episode shook that formula up a bit with a sniping section from the top of the Cage, blocking forward progress until enough critters had been taken out. In addition, it also introduced some drama into the narrative, reinforcing the idea we saw with Forge in Season 4 that if a Legend? dies in a cutscene, then that Legend dies for good. Nobody died in the second episode, but somebody almost did, and she has still been out of commission, unable to be chosen as a playable character in these story missions since. (She can still be played just fine in the battle royale mode.)

The third episode might be my favorite so far, with an opening inspired by last year's Halloween event. Revenant gets in on the action and forces players into the shadow mod??e from that limited-time event. Instead of moving ??from point A to point B, firing weapons at Prowlers, players are sprinting around a more open area, avoiding the creatures while trying to destroy totems in order to restore their normal forms. After that section, it reverts to the standard format, but the open spaces in Water Treatment still make for a different approach than the linear nature of Artillery Tunnel and Hydro Tunnel.

This week's episode starts in?? Slum Lakes, a collection of shacks that makes for the opposite of a linear path, then it twists it by littering the area with Octane's Jump Pads and putting all the good loot on the rooftops. The "defend the drill" section here was more hectic than others have been, where backpedaling away from a beast while firing would often lead to bouncing out of the ring and panicking to get back inside. The extraction was perhaps the least tense of the bunch, however, with a Jump Tower right next to the drill and the extraction ship well within range of the redeploy.

Another neat little twist that may turn some players off is how the events in the story missions and in the text portions affect which Legends can be played from week to week. For instance, this week we learned that Octane went AWOL and went nuts with the Jump Pads before we got there, so he wasn't selectable to play through the mission. For people who have a favorite character to play as, it c?ould be a bit of a bumm??er to be locked out, but there are enough characters now that I haven't felt restricted by it.

All in all, I'm looking forward to the rest of this series, and I'll be checking in on it every Tuesday until it's over. It's not the greatest storytelling or gameplay in a genre of what I'd call "Left 4 Dead Lite," but it has surprised me in how it has grown since the?? first episode.

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Vaya con lobos

_{[You can? read revie?ws for past episodes here: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4.]}

Pangs of guilt washed over me in the final moments of Life is Strange 2. I saw the conclusion to this story -- this long, strange, formative, and tragic roadtrip -- in a manner that felt just and fitting. Throughout everything, I let my mora??l compass be Sean Diaz's moral compass. I valued, above all else, guiding Daniel toward becoming a respectab??le and responsible young man. I wanted him to be someone their dad would be proud of.

Somewhere along the way, I had lost track of their ambitions as individuals. Maybe I never really listened in the first place. I let my goals become Sean's goals, and then I forced that upon Daniel. If Life is Strange has taught us anything, it's that nothing ever works out exactly as intended. Even the straight and narrow is litte?red with?? unforeseeable twists and turns. My heart was in the right place, and I guess that's the consolation I'll have to take. 

Life is Strange 2: Episode 5: Wolves (PC, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: December 3, 2019
MSRP: $39.99 (all five episodes)

Life is Strange 2's fifth and final episode is bisected -- almost in perfectly-timed halves -- between relative comfort and ?imminent danger. Sean and Daniel have alway?s made the most of their quiet moments. This time it's to greater effect than ever before. They're temporarily set up in Away, a hippie commune in the Arizona desert. The carefree attitudes and high-hanging sun mean Away is every bit as slow-moving as you'd expect.

It's h?ere that the brothers make up for lost time with their estrang??ed mother, someone who was finally introduced in-person in Episode 4. She acts true to her character: Sorry that she abandoned the family, but ultimately resolute in her belief that she needed to pursue her own happiness. After spending the majority of his life resenting his mom, Sean begins to relent. There's a very real feeling that Sean finally understands everyone has their own story to tell. Considering everything he's been through, he should understand better than most.

Daniel's not as discerning. As Sean points out, Daniel makes friends everywhere he goes. He's right. Daniel thrives in social situations, charming everyone he meets. We've seen it in literally every?? episode -- from starting small by befriending Brodie and Captain Spirit, to earning the admiration of all the marijuana farm laborers, to becoming the object of affection of an entire religious sect.

There's not much in Daniel's life that's stable, and maybe that's why he clings to every new person he comes across. It's no different in this sleepy desert community. Everyone loves the Diaz brothers, all of them chatting it up like they've known each other for a lifetime. It's jarring at first, hearing all these names thrown around like they're characters you're supposed to remember. (You'll certainly remember one character though, an important recall from the original Life is Strange.) Eventually, everyone in Away proves to be kindhearted and eager to help.?? 

Some painful goodbyes and caring sacrifices set up the second half of Life is Strange 2's finale, the culmination of this entire adventure. It's finally time to cross t??he border into ??Mexico. Predictably, things don't go as planned. A heavy-handed sociopolitical plot device separates the brothers and sends everything hurtling toward its conclusion.

Though loud and explicit, developer Dontnod has found great nuance in the ways it wraps up this story. This was a critical flaw with the writing in the original Life is Strange, as it stripped away a lot of agency in favor of a binary ending. Life is Strange 2 is a maturation in this sense.? All the endings feel like n??atural sums of the journey thus far.

Dontnod has released a video that shows all four major endings to Life is Strange 2. You can watch it here but be warned that there are big-time ?spoilers. I came away with what's probably considered the canonically pure conclusion, the lawful good one. It's what I had been building toward all this time. In hindsight, I don't think it's optimal. There's another ending that better takes both Sean's autonomy and Daniel's education into closer consideration. C'est la vie.

The fault's mine because I pursued Daniel's best interests at the cost of Sean's -- something I hadn't realized until those closing minutes. It may not feel as overt and constant, but individualism is every bit the major theme cutting through Life is Strange 2 as ??family, sacrifice, and responsibility. I ignored that and I don't feel good about it.

Life is Strange 2 represents a sophistication of Dontnod's storytelling capabilities because it effectively adds up and weighs moral decisions to truly influence the narrative outcome. Every ending comes with some degree of complication -- that much was to be expected -- but it's satisfying because they're all befitting of the characters you molded. Whichever directi??on you took Sean and Daniel's lives, chances are you'll feel responsible for their fates. It's personal. Because it's personal, it's memorable. That's about the utmost positive quality for this style of story.

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

The post Review: Life is Strange 2: Episode 5: Wolves appeared first on Destructoid.

Coming next summer

Dontnod Entertainment has never been one to shy away from tough subject matter. For its next game, the Life is Strange develope??r is tackling its mos?t sensitive material yet.

Tell Me Why is the next episodic adventure game from Dontnod. It tells the s??tory of a brother and sister who recount their upbringing in a small Alaskan town. Tyler and Alyson Ronan are identical twins, and Tyler is a transgender man.

Throughout the game, Tell Me Why explores formative moments during the siblings' childhood. These points are looked at through the eyes of both Tyler and Alyson, offe?ring a glimpse at the ways everything impacted them individually from their own perspective. Sometimes th?ey'll have conflicting recollections. Dontnod notes that it's up to the player to decide which retelling they choose to believe. Whatever the player chooses along the way will eventually end up "[determining] the strength of the twins' bond, and the future course of their lives."

Dontnod mentions that it was careful not to make Tyler's gender identity his entire character. The studio consulted with GLAAD to ensure Tyler ended up a well-rounded and fully-realized person who's "not reduced to simplistic trans tropes." Additionally, the spotlight isn't focused brightest on t?he brother. Both Alyson and Tyler are playable charac?ters, and they both play equal roles.

Tell Me Why is a three-part game, and it seems as though all three installments will launch close to one another during the summer of 2020. It'll be available on Xbox One and PC -- the latter on both the Windows Store and Steam. Tell Me Why will ??also be include?d as part of Xbox Game Pass at launch.

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Collector's Edition up for pre-order

Fans of Square Enix dramatic narrative adventure Life is Strange 2 might be pleased to hear that the publisher is planning a physical release for the title, which will compile all five episodes of the second season along with the prelude, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit.

Life is Strange 2 tells the story of young siblings Daniel and Sean Diaz, whose lives are turned upside-down after a tragedy that takes place outside their home. Now on the run from the police, the two brothers attempt to trek from Seattle to New Mexico, while Daniel comes to terms with some frightening new abilities. The physical edition will feature the first four episodes (and Captain Spirit) on-disc, while episode five will be a digital download. ??Also included are a selection of fabric patches.

For dedicated LiS fans, a Collector's Edition is available to pre-order. For around $70, the set includes the game itself, a 4x7 vinyl set of its haunting soundtrack, a 32-page art book, and vinyl figurines of the Diaz brothers, all housed in special packaging. If you'd like to pre-order this set, then take a trip over to the official Square Enix store.

Life is Strange 2 physical edition goes on sale for PS4, PC and Xbox One?? on December 3, 2019 in Europe, but North America will have to?? wait until February 4, 2020.

The post Life is Strange 2 physical edition coming to PC? and consoles this winter appeared first on Destructoid.

Well, I guess it would be nice...

_{[You can read reviews for past episodes here: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3.]}

Sean Diaz is beaten and bloody and beaten and bruised and beaten and broken. If we're chasing alliteration, blind too -- at least partially. The conclusion to Episode 3 lands Sean in the hospital with major eye damage and frequent interrogations from the f?eds.

It never gets easier. The rest of Episode 4: Faith, to put it elo?quently, kicks the shit out of Sean. Gut punches -- emotional and literal -- come in quick succession. You wonder which one's goin?g to keep him down for the count. But he always gets back to his feet. That Diaz kid has got a lot of fight in him.

Life is Strange 2: Episode 4: Faith (PC, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: August 22, 2019
MSRP: $39.99 (all five episodes)

The majority of Faith doesn't feel like the rest of Life is Strange 2. That's because Sean and Daniel are separated, and their familial bond has been the driving force behind the first three episodes. Without Daniel to look after and educate, Faith feels empty. It's lonely.

Although the aim is to find Daniel, a lot of time is spent getting there. Sean takes a mandatory road trip from California to Nevada, committing at least one more felony along the way. (Who cares about a rap sheet at this point?) There's urgency, but not in the way we're used to. All of Life is Strange 2 has been a delicate balance between survival and being a good role model to Daniel. Without the latter at stake, Faith sort of just exists.

That's only the first act, leaving Faith to veer back into familiar terri?tory but with a very different dynamic. Daniel has been taken in by a religious sect with an egotistical preacher. He performs "miracles," leading the congregation to believe the preacher has been chosen by divine intervention. The preacher is completely unwilling to let the goose who laid the golden egg just up and walk out the door.

One of Daniel's most dangerous personality traits manifests just as in Episode 3. He's young, so he seeks validation and acceptance. The religious zealots give him that adoration, so he thinks they're family. However, unlike Episode 3, Daniel's willing to cut out his real family this time. It's a stark contrast to the first three chapters wh??ere no matter how bad things got, at least they had each other.

Sean gets help. A lot of it, actually. A quick appearance by a new cast member rivals Brody (Episode 1) as the most selfless character in the whole story. Two people from his past show up to offer (mostly) unconditional assistance. These characters come with tough conversations, but they're conversations that need to be had. Daniel isn't by his side right now, and Faith exp??ertly reminds us that Sean ca??n't do any of this by himself.

Faith serves a few important purposes within the Life is Strange 2 story. It shores up some loose ends from the brothers' past, it proves the lengths Sean is willing to go to in order to protect Daniel, and it gives Daniel further autonomy by letting him make his own decisions. It's an exciting chapter that leaves everyone worse for the wear. That's the cadence we've come to expect from Life is Strange, though.

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

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It's heartbreak warfare

We expect Life is Strange 2 to hit a crescendo awfully quickly. (Actually, the nature of episodic games kind of dem?ands that each chapter toys with significant emotional dynamics.) Sean and Daniel's cursed roadtrip from hell is coming to an end soon; things are gonna get worse before they get better.

The fourth episode, Faith, releases on August 22. This here isn't the full-blown trailer. It's just a teaser that will lead into the real trailer which is coming August 19. That actual trailer will probably convey more about how this is a dire situation because nothing is ever easy in Life is Strange.

But! This teaser -- only 28 seconds of e?xasperated fatalism -- already does a good job of letting us know the stakes are about to get upped even further. How you ask? Is it the ominous voiceover? No, that's the obvious and boring answer. Is it the grainy desert air hanging so hot that it makes everything look like a mirage? No, although that particular effect is always great. It's the single tumbleweed blowing left to right across the road. A tumbleweed is cinematic shorthand for "shit is about to go down." A tumbleweed means someone is gonna tumblebleed.

The post Life is Strange 2’s Episode 4 teaser trailer has a tumbleweed, and that’s how you know shit is goin’ down appeared first on Destructoid.

Physical and digital bundles available

Skybound Games has announced an all-in-one compilation package for Telltale's The Walking Dead series. Titled The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series, the package will be released on September 10, 2019, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC (via the Epic Games Store) for $49.99. On consoles, a physical edition will be available that contains every episode -- including the 400 Days DLC and Michonne spin-off -- with ove??r 10 hours of developer commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a music player, and a sho?rt documentary titled "Return of The Walking Dead."

If that wasn't enough, this re-release will contain graphical improvements in a style that mimics the graphic novels. Called the "Graphic Black" style, this filter was previously available only in The Final Season. Kent Mudle, creative director for The Walking Dead, said, "Graphic bla??ck is a loving tribute to the source material and a powerful art style that makes the game look like a living comic book." It can now be applied to every episode to create a consistent ??look across the entire series.

The Definitive Series collection can be pre-ordered through Skybound's online shop right now. Digital pre-orde??r bonuses will be available, but Skybound has ??not revealed the details yet.

The post The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series compiles the whole s?eries in one package appeared first on Destructoid.

Problems of the digital age

Minecraft: Story Mode is about to be delisted from digital marketplaces, but something odd is going on with the Xbox 360 version. In a strange limitation of the Xbox Live Marketplace, there is no way to remove ??a title from sale while letting legitimate owners redownload them. I guess Microsoft didn't think of that when it launched the 360 14 years ago (how dare they!), so a different type of workaround has been utilized.

Each episode of Minecraft: Story Mode is currently available for $100 on 360. That is not a joke, but something done to deter people from actually buying the game. In a message on the Minecraft: Story Mode Facebook page, what's left of Tellta??le Games' staff wrote?:

Minecraft: Story Mode games will no longer be supported via the necessary game servers on June 25th, 2019. All of Minecraft: Story Mode content was removed from sale on each digital storefront ahead of that happening. In the process of removing these items for sale, on the Xbox 360 platform only, existing Minecraft: Story Mode players became unable download their remaining episodes. From working with the Xbox 360 platform, the only solution to this situation is to re-list the downloadable content for purchase. So, to assist existing customers, all the downloadable Episodes for the two Minecraft: Story Mode titles are temporarily re-listed but, to ??deter new ?purchases, they will be re-listed at a very high price!

So if you really feel like dropping over $1,000 to get all of Minecraft: Story Mode digitally, you can now fulfill that dream. Sadly, once June 25 rolls around, you'll no longer to able to redownload any of the episodes on Xbox 360. A physical version of the complete season one exists on 360, but it seems season two? will be lost to the passage of time. The problems of a digit?al age, I suppose.

Minecraft: Story Mode [Facebook]

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Grab it now if you want it

Another title from Telltale Games' back catalog will be disappearing this year. Minecraft: Story Mode, the spin-off of Mojang's insanely popular craft-a-thon, will be leaving digital marketplaces on June 25, 2019. All platforms and both seasons will be affected, which includes an insane amount of legacy consoles. Story Mode had a home on PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 along with mobile devices and current-gen hardware, so there's pote??ntially a lot of customers that might be losing access to these games.

In a message over on the official Minecraft website, publisher Mojang insists that players download all remaining episodes prior to them being delisted. I'm not sure if that is just a precautionary step, or if the servers on each platform will actually cease to host the titles for users that already own them. This isn't completely unprecedented as a few games on Xbox 360 (and, famously, P.T. on PS4) can no longer be downloaded regardless of ownership. If you aren't sure you if you own any or h??ave them downloaded, check now.

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Arrested development

_{[You can read reviews for past episodes here: Episode 1, Episode 2]}

"Aww, you'll get scars but you'll [learn to cope]. Part of the fun!" Sean Diaz is told this early into Life is Strange 2: Episode 3 by a peer who's talking about literal scars from their illegal employment trimming marijuana buds. But, it's this same character who later sits everyone down by the fire and suggests they bear their emotional scars by telling the ?story of the worst thing that has ever happened to them.

Sean and Daniel Diaz already have plenty of scars -- physical and emo??tional -- and they're cuts that are far deeper than anything a pair of tiny gardening shears could manage. "Part of the fun" is a stretch, something that only the cheeriest and most optimis??tic glass-half-fuller would suggest. Fun or not, it's the reality of the Diaz brothers' circumstance.

Life is Strange 2: Episode 3: Wastelands (PC, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: May 9, 2019
MSRP: $39.99 (all five episodes)

Life is Strange 2's third episode, much like the second, puts Sean and Daniel in relative comfort. They're temporarily settled in a commune in the California forest, set up with a bunch of social misfits who all live out of their tents. Free spirits and a temporary gig harvesting weed are the only things everyone has in common. Just like the beginning of the second episode, they still shit in buckets. They have gainful employment but not that much has changed.

Wastelands feels like the most stunted of Life is Strange 2's three episodes. It's the shortest, it's the one that puts the least emphasis on family, and it's the most emotionally even keel. Most important, Wastelands is a chapter where Daniel doesn't really learn any lessons. Halfway through the episode, Daniel makes a grand, emphatic gesture, exclaiming "I'm not a kid a?nymore!" He believes that he's grown up, meaning that he's resistant to growing further. 

There will almost certainly be a developmental payoff to Daniel's stubbornness in later episodes, but it comes at a cost in Wastelands. Sean is ineffective at getting his message across because Daniel is done listening. In a way, it's encouraging to see Daniel given some autonomy. But, as an adult, it's? frustrating to see a child insist that they have all the answers -- especially considering the?? uniquely terrible situation the Diaz brothers find themselves in.

Sean, to his credit, still tries to play the role of father figure. Of the two, Sean is the one who's actively growing as a person because he's taking on new responsibilities. Even though Daniel's convinced he has it all figured out, Sean -- or my version of Sean, anyway -- won't let his guard down. Around the campfire, Sean has the optio?n to smoke weed or drink beer. Sean stayed sober because Daniel was sitting right next to him. He really could've used something to take the edge off, but not with Daniel around. Daniel, a self-proclaimed adult now, tried taking a hit off the joint before Sean intervened.

Because this is a tragic road trip, Sean and Daniel aren't forced to deal with the day-to-day ramifications of a settled life. They're nomads, making a mess of one place before up and leaving for a lower latitude. It affords Life is Strange 2 the convenience of always having somewhere new to explore. The life around an illegal marijuana grow op is the best setting yet. However, the intensity ?of the finale is diminished when you remember that relationships, like locations, are fleeting.

There's no question that Sean and Daniel leave Life is Strange 2's third episode with more scars than they began with. Scars have a way of robbing innocence and dispiriting the spirited. It's no wonder Daniel is disillusioned. But that headstrong attitude leaves Wastelands feeling like an episode without much de??velopment. Deep in the California forest, the weed is growing bu??t that's about it.

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

(Previous Life is Strange 2 reviews: Roads, Rules)

The post Review: Life is Strange 2: Episode 3: Wastelands appeared first on Destructoid.

Unhappy Campers

The story continues a little later this week in Dontnod Entertainment's dramatic sequel Life is Strange 2. A new launch trailer gives us a glimpse a??t the troubles which await siblings Sean and Daniel Diaz in episode three, which sees them on the run and seeking solace in the Californian woodland.

The road has already been quite rough for the brothers Diaz, with Sean's desperate efforts to keep them safe and away from the hands of the law, whilst Daniel fails to come to terms with his weird and frightening new abilities. Hopefully, time in the forest - along with some new-found friends - wi?ll give our protagonists respite from their recent trail of carnage, though I'm sure there will be plenty of morally grey choices along the way.

It's also wise to note that there will be quite a gap between both Episodes 3 & 4 and then Episodes 4 & 5. After Wastelands launches this week, the next chapter of Life is Strange 2 isn't expected until late August, with the finale exp??ected to arrive sometime in December. Fans are seemin?gly in this one for the long haul.

Life is Strange 2 - Episode 3: Wastelands launches May 9 on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

The post Life is Strange 2 ????continues with Episode 3: Wastelands appeared first on Destructoid.

Sean and Daniel and Mary Jane

It feels like it has been a while since Life is Strange 2's second episode released, and that's kind of the case. Rules came out in January, four months after the initial episode. Now, it's about time for the next installment. Life is Strange 2 might not? be committed to a quick pace, but it's keeping a steady schedule??.

Or should I say it's kiefing a steady schedule because Episode 3 has the dankest sticky icky, the nicest nugs, and the sickest spliffs. For 4/20 (which is now over, no more marijuana for a year), developer Dontnod uploaded this trailer of the boys walking through a greenhouse.

Drugs. Life is Strange 2 has 'em. THSee it in action when Episode 3, Wastelands, releases on May 9.

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The story continues May 9

Square Enix and Dontnod Entertainment have dropped an exceptionally slight trailer for the next episode of their high drama adventure series, Life is Strange 2. The third episode, which is titled Wastelands, will arrive early next month.

This very short teaser features d??ialogue from the next act of the episodic series, which currently sees brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz buddy up with a community of drifters after their unfortunate misadventures in Beaver Creek, Oregon. No doubt there's troub??le a'brewin' as the local authorities continue their hunt for the young siblings, while Daniel struggles to contain his newfound abilities.

Life is Strange 2: Episode 3: Wastelands launches May 9 on PS4, PC and Xbox One.

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This is the end, beautiful friend, the end...

And so, this is it. After four intense seasons, the series formerly known as Telltale's The Walking Dead has reached its sombre climax. We have watched lead protagonist Clementine grow from a frightened child - having endured horrors no-one should ever have to experience - into a strong, c??onfident young woman. Now the guardian of A.J., an angry and confused kid, Clementine's life and lessons have led to this final stand in a dangerous and frightening ??world.

When Telltale's The Walking Dead first launched back in 2012, its modern blending of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, point-and-click games, and dramatic, TV-style storytelling earned critical praise, big bucks sales, and numerous Game of the Year awards. As we know, this then led to a huge catalogue of titles from the Californian developer, hit-and-miss affairs which would ultimately lead to the studio's unfortunate demise in 2018, right in the middle of The Walking Dead's fourth and final season.

St??ill, hope springs eternal, and the series, along with much of its team, were picked up by Skybound Games, who now present this final chapter of a tale seven years in the making. A tal??e that has seen Clementine meet, befriend, love, and even kill friend and foe alike. Clem has traveled a weary road, making difficult moral choices for herself and those around her, all whilst fighting for survival within a literal hell on Earth. You've come a long way, baby...

The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Episode 4: Take Us Back (PC [reviewed], PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Skybound Games
Publisher: Skybound Games
Released: March 26, 2019
MSRP: $19.99/£18.99

[Minor Spoilers Below]

Picking up immediately from where we last left off, Clem, A.J., and pals are aboard a literal sinking ship, having botched a rescue mission on sociopath Lily and her gang of ?raiders. After this initial action sequence, the episode gives way to several tense verbal conflicts and some tough, but frustratingly obscure, choices.

Not long into the episode there begins a conversation with A.J. which, in theory, is the culmination of all you have taught the boy to date. Unfortunately, it's structurally a mess, filled with random tidbits based on your past exploits and - much like the "How have you defined Joker?" hook of Batman: The Enemy Within - I was left feeling t?hat all I had done previously to? shape A.J. got thrown out for one question. A question so morally obscure that it's difficult to take a line on it without situational context.

I don't feel I failed A.J. as a guiding light in difficult circumstances, but I am left feeling that my meticulous guidance boiled down to one, maybe two choices, leaving me to deal with their heavily-weighted outcomes. Once again, the smoke and mirrors of the Telltale Games mechanic have left me feeling like I haven't really had much control over events.

As Take Us Back progresses, things get inevitably emotional. A few tough decisions over the past two episodes will direct the fates of several major players, although some outcomes appear pretty much set in stone. As a climax to The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Take Us Back is fine, with some genuinely affecting scenes, but as a climax to an entire saga, it's surprisingly low-key, and even draws out its epilogue a little too long, with multiple false finishes. Fans will be pleased to hear that they slip in a particularly dark flashback, allowing us to discover how Clementine and A.J were reunited after the events of A New Frontier.

How you personally feel about the narrative conclusion of The Final Season will be somewhat subjective. It shouldn't be forgotten that, at one point, we weren't getting any ending whatsoever. Skybound and Telltale should be applauded for not sending the fans away with that crushing frustration. While this concluding episode doesn't quite knock it out of the park, nor does it leave me feeling like I truly had control over events (which is a staple crit??icism of most of Telltale's wares), it does give Clementine - the real star of the show - her finale. It would have been an absolute crime not to.

Whatever anyone thinks of the Telltale's interactive storytelling, the launch of The Walking Dead was a genre-defining moment in gaming, deserving of all the success, awards, and praise that it received. At its emotional core is the character of Clementine, who has rightfully earned a place in gaming's hall of fame as a magnetic, likable, barrier-breaking lead. For all of the series' hit-and-miss factors, they got Clementine right. Kudos to actor Melissa Hutchinson and writer Gary Whitta for their realisation of a great protagonist.

Strictly speaking, you don't need a review to tell you whether to play the final episode in the fourth season of a franchise. This far down the line, you're already on board, or you aren't. I think Take Us Back's writing will find some division in the community, re?gardless of your own personal outcome. Some may cry, others may smile, some may even frown and exclaim "...whaaat?" But we can at least rest easy knowing that Clem, A.J., and all of us were not left wandering the wilderness, guessing at what might have been.

From the first moment that patrol car spilled convict Lee Everett into a ditch, to the final curtain fall on this climactic episode, players have enjoyed telling their tale of survival, friendship, bravery, and tragedy in a post-Walker world. It's been a very bumpy ride, both technically and narratively, but Telltale's The Walking Dead worked hard to push past these shortcomings, creating a new form of interactive fiction. One whic??h procured genuine emotional investment from its fanbase an??d a deserved place in video game history.

We Will Remember That.

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

The post Review: The Walking Dead – The Final Season: Take Us Back appeared first on Destructoid.

Better late than never, I suppose

If you were hoping to finish off the story to Life is Strange 2 anytime soon, you're in for quite the shock. Developer DONTNOD Entertainment has released a roadmap ??for when the next three episodes will be coming and the wait is pretty staggering. Episode three will be coming on May 9, 2019, b??ut the final two will be several months apart from each other.

Episode four will premiere on August 22, 2019, and the season finale will be coming on December 3, 2019. I'm all for not rushing things and taking fan feedback into account, but that is a crazy wait between episodes. I suppose this is nothing like Kentucky Route Zero (which still isn't finished after six years), but an entire year to fi??nish off this story seems exc?essive.

I do have to wonder how successful episodic gaming like this is nowadays. I suppose fan interest will be retained over longer periods, but the novelty of a title receiving regular updates loses its appeal when the story is put on hold for several months. I know with Telltale's work, for instance, I'd usually wait for a complete season before even bothering. At the same time, a longer wait will ensure that any flaws with prior episodes can be ironed out for th?e next one (potentially).

Whatever the case, strap in for a wait with Life is Strange 2.

There's quite a wait for Life is Strange 2's remaining episodes [Eurogamer]

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Fu Hu Hu

We recently heard that the first chapter of Deltarune, the follow-up to Toby Fox' much-loved RPG Undertale, would be arriving on Nintendo Switch later this?? month. It's since been announced, via Twitter, that PS4 pla??yers will also be able to dive into its ??weird world on the same day.

Deltarune first appeared as a strange and spooky viral game, that appeared on a mysterious website one October morning. After playing through the trippy adventure, fans soon came to realise that it was essentially the first chapter of a pseudo-sequel of sorts to Undertale, a retro?-s?tyled RPG that tugged heartstrings back in 2015.

The first chapter of Deltarune is free for all, but the following chapters will arrive as paid episodic content. You can check out Deltarune Chapter 1 on PC right now, the PS?4 and Nintendo Switch ports will be available to downloa?d February 28.

ニュースです！PS4版DELTARUNE Chapter 1は、Nintendo Switch版と同じく、2月28日に配信を開始することが決定しました！ そちらを遊ぶ前に、ぜひUNDERTALEをチェックしてみてください。PS StoreとeShopで2月27日までセール中です！ pic.twitter.com/LdHDuBhd7n

— UNDERTALE / DELTARUNE (@UndertaleJP) February 21, 2019

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We're one away, boys!

New Blood Interactive has released Amid Evil's sixth episode today. One step closer to final release, this new episode takes us to the "Arcane Expanse" and it l??ooks ridiculous. I'm so awestruck by some of the architecture in these levels because it's exactly the kind of winding, labyrinthine de??sign that I like.

All you'll need to do to grab the new episode is log in to Steam and download the update. To celebrate the launch, Amid Evil is currently 15% off. You should totally consider buying it, too, as Amid Evil is pretty great.

The post Amid Evil’s sixth episode is now available appeared first on Destructoid.

Relative comfort

_{[You can read a review for past episodes here: Episode 1]}

Although Life is Strange 2's second episode, Rules, expands on the framework of its introductory chapter, it doesn't necessarily raise stakes. Rather, it seeks comfort and familiarity. That's a very real aspect of the human condition: When fa?ced with tragedy and overwhelming circumstance, try to cope by staying grounded through whatever normality you can latch onto.

Rules is a relatively slow-paced act. It's mostly free from the suffocating desperation that seeped out of every seam in the first chapter. Despite all evidence to the contrary, it's not all tough times for the Diaz brothers. The bulk of Rules is a reprieve of sorts -- albeit a reprieve that still manages to sneak in some wel?l-timed emotional g??ut punches.

Life is Strange 2: Episode 2: Rules (PC, PS4, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: January 24, 2019
MSRP: $39.99 (all five episodes)

Sean and Daniel are fortunate enough to have found an abandoned one-bedroom house in the woods. (The word "fortunate" feels like a real stretch, only applicable because of how awful their situation is.) It has been approximately one month since the events of the first episode, meaning the Pacific Northwest has transitioned from colorful autumn to harsh, snow-b??lanketed winter. This house is shelter and any shelter is a blessing -- even if they have to eat ravioli every night and shit in a metal bucket.

It's here that Daniel hones his newfound telekinetic powers. The opening minutes see Sean help train his little brother. Pick up some cans. Pick up a rock. Pick up a bigger rock. But it's also where we discover the overarching motif for Rules. Sean stresses time and time again that Daniel is to keep this ability under wraps??. Hide your power, never talk about it, and run from danger. Those are the rules Sean beats into Daniel's head every chance he gets.

The brothers realize this shack isn't adequate in the long-term so they set off for their grandparents' house which is a two-day hike away. This is where the cozy monotony of Rules takes its grasp. Reluctantly, the grandparents accept Sean and Daniel while warning that they keep a low profile in this sleepy town. A good chunk of this episode is spent adapting to the routine of a couple of retired senior citizens. Help tidy up the house, check out grandpa's elaborate model train set, pray b??efore bedtime. At least they have three hots, a cot, and clean clothes.

Life with grandma is mostly uninteresting, but the neighbors steal the show in Rules. Charles and Chris Eriksen, the father-son duo at the center of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. (Captain Spirit was a free playable teaser that led to the reveal of Life is Strange 2; I wholly recommend playing it because it provides a lot of context that adds emotional heft to Rules.) Chris and Daniel hit it off immediately. They're superhero cohorts, and Daniel uses his telekinesis while letting Chris think he's the one with superpowers. Daniel's breaking rule one bu??t not rule two.

It's moments like this where al??l the tiny conversational cues snowball into something more substantial. Sean has trained Daniel well enough. Daniel could've fessed up. What harm would there be in an imaginative nine-year-old knowing the truth? Realistically, Chris would just want to play superheroes more often. But Daniel keeps it hidden and lets Captain Spirit think he's the one with the gift. It seems mutual??ly beneficial in a way.

Daniel is learning and that seems to be the real payoff in Rules. If Sean scolds him enough for swearing, Daniel stops with the curse wor?ds. If Sean constantly harps on the powers thing, Daniel stops using them. He's kind of like a pup??py.

Even though Rules can come off as a plodding detour on an oppressive journey, it's important in a formative sense. If the first episode was about familial bond, the second is about freedom and restraint. Daniel is young and he's going to learn a lot by the conclusion of Life is Strange 2. And there are going to be h?arsh consequenc??es to it all.

Rules is bookended by some heartrate-spiking sequences, but the majority is spent relatively comfortably. Music has crescendos and decrescendos because they're dynamic. Loud has more impact when everything was soft just moments ago. Rules is a decrescendo. It's quiet and it's retrained. But all indications are that Life is Strange 2 won't stay quiet much longer.

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

The post Review: Life is Strange 2: Episode 2: Rules appeared first on Destructoid.

To Grandmother's House We Go!

Life is Strange 2 is shaping up to be about all sorts of formative m??oments and experiences, but there's an underlying thread that ties it all together: Family. Protagonists Sean and Daniel are brothers who are mutually mourning the loss of their dad.

That connection expands in Rules, the second of five episodes, when the two run off to grandma and grandpa's house. The grandparents quietly adopt the Diaz brothers, and tell them to keep a low profile in the sleepy town of Beaver Creek, O??regon. Assuredly, everything will not go smoothly.

This trailer also re-introduces Captain Spirit, as we'll seemingly get resolution to the arc started in the free Life is Strange 2 playable teaser The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. Captain Spirit is having a really bad Satu?rday; maybe Sean and Daniel can put some pep back in his step.

Life is Strange 2's second episode launches globally Thursday, J??anuary 24. We'll have ?a review ready sometime later this week.

The post Life is Strange 2’s Episode 2 trailer goes to gram and gramp’s house appeared first on Destructoid.

Back from the dead

Like Lazarus, The Walking Dead: The Final Season has risen from the grave to continue shuffling toward its seemingly dour conclusion. After the unfortunate closure of Telltale Games ??last year, it seemed that all was lost for the story of Clementine, with the series abandoned just two episodes from its finale.

That wasn't to be, however, as Skybound Games picked up The Walking Dead license - along with a bevy of Telltale's former employees - and are pushing on to complete the four-season story of survival, loss, and friendship, set against the background of a populace tearing itself apart, figuratively and literally.

When we last left Clementine and A.J. the pair had violently fended off a brutal siege at their schoolhouse compound, leaving some friends abducted and others six feet?? under. With a diminished party and their friends' very lives at stake, can Clementine hold it together to mount a rescue mission? What hope do these kids have against a heavily-armed band of scavengers, anyway?

The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Episode 3: Broken Toys (PC [reviewed], PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Skybound Games
Publisher: Skybound Games
Released: January 15, 2019
MSRP: $19.99/£18.99

[Minor Spoilers Below]

The aftermath of the school siege begins an incredibly somber and dialogue-heavy episode, as Clementine, A.J., and the scant survivors attempt to come to terms with their losses and put together a rescue plan. After the interrogation of Abel, the one raider who was left behind by his posse, our resourceful heroes perform recon duties on the enemy base, before forming an attack plan that's all kinds of suicidal.

Clem will also require help from her new friend James, a "walker-sympathiser" as it were, whom she met last episode. James is not feeling too groovy about leading his undead pals into battle, but attempts to educate our girl with a particularly scary trust exercise. Once the team of youngsters have their plan of attack in place, it's ti?me to lead the charge on a small army of adults armed with fully-automatic weapons. Blood is shed, of course.

Unfortunately, episode three stumbles. The first chapter in this season that feels "too long," despite being the same length as its brethren, Broken Toys is a slow-moving piece that includes both awkward scenes and conversation that feel out-of-place given the urgency of the situation. Knowing that the raiders could return at any moment, and are currently brainwashing their kidnapped buddies, a subplot to "Hold a Party" seems wildly misjudged, despite an excellent monologue during that sequence featuring V??iolet (should she still be in your crew). Kudos to voice actor Gideon Adlon.

When the assault on the enemy comes, it's weirdly stop-start and messily executed. The frantic attack feels oddly muted - complete with awkward pauses for exposition time - and is not quite as heart-pounding as Suffer the Children's riveting school siege. Fortunately, Broken Toys does pull it back with a wonderfully moving, genuinely affecting dream sequence and a first-person section that is creep??ily immersive, even if the theory behind it is kind of ?ludicrous.

The shift to Skybound Games has not helped the ever-struggling Telltale engine. Broken Toys crashed on two separate occasions, requiring a hard reboot of the PC. Also, during an ambitious action sequence featuring dynamic light and shadow, the framerate jerked reck??lessly, requiring me to lower settings until I completed it, then raise them? again afterward (something I've never had to do in the series so far).

I remain invested in The Walking Dead as it nears its conclusion, now just two months away. Though the move to Skybound hasn't improved the technical r?eliability of the Telltale Games experience, the artists, writers, and voice actors continue to present a story that remains suspenseful, delivering some great individual moments, even if it sometimes pads the run-time to reach them. Beyond that, it's just nice to see you again, Clem.

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

The post Review: The Walking Dead – The Final Season: Broken Toys appeared first on Destructoid.

Blast from the Past

After the unfortunate demise of Telltale Games and following their IP being picked up by Skybound, the penultimate episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season?? is almost upon us. A new, intense trailer has been released to get fans back into the swing of Clementine's last hurrah.

Episode 3: Broken Toys sees Clem, A.J. and their new pals coming to terms with the recent attack on their schoolhouse, leaving their gang wounded, diminished and morally broken. Still, there are frie??nds to be saved and vengeance to be met, so no ??doubt Clem and Co. will have no choice but to tread into the heart of darkness, crossing enemy territory to ensure their friends' safety.

As a final stinger for this trailer, we also get to see an old familiar friend, whose wise words and actions must be circling Clementine's head in these times of crisis. As the penultimate episode of the award-winning adventure series, Broken Toys is set to be quite an emotional gut punch.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Broken Toys launches January 15 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Swi?tc??h and PC via the Epic Games Store. If you purchased the full season, then you will receive the new episode via your original delivery platform (eg. Steam).

The post The Walking Dead: The Final Season re?turns with a familiar face appeared first on Destructoid.

Along with the rest of the series

Xbox Game Pass is getting a hefty dose of melodrama, maturation, and mistake-making. The entirety of the Life is Strange li??brary is coming to Xbox's subscription service.

The most relevant entry is Life is Strange 2, which is currently only 20 percent complete. The first episode comes to Xbox Game Pass tomorrow. However, this doesn't seem to be a glorified free trial that asks you to pay for the other four chapters. The announcement post on Xbox Wire says "...plus look out for episodes 2 [through] ?5 coming to Xbox Game Pass soon," which will presumably be on?? their launch dates.

However, the rest of Life is Strange was also recently introduced to Xbox Game Pass. Both the original Life is Strange and the prequel Before the Storm were quietly added toward the end of December. Anyone who's looking for all of Life is Strange, past and future, can find it on Xbox Game Pass.

But, teenage drama isn't the totality of Xbox Game Pass' newcomers in January. Ark: Survival Evolved (January 3), Farming Simulator 17 (January 3), Absolver (January 7), Just Cause 3 (January 10), and Aftercharge (January 10) are all set for the first half of the month. Xbox Game Pass is?? starting out 2019 in strong fashion.

Xbox Game Pass: Just Cause 3, Life is Strange, ??Ark: Survival Evolved, and More This January [Xbox Wire]

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We've got Spirit, yes we do

Everywhere you look, the kids aren't alright. Life is Strange 2's first chapter introduced us to a pair of brothers on the lam after tragedy suddenly uprooted their entire lives. In the lead-up to Life is Strange 2, developer Dontnod released a playable teaser for the sequel called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit -- a short story about a nine-year-old coping with the loss of ?his mother and the depression of his alcoholic dad.

Finally, the two are about to intersect. Dontnod has uploaded a trailer that's simply titled "Captain Spirit Returns in Life is Strange 2 Episode 2." We've been promised that the Diaz brothers would eventually influence Captain Spirit's situation. Or vice versa. That narrative payoff seems to be coming on January 24 when the second chapter of Life is Strange 2 releases.

That still leaves some time for people to play The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. It's a two-hour side-story that might have major ramifications on the plot of Episode 2, and it's free ??on PC, PS4, and ??Xbox One. Whatever ends up happening, hopefully Captain Spirit comes out mostly unscathed -- both physically and emotionally.

The post The next Life is Strange 2 epis?ode will pay off the Cap??tain Spirit story appeared first on Destructoid.

Episode 3

One of 2018's biggest stories has been the demise of Telltale Games and the fate of the critically acclaimed The Walking Dead franchise. Two episodes in the series's final season were released before the st?udio shuttered, putting its future in doubt??. Skybound Games stepped up to the plate, taking over the development with the Still Not Bitten team, more than 40 people who worked on the series at Telltale. One of the questions I had about the transition was how long would the next episode be delayed. Turns out, not that long.

At the tail end of the Kinda Funny Games Showcase, it was revealed episode three, titled "Broken Toys," will rele??ase on Janua?ry 15, 2019.

The post The final season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead continues in January appeared first on Destructoid.

Dontnod is prioritizing quality over timeliness

So, when's the next episode of Life is Strange 2 coming out? For two months, fans have been asking that question with ??increasing impatience. Dontnod Entertainment has divulged a release window.

In a blog post, the studio said to expect Episode 2: Rules in January 2019, with more details arriving in mid-December. What's the holdup? Dontnod said it doesn't want to rush Life is Strange 2 and "thereby fail to meet the benchmark of quality and emotiona??l impact that you, our players, deserve."

"We understand that there are certain expectations that episodes will be released at a similar cadence as previous Life is Strange games have," the article continued. "The ambition of Life is Strange 2, however, me?ans that the previous frameworks no longer apply if we are to meet the quality of play and storytelling that our vision for a game like this demands and? that you deserve."

Sluggish release timing is not a problem unique to Life is Strange. It's the exact reason I try my best to hold off playing episodic games until they are complete or at least nearing the end of their production. Brett's positive review of Episode 1: Roads ensured I??'ll play this game. Just not a??nytime soon.

Life is Strange 2 Dev Update [Life is Strange]

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Horror on the go!

Indie survival-horror game Bendy and the Ink Machine is now available on consoles. Originally released as an episodic series on PC between February 2017 and October 2018, th?e full experience can now be yours? on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. You'll be getting all five episodes and the bonus "Archives" chapter on your console of choice.

Bendy will retail for $19.99 on PS4 and Xbox One and $29.99 on Switch. If you aren't keen to download it, a retail version will be exclusive to GameStop for each console. Those will all be the same price and can be found here (PS4), here (Xbox One) and here (Switch).

The post Bendy and th??e Ink Machine is now available on con?soles appeared first on Destructoid.

Franchise returns from the grave

Skybound has announced that development of Telltale Games' beleaguered title The Walking Dead: The Final Season is now underway once again. The studio picked up the licence to continue ??production of the e??pisodic series after the closure of Telltale Games was announced.

Skybound Games, teaming with many of the original Telltale development staff, will produce the final two episodes in the four-episode series, which sees world-weary hero Clementine forced to hunker down in an abandoned schoolhouse with her young ward, A.J for one last stand. The last episode, Suffer the Children, launched in September and proved t??o be Telltale Games' final release.

Skybound hasn't offered a release date for the remainder of the series, but has noted that The Final Season will be taken off-sale during this transition per??iod. Upon its return, the series will be made available to purchase once again, and players who currently have the series pre-purchased will not be required to take any steps to ensure they receive the new episodes once they're ready for launch.

Development ?begins once again on The Walking Dead: The Final Season [Official]

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