Coliseum

This week has been home to some disheartening news. BioWare, the creators of games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, is being shut down amid a flurry of layoffs. It’s another frustrating story from a struggling video game industry. Below you will find some of our stories about the legendary developer, including our massive 2016 oral history. And then after that, you can read about our recommendations of what to play this weekend.

• EA Is Shutting Down Legendary RPG Studio BioWare Amid New Round Of Layoffs
• The Oral History Of BioWare
• A Mass Effect 5 Trailer Featuring Liara Appears To Have Leaked Following BioWare’s Closure
• Amazon’s Mass Effect TV Series Is Reportedly Still In Production Despite BioWare Closure
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Review – Silver Bullet
• Remedy Explains Control Resonant’s Most Memorable, Unexpected Sequence And Its [REDACTED] Inspirations
   

Final Fantasy Resonance

Matt Miller

I spent the early hours playing Final Fantasy Resonance trying to figure out precisely why I couldn’t put it down. I eventually realized that the game manages in a very purposeful way to answer that quiet need I’ve so frequently had: “I wish I could experience a game just like Final Fantasy IV or VI again, for the first time, but with a new cast and story.” That’s pretty much what you can expect here; Resonance is a very purposeful throwback experience that harkens to the early days of FF pixel adventures, but with several modern conveniences, graphical flourishes, and depth added into the mix. It’s a big and refreshingly wholesome journey of entertaining party members, summoning giant creatures, flying an airship across the world, and fighting turn-based battles that include absurd spell effects. It’s one of my favorite games of the year, and well worth the time it will take to explore. Read our full review for more.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4

Matt Miller

Expect to hear a lot of people proclaiming this as “one of the good ones,” as Modern Warfare came out swinging this week with a strong campaign, compelling additions to competitive multiplayer, and an impressive extraction shooter mode in the form of DMZ. I’ve already been impressed by the first few hours of the campaign, which offers a tense, harrowing, and often disturbingly brutal story that bounces between a number of character perspectives. The gunplay feels tuned in, the traversal and melee is satisfying, and the narrative beats grounded in excellent actin performances. Our reviewer has spent even more time with the full game, and can share their full perspective to help inform whether you want to take a dive into this year’s installment.

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Brian Shea

The Nintendo Sports franchise, which began with Wii Sports in 2006, has never been about the single-player experience. That remains true 20 years later in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. But this time around, Nintendo has boosted the amount of content beyond what the series has typically provided, appealing to all player counts, all while retaining its trademark approachability. Whether you’re joining together with three friends for some friendly competition across the package’s 12 sports or you’re trying to climb the Island Crown ladder by beating increasingly difficult single-player opponents, Switch Sports Resort is a great motion-controlled collection.

Tenebris Somnia

Marcus Stewart

Halloween is around the corner. As you’re buying overpriced candy, deciding which version of the Joker to dress up as, and debating between watching Obsession and Backrooms over a cup of cider, it’s the perfect time to replay old horror games or dive into new ones. 2026 has a solid roster of choices for the latter thanks to releases like Resident Evil Requiem, Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse, and Silent Hill: Townfall, but Tenebris Somnia shouldn’t be overlooked if you’re looking for a cool indie throwback.

Part retro-inspired adventure game, part live-action indie horror film, you’ll uncover the mystery of a nightmare-induced apartment building and battle horrors to rescue your trapped ex. The gameplay is survival horror 101, but it’s executed well, with consistently clever and inventive puzzle-solving as a highlight. It may not be a graphical powerhouse, but Tenebris Somnia still maintains a creepy atmosphere thanks to solid scares partly delivered by effective and well-made live-action cinematics. If you’re going to binge horror films, you may as well play one too. You can read my full review here.

One Piece: Grand Gourmet

Kyle Hilliard

Full disclosure: I have not played One Piece: Grand Gourmet. I was trying to finish up Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse when a review game landed in my lap that I’ve had to give my full attention. That said, I have watched a lot of the One Piece anime, have a cat named Nami, and dog named Luffy. 

Pictured: Luffy having a bad day because he ate one of Nami’s toys when he wasn’t supposed to.

I don’t know if One Piece: Grand Gourmet is any good, but I like the premise and pixel graphics. One Piece is a very malleable franchise (which is why its live action adaptation is pretty good), so the idea of managing a restaurant as Sanji feels like it could be a very good fit. I plan on climbing aboard with all my hopes and dreams soon. And it is out now, which is good to know.

Stupid Never Dies

Kyle Hilliard

Similar to the entry above, I have not yet played Stupid Never Dies yet (there are too many video games!), but we like to use this weekly article to call out the new video games of the week. I am eager to check out Stupid Never Dies primarily because of its pop-punk soundtrack and 2000s aesthetic. I think it has the potential to be a fun, nostalgic throwback to my youth when I was learning Blink-182’s “Dammit” on guitar and playing Devil May Cry.

The Blood Of Dawnwalker Update

Charles Harte

The Blood of Dawnwalker has been out for just over seven weeks now, but I wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t finished it – or even started it – yet. A lot has come out! But if you need a reason to jump back in, this week’s 1.1 update is a great excuse – the devs have added hundreds of bug fixes and other minor improvements, so it should run better than it ever did before. There’s also an even easier difficulty mode if you want to cruise through without worrying about combat, and a new in-game potion that lets you respec all your skill points. I stalled out about halfway through (when I started playing Wolverine), but I’m planning to jump back in this weekend.

Oh, and you can pet dogs and cats now. Maybe I should have led with that.

Peak On Consoles

Marcus Stewart

Multiplayer physics mountain-climbing game Peak became one of the most viral co-op experiences of 2025 (I refuse to use the term friendslop), but only PC players have enjoyed its wacky shenanigans. That changed this week as Peak is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch 2. Either alone or, preferably, alongside up to three friends, you’ll try to ascend procedurally generated, absurdly unrealistic mountains riddled with dangers. Working together is key, a tricky prospect thanks to the in-game proximity chat that necessitates sticking together, but griefing each other, intentionally or otherwise, is just as entertaining – maddeningly frustrating at times, but entertaining. Peak on consoles includes all post-launch content and, best of all, supports crossplay for all platforms.

Tabletop Pick – Azul Kids

Matt Miller

The original Azul remains one of my all-time favorite games even after many years, but it just misses the bar with its strategic complexity to be one I’d pull out to play with the kids. That why I was especially delighted to find that Azul Kids is one of those rare “adapted for children” projects that turned out extremely well.

Players take on the roll of creative young artists building mosaic displays with various colored tiles. The concept remains simple enough to work for even very young players of age five or six, but the whole family should have fun with the approachable strategy implications of choosing tiles and completing your masterpiece.

This week on The Game Informer Show, special guest Brian Altano joins us to talk about his new venture with two former colleagues, X Button! 

Then, we discuss Switch Sports Resort’s thumb wrestling prowess, the best new horror games to dip into this fall, and mourn the closure of BioWare by Electronic Arts. Grab a cold, or even warm, beverage and settle in. 

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about video game reviews, news, and exclusive reveals alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. Support the show by subscribing to our physical video game magazine!

Watch or listen here:

Listen to “BioWare’s Closure Is A Loss For The Whole Industry” on Spreaker.

Follow our hosts and special guests on social media:

• Brian Altano (@brianaltano)
• Alex Van Aken (@itsvanaken)
• Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump around using these timestamps:

• 00:00 – Intro 
• 10:05 – Switch Sports Resort 
• 27:40 – Horror Games 
• 1:15:36 – BioWare Is No More

Please allow the first sentence here to warn you that this interview discusses a portion of Control Resonant that takes place near the end of the game and is arguably the most unexpected and surprising sequence. I encourage you to experience it without spoilers. So if you haven’t beaten the game yet, please do, and then come back to this page.

However, if you have beaten the game, or curiosity has driven you to learn what game has been redacted from the headline and why (it’s the 1995 Super Nintendo RPG, EarthBound, by the way), then please read on.

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD

In the late-game of Control Resonant – basically right before you tackle the final confrontation – the game suddenly shifts timeframe and genre to become a 16-bit RPG. The nostalgic lens turns the game into something that feels like 1995’s EarthBound, complete with turn-based battles, in order to explain the trauma that Jesse and Dylan went through at a young age after they came across an object of power: the slide projector. The whole sequence is funny, heartbreaking, weird, and importantly effective at making you feel you are seeing a part of their past. It was particularly effective on me as I have fond memories of playing EarthBound and games like it when I was young. To see and experience Dylan and Jesse’s childhood this way felt accurate, as absurd as that sounds.

I reached out to Remedy to specifically discuss that portion of the game. You can find the full e-mail interview below with the team members who contributed to its creation.

The big RPG backstory sequence for Jesse and Dylan – why approach the storytelling that way?

Lead level designer, Anne-Marie Grönroos: The basis for the whole sequence is that the Hedron attacks Dylan’s mind, breaks his reality apart, and he has to rebuild himself. We wanted the reality-breaking part to affect the game itself and have the player feel some of the confusion Dylan is feeling by breaking the fourth wall.

Who pitched that sequence, how did they pitch it, and was it difficult to sell to the larger team?

Grönroos: At Remedy, ideas rarely come from a single person or team, and we rarely do formal pitches, but rather discuss and workshop ideas cross-craft until they start taking the shape of something we like. The initial idea from the writer was for this to be a text-based adventure, to return to a very early form of a video game to show that the Patterning is devolving him, but an Alan Wake 2 DLC had already done that, and we wanted to find something else.

Independently, some months ago a level designer had suggested a sidequest with JRPG pixel graphics, but that had gone nowhere. I remembered that and suggested doing an old Final Fantasy-style JRPG here, which also felt more fitting since that’s the type of game Dylan and Jesse would have played in their childhood, and not a text-based adventure. People got excited about that, and after some concerns about feasibility, we went forth with it. It helped that the level designer who had originally wanted to do the JRPG side quest is a big fan of these types of games and has made them before. I wouldn’t have dropped something this crazy on someone who wasn’t passionate about it and ready to figure out how to do it with our engine that’s not built for anything like this.

Young Jesse and Dylan as they appear in the sequence

Is EarthBound (Mother in Japan) the primary inspiration for that sequence? Are there big fans of those games at Remedy?

Senior level designer in charge of the JRPG quest, Arhi Makkonen:
The whole Quest was born from that childhood feeling I had when playing old JRPGs – Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Bahamut Lagoon, and yes, Mother. The most important thing for me was capturing that feeling of a time when games felt like magic. I think many people can relate to that nostalgia, and now Jesse and Dylan share that feeling in the game.

Visually, Mother was a major inspiration of course. Juuso Anttila is the concept artist who did all the splendid pixel art for Rebuild quest. Mother’s style fits the mysterious Americana small town vibe perfectly. We also couldn’t pass up the pun about a story revolving around “Not-Mother” that was made in the style of Mother.

Was it difficult to implement the sequence into the game? Did Remedy’s Northlight Engine need significant work to account for the sequence?

Makkonen: The Northlight engine was designed to work perfectly for third-person action games. Well, Rebuild Quest is pretty much the opposite of that. Northlight is a specialized tool rather than a general-purpose one, so we had to come up with some rather creative solutions to create a 2D JRPG.

First of all, we’re faking the 2D look. In reality, the entire JRPG Ordinary exists within a 3D world that the camera simply views from directly overhead. It occupies a tiny patch in a remote corner of the game world—a space where 3D Dylan would barely have room to stand. The entire game-within-a-game is written in Lua; our incredibly versatile game designer, Tommi Saalasti, created the underlying system, upon which I was then able to build the story.

Since we didn’t really have the tools to create a game like this, I had to hand-code every single detail. Dylan takes one step up, Dylan turns left (where Jesse hopefully is at that moment), text box 1, text box 2. The Lua script for the Rebuild quest alone probably contains as many lines of code as all the other quests in the game combined. And then there were things like animations were restricted to a maximum of two frames, and some UI elements were created using static particle effects.

So yes, we faced all sorts of challenges and compromises, but at the heart of it all was a wonderful story – simply told in a somewhat unconventional way. We trusted that the narrative would make up for some of the imperfections.

Everyone’s favorite FBC janitor Ahti has a cameo appearance in the sequence

Remedy has a reputation for big unexpected and often crazy singular moments. What are the conversations like around delivering those? In pre-production, are there conversations like, “What is the big moment for this one?” Or do they happen pretty naturally?

Grönroos: They both happen naturally and we also have conversations about what the big moments should be. Sometimes we like a section so much that we decide to put even more resources and importance to it, even if it wasn’t supposed to be all that important from the get-go. The Into the Sinkhole quest, for instance, is a quest that wasn’t planned to be a “tentpole moment” from the start, but we kept putting more effort into it when it was shaping up to be something very special.

But most setpieces in the game were planned to be such from the early stages of pre-production. In Resonant, we wanted to have multiple standout moments instead of a single sequence like the Ashtray Maze overshadowing everything else, and I’m happy to see that players have different favorites.

And a different approach from Control is that several of these memorable moments (Sinkhole, Underpass Fault, the JRPG section) are more emotional and subdued instead of bombastic action (although we also have big action setpieces), which was an interesting challenge itself.

Was there a fear that the visuals would limit the emotional impact of the sequence?

Grönroos: Yes, but we decided to trust the writing. Several other games have managed to deliver a similar emotional impact despite pixel graphics (and sometimes because of them, since the level [of] abstraction can make characters more relatable and up to the player’s interpretation), so we weren’t too concerned.

Was there a fear that action game fans would be frustrated by the RPG sequence?

Grönroos: Yes, this was the main concern about the sequence. It was a very polarizing sequence in the playtests: people either loved or hated it. We did discuss shortening it significantly, but in the end decided to keep it as it is but added some fast travel options and make some parts skippable. There were more fans than haters, and we didn’t want to sacrifice something we really enjoyed.

How concerned were you about the actual RPG mechanics of that sequence?

Makkonen: Since Rebuild doesn’t feature a vast number of battles, we didn’t need to build particularly deep RPG or progression systems. The combat served as an additional storytelling tool – illustrating how bullies torment Dylan, showing his first fight (against rats, naturally), and depicting his eventual abduction by the FBC.

Refining the combat to be simple, yet offer the player meaningful choices required a few iterations. In addition to standard attacks, the children can occasionally use special abilities: Dylan delivers a heavy blow to a single enemy, while Jesse fires at everyone. Enemies deal enough damage that defending becomes necessary when multiple foes target the same character.

The lightbulbs in The Underpass mission goes in similarly unexpected, animated directions. How did that mission come about? What was the pitch like for that one?

Grönroos: That one started with the idea of doing something comically mundane, switching lightbulbs, and adding a paranatural twist to it. The cartoon man wasn’t in the initial version, but instead we were going to do live action videos and have Dylan get stuck in that video as the end twist. They were supposed to be old-fashioned “work safety” videos explaining how to change lightbulbs, and as the quest went on, it became more and more obvious that the maintenance guy in the videos was too aware of what Dylan was doing. This all came out from a one-hour workshop.

There wasn’t really a pitch, but rather a back-and-forth like “could we do a quest about Dylan changing lightbulbs in a ritualistic way? We could have these sentient work safety videos explain how to do it and “Dylan could get trapped inside the video.” Much later, when the live action turned out to be a no-go, we pivoted to the current cartoon instead, and that was even funnier than our initial idea.

To read Game Informer‘s review of Control Resonant, follow the link.

EA shut down legendary RPG developer BioWare this week, canceling its in-development fifth Mass Effect game as a result. Despite the closure, Amazon Prime’s upcoming Mass Effect streaming series will proceed as planned, according to a report by IGN.

Amazon MGM Studios began developing a Mass Effect series in 2024. At the time, Mass Effect series executive producer Mike Gamble confirmed the show isn’t a retelling of the video games, saying, “The show will explore a brand-new story within the universe’s timeline, and will be set after the original trilogy. It won’t be a retread of Commander Shepard’s story – because after all… that’s YOUR story, isn’t it?” 

With BioWare’s closure, one would think the series would go up in smoke, but sources within Prime Video speaking to IGN confirmed that it remains in development. Furthermore, all of the creatives involved remain so. This includes showrunners Doug Jung (The Cloverfield Paradox, Star Trek Beyond) and Daniel Casey (F9: The Fast Saga, Wardriver), former Marvel Studios head Avi Arad, and Jessica Jones executive producer Karim Zreik. Mike Gamble was also involved, and this report suggests he still is, but it remains to be seen how his position on the project has changed with BioWare’s demise, given he served as a guiding voice from the studio. The Mass Effect series has no release window. 

The Mass Effect series joins other video game adaptations Amazon has in the works, which include a third season of Fallout (with Aaron Paul joining the cast), a live-action God of War series starring Dave Bautista, a live-action Tomb Raider series starring Sophie Turner, as well as series based on Life is Strange and Wolfenstein. 

For more on Mass Effect, check out our review of the Legendary Edition and our recently republished Oral History of BioWare from 2016. 

[Source: IGN]

Reviewed on:
PC

Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Publisher:
Activision

Developer:
Infinity Ward

Release:
October 23, 2026

Rating:
Mature

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 arrives at a crossroads for the series, thanks in large part to the inconsistent quality of recent entries. With a shaky predecessor, Infinity Ward had a lot to repair and conclude, especially with 4 set to bookend the rebooted Modern Warfare series. Fortunately, backed up by a fun campaign, thrilling multiplayer, and loads of new modes and content, Modern Warfare 4 makes up for the past and then some. 

Modern Warfare 4 continues after the events of 2023’s Modern Warfare 3, with Captain Price hellbent on stopping Makarov and his higher-ups. The story features shifting perspectives, from a new group of ragtag Korean soldiers to familiar characters like Gaz. The character dynamics harken back to the original trilogy, especially in the boots-on-the-ground missions with the South Korean unit, led by Park (played by Beef actor Young Mazino).

For a series that, at least recently, has been more spectacle than story, giving the stakes the time they deserve is nice. While it moves away from the stealthy and modernized elements, it makes sense for the matters at hand. The majority of Modern Warfare 4’s attempts at wrapping up the overarching plot of the rebooted series works, but it rushes through some character arcs and story beats in uneven fashion. Furthermore, much of the game’s cast, especially Mads Mikkelson’s Archer and Prisca Kim’s Ri Ju-Young, are underutilized, which is a shame since they both deliver great performances. 

Despite the shortcomings of the campaign, Call of Duty’s bread and butter, multiplayer, still delivers. While it doesn’t have the fluidity of Black Ops’ newer entries, the customization and design of weapons and maps make it worth digging into. From small, intimate shooting galleries with Mumbai and Nautical to wide free-for-alls like Coal and Reactor U92, the range helps maintain excitement, even if it gets repetitive over time. 

The variety of multiplayer modes keeps things fresh on the battlefield. Returning modes like standard Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed continue that enjoyable competitive flair that made them the stars that they are. However, new modes like Combat Outpost and Hijack fit right into the already great lineup. In particular, Combat Outpost upscales your typical 6v6 player count to 24v24, leading to more action and teamwork. Hanging onto a team’s tank, shooting enemies from afar, and taking back outposts is exhilarating, even if it can all go bad moments later by a well-placed RPG shot.

Even after hours of gameplay, the variety of options to craft your perfect gun is impressive. Figuring out the best scope, ammo, stock, and muzzle, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of them, is a fun way of customizing your playstyle. Gunny, a mechanic that helps optimize your gun for certain styles, can help with decision paralysis, but I rarely used it. Not many FPSs go that far and Modern Warfare 4’s commitment to the feature makes it stand out. 

The newest mode, DMZ, impresses out of the gate. After a few flat attempts in the past, this is the definitive Call of Duty extraction shooter, whether you play solo, or in duos or trios. Immediately, you’re thrust into the wide open world of Hajin and left to fend for yourselves with what you have and what you can gather and extract. Fans of Arc Raiders and Marathon should feel right at home as the gameplay borrows from the typical extraction shooter experience. Intense, action-packed moments keep you coming back after every win or loss. And the excellent gunplay and level design elevate it into something worthwhile, no matter how you play. 

Despite not encountering many live players during my time in Hajin in DMZ, it still proves challenging, even for seasoned pros. The world is not your friend, and taking risks can come at a high cost. A good team, as well as a thoughtful loadout and traits, are required to survive. The unpredictability of it all keeps you on your toes, making for an exciting addition to the already strong multiplayer suite.

Regardless of the mode, Modern Warfare 4 is one of the best-looking Call of Duty titles to date. New York and Paris are lifelike, and it truly embodies the realistic, modern aesthetic the series has always aimed to achieve. However, I encountered a few technical hiccups, especially in the campaign. Slow framerate plagues some high-octane scenes and texture loading is frequent across the board. These distractions are far from game-breaking, but enough to be noticeable. 

While the plot execution is a bit shaky, engaging multiplayer options, including DMZ, aptly demonstrate that Infinity Ward can still deliver compelling military-FPS experiences. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a strong return to form that serves as a solid sendoff for the rebooted subseries.

Score:
8.5

About Game Informer’s review system

In case you missed the tragic news yesterday, EA laid off 400 employees this week, including all of BioWare. The studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and more, has been shut down, and its last remaining project was canceled. The game in question was a fifth entry in the Mass Effect universe, and BioWare shared very little about it – not even an official name. Following the studio’s closure, however, a trailer for the sci-fi sequel started circulating around the internet.

While no official BioWare representatives have confirmed that the footage is real, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier claims that it is. Schreier has a history of credible reporting in the field, and was the first to break the news about the layoffs. IGN has also stated that it confirmed the trailer’s legitimacy.

If you want to see for yourself, you can watch the trailer on Reddit.

“The following is in-engine footage form our small team,” text at the start of the video reads. “It uses our pre-production assets.” The footage shows no gameplay, but includes a good-looking CG cutscene of a new protagonist speaking with an asari woman in a crowded bar. As he tells her about his life, we see glimpses of him as a soldier, then as some kind of spy, traveling to several planets to track down conflicts and “stopping them before they start.” After the asari woman reveals that she’s been “starting the fires” he’s trying to prevent, another woman behind her lowers a hood. This new woman reveals herself as Liara T’Soni, one of Mass Effect’s most iconic characters.

Then, Liara and the protagonist team up to take out the woman at the bar and her henchmen, using guns and telekinetic abilities. The trailer fades to black, then fades back in to reveal the game’s would-be title: Mass Effect Universe. It’s a great-looking trailer – it’s a shame the game will never see the light of day. 

If you want to join us in grieving BioWare, we republished an oral history of the studio that was originally written by former editor Matt Bertz in 2016. You can also read our cover stories on BioWare’s most recent releases: Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, Anthem, and Mass Effect Andromeda.

Reviewed on:
PC

Platform:
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC

Publisher:
New Blood Interactive

Developer:
Andrés Borghi, Saibot Studios

Release:
October 16, 2026

Tenebris Somnia channels the old-school appeal of classic point-and-click adventures, survival horror, and full-motion-video (FMV) experiences, then smartly modernizes them to create a creepy, entertaining experience. Surviving the twisted threats of a demonic dream world is a tightly packed adventure that rewards you with what’s essentially an impressive indie horror film peppered throughout. It’s a nightmare you may not want to wake up from.

The blend of live-action and in-game storytelling works well in Tenebris Somina’s adventure, which begins when protagonist Julia visits the apartment of her filmmaker ex-boyfriend, Ivan, after suffering recurring nightmares of him being massacred by monsters. What begins as a well-meaning check-in on his status spirals down an unsettling rabbit hole when Julia’s worst fears are realized and then some. The dialogue-free tale presents a scary but fascinating exploration of obsession, both in art and in romance, that constantly delivers surprising, and at times upsetting, revelations during its eight-hour runtime. While Tenebris Somnia sometimes leans a little too far into “tell, don’t show” territory when explaining the cool lore of its supernatural threats, I never felt lost or confused about the wild things that regularly unfold on screen.

FMV experiences are nothing new, but Tenebris Somnia’s live-action scenes are a highlight. They’re well shot, sport impressively gruesome practical effects, and even present visual clues that make them important to gameplay. These scenes are additive, never taking too much time away from the in-game action, and they feel well placed to elicit the strongest emotional response. I also appreciate how the live scenes fit thematically, as much of Tenebris Somnia’s tale centers on a horror film shot by Ivan and Julia that significantly impacted their former relationship; at times, it’s like watching a movie about the movie. While I enjoy smaller moments, like opening a door to trigger a live-action jump scare, the filmmaking succeeds in selling Julia’s emotions and the cast’s reactions. Seeing real fear, concern, and determination in Julia’s eyes as she navigates a dreamworld made up of Ivan’s memories helped endear me to what would otherwise be a featureless pixel sprite.

Gameplay may look unimpressive due to its old-school adventure game presentation, but Tenebris Somnia’s spin on familiar survival-horror mechanics hits the right notes. Taking place entirely within a dreamlike version of a four-story apartment building, you’ll traverse floors collecting and combining objects and deciphering clues to solve well-crafted puzzles. I’m impressed by how well the game’s puzzles make the most of its limited graphical presentation, including clever scenarios involving mirror/screen reflections I won’t spoil, and how consistently creative they are. One devious exercise even utilizes the game’s limited save points as an unexpected resource in a way that changes how you approach your adventure going forward. No matter how strange puzzles become, they are never opaque, requiring just enough out-of-the-box thinking to make me feel smart when I connect the dots.

Battling grotesque monsters (which, naturally, look even creepier in live-action) also feels good, with melee and gunplay sporting deliberate animations reminiscent of classic adventure games without feeling mechanically clunky. Taking on multiple enemies by swinging a pipe or blowing them away with a shotgun feels better than it looks, and the most intense encounters end just as they approach the line of becoming overwhelming.

Boss battles, perhaps most unexpectedly for a largely puzzle-focused adventure, are fun and distinct from each other, be it wave-based bouts against small gremlin-like foes, protecting a fragile effigy of yourself from a parade of demented house servants, or battling literal mirror images of a tentacled flesh monster the Resident Evil series would be proud to claim. Managing limited ammo and health strikes a good balance of feeling tense but not oppressive. Playing conservatively is rewarding, as few non-boss threats need to be engaged if you can evade them well enough. But when I did find myself down to my last bullet or on the verge of death, Tenebris Somnia lets you feel the pinch just long enough before dropping a box of bullets or a health vial at the right moment.

Tenebris Somnia mines the enjoyable nostalgia of playing the horror games of yesteryear without feeling dated in the worst way. Weaving a solid indie horror film adds to the experience rather than feeling like a gimmick. The result is a captivating, well-executed survival-horror romp that maintains a hair-raising atmosphere with a fraction of the pixels of other genre giants. 

Score:
8.5

About Game Informer’s review system

Dispatch, a superhero-themed workplace comedy from last year, celebrates its one-year anniversary today. While it was released episodically, the first batch dropped on October 22. It was received well, with strong performances from a star-studded cast (including Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul) and filled a niche left vacant by Telltale Games’ absence from the gaming world in recent years. Today, developer AdHoc announced a batch of anniversary content, and some of it drops today.

First, there’s a new way to play Dispatch: storyboard mode. This option lets you play through the whole experience using the original animatics – rough placeholder sketches that the artists used to sync images up to the voice-over. It’s a fun behind-the-scenes look at the game’s development that we don’t get very often. In that same vein, the cast and crew recorded DVD-style commentary tracks to play over the game, making jokes and sharing insight into the development process. A press release says there are over 16 hours of commentary from the game’s development team (like art director Derek Stratton and creative directors Dennis Lenart and Nick Herman) as well as some of the cast, including Aaron Paul, Laura Bailey, and Erin Yvette.

Storyboard and Commentary modes are included in the game’s deluxe edition, which you can upgrade to for $10.99. Both modes are available today.

If you haven’t played the game yet, AdHoc has announced a new way to do so; Dispatch is coming to mobile platforms on December 9. It’s been rebuilt to support touch controls and vertical play, and it will be available on iOS and Android. You can even play the first half of the game for free – the first four episodes are included, but you’ll need to pay $19.99 to play the rest.

Finally, AdHoc announced new merch, including a book created alongside publisher Lost in Cult called Dispatch: Design Works, which is both an art book and a “making-of” book. There’s also a live game soundtrack concert in Los Angeles featuring Thot Squad, Bershy, Primer, Caroline Kingsbury, Fartbarf, and Dispatch composer Andrew Arcadi with the SDN Company Band. It will be held at Avalon Hollywood on December 3, but it won’t be livestreamed, so you’ll need to grab a ticket to see the event. The press release states that people who signed up for updates from adhocstudio.com will be the first in line to purchase tickets.

We liked Dispatch quite a bit, with our review saying, “it delivers one of the most compelling interactive dramas in years, an adult animated superhero story with the emotional punch of prestige television and a script that truly shines.” For more on the game’s creation, subscribers can read our interview with the studio from the Ninja Gaiden 4 issue of Game Informer.

We’ve been enjoying The Blood of Dawnwalker, one of the year’s biggest games, but its release was a little rough around the edges. It took a lot of feedback from fans for developer Rebel Wolves to prioritize higher framerates at launch for consoles, but even then, the game certainly struggled at times on my PlayStation 5. Today, the game’s first major update drops, and it aims to smooth some of those performance issues and introduce a few quality-of-life features.

The trailer above highlights combat-specific improvements, like improved targeting and animations, and a less restrictive camera. Rebel Wolves is also lowering the health of wolves and boars, who previously remained tanky even into the later hours of the game, and it should be easier to disengage from combat, should you choose to do so. For casual players, there’s a new difficulty mode; what was previously “Story” mode has been renamed “Forgiving,” while the new version of “Story” mode adds additional combat assists.

Rebel Wolves has also added some new features outside of combat. A new Daught of Mind Rebirth potion allows you to respec your skill tree, re-allocating time and skill points spent to switch up your build. You can also increase the size of subtitles (an option I’m always grateful for) and pet dogs and cats. Finally, the Shadowstep and Planeshift systems should be more responsive now – here’s hoping I have an easier time teleporting onto rooftops instead of the wall right below them.

Those are the major, most visible highlights, but players can view the full patch notes here to see the hundreds of other minor improvements that aim to squash bugs, reduce crashes, and improve stability.

For more on The Blood of Dawnwalker, you can check out our review, in which our reviewer admires the swings the developers took, even though they don’t always pay off. You can also check out our coverage hub for our issue devoted to The Blood of Dawnwalker, including interviews with its ex-Witcher development team.