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Joystiq Weekly: Bleszinski returns, Escape Dead Island, WildStar impressions and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Well, we did it. We used a ton of gun powder to make pretty shapes and colors in the sky, and we gorged on grilled food as it happened. Our self-appointed roles as Master Pyrotechnicians (read: the person hogging the lighter near a mound of fireworks) also left us without burns, so we're not sure the holiday could have possibly gone better. Just because the United States and Canada celebrated birthdays this week doesn't mean that everyone took time off though – heck, Cliff Bleszinski is about to end his extended vacation from the gaming industry! We've got details on his return, your last-minute hope to get in on the Evolve alpha, impressions from WildStar, a glimpse at Escape Dead Island and more, all waiting for you after the break!
Report: Murdered: Soul Suspect developer Airtight Games closes [update]
Developer Airtight Games has reportedly closed its Redmond office with no prior announcement, suggesting that the studio has ceased operations less than a month after launching its latest multiplatform game Murdered: Soul Suspect. GeekWire visited the studio's former office yesterday and found a locked door and a sign advertising a "blow out sale" on the equipment within. GeekWire's attempts to contact company representatives were not answered. Joystiq also received no response during our attempts to follow up. Airtight Games' credits include the Capcom-published action game Dark Void, Ouya roguelike Soul Fjord, and Quantum Conundrum, a first-person puzzler directed by Portal designer Kim Swift. The studio saw a round of layoffs in April, losing 14 employees as part of a "necessary restructuring." Update: Airtight has effectively confirmed the closure through tweets thanking those who "supported us and made the last 10 years possible." [Image: Square Enix]
Metareview: Murdered: Soul Suspect
Murdered: Soul Suspect is proof of the old adage, "you can't keep a good cop down, even when you put roughly half a dozen slugs in his chest, because that dude will turn into a ghost that smokes ghost cigarettes." We ... may have embellished that a little bit. While flawed in execution, our review found the game to be enjoyable nonetheless, with a compelling yarn to pull players along and an interesting fiction built into the town of Salem. There's more eyewitnesses ready to testify about this phantasmal tale, however, so let's see what they have to say.
Murdered: Soul Suspect review: Good cop, dead cop
Murdered: Soul Suspect makes a bold choice right from the start by favoring information over action. It's unusual to play as a street-smart detective and not have to worry about aiming, reloading, or even how to throw a punch, instead focusing your efforts on stepping back and thinking about your environment. Solving the game's many mysteries will require patience, thoroughness, observation, and thought - a mixture that works well in service of Murdered's excellent story, but one that finds itself at odds with the final chapter of the tale. A few understandable – though regretful – design choices, combined with technical snafus all but destroy Murdered's emotional impact as it thunders towards its dramatic conclusion. An entertaining curiosity, Murdered ends up being a ghost of its own potential.
More Graves added to Murdered: Soul Suspect
When your name is Jason Graves, you are surely meant to score a game called "Murdered: Soul Suspect." Not that your award-winning resumé is light on big titles - you also created the musical accompaniment to the Tomb Raider reboot (horns), the Dead Space series (sudden violins), and Alpha Protocol (harpsichord?). Square Enix announced its pick for composer a few days in advance of Murdered: Soul Suspect's release on June 3 in North America and June 6 in Europe. Set in the paranormal realm of Salem, the game starts where many end: with your demise. As deceased detective Ronan O'Connor, you track down your killer in a blend of adventure, deduction, stealth and a ghostly disregard for walls. Murdered: Soul Suspect, developed by Airtight Games, will be available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Murdered: Soul Suspect's '101' trailer isn't about dalmatians
This trailer for Murdered: Soul Suspect offers a crash course on the story of undead detective Ronan O'Connor. Be warned: The five and a half-minute video touches on minor story elements that some may consider to be spoilery. The game will launch June 3 on PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
This Murdered: Soul Suspect trailer tolls for thee
Bells are easily transformed from joyful noises into creepy harbingers. Their jars are suffocating, and they ring across foggy graveyards, signaling death and sadness. The Bell Killer doesn't look pleasant either. Murdered: Soul Suspect is out on June 3 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC. [Image: Square Enix]
Murdered: Soul Suspect dev lays off 14 in studio restructuring
Airtight Games, developer of Murdered: Soul Suspect and Quantum Conundrum, suffered layoffs this week. The studio let go of 14 employees, confirmed by IGN as part of a "necessary restructuring" for the developer. Airtight's restructuring was deemed "part of the normal ebb and flow of game production" and that the studio's current projects are still on schedule. The developer announced a June 3 release date for Murdered: Soul Suspect roughly one month ago. Square Enix said the "core team is continuing to work towards shipping in June." One previous employee of Airtight Games, the studio's creative director and Portal Co-Creator Kim Swift, joined Amazon Game Studios yesterday along with Far Cry 2 Lead Designer Clint Hocking. [Image: Airtight Games]
Murdered: Soul Suspect arriving June 3, three days later in Europe
Square Enix's haunting detective game Murdered: Soul Suspect will launch June 3 in North America, and will arrive in Europe and other PAL regions on June 6. The game will launch simultaneously on five platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Murdered: Soul Suspect was originally planned to launch earlier this year before being pushed past March. Developed by Airtight Games, the studio behind Dark Void and Quantum Conundrum as well as funky Ouya roguelike Soul Fjord, the game places players in the gumshoes of Ronan O'Connor, a detective that sets out to find his own killer. The sort-of-dead O'Connor has the ability to possess others, reading their minds and looking through their eyes without being noticed. [Image: Square Enix]
Murdered: Soul Suspect confirmed for PS4 too, coming in June
You didn't need to be much of a gumshoe to work this one out: Hot on the heels of being announced for the Xbox One, Murdered: Soul Suspect is also confirmed for the PS4. However, a bit of extra sleuthing - by that we mean watching a video - reveals Airtight's post-mortal mystery has a new release window of June 2014. So, in addition to the two platforms noted above, you'll be able to track it down then on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Murdered: Soul Suspect hitting Xbox One this year
Airtight Games' detective thriller, Murdered: Soul Suspect, is coming to the Xbox One in addition to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms, Microsoft's Larry Hryb announced today. Murdered: Soul Suspect is adventure game that puts players in the role of a deceased detective who must solve his own murder from the afterlife. Gameplay focuses on crime scene investigation and character possession, and players must carefully leverage their ghostly abilities as they pursue the protagonist's killer. Murdered: Soul Suspect is due to hit retail after March this year. A release date has not been announced. [Video/Image: Airtight Games]
Funky free roguelike Soul Fjord out now, exclusively on Ouya
Soul Fjord is now available on the Ouya store. Developed by Airtight Games, the rhythm-action game stars an afro-sporting viking named Magnus Jones, who is hacking through enemies to get to the afterlife nightclub Valhalla. The developer describes its gameplay as "an extreme mash-up of rhythm game meets dungeon crawler with a roguelike twist," so death in the Norse mythology-based world holds some permanence, as seen in the game's launch trailer. Soul Fjord is free to download and supported by in-game purchases. Airtight previously launched first-person puzzler Quantum Conundrum for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Creative Director Kim Swift also served as co-creator of Valve's hit puzzle-platformer Portal. If that's not enough star power for the funky game, its soundtrack comes from Grammy-nominated Journey composer Austin Wintory.
Ouya-funded Soul Fjord launching January 28
Quantum Conundrum developer Airtight Games will launch its funkified roguelike Soul Fjord later this month exclusively for the Ouya microconsole, Polygon reports. Soul Fjord blends '70s funk with Norse mythology, making for a unique aesthetic as players plumb its randomly-generated dungeon layouts. The funk isn't just for show, either, as the game's music plays a crucial role in its rhythm-based combat system. Soul Fjord boasts a soundtrack by Austin Wintory, who previously composed music for thatgamecompany's Journey and Stoic's crowdfunded strategy game The Banner Saga. Soul Fjord will be available as a free download supported by in-game purchases when it hits the Ouya Discover store on January 28.
Murdered: Soul Suspect now expected post-March 2014
Post-mortal whodunnit Murdered: Soul Suspect has drifted into a release window beyond March 2014, publisher Square Enix has confirmed. Speaking separately with GameSpot and Game Informer, Square Enix said the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC third-person mystery is set to arrive in 2014. However, after it wasn't included in the company's release list for the fiscal year, the publisher confirmed the game wasn't coming before March. Murdered was previously pinned for an early 2014 arrival. Developed by Dark Void and Quantum Conundrum studio Airtight Games, Murdered places players in the ethereal role of Ronan O'Connor, a detective tasked with unearthing his own killer. O'Connor may be as DOA as Duke Nukem Forever, but he does have a repertoire of ghostly powers, like the ability to possess people so he can see through their eyes and read their minds. As Airtight's E3 walkthrough shows, the people O'Connor possesses don't seem to notice him doing so - maybe that's what it's like in real life, too. Maybe there are hundreds of spirits, watching silently through our eyes as we type these words this very moment ... And now we've creeped ourselves out. Great.
Murdered: Soul Suspect E3 walkthrough combs the crime scene
Eric Stutter, Senior Design Director at Airtight Games, provides a thorough walkthrough of the E3 demo for Murdered: Soul Suspect above. The adventure game revolves around a detective who must solve his own murder – as a ghost. The E3 walkthrough of Murdered: Soul Suspect is lengthy, spanning almost 26 minutes. Highlights include: cops slapping other cops; wearing a dead man's hat; possessing the living to eavesdrop on their conversations; and learning how christening a home can keep ghosts off the premises.
'Soul Fjord' is Airtight's next game, Ouya exclusive
The next game from designer Kim Swift and Airtight Games (Quantum Conundrum) will be Soul Fjord. Fusing '70s funk with Norse mythology, the game stars Magnus Jones, an afro-sporting Viking, who makes his way through procedurally generated dungeons and engages in rhythm-based combat. And if you were wondering: yes, this is Airtight's Ouya-exclusive project that was announced earlier this year. Swift referred to it as a "console exclusive" when speaking to IGN, so it's possible that mobile and PC ports are still on the table. A developer diary was released alongside the announcement. At the very least, the eclectic cultural mash-up makes for interesting aesthetics, though there isn't much to speak of in terms of gameplay. The Ouya is slated to officially launch on June 4, while Soul Fjord is "coming soon."%Gallery-187204%
Ouya ships to Kickstarter backers March 28, Kellee Santiago joins company
If you bought an Ouya console from the Kickstarter drive, you will actually get the thing you bought soon. The consoles will begin shipping out on March 28, the company announced today. The retail launch is still set for June.Ouya will be supported by games, including an exclusive title by Kim Swift and Airtight Games (Quantum Conundrum) and a new project by Minority Media (Papo & Yo). And to attract even more talent to the diminutive console, thatgamecompany co-founder Kellee Santiago also announced that she's joined the company as head of developer relations.
Portal co-creator's Pixld now on iOS
Pixld, the iOS puzzle game from Portal co-creator Kim Swift and Quantum Conundrum developer Airtight Games, is now available on the App Store. It's currently going for an introductory $0.99, but having introduced itself it'll return to a regular price of $1.99.The games gives players a grid of cyan and navy blocks, tasking them with making color-matching rectangles by flipping the blocks' colors. Sounds simple, except flipping a block's color also flips the color of every adjacent block. With time-based, moves-limited, and one-life modes, Pixld is a test of vision, reflexes, and strategy. Oh, and it has weird textspeak-like shorthand in its menus, but don't worry, it's nothing too egrgs.
Airtight moves into mobile games with PIXLD
Airtight Games is following Dark Void and Quantum Conundrum with a puzzle game for smaller screens. PIXLD for iOS is a color-matching puzzle game that tasks players with flipping groups of blocks to create contiguous groups. The developer calls it "deeply engaging, deceptively simple" and plans to release it next week, at an introductory 99 cent price (regular price is $1.99).This is the first release from the new "Airtight Mobile" label, which – as the name suggests – will publish games for phones, specifically iOS.
Quantum Conundrum doubles down on DLC this summer
Two new DLC packs are planned for Quantum Conundrum, Square Enix announced today. The "Desmond Debacle" and "IKE-aramba!" add-ons will be available later this summer for 240 MS Points ($2.99) each.The Desmond Debacle DLC pack launches on Steam first on July 31; PS3 and Xbox 360 get the DLC on August 14 and August 15, respectively. Players will explore a new wing of Quadwrangle Mansion with Desmond, self-professed "drinking bird" and guide through these new puzzles.IKE-aramba! tasks players with rescuing an Interdimensional Kinetic Entity, the titular IKE. Players will "leap seemingly endless chasms" when this second DLC pack launches on Steam on August 28, followed by PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 11 and 12.Those who've picked up a season pass through Steam will get both of these DLC packs as part of the their purchase.%Gallery-161003%
