The nominees for 2024 have been announced, bringing a bit of discourse over the inclusion of the Elden Ring DLC: Shadow of the Erdtree. Elden Ring previously won game of the year in 2022. There’s a lot of nominees and categories, so here are a few:
Game of the Year
Astro Bot
Balatro
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Best Art Direction
Astro Bot
Black Myth: Wukong
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Neva
Best Score and Music
Astro Bot
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Silent Hill 2
Stellar Blade
Best Independent Game
Animal Well
Balatro
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Neva
UFO 50
Roblox Rules
Under 13s are now blocked from directly messaging others on Roblox outside of games or experiences in their latest effort to protect children and reassure parents. Additionally, under 13s will only be able to publicly broadcast messages inside of games, and users under the age of 9 will only be able access experiences rated Minimal or Mild.
Yet Another Consolidation
Sony appears to be gearing up to purchase Kadokawa, a parent to dozens of Japanese entertainment companies. Along with Kadokawa owning Gotcha Gotcha Games (known for RPG Maker) and Acquire (known for Mario & Luigi: Brothership), they also own a majority stake in FromSoftware. It’s unknown what this may mean regarding the company’s ability to collaborate with Nintendo, but a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
News Nibbles!
Farming Simulator 25 has hit 2 million sales, and peaked at over 125,000 active players on launch day.
In Germany, Steam users have only been able to see games with an age rating since 15th of November. Developers will need to complete a questionnaire to receive a rating before being allowed to release in Germany.
Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern is a live, theatrical experience coming to Sydney in December this year, where the audience gets to control the quest and the dice rolls are real, meaning that no show is ever the same. It opens 15th December at the Sydney Opera House.
Upcoming Games
November 21st
Dungeons of Dreadrock 2: The Dead King’s Secret – PC
Star Wars Outlaws – PC
On Your Tail – PC, Switch
Loco Motive – PC, Switch
Servonauts – PC
November 22nd
Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection (physical) – PS5, Switch
Nintendo Direct. I’m only going to run down the major headliners of the 40-minute June 18 Nintendo Direct, because if you’re into it you have either watched it or you’ve watched your favourite Youtuber’s summary. If you’re not, you probably don’t want a mega rundown. So here they are:
Mario lovers are getting Mario & Luigi: Brothership coming November 7, this year. It looks to be a dual-control platformer. As well as Super Mario Party Jamboree, a massive party game with the ability to host up to 20 players. Play it October 17.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is coming Jan 16, 2025, with 80 levels plus some from the original 3DS hit.
Zelda fans were hit with a Nintendo Switch Online addition of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords (basically multiplayer Link). Then the new title The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was announced to much fanfare, where you play as Zelda and create echoes in your adventure to save Link. Coming September 26 this year.
And finally, in Metroid news, also coming to Nintendo Switch Online Metroid Zero Mission is coming to the collection. And the long-anticipated, after the announcement of it back at E3 2017, Metroid Prime 4 will be gracing our consoles sometime in 2025.
There was a heap more, with the announcement and release dates of Just Dance 2025, Dragon Quest 3, some Marvel vs Capcom collections… lots of stuff. Want to learn more? Follow the links on our Facebook @zedgamesau
Game Industry News This week saw the closure of Game Industry’s 2022 and 2023 “Best Places to Work in Canada” studio Timbre Games by owner Sumo Group before the release of its first game. This is included in the 15% downsizing Sumo Group, a subsidiary of Chinese giant Tencent, had announced on June 11 (~250 people). Paradox Interactive is closing down their Tectonic Studio, makers of the upcoming life sim Life by You after Deputy CEO reportedly called the early access title “lacking in some key areas” and “the road leading to release… far too long and uncertain.” (24 people) After sales lagged on Wizard with a Gun, developer Galvanic Games has closed their doors (12 people). Embracer Group also blamed lacklustre sales for this week’s closing of Pieces Interactive, developer of Alone in the Dark released in March (42 people). VRChat has also announced a 30% reduction in staff (~30 people) blaming plateauing sales and a lack of management. And after the announcement in May of Microsoft’s closure of Tango Gameworks, the studio finally closed its doors this week. In the wake of all the layoffs, the big name companies’ CEOs and shareholders in the industry continue to profit, with EA CEO’s compensationincreased by 22% to over USD$25 million. And this after cutting 5% of its workforce in Feb (~670 people) for restructuring. At least Gearbox has been somewhat released from Embracer Groups failing model with its deal with Take-Two Interactive closing this week. The deal moves most of the IP and studios under Take-Two’s wings. Including hits such as Borderlands, Risk of Rain, Homeworld, and Duke Nukem, but leaving behind the studios and IP of Lost Boys Interactive and Cryptic Studios. But not all is lost, with staff from layoffs forming advisory companies – such as those from indie studio Modern Wolf forming Secret Sauce – or creating “support studios” like CodeDev: The Unreal Guys who work as a specialist team to help studios work with the Unreal engine. But the industry is struggling. In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz Tencent advisor and former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden is cautioning the industry to take a more patient approach to game development.
“It’s human nature, right? If you’re at the craps table and someone’s got the hot hand and they’re running the table… you just want to jump on that train and get a piece of that before it goes. That’s why patience is the thing that’s important. The industry is losing patience. It’s ‘we need to find a way to solve this problem in six months’ in an industry where nothing gets done in six months.”
And now for the week in gaming headlines.
In Bethesda news, Todd Howard says he’s not going to rush the next Fallout game even with all the hype surrounding it at the moment, and Starfield has been review bombed due to a quest paywall in the latest update.
Discord voice chat is rolling out to PS5 this week.
And in Baldur’s Gate 3 news, fan fav romanceable NPC Shadowheart had to be “heavily toned down” for release and was originally too sassy/mean. And developer Larian CEO says mod support is coming in a “final handover moment” patch.
And don’t forget – to read more follow the links in our Facebook profile @zedgamesau
And now for the week in gaming releases. There’s Fallout in you CoD with a bundle dropping today, and the VR title Blade and Sorcery has finally left early access. Now, on Friday June 21. Visual novel sci-fi detective game Times & Galaxy comes to PC and consoles. And after 25m copies sold since release, the expansion Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree comes to PC, Xbox and PlayStation. Also don’t forget to be a good tarnished if you grab this and “…be mindful of spoilers for those who want to tread into the Realm of Shadow with nothing but their determination and their minds unclouded.” Saturday June 22 brings us the retro helicopter top-down shooter Megacopter: Blades of the Goddess coming to PC. On Monday June 24, detective sim Uncover the Smoking Gun comes to PC. Tuesday June 25 brings us Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, coming to Netflix mobile. Be the ball in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble coming to Switch. For the VR gamers Riven PC MQ Remake is coming to Meta Quest. The DLC A Little to the Left: Seeing Stars is coming to all platforms. And bouncy farm sim Southfield is coming to PC. On Wednesday June 26, 2D visual novel and narrative adventure Until Then comes to PC and PS5, and PS1-era styled cartoon precision platformer Frogun Encore is coming to PC and Consoles. And finally on Thursday June 27, the remaster Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is coming to Switch. Battle Royal MOBA Battle Crush is coming to PC, Switch and mobile. And lastly, the remake of Atari’s “Sprint” NeoSprint is coming to PC and consoles.
This week on Zed Games Paul, Elliott, and Hazel talk news, Paul grinds through a review of Elden Ring and Elliott takes us on a drive through Gran Turismo 7.
The Zed Games crew provide you special coverage of E3 recapping and hyping over this years biggest announcements in the games industry. Not to mention a review of the Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart one of the most anticipated games of the year.
We asked the crew at Zed Games what their highlights of this year’s show were and they were happy to oblige.
Ezie
Tiny Tina’s Wonderland: Gearbox Software creators of the famous Borderlands series have a spin off shooter looter that requires no prior knowledge of the Borderlands’ universe. I’m new to having a Borderlands addiction and the excitement I have for a spin off with a fantastic and fantabulous character like Tiny Tina is very exciting. Expected to drop in 2022 with BUTT STALLION!
Halo Infinite: Master Chief is back with what appears to be a ‘new Cortana’ and I’m so excited to see out more of his journey, fight more evil aliens and venture further into unknown threats. I’ve been playing Halo since I was kid on the very first Xbox this is my most nostalgic game drop AND IT’S ON GAME PASS! Expected December 2021 along with the free online multiplayer that also looks like a while ride with friends.
We Are OFK: A making-of-the-band series & Interactive EP about dreaming, dating, and paying rent in Los Angeles.With colourful animations that give me Spiderman Miles Morales(the movie)visual vibes.A coming together making music kind of story, as a lover of interactive narrative games this is my biggest hype for indie releases fromE3this year.Developed by Team OFK and expected Spring 2021.
Woodo: A 3D puzzle game with heart. It’s everything you could want in a wholesome puzzle game. I’m excited to sit back and piece together wonderful little wooden rooms filled with cute animations. Looking to release in 2022.
Zahra
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Breath of the Wild is a stunning, immersive game,and I loved exploring, finding my own trails, puzzle solving, and uncovering the events of the past. And Breath of the Wild 2 builds on from that beautiful foundation, with a tantalising peek into the adventures and trials that await, while promising to be bigger and better, with new enemies and abilities to face and conquer.
Redfall: A 4 player co-op game with cool characters, each with unique abilities, personalities,and fun banter? Count me in! The trailer seems to indicate dynamic gameplay, with lots of opportunities to pull off cool attacks, while assisting and backing up your crew.I can’t wait to see more, and to find out more about this world with vampires, magic,and student debt.
Riders Republic: I have far too many breakable bones to get into extreme sports IRL, but extreme sports in a video game where I can participate in massive races, events, and game-modes where doing the most the best is the aim of the game? That I can do.And the fact that there is a lot of customisation,and that I can play it in my own style just makes it much more appealing.
Paul
Trek to Yomi: Just look at it! Taking notes from samurai cinema of the 50’s and 60’s this gorgeous looking game, I mean. Just look at it. Geez. Anyway this game looks pretty sweet which is unsurprising as it come from Leonard Menchiari who developed the incredibly cool and vastly under exposed The Eternal Castle [Remastered].
Warioware – Get it Together: Every WarioWare game is a classic which means this game has a lot to live up to but also an extremely strong base to build on. It’s a real twist to the formula (not to be confused with WarioWare: Twisted) where for the first time you interact with the microgames by playing a character that moves around inside them. Also it’s designed to include 2 player in the games. Boy I am excited and nervous!
Somerville: Inside is one of the best games ever made. Some might call that an opinion but I believe it to be a hard fact. While this isn’t Playdead’s new game it is the new game by one of Playdead’s founders who split off to start a new studio (Jump Ship) but the sensibility of Inside and Limbo are plain to see in this extremely evocative trailer. A family living surviving in a world gripped by and alien invasion? Get ready for feelings!
Elden Ring: I wasn’t hyped. Now I am. Open world. freaky designs and a horsie. Thank you From Software.
Honorable Mentions: Death’s Door, Replaced, FAR: Changing Tides, Metal Slug Tactics, Battlefield 2042, El Paso Elsewhere
Rani
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Metroid Dread
Trek to Yomi
Honorable Mentions: Elden Ring
Maylee
Anacrusis: Nothing quite like a good co-op shooter, plus this game shares some of its team from Left 4 Dead. That and Anacrusis’ aesthetic make me pretty confident this will be a fun ride.
Slime Rancher 2: Maybe it’s cheap to pick the sequel of a game I really love but how can I not be excited for more slime. They’ve got bunny slimes this time!
Bear and Breakfast: I’ve known about this one for a while but seeing the new trailer got me excited all over again. It’s a cute, cozy, management game with spooky sinister undertones? Sign me up!
Tobi
Book of Travels: This tiny multiplayer online RPG (TOMRPG) aims at creating a new online community with high stakes. The aim? Shaping your own journey and finding your own story in the vast hand drawn world of Braided Shore.
Despot’s Game: Because a game with premise of creating an army and watching the outcome in an auto-battler tickles both the idler and the sadistic warmonger in me. ATTACK PUNY HUMANS!
WarioWare – Get it Together: With a new kid flailing on the floor the ability to play this alone or in multiplayer with over 200 minigames and multiple playable characters just clicks for now… and for future battles with the bub.
Honorable Mentions: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Silt, Haunted Space and a heap from the Wholesome Direct (Venba, Dordogne, Hoa and Letters – a written adventure)
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known as E3 has come and gone for another year and in its, and other non-official event’s wake we have a mountain of game news and announcements.
Summer Game Fest, Geoff Keighly’s alternative E3 program kicked off the major events of the week starting with an announcement of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Gearbox’s High Fantasy Borderlands’ spinoff staring Tiny Tina. A splattering of other announcements followed including Jeff Goldblum introducing us to Jurassic World Evolution 2, Hideo Kojima announcing Death Stranding Director’s Cut for PS5 and finally the major reveal of footage from Elden Ring, the long-awaited new game by From Software in collaboration with the writer George R.R. Martin which will launch January 19 2022.
Ubisoft hit the ground running showing off gameplay for the latest Far Cry game starring Giancarlo Esposito as well as the upcoming DLC’s which will allow players to play as the antagonists from several of the other games in the series and includes a remastered copy of Blood Dragon. More details for the extreme sports game Rider s Republic were shown along with the PvE spin off of Rainbow Six Siege, Extraction which will pit the operators against an alien force. A new version of Rocksmith was announced called Rocksmith+, a guitar playing and teaching service that will allow player to use their real instruments and their phone or microphones to connect. The game supports electric, acoustic and bass guitar and you can currently sign up to a beta for the service online. A sequel to the 2017 hit Mario + Rabbids was announced subtitled Sparks of Hope with Mario and his strange collection of Rabbid dopplegangers going on a new cosmic scale adventure. The final announcement for Ubisoft was a reveal of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora a game set in James Cameron’s Avatar universe made by Massive Entertainment who are most well-known for The Division.
Microsoft started their event with the first footage of Bethesda’s long-awaited RPG Starfield. While we are still yet to see gameplay from the title, we were given a glimpse at the universe we will be exploring and details that it is currently slated for release in late 2022 as an Xbox and PC exclusive. The Outer Worlds 2 was announced as early in development, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was shown off with a release of next year along with sequels to Slime Rancher and A Plague Tale. Halo Infinite was confirmed to be release later this year with the multiplayer being made free to play for everyone to enjoy. Forza Horizon 5 was shown with its new Mexican location. Sea of Thieves has a story based cross over in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe coming very soon called A Pirates Life featuring Jack Sparrow and other characters from the film franchise. And the show finished on a reveal of Arcane’s new game Redfall an open world co-op shooter featuring magic, vampires and a lot of style.
Square Enix announced Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy a single player 3rd person adventure where the player controls Star-Lord leading his band of misfits across the universe. It is being developed by Eidos Montreal best known for the modern Deus Ex games and is set for release on October 26. There was also a look at Platinumgames’ new live-service game Babylon’s Fall, the new Life is Strange True Colors and a reveal of the Final Fantasy action spin off Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin.
Nintendo apologised that they had no details to share on Metroid Prime 4 but quickly followed up with a reveal of Metroid 5, which is also known as Metroid Dread a title originally in development for the DS 15 years ago which was cancelled due to technical limitations. Mario Party Superstars a collection of boards and minigames from the N64 era was announced along with a remake of Advance Wars 1 and 2 titled Re-Boot Camp. Wario is back with WarioWare: Get it Together a new take on the microgames format with a focus on 2 player games. We got a closer look at Shin Megami Tensei V’s hellish version of demonic otherworld Tokyo which will see release in November. The Nintendo show closed with a look at some Zelda announcements. DLC for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the remaster of Skyward Sword which releases in July and a new Game & Watch device that includes the original versions of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventures of Link and Link’s Awakening along with an altered version of Vermin that includes Link. We finally got a glimpse at Breath of the Wild 2 which will see Link adventuring into the sky above Hyrule and utilise a multitude of new powers and tools.
Now that the show is over you can check out many of the games on both Steam and Xbox live. The Steam Next fest will run until June 22nd and included hundreds of demos of unreleased games while Microsoft has released 40 game demos from its ID@Xbox lineup.
The Week in game releases
June 22 – Dark Alliance (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights (Switch, PC), Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – The Official Video Game (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, PC)
June 24 – Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Legend of Mana (PlayStation 4, Switch, PC), The Eternal Castle Remastered (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4)
