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The Verge
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The whiplash of covering Summer Game Fest 2025 in LA
I love going to Summer Game Fest. It's a rare opportunity to connect with my colleagues and friends in person, as well as listen to developers talk about why they make their games. In some ways, this year's SGF gave me everything I love about the event. But while I was comfortably ensconced in a happy bubble, the escalating conflict between demonstrators protesting against immigration raids and the Los Angeles Police Department cast a dark and soul-shaking pall that could not be ignored. Everything started on June 6th, when it was reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had conducted a raid in LA's fashion district, the same area where most of SGF was being held. I wasn't around to experience that because I was at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, watching Geoff Keighley announce a Game of Thrones RTS and a Wu-Tang game. But when Ian Proulx, Splitgate 2 creator and CEO of 1047 Games, came out with his now-infamous 'Make FPS Great Again' hat, it punctured the illusion of distance in time, space, and tone. In the months since President Donald Trump took office, ICE has ramped up its activities, sending agents to snatch parents from their children and children from their schools, enabled under the auspices that removing immigrants will be what makes America great again. Proulx's hat became the story of the day, if not the whole event. It was the main topic of conversation at the lobby bar of the JW Marriott hotel, where each night of SGF is capped off with a mixer. How could someone choose to reference such a statement, even in jest or irony, as the very people that slogan has been used to target are being snatched up mere blocks away? Saturday was business as usual. Proulx's hat was forgotten as I settled in to work, flitting between wall-to-wall appointments checking out Escape Academy 2, the new Lego Party game, and Deadpool VR with no time to chat or even eat. I didn't check my phone for hours, and every TV was playing a video game. I had no idea what was happening both in Los Angeles and in the White House. But when there was finally a lull, I popped online, where I was greeted with a deluge of messages from people who were watching the news, telling me that something (a nebulous, undefined, but nevertheless urgent something) was happening and that I needed to get back to the safety of my hotel. Thankfully, my worst fears about martial law declarations and curfews didn't come to pass while I was there, but they did after I was back home. People had taken to the streets of LA in protest of ICE action and began moving through parts of the city, demonstrating and occasionally clashing with the police (and autonomous vehicles). But at that moment, when I was hearing that insurrection acts were going to be invoked and that the National Guard was being mobilized to sweep the city, I became legitimately scared — particularly for attendees who weren't citizens and those with immigrant families. How could someone choose to reference such a statement, even in jest or irony? One such colleague, Janet Garcia, wrote an incredible account of what it was like working SGF and being the child of a Mexican immigrant. Her words right now are more important than mine. SGF also coincided with the BET Awards, and honoree Doechii also had a powerful message for the moment. There had already been several stories of international travelers being detained in the US for weeks, and I was scared that if something was happening, my journalist friends from Canada, the UK, and elsewhere could get caught in the mix. Word began spreading that something (again, what that was, nobody could say, and that uncertainty compounded the fear) was happening, and my friends and I all began to start asking aloud: do we need to leave? Some said yes, and I was ready to do just that, but something stopped me. I will never be able to adequately express how weird my job is in situations like this. It's really hard to write about the colorful pixels on a TV when it feels like the world is seconds away from catching fire. And yet I do it every day. Right when I was about to make the decision to leave early, a Capcom PR rep tapped me on the shoulder. I was late to my Resident Evil Requiem appointment. And I went, because in that scary moment I still thought, 'I have a job to do.' I did my best with Requiem, plodding along the abandoned hospital, being suitably impressed by how the sound of Grace's footsteps changed when she walked on the wooden floor vs. the floor covered in bits of broken drywall. But my phone kept buzzing with notifications throughout it all. Midway through the demo, my stress was so high from the ambient spookiness of the game and all the happenings outside the SGF bubble that I couldn't take it anymore. I made my profuse apologies to my PR contact (who was exceedingly gracious and understanding) and left. The mood that night at the hotel was less exuberant. It wasn't just everything going on in LA: the mood of the event itself was the lowest I'd ever seen it in the handful of years that SGF has served as E3's smaller, vibe-ier replacement. There were games there, good ones, but nothing big enough to anchor the show. As the industry faces its third straight year of rampant layoffs, cancellations, delays, and studio closures we're finally starting to see the pipeline of blockbuster games dry up. This was a stark contrast to last year when Sega had Metaphor: ReFantanzio and Shadow Generations, Bandai Namco showed off Shadow of the Erdtree, PlayStation was there with Astro Bot, and Xbox had just announced Gears of War: E-Day. I'm home now. And despite this year's strangeness, I look forward to going back to Summer Game Fest. Because if video games have taught me anything over the years, it's that in the face of overwhelming odds, the best thing one can do is stick together with your friends.
Engadget
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
There's more to Mouse: PI for Hire than cartoon violence
Mouse: PI for Hire is a lot deeper than I initially assumed. When the game first caught buzz in May 2023 with an early teaser populated by placeholder assets, I didn't understand the hype. The art style was definitely cool — Mouse is a black-and-white first-person shooter inspired by 1930s rubber hose cartoons, featuring bipedal rodents dressed like mobsters — but without any information about the gameplay loop, mechanics or narrative direction, I remained unmoved. After seeing Mouse in action at Summer Game Fest 2025, consider me movin' . Mouse is mechanically nuanced and fully voice-acted, starring Troy Baker as the protagonist, and it has more to offer than shock-value cartoon violence. This is a clue-gathering, photo-snapping, girlfriend-avenging, noir detective simulator that happens to star a bunch of slick-talking mice and rats, and I'm fully into it. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. In a private session at SGF, Fumi Games CEO Mateusz Michalak and lead producer Maciek Krzemien played through the game's third level, Gumshoe in the Opera, and discussed their intentions with the game. Krzemien said the team didn't want to simply lean on the art style at the expense of gameplay, and they focused on building a rich world with layered mechanics. Since that initial teaser came out, they've been fleshing out characters, drawing assets by hand, implementing puzzles and secrets, and tweaking individual weapons so that they feel just right. In Gumshoe in the Opera, the protagonist Jack Pepper is investigating his girlfriend's murder and he's backstage at the theater, looking for a friend who might be involved. Baker makes for a fine 1930s private eye, with a deep voice and a Boardwalk Empire twang. The supporting characters are voiced, too, and they tend to have a higher-pitched, henchman style of gangster speak. Mousey, you could say. Pepper fills up a 16-slot weapon wheel as he finds new guns and tools, including a flashlight, dynamite, Tommy gun, hookshot, pistol, shotgun and a turpentine blaster. The turpentine gun is ridiculous in the best way — since the characters in this world are cartoons, it melts their skin away like it's paint and then dissolves their skeletons. Killing enemies with a traditional gun leaves them lying in pools of black blood, sometimes with missing heads, and the game's environments have destructible elements. The mix of mature violence and classic cartoon art is strangely joyful, and it seems Fumi got the balance just right. Most enemies in Mouse take a few hits before going down, but headshots are a thing and a well-aimed blast can definitely flatten a mobster (mouse-ster?) in one blow. I didn't get a chance to play the game myself, but now that I'm fully seated on the Mouse hype train, I'm curious to feel the gunplay firsthand. I have a sense it's going to be more difficult than Krzemien made it seem. The preview was roughly half shooting action, half investigation and exploring. When he's not in a firefight, Pepper climbs through vents and sneaks around backstage, collecting corked health pots, a coffee cup and weapons along the way. The coffee cup turns Pepper's hand into a finger gun, which he uses to rapidly pew pew pew his way through enemies. He learns how to double-jump and is able to backtrack through the level with this new ability, picking up additional supplies and a hidden trading card — for the card-based minigame, of course. A lockpick mechanic has players snake their way past spikes to complete a small maze inside the lock. In one moment, Pepper takes a photo of someone through a small window and it's stored for later, hinting at a larger clue-organizing mechanic. Krzemien said that after this section, Pepper will return to his office to piece together the evidence. There are a lot of layers to Mouse: PI for Hire . Maybe it's my fault for being surprised by the depth in this game or the care being shown by developers at Fumi, but at least now, I finally get it. Mouse is due to hit Steam, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch this year, published by PlaySide.
Engadget
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Onimusha: Way of the Sword brings Japanese cinematic royalty to the samurai fantasy series
While the surprise of a new Resident Evil might have been Capcom's biggest story at SGF, it's got other series – and other sequels – to show off, like Onimusha . Previously a banner PS2 series, Onimusha spanned four mainline games between 2001 and 2006. We've since seen remastered editions of the first two episodes. Still, a true sequel was long overdue, especially after games like Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima showed a renewed appetite for feudal Japan swordplay. Through a theater presentation during SGF 2025, I got a closer look at Onimusha: Way of the Sword, which features a new hero and a new setting. Also, no more static backgrounds. Players will control Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary (but historically real) Japanese swordsman, artist and writer. This is interesting, but the more compelling wrinkle is that his face is modeled on the legendary (but historically real) actor Toshiro Mifune, who passed away in 1997. Mifune was a leading actor in several Akira Kurosawa movies in the 1950s and '60s, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Yojimb o. In short, he was arguably the most famous samurai actor there ever was. I'm not counting Tom Cruise. (Mifune, while alive, portrayed the same character, Musashi, in three separate movies.) To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Several gameplay features have carried over to the latest edition of the Onimusha series. Once again, you're equipped with the Oni gauntlet, now possessing its own sentient voice. The gauntlet is crucial to collecting different types of orbs from enemies. Some will repair health, while others add experience points, skill points and more. We were also shown some mild puzzle-solving, using the power of the Oni gauntlet to see invisible demons and unlock areas that were spiritually blocked. Absorbing sinister dark masses will let Musashi relive harrowing scenes from the past, powered by his cursed gauntlet. The early gameplay demo focused on swordplay, mainly, with barely any mystical attacks and special moves. Like in previous games, you'll have to balance attack, movement, guarding and counters. Once again, Issen attacks (both through interrupting sword strikes and well-timed guards) are key to applying major damage to waves of attacking demons. Musashi can also apply Issen attacks multiple times to finish off groups of enemies – if your timing is good enough. He can also parry arrows and send them back to where they came from. Environmental damage can also prove useful against enemies, like fire. At times, you'll even be able to wield objects for defense, like a raised tatami mat to block arrow fire. It seems we were only glimpsing the basics of Onimusha battle dynamics and attacks. The guard system appears relatively forgiving, and I saw Musashi block light sword attacks from behind without even turning around. I'm intrigued to see how the game's difficulty will scale in an era of Soulslikes. Fans of those games will be more intrigued with boss battles, in particular, ones where you face off against Ganryu, seen above. He appears to be Musashi's swordsman rival – and one that's been gifted his very own Oni gauntlet. The confrontation between the two was a valuable opportunity to demonstrate how Break Issen operates. After wearing down the guard gauge of enemies, you can perform a severe attack which can be channeled to specific areas or body parts. Do you go for the head to hit for maximum damage, or the sword arm to reduce damage going forward? I also love having an antagonist to face off against, each time upping the ante. Ganryu, who seems a bit of a dick, is that guy. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is scheduled for release in 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC.
Engadget
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Sword of the Sea is what happens when Matt Nava strides back into Journey's shadow
Sword of the Sea is a game about letting go. Its main mechanic involves surfing across vast desert dunes on a thin blade, slicing through glittering sands and scaling ancient towers on a quest to unearth the secrets of civilizations past. It plays best when you forget about the controls entirely, and just surrender to the slick physics and let your little character flow. With enough exploration, you'll naturally discover glowing orbs and shining gold gems, and the sands will transform into deep, crystal clear seas with fish swimming through the air, carving wet paths through the dirt. Your character, dressed in flowing robes and a gold mask, rides the orange hills and the blue waves with the same easy athleticism, reacting instantly to every input on the controller. Charge up a jump and then complete sick tricks with a few quick inputs, or unleash a bubble of sonic energy to smash nearby vases, uncovering bits of currency in the shattered pieces. The protagonist moves in whatever direction you push, stopping immediately when you let go of the analog stick. There are giant chains to grind, a hover ability in some areas, and half pipes generously positioned around the environments. Control prompts pop up when you're first introduced to an ability, but the text fades quickly and you're left alone in the desert. There are no waypoints in Sword of the Sea , but the environment tells a clear story, inviting you to solve puzzles in the mysterious temples dotting the landscape. Find glowing orbs on the rooftops and hidden down secret passageways to unlock the buildings' secrets, opening up new areas. Your Yahoo privacy setting is blocking social media and third-party content You can Allow your personal information to be shared and sold. Something went wrong. Try again. You can update your choice anytime by going to your privacy controls, which are linked to throughout our sites and apps. This page will now refresh. I played about 20 minutes of Sword of the Sea at Summer Game Fest, but I wanted to surf its dunes for a lot longer. It's the kind of game that makes the real world fade away, no matter how chaotic or intrusive your immediate surroundings are. It's built on rhythm and vibes, and it encourages a meditative flow state from its first frames. Learn the controls and then forget them; play with pure intuition and it'll most likely be the right move. 'The game is about surfing, and it's really about the process of learning to surf and getting comfortable with surfing, and then trying things that are a little bit beyond your abilities, failing, and then figuring it out and actually accomplishing them,' Sword of the Sea creator Matt Nava told Engadget on the SGF show floor. 'And in the process, you kind of realize that surfing is all about harnessing the power of something greater than yourself. You're not paddling — the waves carry you. The zoomed out camera, the little character; in a lot of games, they're right on the character, because the character is the focus. But in this game, it's about how the character is a part of the environment, that is the focus. And I think that's a constant in a lot of the games that we've made.' Nava is the creative director and co-founder of Giant Squid, the studio behind Abzû and The Pathless . Even with these two successful games under his belt, Nava is still best known as the art director of Journey , thatgamecompany's pivotal multiplayer experience that hit PlayStation 3 in 2012. Nava has spent the past decade attempting to build explicitly non- Journey -like games with Giant Squid, and while Abzû and The Pathless both have his distinctive visual stamp, they're the opposite of Journey in many ways. Where Journey was set in a dry, desert landscape, Nava's follow-up, Abzû , took place in an underwater world. After that, The Pathless was mostly green, rather than dusty orange. With Sword of the Sea , Nava let go. He dropped all preconceptions of what he should be making and mentally said fuck it . He finally allowed himself to manifest the game that came naturally to him. 'In this game, it's very much taking on, accepting and proclaiming that this is me,' Nava said. 'I did Journey . I'm doing orange again. And I'm going back to the desert because I have way more ideas that we couldn't do in that game … It's like I've been living in my own shadow for a long time in a weird way. It's like, why am I doing that? I should just be who I am and continue to explore the art that is my art.' Sword of the Sea is a specific and special game, and even though it's set in an orange desert, it doesn't feel like Journey . The game also includes music by Austin Wintory, the Grammy-nominated composer behind Journey , Abzû and The Pathless . Together, Nava and Wintory form a formidable foundation. 'A lot of video game scores, they just make a music track for the area,' Nava said. 'If you're in the town, you hear town music, and then it just repeats. But that's not how it works here. The music advances as your story advances, it reflects where you are on your surfing adventure, what you're learning how, how far your character has gone on this character arc. And so that's where the music of a video game like ours should be.' As Nava and I chatted, someone sat down to play Sword of the Sea on a nearby screen, and when I glanced up, I saw that they were gliding through an area I didn't find in my runthrough. A giant animal skeleton was half-buried in the sand, bright white vertebrae dotted with gold gems for the player to collect. There are a lot of secrets to find in Sword of the Sea , Nava assured me. The best way to find them is to just let go and play. Sword of the Sea is due to hit PlayStation 5 , Steam and the Epic Games Store on August 19.
Engadget
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
The breakfast-making roguelike Omelet You Cook was just surprise-released on Steam
The egg-cooking roguelike Omelet You Cook is officially available for PC via Steam. It was shadow-dropped during the Wholesome Direct livestream , which falls in the middle of Summer Game Fest . This quirky title was first revealed last year, but now we can get our grubby little paws on it. The game looks like a good combination of chaos and strategy, casting players as a line cook at a middle school cafeteria. There's a bit of Overcooked here, along with the narrative-focused cooking sim Venba and the sushi minigame part of Dave the Diver . It looks really fun. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. It's not just a chaotic minigame. Players can add and prep ingredients between rounds, and there are rare relics that provide power-ups. There's even a hungry dog that hoovers up unwanted ingredients. This is an early access release, so folks should expect updates and changes as the months roll on. Developer SchuBox Games is also working on a football sim that stars chickens called Dicey Birdball , but that one didn't get a surprise drop today. That team sure does love poultry. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. This news comes from today's Wholesome Direct livestream, which coincides with Summer Game Fest. The announcements keep coming in from SGF, so stay on top of things right here.
