When it comes to sandbox first-person shooters and open-world action-adventure video games where you can shoot, destroy, and/or blow up just about anything, few names top Far Cry. Ever since setting the bar for the genre in 2012 with Far Cry 3, the games have gone in a wide variety of directions — from the neon ‘80s movie of the Blood Dragon expansion to the prehistoric spinoff Primal to the rural midwestern slaughter of Far Cry 5. But no matter the setting, a few things are always true for Far Cry games. Players know they’re going to get dozens of hours worth of high-octane action, all while set in a beautiful surrounding and a surprisingly deep cast of characters. Each game is like an extremely violent location to a new locale, and you occasionally meet a questionable person that you’ll ...
Yes, you read that correctly. It’s not news that the music business wants in on that money. For years there have been collaborations across industries, including soundtracks for games like Grand Theft Auto IV way back in 2008 and ongoing partnerships spanning well over a decade to provide music for sports franchises like Madden and NBA 2K. But over the past two years, that relationship has rapidly expanded, reaching a fever pitch during the pandemic when gaming, in general, exploded around the world as people were confined to their homes and artists looked for new revenue streams (think Travis Scott partnering with Fortnite and Lil Nas X working with Roblox). Now many are wondering where this leads next. For rights holders, lawsuits are shifting to cooperation, most recently with the NMPA ...
In 2015, Techland set a new standard for zombie games with the release of Dying Light. Almost 7 years later, we’re finally nearing the release of the much-anticipated (and delayed) sequel that promises to expand on the undead-parkour gameplay that so many fans fell in love with on the first release. But as we inch closer to the February 4 launch date for Dying Light 2 Stay Human, we’ve got an exclusive first peek at the main theme for the game. Created by BAFTA-nominated French composer Olivier Derivière (A Plague Tale: Innocence, Vampyr, Greedfall), the “Run, Jump, Fight” sets the intense tone for the post-apocalyptic title. “Dying Light 2 is by far my most ambitious game music project to date,” Derivière says in a statement. “It has been an amazing journey working with Tec...
If you’ve ever played a title by Thunder Lotus Games, you know that there’s really nothing else like them. If you haven’t and you’re into surprisingly complex hand-drawn video games, you should. The Canadian indie studio’s third game, Spiritfarer, continues that unique trend that made Jotun and Sundered both cult favorites. Appropriately described as “a cozy management game about dying,” the player takes on the role of the ferrymaster of the dead — meaning that your job is to transport them to the afterlife and make sure they’re comfortable in the process. It’s a relatively chill and relaxed gig, all things considered, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get a little hectic at times. Of course, regardless of how happy or miserable your passengers are in Spiritfarer, the game looks and sounds li...
Festival Tycoon is a new game on Steam that allows users to build their dream music festival. The Minecraft-like video game was developed entirely by Johannes Gäbler over the span of two years. The premise of the game is to build and manage your own music festival, equipped with stages, visitors, and a lineup. You’ll also have to maintain your company’s reputation while getting attention from rockstars and massive sponsors. Festival Tycoon/Steam Currently the game is in the “early access” stage (pun intended), which means the game is in a nascent form of development. There are certain to be hiccups and bugs, but if you want to assist in the development of the game then you can purchase it now. Festival Tycoon is currently only available on Windows. Accord...
Imagine a post-apocalyptic world where agriculture is scarce and the only way to save it is through a revolution involving modular synthesizers. That’s the world of The Signal State, a complex new puzzle game by Reckoner Industries. Within each puzzle are machines to be repaired, and each machine closely resembles a modular synth component typically used in electronic music production. Samplers, signal delays, output, and more are waiting to be programmed cohesively as the user attempts to solve the challenges, dragging and dropping cables to each unique module. Leaderboards and achievements will encourage competition between players as they attempt to solve the apocalyptic agriculture crisis within the game by fixing synth-like machines that help produce food. Down the line, The Sig...
When Amazon decided they wanted to get into developing video games, a lot of the gaming industry wasn’t sure exactly what to make of it. Sure, they could buy out studios, build their own platform, and basically sink unlimited resources into just about any aspect of game creation they want, but would endless pockets be enough to create a game that people actually want to play? Well, we’ll find out next week when Amazon Games launches its first flagship MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game, like World of Warcraft), New World. Players will venture to the continent of Aeturnum Island, where they’ll be responsible for battling, crafting, and exploring their way through a world filled with all kinds of creatures, both real and imaginary. So who does one of the biggest companies...