We’re announcing the official launch day for Rogue Legacy 2.
We take a look back at the beginnings and how it all started.
It’s crazy to think that after nearly four years of development, Rogue Legacy 2 is finally complete! This is the largest game our small team has ever made, and knowing that folks will soon get to play it is both nerve-wracking and exciting. We put as much love and care into Rogue Legacy 2 as we could muster, and we hope fans will feel this when they finally get to play the game on April 28th.
If you’re not familiar with the series, Rogue Legacy 2 is a genealogical rogue-lite where every time you fall, your children will avenge you. Your child may be a colourblind chef, with a penchant for smacking projectiles back at enemies with their trusty frying pan. Or maybe they’re a katana-wielding ronin who sparkles because they’re also a vampire. Or maybe they’re a vegan who dies if they eat meat (our game tries to be 100% scientifically accurate).
It’s also a tough game that does not pull its punches. Your hero will die, and every time they do the kingdom changes its layout for the next run. But don’t worry, because every run earns you some form of incremental progress, either through the discovery of permanent power-ups on your journey or by spending your hard-earned gold. Expand your Manor with amazing extensions to give your heirs stronger abilities, unlock special features with the souls of the fallen, or just chill at the Docks and listen to the tales of those you meet along the way.
It’s a massive world where you are always growing, learning, and discovering something new with each run.
In truth, RL2’s beginnings happened well before the project was ever announced. Shortly after development on the original was finished (more than eight years ago), we bounced around ideas for the sequel. It wasn’t going to be made right away, but we knew it would eventually happen. Ideas like more diverse biomes, a comprehensive system for New Game Plus to really extend replayability, and characters with their own unique weapons and abilities, were penned out long ago. Even the 2.5D art style was something we planned to jump to. Despite the exhausting production on the first, there was still plenty we wanted to say and do with the franchise.
After a long hiatus from Rogue Legacy, we dusted off these ideas and started discussing what other things we wanted in the sequel. It was a unique challenge, because one principle we agreed on was that Rogue Legacy 2 had to stand on its own. This meant not just staying true to the original, but also paradoxically being different at the same time. We couldn’t just go bigger and better, we had to be new and exciting. Things like the Soul Shop, Burdens, Relics, Scar Challenges, and the Curio Shoppe are all ideas born from this precept, and have been meticulously designed to complement the existing formula that made the original so memorable.
In the end, even we were surprised with how much more we wanted to add to the Rogue Legacy universe. It’s taken nearly twice as long as we originally intended, but that just makes us even prouder of the final product. Looking back, Rogue Legacy 1 now feels like a single moment in time, whereas the sequel is an entire performance. There’s just so much to see and do and discover, and we really hope it resonates with gamers new and old. We pulled out all the stops to ensure that Rogue Legacy 2 is the quintessential experience. Now the question is, what the heck are we going to do for the third one?
One of the most anticipated Microsoft Store gaming sales of 2022 is here! The Microsoft Store Spring Sale kicks off today with major savings on select Xbox and PC games, Xbox accessories, gaming PCs, movies, apps, and more.
Save up to $200 on select Surface Pro X, starting at $799.99
Save $400 on Razer Blade 14
Save up to 30% on select SteelSeries gaming accessories for PC and Xbox
Don’t miss out! Take advantage of these next-level deals on Xbox and PC games, gaming PCs and accessories, and more before the Microsoft Store Spring Sale ends on April 21.
*Select deals are available across markets. Timing and prices may vary by region. Visit Microsoft Store online for more details on availability and pricing. Offers valid for a limited time, while supplies last. Not valid on prior orders or purchases; cannot be transferred or otherwise redeemed for cash or coupon code(s). May not be combinable with other offers. Refunds will take into account the discount. Price discount does not include taxes, shipping or other fees. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. Microsoft reserves the right to modify or discontinue offers at any time. Other exclusions and limits may apply.
Hello Neighbor 2 pre-orders are now live on the Xbox Store for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Both standard and Deluxe Edition players get instant beta access with pre-order.
Get immediate beta access after your pre-order, plus five days of early access and three new DLC on game launch with the Hello Neighbor 2 Deluxe Edition!
Hey, Neighbors, it’s been a while!
It’s so wild to look back to four years ago when our CEO Alex penned a post for this same blog, proudly announcing the launch of a little indie title called Hello Neighbor on Xbox One. Well, today I am both honored and excited to pick up the torch (or flashlight, in this case) and announce to you all that the Hello Neighbor 2 pre-order is now live on the Xbox Store. But not only that, we’re doubly excited to let you know that our exclusive beta is also live, and you can get instant access with your pre-order! And what’s this about a Hello Neighbor 2 Deluxe Edition? Read on to find out!
New to the Neighborhood
In the original Hello Neighbor, your goal was pretty straightforward; break into your creepy neighbor’s basement to uncover what he was hiding. But the big question has always been…what happened after that? In Hello Neighbor 2, you play as Quentin, a caffeine-fueled reporter investigating a series of missing persons cases in town. Including that of Nicky Roth, the original protagonist of Hello Neighbor, and Aaron, the neighbor’s son.
Your journey takes you far beyond the basement and will have you trekking all over the new open world of Raven Brooks to get the scoop. So grab your comfiest shoes and take a stroll about town — you’ve got so many new faces to meet (and surveil)!
Defining Deluxe, and getting down to business with the Beta
Moving on to the Deluxe Edition. Both standard and Deluxe Edition versions will grant you beta access. But of course, the Deluxe Edition comes with a few extra sweet treats. Namely, three new DLC available at launch and five days of early access to the game prior to its full release on December 6, 2022. Think of all the extra sleuthing you can do!
Now let’s get right into what you reallywanna know: How can I get my hands on the beta, and what’s in it? In the encapsulated Hello Neighbor 2 beta experience, we’re excited to bring you a taste of what Raven Brooks will look and feel like so get ready to hit up the town with its new locations, inhabitants, puzzles, and mysteries. Every single pre-order player is granted immediate and instant access to the exclusive beta so you can jump right in and start exploring! But you won’t need to worry about spoilers, we’re saving all the biggest secrets for launch day.
Get prepared to sneak, snoop, spy, and stalk your way across every corner of town in order to shed some light on the mystery of just what is going on in Raven Brooks. Don’t be afraid to adapt and improvise, it’s going to take more than just your journalistic instincts to crack this case. Can you uncover the dark secrets of the town, its residents, and of The Neighbor himself? Or will you be the one going missing next?
And before we sign off, the team and I also wanted to say a big thank you to our longtime Xbox community for their support over the years! We can’t wait to see you in Raven Brooks!
Hello Neighbor 2 Standard Edition
tinyBuild
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Pre-order now any edition of Hello Neighbor 2 and receive exclusive instant access to the Hello Neighbor 2 Beta experience.
Hello Neighbor 2 Deluxe Edition
tinyBuild
☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★
Pre-order now Hello Neighbor 2 and receive exclusive instant access to the Hello Neighbor 2 Beta experience. With your pre-order of the Deluxe Edition you also get 5 days of Early Access to the game prior to its release and three DLCs coming to your consoles at release.
Get ready for the introduction of PSE Burst Encores, coming in the April 6 update for PSO2 NGS!
Challenge yourself by learning new Photon Arts and Compound Techniques!
Recruit others to join your leveling party, as the maximum player level has increased to 45, by using the new Party Recruitment System!
As I’m fervently spending Seasonal Points earned during the Spring Event on Star Gem tickets so I can net an N-Bunny Suit from the latest SG Scratch Ticket collection, I can’t help but think about all the great upcoming content for Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis. This game continues to evolve, with new features, skills, quests, and more crammed into the content roadmap for 2022. April 6 is just one stop on the journey, with a list of things coming worthy of further scrutiny; a level cap increase (to 45), new Photon Arts for weapons and the introduction of Compound Techniques, new Ranks for Combat Sectors, a new DOLLS-inspired Weapon Series, some long-anticipated quality of life features, and the list goes on. If you’re already playing, read on for more information about what’s in store for you. If you’re not playing, you’ll want to be by the end of this article!
More Power
What’s better than eliminating DOLLS? Doing it faster by blasting them with even higher firepower. And if you weren’t lucky (or rich) enough to net a Relik and haven’t saved up your Photon Scales to upgrade the Potential on your Cinque weapon, you can still increase your Battle Power by gaining some levels. This shouldn’t be too hard, as there’s a new round of Limited Quests and a new rank of combat sectors, as well as a new DOLLS-inspired, 5-star Rarity Weapon Series. The Kukuhroziat (the weapons are much easier to wield than their name is to say) Weapon Series were inspired by the look of DOLLS and have a unique Weapon Potential that’ll come in handy for future game content. Oh, and did I mention there’s a color-variant form?
More Skill
Assuming you are adept at executing Photon Arts or successfully releasing Techniques, you’ll be able to dispatch DOLLS with greater finesse. ARKS instructors have been hard at work refining new Photon Arts for all weapons and creating Compound Techniques for those capable of directly wielding Photons. I’ve been making it rain on my enemies as a Gunner (i.e., using the PA Aimless Rain) for quite some time, but with Infinite Ricochet coming out, I may be spraying Photon Bullets with that soon. Or I’ll be switching to the Force class and combining elements to blast baddies with Barantsion or another Compound Technique. Though since you can wield all weapons and play as any classes on the same character, I’ll probably do both. Heck, I may even try out the Fighter class and slice and dice with Twin Daggers so I can use the Limber Figure Photon Art, because nothing says danger like a whirlwind of blades. And having an area of effect ability will be extra helpful because there are also new enemies, called Equalizer enemies. With the ability to defensively buff nearby enemies, it’s a good idea to focus fire on them – and there’s no better way to do it than with a powerful new Photon Art or Technique!
Encore!
PSE Bursts are just one of my favorite things about NGS, because nothing says enemy panic like getting beamed by a horde of enemies because you’re just destroying them too fast. If you played PSO2 then you know the true joy of hearing Cross Burst or One More, which would signal a second PSE Burst event occurring, wherein you could happily continue slaughtering enemies and reaping loot and Exp. I’m happy to say that the DOLLS of NGS are adopting this field tactic – and you’ll be up to your ears in enemies after the April 6 update. You can truly take advantage of this new development by farming PSE Bursts in the new Rank 3 Combat Sectors, which are also included in this update.
Easy Adventuring
The above are just a few pieces of new content included in this update, but there are some other changes coming too. The community has asked for an easier way to recruit party members, and Sega has delivered with the Party Recruitment system. Recruit players from the same Room by using the Communications menu to set the purpose of your party and requirements to join. Others will be able to identify that you’re recruiting by the special icon that appears above your character and then they can select the appropriate option from Nearby Characters in the Communications Menu. Not only that, but for those who just need to capture a picturesque moment while out exploring, there is now a Photo Room feature so that you can get rid of photo-bombing DOLLS and snap that perfect pic. You can even change the time of day or weather to suit your artistic vision. Perhaps most notable for content creators, this update includes a Streamer Mode, which will disable Chat while you’re sharing your screen. For Phashionistas, there’s now an option to show or hide your Innerwear. So, if you want to equip a skin-baring Basewear but have only full-coverage Innerwear, your fashion snafu won’t be noted.
There’s a bunch more included in this update, so the best way to learn more is to play Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis – for free – by visiting the Xbox store and downloading the game for PC or Xbox.
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis
SEGA Corporation
☆☆☆☆☆598
★★★★★
Xbox One X Enhanced
Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, the latest chapter in the Phantasy Star Online 2 series, is here at last!
It’s time to jump into adventures beyond imagination! This new adventure takes place on a vast open field! Up to 32 people can enjoy the adventure in a new world with beautifully-evolved graphics! The simple and intuitive controls developed in the series up to now have also evolved! A new dimension of battle with a variety of powerful enemies awaits! The new actions Photon Dash and Photon Glide allow you to traverse across the vast open field with ease! Of course, the ultimate in character creation has also evolved. Create your own main character that will be unique throughout the world, and head out to a new adventure! ・The core game is Free-to-Play, but there is certain paid content that can be purchased. ・The Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis game that can be downloaded with this content is the same as that included in other editions. You do not have to download this if it is already installed. ・Proceeding with play in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis will allow you to play Phantasy Star Online 2. ・Please log in with an administrator account to play this game.
Xbox and Epic Games working together to build a future-proof foundation with Unreal.
After unveiling one of the first examples of a next-generation experience for Xbox Series X|S with The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience, we’re excited to share a deeper look at our technical partnership with Epic Games as part of today’s “State of Unreal” event. The Coalition’s latest Unreal Engine 5 demo, The Cavern Cinematic Tech Test, shows how movie-quality assets – featuring tens of millions of polygons – can be rendered in real time, a massive 100x leap forward in detail.
This is the latest in the long history of collaboration with Epic Games and Unreal Engine. In fact, this year we are celebrating 20 years of Unreal Engine on Xbox, dating back to the release of Unreal Championship and Splinter Cell in 2002.
We spoke with Kate Rayner, the studio technical director at The Coalition, about her team’s collaboration with Epic Games, developing in Unreal Engine 5, and what players can expect from next-generation experiences on Xbox Series X|S.
The Cavern Cinematic Test Demo
Today, you debuted a new Unreal Engine 5 demo during Epic Games’ “State of Unreal” presentation. What can you tell us about what we just saw?
First off, I have to give credit to the whole team, as this was truly a studio-wide effort to create our first ever cinematic in UE5 – as well as our first time using Sequencer – and we had a lot of fun making it. A couple things we’re really proud of are the facial animations and just the overall quality of the character model.
We were able to utilize a preliminary version of our next-gen face rig and hire an actor wearing a head-cam to capture performance, and partner with Cubic Motion to bring it all to life. That, coupled with Control Rig, helped us create someone who looks and moves in the most realistic ways we’ve ever done, and it’s incredibly exciting to think where we can go next. We also utilized Chaos cloth physics to get to a really high level of visual fidelity, and we’re extremely pleased with the results.
The coolest part is that we’ve got all these great visuals and animations running on an Xbox Series X, so that just gives you an idea of the visual fidelity and quality we’re going to be able to create. Demos like this allow us to learn a great deal about the performance of UE5, and I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to be able to create some pretty incredible things with this new tech.
The Coalition, Xbox, and Gears History
How will Unreal Engine 5 impact the future of the Gears franchise in both the immediate and long-term future?
We gained access to UE5 very early on and quickly saw the benefits to moving development for our future titles to utilize the new tools and feature set, which enable higher-quality visuals, larger and more interactive environments, and a host of other aspects which we are excited for in UE5.
How has The Coalition contributed to Unreal Engine development over the years?
We have been having constructive conversations with Epic since The Coalition’s founding – before it was called The Coalition – all the way back in 2010. Throughout that time we have shared feedback from a AAA perspective for our specific use-cases; we have also contributed pull requests to the Engine directly, everything from bug fixes and optimizations, to collaborating to ensuring the Xbox platform support is as optimal as possible.
Working with UE5
With the full Unreal Engine 5 toolkit available soon, what are some of the specific tools you’ll be leveraging in creating your next game?
We’re not ready to talk about our next game. But we are excited for things like Lumen and Nanite, which have opened new doors for us.
You can see the impact of Nanite already in our cinematic tech test, which enables full-quality movie assets to be rendered in real time. This means that our artists can create assets with tens of millions of polygons, scalable to scenes with billions and billions. The details are just incredible, more than 100 times what was possible before. Just looking at the eyeball detail the number of vertices and polygons are the equivalent of what an entire character would have been in the previous generation of games.
You also see how we’re doing new things with light. Fully dynamic real-time global illumination lighting has been a long sought-after feature, but up until now, it’s not been possible on console. Lumen is a total game-changer.
How does your expertise with Unreal Engine benefit other teams within Microsoft that are also working with the tools?
We’ve been really privileged to share our knowledge and best practices with others across Xbox Game Studios, and learn from them as well. In addition, we work really closely with the Xbox ATG (Advanced Technology Group), giving us the ability to optimize on a system level.
How long have you been working with UE5?
We have been working with UE5 for over a year, since before Early access, staying up to date with the latest code, experimenting with content, and running lots of internal tests. This has empowered us to provide early feedback to Epic as a AAA studio with deep Xbox and Unreal Engine experience.
What were your initial impressions of UE5? Were there any surprises?
First, it was very exciting to get access, everyone at The Coalition was jumping in. That’s when we began the work to create Alpha Point. The biggest surprise to me was how finished the engine was, and how easy it was to bring UE4 content into UE5 seamlessly.
How was your experience in transitioning from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5?
Overall, it was very smooth, it only took us about two weeks to get the team switched over. As of now, our full studio has transitioned to UE5. The Alpha Point demo which we showed at GDC last year was originally built in UE4. We migrated the demo to UE5 early on, and that was quite seamless. As we were building this demo in UE4 with next-gen content and adding more and more assets to it, it was really starting to bog down and run slowly, but once we brought it into UE5 it snapped to life immediately. We never looked back.
Were there any features to UE5 that made transitioning smoother or more simple for your team?
The architecture of the engine is really quite modular, and we have embraced plugins as a structure to extend the functionality and modify the engine to our needs. Plugins being able to contain content – not just code – has been a revelation. When we worked with UE4 we would make a lot of changes to the engine over time, and so those integration costs would get higher. Now, the integrations are much smoother, the engine is a lot more modular, and allows us to give more flexibility to devs.
Can you speak to some often-overlooked features of Unreal Engine? What are some aspects you would like to call out to other developers?
Unreal Insights are worth mentioning since they allow developers to gather real-time data on anything during the development process. Also, Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) – the ability to render 4k for the cost of rendering at 1080p – is an incredible feature that can sometimes be overlooked.
As you have moved from UE4 to UE5, how has the way you approach ideation, experimentation, and production shifted?
UE5 has rapidly increased our iteration time because working within the engine is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience. There is no more guesswork. The tech is all there, and now all we have to do is familiarize our content creators to it.
What is the “Alpha Point Demo?” What lessons did you take from its development?
The Alpha Point Demo is our UE5 Early Access demo which includes an environment technical test and abbreviated character cinematic and an early large world technical test. It allowed us to get proficient with the new workflows and tech and also provide feedback for improvements and recommendations to Epic.
The Coalition was also instrumental in bringing The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience to Xbox Series X|S. Describe the significance of this work and its wider implications for the industry?
This is one of the first examples of a next-generation experience that is simply not possible on the previous generation. It was a massive learning experience that showed us exactly where the bar is for next-gen games, and the workflow needed to build them.
Can you detail The Coalition’s involvement in the creation of this experience?
It was very much a collaboration with Epic, The Coalition and the Xbox development team, to harden and optimize Epic’s vision, first on Xbox Series X, and then on Xbox Series S.
Would you describe The Matrix Awakens as a success? What are you most proud of?
Absolutely! The fact that we shipped this next-gen experience on Xbox Series S with all the same features including ray tracing that we have an Xbox Series X at such an incredible level of quality is really amazing. This collaboration resulted in improvements to the Xbox development software, with runtime optimizations, bug fixes, and tools improvements that benefit all developers.
With the introduction of Unreal Engine 5, how close are we to having game universes entirely indistinguishable from reality?
If technology has taught us anything, it’s that we are always going to continue to see its further improvement. We are very close to real-time, life-like renderings; however, we will never stand still and claim that we are “done,” and we are going to continue to see games teams working on and refining the medium.
Looking Ahead
What are you most looking forward to with the launch of UE5?
UE5 enables developers to take the handcuffs off and truly create the content we’ve always dreamed of making. No more compromises! It also creates the removal of friction points in workflow – with Nanite we no longer have to manually create low polygon versions of models, and with Lumen, not having to see “the lighting needs to be rebuilt” and waiting for offline static lighting to be re-baked – greatly speeds up the development process.
Thanks so much for your time, any final thoughts?
Xbox and The Coalition will continue to partner with Epic to push the boundaries of what is possible with modern gaming, we cannot wait to show you more of the future.
Xbox is thrilled to announce the official start of the Xbox Mentoring Program aimed at partnering women in gaming careers across Xbox’s diverse range of studios and products with aspiring talent.
First introduced on International Women’s Day, the Xbox Mentoring Program gives you the chance to access valuable 1:1 coaching sessions with key leaders in select markets such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, and Korea with additional markets to follow.
If you aspire a career in gaming and live in the above regions, register below for the Xbox Mentor in your country and receive the chance of accessing their coaching session. Submissions are accepted starting now through 6 April 2022.
Meet Your Xbox Mentors
Hailey Geller (She/Her) Xbox Social Marketing Manager Region: US
Hailey is a strategic creative marketer who specializes in dreaming up evocative and meaningful campaigns for your favorite games and products.
Louise O´Connor (She/Her) Executive Producer of Everwild Region: UK
Louise has been working in the gaming industry for over 20 years and loves making games that players remember. Starting as an animator, she has had the privilege of working on some of the incredible Rare IPs that players all over the world enjoy. Now she is looking after the team responsible for creating the studio’s new exiting IP: Everwild.
Venessa Nyarko (She/Her) Producer at The Coalition Region: Canada
Venessa’s role at The Coalition involves bringing teams together to develop cohesive storytelling between gameplay, cinematics, and the sequences in between to create a unified experience for players. She develops the framework to make the best plays, getting the right people in the right conversations, and executing on bringing all the pieces together for an epic end result.
Tania Chee (She/Her) Xbox Business Lead, Australia & New Zealand Region: Australia & New Zealand
As Xbox Business Lead for Australia and New Zealand, Tania is responsible for driving the gaming platform’s business growth across the Tasman. Tania’s career spans 20+ years across roles in Australia and the UK from IT start-ups to managing Microsoft’s gaming, consumer software and office business through the retail channel. Tania joined Team Xbox in 2008 in the UK and moved to the Australian business in 2011 driving Xbox’s subscription business, focused on subscriber growth and launching key app partners on the platform. Having also been involved in the success of multiple console generations and launches, Tania was announced as the Lead for Xbox ANZ in 2018 after a decade with the brand.
Ina Gelbert (She/Her) Director of Xbox France Region: France
As the first woman to lead the Xbox team in France, Ina’s main motivation is making gaming a diverse, safe and inclusive environment. With professional experiences in both the FMCG and gaming industries, she brings multi-cultural views and perspectives from various backgrounds to every discussion.
Melek Balgün (She/Her) Esports | Web | TV | Event Host Region: Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Melek is a former professional gamer and started her career at ESL. Hosting and moderating is second nature to her, both online and on the big stage. Her web magazine “Art of Gaming” for TV station arte was nominated for the Grimme Award in 2018.
Mie Koshimizu (She/Her) Xbox Category Manager Region: Japan
Originally from Japan, Mie is the Xbox Category Manager supporting the Asian Xbox team based in Singapore. She is known for her friendliness and enthusiasm for her work. Mie is passionate about advocating for Women in Gaming – especially across Asia – and encouraging all gamers, including people in industry, to share their passion. Since graduating with a Master’s degree in Business Analysis, Mie has extended her knowledge and skills in consumer, market analysis/research, and user experience as well as stories that identify customer requirements and needs. Always looking for a new challenge, she enjoys working in a demanding environment and is willing to learn new things every day.
Boyoun Kim (She/Her) Communications Manager Xbox Region: Korea
Boyoun is a Communications Manager at Xbox and leads market communications across both Korea and Japan. She is seasoned in communications with deep regional experience in corporate reputation management, issues, and crisis communications. After receiving her Master’s in Social Policy from London School of Economics, Boyoun has built up a great understanding of planning and implementation of communications campaigns as well as regional digital and social media marketing strategies. She has over 10 years of experience having worked for hardware manufacturer Lenovo, Google and a German-based start-up.
With the Xbox Mentoring Program, Xbox is opening up their world to inspire and support the next generation of women leaders in gaming. We are beyond excited to share our knowledge and hope that the program generates meaningful engagements with tangible and purposeful actions to help foster career development in the games industry. Visit the Xbox Mentoring Program website to learn more about the program.
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for more details (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!
Legal Dungeon is a game about organizing Police Investigation Documents. You must review and provide an Investigation Verdict on reports ranging from petty theft to murder, in eight different criminal cases. Legal Dungeon will teach players that apprehending and punishing criminals is the very essence of Public Safety. Players will quickly become experts in revealing true criminals.
Play through all nine Star Wars saga films in a brand-new LEGO video game unlike any other. Experience fun-filled adventures, whimsical humor, and the freedom to fully immerse yourself in the LEGO Star Wars galaxy. Pre-order the game and get day one access to the Trooper Pack. The digital edition also includes an exclusive classic Obi-Wan Kenobi playable character.
Experience faster, deeper, and more intense moment-to-moment action on the field, with a variety of game modes for all you rookie players and returning seasoned vets. With every pitch, hit, and win, you’ll make your mark on The Show. Pre-order MLB The Show 22 – MVP Edition and start playing April 1; MLB The Show 22 standard edition will be available April 5 with Xbox Game Pass. Learn more here.
In your possession is a mobile phone, belonging to an unknown owner. Under the supervision of your country’s national intelligence bureau, you must hack into the mobile phone owner’s account and peruse images, emails, and social media records for any evidence of suspected terrorism.
Outbreak: Contagious Memories is a send-up to classic ‘90s horror series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill where your survival will be determined by moment-to-moment decisions, what you decide to carry, and how good you are at spotting conveniently written notes.
Z-Warp – April 6 – Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, Smart Delivery
In the Year 21XX, a starship capable of space-time warping was constructed and launched, only to be lost to the unknown depths of space on its maiden voyage. When a distress signal is received, it falls to you, the most accomplished pilot in Z-Division, to find the experimental ship and retrieve its black box for investigation.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition, a remaster of the classic Chrono Cross, is an RPG that transcends time and space, unfolding across two interlinked parallel worlds. With over 40 party members to meet, people and dimensions will intertwine in this epic drama about the planet itself.
A racing game inspired by the visuals, music, games, and cars from the late ‘80s and early 90s. Built with an authentic retro feel and unique graphics, plus a soundtrack that draws from synthpop and jazz fusion, sets the tone for a race across a variety of exotic locations from all around the world, including cities, deserts, forests, mountains, and beaches.
A fun and intense multiplayer brawler where the McCrearys must fight and drink their way through hordes of undead to get home. The strategy is simple: Brawl, shoot, sneak, scavenge, and rage your way through the Deep South while constantly chugging the virus-killing whiskey moonshine.
As a solo developer and producer who has released several titles for all consoles before, Frightenceholds a special affection for me because it is the first title that I did with a team, albeit a tiny team of three talented first-time developers who helped me shape the narrative aspects of Frightence.
I’ve developed three horror titles before and realized that through the journey of pitfalls of indie-game development, balancing narrative and action is a real hurdle.
As an indie developer, you not only try to overcome major obstacles like budget concerns but technical troubles as well. Luckily for us, developing for the Xbox consoles was very comforting process. The IDXbox team were gravely patient and helpful with us during the certification process of Frightence. Knowing our engine, which is Unreal Engine 4 to be exact, also helped us a lot to actualize our vision.
Our vision for Frightence was simple : Make a short, yet intense and atmospheric horror experience. We wanted to keep the interactive elements simple from ground-up and wanted to players to focus on the narrative concept that we were trying to establish. One of the major ensnares for indie horror games is to write the background story “too much”…The players know that they are playing a relatively short-budgeted indie game so they want to experience something more unique, contrasting and distinguishable.
So, what we did for Frightence was to write a multi-layered and deep story with several different characters and created a storyline for the player to experience only a glimpse of it. It was really difficult for us to cut out most of our literary material but it was necessary for us to finalize the game the way we envisioned it.
The players will meet several interestingly enough macabre characters during Frightence but will only experience a fraction of their lives. This might sound like a risk that can alienate some types of players, but, hey, what’s the point of being an independent developer if you can’t be bold enough to take such risks?
In the end, Frightence is a short horror game but it is full of provoking incidents and shivery and eerie characters in every step you make, and for most of the characters you meet in Frightence, it might be your one and only time to encounter them.
We believe this opens a door to a re-playability and myriad number of possibilities for a sequel as well. We are eagerly awaiting audiences responses to each layers of background story in Frightence.
Here is also an interesting question:
When you encounter an interesting character only once in a horror game, how does that character impact you?
The answer is simple : You will start imagining things about that character. And we believe triggering a player’s imagination in a horror game is the best an indie developer can achieve in this genre. It would be our ultimate reward as developers for Frightence. Dive in to Frightence today – it’s out now on Xbox!
Frightence
Playstige Interactive
☆☆☆☆☆27
★★★★★
Frighthence is a short, intense first-person horror experience.
You are the janitor who works at the infamous Apartment #17, which is the seed of many eeire tales and bloodcurdling urban legends… The apartment recently got an eviction notice and tonight, you must check every resident’s flat to make sure that everybody has left. Soon you will realize that things are not the way they seem in this dreadful apartment…
Agent Intercept is an over-the-top arcade action game released today on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One
A solid vision and laser-focused storyline bring out the best of the arcade action
A fully voiced cast and original soundtrack heighten the spy-genre feel and keep you immersed in the gameplay
Agent Intercept bursts onto Xbox at supersonic speeds today, so we wanted to share how we approached the narrative design of a game focused on arcade action and high stakes mayhem. There is a very exciting story at the heart of Agent Intercept, with twists and turns that should put a grin on the face of any spy genre fan. But narrative design is more than writing the plot, so let’s take a more in depth look at how we brought the action to life through storytelling.
Vision — This One Goes to 11
Agent Intercept started as an action driving game inspired by Spy Hunter (one of the first video games I ever played!), but it needed to go beyond that to establish its identity. We worked to create some clear, exciting design pillars — statements used to align the team on the game direction — so everyone was on board with the vision. Phrases such as “everyone should feel like a superspy” and “use the best of every car chase ever” helped guide us to what was important in every moment of gameplay.
But a grand, over-the-top story also helped elevate the overall concept of the game beyond car chases and into near superhero territory. At the early stages, the story existed not just as a plot pitch, but also a springboard to inspire our team. I wasn’t just sharing a story idea, but a world of possibilities to help people think beyond the initial reference material: Imagine the type of game where you fight bosses larger than the screen, where you explode a rocket while riding it into space, where not only the car transforms but the world transforms around you! This helped us push the game past genre material, paying homage but also seeing where we could expand, subvert, or just go that much crazier than what we’d seen before.
Story — Agency vs CLAW
I kept the core of the story clear and accessible, so the frenetic gameplay setpieces were forefront. The evil organization CLAW is back under a new villain with an army of goons and crazy tech, and only you as the Agency’s elite driver of the transforming spy car the Sceptre can stop them! Leaning on genre tropes and putting the player at the center of the action in every plot point, every stretch of level design, every setpiece, helped give laser focus to the experience. The story is full of twists and wild moments, yes, but primarily it is there to bring out the best gameplay.
Narrative Design — More than Writing
The flow of each level needed to not just tell a fun, self-contained story, but to guide the player along the gameplay journey. What bosses we had to face, what gadgets were available, what environment we were in, all factored into the decisions of the narrative. The narrative was the starting point for every level. From a flowchart of the action and story beats we then developed a full script and storyboards in collaboration with our cinematics, tech and level designers.
Each story needed to give a logical, clear, and compelling reason for the gameplay flow. For example, in one level the player races up a mountain to scout superweapons testing, then drives down an avalanche to escape another boss and take down the weapon. Hopefully that sounds cool on its own, but it was there to serve the needs of the gameplay: to show off our cool arctic mountain environment, to give a reason to transform into the new sled mode, to highlight the boss vehicles we had and their mechanics.
Audio – Bringing the Narrative to Life
Sound played an integral role in the player experience. Energetic original music tracks and bombastic sound effects heightened the feel of every moment and gave the story and play extra momentum.
We also knew we wanted voice acting, not just to give weight to the characters urging you forward and fighting alongside you in the levels, but to keep your eyes focused on the chaotic action. You could experience the plot twists and character emotions without being distracted from the tense gameplay.
Our aim was to deliver a fun, knowingly over-the-top spy story worthy of James Bond, Fast & Furious, and Spy Hunter wrapped together. But we also hope we delivered a holistic experience, where the characters, plot, music, and design all work together to keep you focused on the intense action gameplay and heighten it to peak ridiculousness at every moment.
Did we deliver? Did you see the twists coming? Do you really explode a rocket while driving on it while it is blasting into space? Buy Agent Intercept on Xbox and see!
Agent Intercept
PikPok
☆☆☆☆☆5
★★★★★
The world needs you, Agent! Take control of the Sceptre, the Agency’s latest high-tech transforming vehicle, and face off against the criminal organisation CLAW in this explosive arcade driving game. Dodge enemy fire, mines and lasers as you perform over-the-top stunts and use the Sceptre’s high-tech gadgetry to blow up your enemies. Feel like a superspy as you transform the Sceptre from car to plane and more, immersed in exotic locations and an original high-energy soundtrack! With a new threat around every corner, it’ll take all you’ve got to defeat CLAW. An Agent’s work is never done. Agent Intercept offers extended playability beyond its rich campaign. Tackle side missions, unlock experiments and prove your worth as a superspy on our global leaderboards!
PC Game Pass is inviting the biggest gaming content creators to adventure the open seas in our third Game Pass Has PC Games Invitational with Boom TV — now featuring Sea of Thieves! For this month’s event, five hardy crews will showcase their Sea of Thieves skills in a game of Bilge Rat Bingo to take home over $25,000 in cash prizes.
Boom TV has been an awesome partner with us with our previous events and we’re thrilled to be collaborating with them again and highlighting several of the 100+ high-quality games that are available with PC Game Pass. Sea of Thieves offers the essential pirate experience, packed to the seams with sailing and exploring, fighting, and plundering, riddle solving and treasure hunting – everything you need to live the pirate life you’ve always dreamed about.
In Bilge Rat Bingo, five skilled captains and their crews will compete in a series of challenges to fill out the squares in their bingo cards. The tasks that the creators will have to complete range in difficulty, from catching a fish, to stealing loot from a rival ship. The crew who fills out all their squares and calls “House” will claim the treasure and take home the grand prize.
Join the Game Pass Has PC Games Invitational Hub on Boom TV, so that you never miss an event. Through the hub, you’ll be able to complete challenges to win big prizes and participate in community events with Boom TV. Sign up now and get started!
Stay tuned to the Sea of Thieves and Xbox Twitch channels on Friday, April 1, to earn PC Game Pass codes and exclusive Sea of Thieves Twitch Drops!
Batten down the hatches and watch the Game Pass Has PC Games event live on Friday, April 1. While you wait, enjoy playing Sea of Thieves and a bunch of other PC games with PC Game Pass. Join now to get your first month for $1.
