They’re giant open worlds that are designed to have you exploring every available square inch of land you can find, with interesting rewards and intriguing stories just waiting for you to stumble upon them. They feature gruff-voiced protagonists who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and often add the burdens of others to the load.

Both games feature fighting systems that can have you feeling untouchable once you master their unique rhythms, while allowing for a surprising amount of nuanced customizability to the experience. But if you’re somebody who’s played both, you know that they’re also worlds apart.

With all of the improvements that have now been implemented in both Pywel and The Continent, we thought it would be a more interesting comparison if we looked at how both worlds have evolved since we first embarked on the respective journeys that they take us on. Let’s get right to it!

A Feast For Your Eyes

We felt the visuals in both worlds are a good place to start, as it’s an area where we believe both games are now evenly matched. However, Crimson Desert Enhanced does benefit from being a game that’s been made with modern technology, while Remastered is bringing modern features to a game that might not have been made to accommodate them.

However, it’s important to remember that CDPR’s 2015 title was quite ahead of its time when it was released, and the studio had already given the world a visual bump with that next-gen update from a few years ago. The remaster brings path tracing and improvements to existing ray tracing mechanics, alongside improvements to textures and assets to give us a very immersive and visually splendid world.

And yet, an open window in a room sometimes forgets to let rays of light in, forcing you to pull out a torch whose glow behaves exactly as it should with the new system governing it. Geralt’s hair often gets black when he’s in dark places, which can be quite jarring for those of us who know him as the White Wolf.

You see the game’s visuals working very well for the most part, until something out of place reminds you of The Continent’s age. It’s something that Pywel doesn’t have to struggle with, although that one did have its fair share of problems on the visual front.

However, the developer has worked to polish the visuals on offer over the course of the year, and Crimson Desert Enhanced is now a version of the game where every scene it presents comes with visual splendor and beauty to match The Continent, and perhaps even surpass it thanks to the benefits of being developed with more modern tech from the get-go.

But how does it feel to engage with the worlds themselves? That’s a facet of the experience that an open world lives or dies by, and it’s also interesting to see how both games have evolved their worlds over the years. It might look like Pywel and The Continent are similar in the ways in which you get to engage with them, but we’d say it’s more about what those activities encourage instead of what you do with each one.

The Continent’s a place that’s reeling from events in the past and present; its war-torn desolation forms a perfect backdrop for Geralt’s cynical examinations of the world around him. The things you do as a Witcher, when viewed through that lens, aren’t necessarily nudging you toward a more altruistic point of view, but challenge you to see the world as it is.

When you translate that into gameplay, you get choices that come with consequences you have to live with, and the potential for stories that feel personal when you play through them. Yes, the game has its minor share of generic open-world stuff, but given that Monster Nests, Hidden Treasures, and so many other activities directly feed into your role as a Witcher, the risk of monotony is somewhat offset by what you get to do with the rewards that come.

Kliff’s role as a Greymane is a little different, coming with more altruistic connotations and political intrigue that make Pywel a melting pot of different factions, cultures, and perspectives. That automatically lends a certain unique flavor to nearly every enemy you come across in a land where distinct biomes help maintain that variety.

Moreover, the spread of activities on offer is similarly aligned with making Kliff rise to his destiny while solving the mysteries of The Abyss. That means exploring the world makes you a better Greymane, while also showing off so many mysteries, quests both interesting and mundane, and a lot of things to distract you from the main story, no matter how determined you are to begin its next chapter.

Which one you’d prefer is sure to come down to personal tastes, but Remastered is the finest version of a world where the very writing forms an undercurrent of quality to it. In terms of nuance, The Continent edges ahead of Pywel despite being equally matched on visual quality in terms of how its world can not only pull you in, but also have you thinking about it even when you’re not actively exploring it, even if Pywel manages to have more scope in this regard.

But the world’s visuals and exploration are only parts of what make great RPGs.

A Challenge For Your Hands and Minds

The combat systems on offer, as well as the ways in which Geralt and Kliff are able to get around quickly in maps that span vast distances, are equally important in crafting a cohesive experience.

Let’s begin with the combat, and how Geralt’s abilities as a Witcher lend themselves to the illusion of a fighter with whom most opponents would rather avoid a direct confrontation. He’s got magic, his swords, his superhuman speed, and of course, potions, oils, and bombs, all of which are options in a fight.

He’s got the knowledge of Kaer Morhen guiding his preparations for fights against deadly monsters, while human enemies are going to be hard-pressed to even hold a candle to his prowess with a steel blade. He’s formidable, but not entirely infallible, and Remastered has done well to improve on his movements and animations, making them more fluid and quicker to give combat a much-needed boost.

But the enemy AI on offer is also important, given how Remastered has made enemies more coordinated, forcing you to switch out the original game’s pattern of “attack, attack, dodge/parry, cast sign, attack again”, instead making you pay attention to where attacks are coming from and respond accordingly. The dynamic camera is another nice touch and makes each fight all the more immersive.

However, from a progression standpoint, we’d argue that the new skill tree makes getting to your comfort zone so much easier if you’re coming back to the game after a previous playthrough. It’s so easy that you risk staying there and not taking advantage of how it now facilitates builds in a way that makes sense, something that a more casual player is going to miss out on, given how many other systems are competing for their attention.

Crimson Desert’s combat and progression mechanics are more woven into the gameplay, as are traversal mechanics. Geralt’s ability to swim, sail, and ride across The Continent matches in comparison to Kliff’s ability to fly, summon wyverns or Dragons, or use his own Abyss-powered abilities to cross even the most imposing natural obstacles with relative ease.

It helps that Pywel is designed to make you use those abilities intelligently, and to demonstrate that same cunning in a fight. Where Remastered brings Geralt into fights where he’s outnumbered by a group, Pywel pits Kliff against literal armies. It’s also relevant to remember that most of his main abilities have been refined, enhanced, and even added to over the course of this year to make Crimson Desert feel like a whole new game while retaining what was already working in these areas.

They’re vastly different experiences, to be sure, but we’d have to say that as far as combat, traversal, and progression go, it’s a tie.

Stories For Your Hearts and Souls

Ah, the main narrative. The reason why many of us end up spending several hours engaging with worlds like Pywel and The Continent. Be it the ever-present threat to reality that stems from misuse of the Abyss in Crimson Desert, or the devastating effects of the Conjunction of the Spheres and the desolation of a war-torn land in The Continent, it’s clear that both games have very interesting stories to tell.

It’s also clear that while those narratives are very effective at lending context and structure to worlds that would otherwise languish in irrelevance without them, Kliff’s time in Pywel can feel too disjointed, and perhaps even too slanted towards being a good guy to give you the same sense of agency you can get from Remastered.

The search for Ciri, and the people it puts you in contact with, present opportunities for you to put your stamp on the world, leaving it better or worse than you found it when you first arrived. The Bloody Baron and the manner in which your choices can influence his family long after his role in the main narrative is over is a great example.

That he isn’t the only character in The Continent whose life you can impact in such a fashion, and that every single such questline comes with so much nuance and depth that you might need a break just to process it all, is something that didn’t need any improving in Remastered, as it continues to be a very potent storytelling formula that has since lent itself to Night City with excellent results.

Crimson Desert Enhanced has done well to try and make its story more cohesive, but Kliff’s fight against the forces looking to destabilize his world isn’t going to measure up against a story that has so much to offer. Yes, there are highs such as the moment you bring Myurdin down, and lows like Damiane’s discovery of her mentor’s fate, all of which can give you memories to cherish.

But The Continent makes you think like a Witcher and allows you to inject a bit of your personality into its eventual fate. That your decisions carry as much weight as they do is something that allows Remastered to steal the win away from Crimson Desert despite the latest update’s effort to bridge the narrative gaps the original game came with.

We’d say it’s more interesting to be a Witcher than a Greymane as far as the story each role presents you with is concerned.

A Common Thread

There you have it. Crimson Desert Enhanced comes with better controls, combat, and traversal mechanics, but The Witcher 3 Remastered is the definitive version of an open world that continues to remain amongst the most legendary ones there are.

The Continent’s overarching story, and the world it thrusts you into, are simply too nuanced and well-written for Pywel’s relatively tamer take on destiny to compare to. However, if you look at how both games have evolved from their original releases, things get a little more interesting.

You see, The Witcher 3 has been beloved not only by its players, but also by its makers, and has thus seen two incredible expansions and two substantial updates over the years, with another one and a whole sequel on the way. Geralt and Ciri have also managed tos tay in the spotlight due to the franchise’s presence in other media, giving Remastered the benefit of a constant spotlight. It’s an improvement that brings new tech to an already great game, with noticeable improvements to the underlying systems that made it special in the first place.

Crimson Desert, on the other hand, has had to claw its way up from a rather lackluster release response, using every improvement it has made to earn back goodwill from its audiences, and as such, makes for a more impressive upgrade. Enhanced is the culmination of a journey that might have taken another studio a very long time to complete, and it now exists mere months after the original release and has already laid the groundwork for an expansion; it is something we can’t scoff at.

As a complete game, we’d have to hand the win to The Witcher 3 Remastered, but as an evolution of the game that came before it, Crimson Desert Enhanced is the more impressive upgrade.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Providence is the new map introduced in Story Pack 2, and it is one of the highlights of the expansion. The tropical setting gives the DLC a visual identity that provides a change of scenery from that seen in the base game and allows the art direction to shine. Littered with lush jungles, extravagant architecture and the bones of ancient behemoth beasts, the environment is a feast for the eyes. Along with the striking set dressing, Providence is also a lot of fun to explore, with tons of verticality and open spaces which take advantage of Borderlands 4‘s movement mechanics. These spaces also give players a range of different options when it comes to choosing how to approach each combat encounter.

With all of that said, this is a Borderlands expansion, so the main thing that matters is how well the core loot and shoot experience works here. Thankfully, the gunplay remains one of the experience’s strongest qualities. I chose to play as C4SH – one of Borderlands 4‘s DLC Vault Hunters – and I found the shooting mechanics to feel just as responsive and tight as you would expect from a Gearbox FPS game. Firearms feel good to use, movement feels pretty fluid and there’s a satisfying rhythm and weightiness to switching between different guns, reloading, and utilizing abilities when you are fighting.

FL4K and the Last Resort doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it also doesn’t need to. Borderlands has spent years refining this tried-and-tested formula, and it works well. The real hook, as always, is the loot. You’re constantly finding new weapons, while you play, leading to you comparing stats, swapping out your current loadout and wondering whether that gun you just picked up might completely change the way you’re approaching combat. Story Pack 2 leans heavily into that dynamic cycle, adding two new Pearlescent weapons alongside 18 pieces of Legendary gear and six Legendary Class Mods.

And some of the new weapons are ridiculously fun to play with. For example, The Astonisher is a Ripper shotgun that consumes its entire magazine with every shot, with its damage increasing based on how much ammunition you’re burning through. It’s a simple idea, but it gives the weapon a completely different rhythm from a conventional shotgun.

Then you’ve got weapons like Lovelorn, a Tediore assault rifle that can spawn automated kill drones to help you mow down enemies. There is also the Hand Frag, which adds a shotgun blast when you reload, and Fourier’s Malady, which throws copies of itself when fired. There’s Avarice too, which is an Order assault rifle that literally spends your money every time you pull the trigger in exchange for increased damage.

These make for some of the most refreshing elements of the DLC, and they provide a good reason for seasoned players to return to Borderlands 4 to check out the expansion. The unpredictability of the loot adds a level of spontaneity and that is where FL4K and the Last Resort excels, keeping things feeling exciting even after you’ve spent countless hours shooting your way through Pandora and beyond.

Numbers and stats are obviously important, but the most memorable weapons have an identity of their own. It would be easy enough just to look for whatever gun has a higher damage figure, but if you play that way then you are severely limiting yourself and missing out. The enemies you are fighting through are less remarkable, though. I played through the expansion solo and rarely found it to feel particularly challenging unless I was caught outside of cover and suddenly overwhelmed and outnumbered. The enemies have some visually cool designs, but I never felt they fundamentally changed how I approached combat.

However, that’s not necessarily a major problem here. The DLC’s enjoyment comes from the combination of movement, gunplay, abilities and loot, and that core loop keeps you on your toes and remains remarkably addicting.

The plot here is similarly safe, it is perfectly functional, but it doesn’t do anything that fans of the genre haven’t seen before.

FL4K himself felt a little one-note to me as a character, but Mr. Chew is an entertaining companion and the basic premise works. There is a reason the “man risks life and limb to rescue his dog” formula has been used so many times. Give the player something they immediately want to protect and you’ve got an easy, legitimate motivation to base the rest of the narrative around.

The writing also fits comfortably within the James Gunn/Guardians of the Galaxy-style tone that has become synonymous with Borderlands. It’s witty enough, energetic enough and self-aware enough to keep the momentum going, but it never challenges the conventions of the series.

And that’s basically how I felt about FL4K and the Last Resort overall. I liked it but I didn’t love it, simply because there isn’t anything here that blew me away. It is fun enough to kill a few hours with and I didn’t encounter anything that I particularly disliked or found frustrating. It’s safe, polished and perhaps a bit shallow, but that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker for long-time fans of the series when the fundamentals are this enjoyable.

I don’t go to Borderlands to have my worldview challenged. I’m playing it for fast-paced dumb fun. To enjoy the ridiculous guns, tight shooting mechanics and colourful worlds packed with things to kill and loot. FL4K and the Last Resort understands that perfectly.

However, a lot of that experience has come with its own lessons that we had to learn the hard way, which generally didn’t end well for Geralt at the time. If you’re looking for the perfect start and want to ensure that Geralt survives long enough to reunite with Ciri, we’ve got a few things for you to keep in mind as you play. Let’s go!

1. White Orchard Is A Great Place To Farm Out Those Early Levels

If you’ve happened to even glance at the world map in The Witcher 3, you know that it comes with an astounding number of things to check out and engage with. It’s a good idea to hold off on fighting that Griffin from the game’s opening until you’ve discovered everything you possibly can in the area.

Helping an old lady retrieve a saucepan, or hunting for a man’s brother’s remains in a field of necrophage-infested corpses might not seem fitting for a Witcher, but the experience those early quests net you is nothing to be scoffed at. At the very least, it should help you get to the level requirement you need to don the free armor Yen gives you in Vizima. Just remember to check the chest in her room after you meet with Emhyr, or come back to it later in case you forget.

2. Don’t Ignore Places of Power

Places of Power continue to remain among the most important collectibles on the map, as visiting and meditating at each one gives Geralt a temporary buff at random, and a permanent free ability point that you can then use to get a build going quite quickly thanks to the new skill tree layouts.

White Orchard’s got six of them, and if you factor in all the potential fights and treasures you’re going to find along the way as you uncover them, you’re going to have quite a few skills and mutagens at your disposal by the time you’re done.

3. Check Quest Levels First

Remastered might have made Geralt faster in combat, but that’s no reason to bite off more than you can chew, especially in the early hours when he’s quite squishy and can go down in a few hits. You’re going to take damage in a fight no matter how good you are at dodging and parrying. Quen can only get you so far in terms of survivability.

It’s a good idea to use your Journal and the World Map’s new Quest filter to check on objectives on quests, and to look at whether the danger’s worth the time you take in trying to fulfil them. You could get away with a fetch-and-carry mission if you’re desperate for money or XP, but any quest where there’s a fight against enemies with red skulls against their health bars is a huge no-no until you find some good gear and abilities.

4. The Main Story Can Wait

Ciri isn’t going anywhere, at least until you find out everything about where she’s been and what she was up to across Velen, Novigrad, and Skellige. That leaves Geralt with a lot of time to chase down every little thing that catches his attention. It’s an open world design language that encourages you to take on as much as you can manage, and then some.

Some of the game’s best moments come from taking on Contracts to kill deadly monsters, or chasing down unique storylines for the supporting cast of characters, of whom there are many. At the very least, you’re going to want to take on a few Contracts so you can quickly rack up the Crowns you need to pay your way to Skellige. Anything above that value is a bonus and can be spent as you please.

5. Do Your Homework Before Fighting A Monster

Vesemir warns Ciri about the importance of knowledge in a Witcher’s line of work, and his words apply to Geralt as well. Sure, you can just weave and slash at a monster until you wear it down, but any blade master can manage that with the mutations, right?

You’re going to want to read up on anything that the monster is weak to, using those advantages to ensure the odds are ever in your favor. Moreover, you’re going to want to craft bombs of different varieties, as you need them to force some monsters out of hiding and to shut down any monster nests you find. An early Contract even requires you to use a bomb to lure the monster out of hiding for you to take it on.

6. Negotiate Your Fees

When you take on Contracts, one of the ways The Witcher 3 puts a unique twist on things is in the ability to negotiate how much you’re getting paid. Yes, things are hard all around in The Continent, but a Witcher’s gotta eat, right? You’re going to need a lot of Crowns if you plan to rock a legendary set of Witcher armor eventually, so getting as much as you can from your work is very important.

As a rule of thumb, going twenty to twenty-five crowns above what an NPC proposes should be safe to do, although you could always gauge their reactions and decide on a lower value if needed.

7. Dodge With Intent

Spamming attacks and dodges is only going to get you so far against tougher opponents, and using your dodges well is going to help you sustain your shields for when you actually make a mistake, while leaving you stamina to keep using your signs to turn the tide.

To that end, it’s a solid rule of thumb to wait out enemy attacks and dodge out of the way before responding with a counterattack. Try to position yourself at the flank or behind an enemy so they have to turn to you, which lets you get a few extra attacks or perhaps even a quick cast in before you go back to baiting attacks. Against human foes, parries end fights faster than dodges.

8.  Oils Are An Easy Advantage

Remember when we told you about your bestiary and the potential benefits it brings to any effort to bring down a vicious monster. Well, one of those benefits is that it highlights specific oils that a monster is weak to, and we can tell you that those do quite a bit of damage if they’re on your blade.

It’s definitely worth seeking out the ingredients you need to make them, and the good part is that there’s a dearth of information online if you run into any problems, given how long the game’s been around.

9. Craft Those Potions ASAP

You should consider crafting any new potions as early as you can manage, since any of them you have equipped automatically replenish in your inventory every time you meditate as long as you have the supplies for them. You’re going to be doing a lot of meditating anyway, so having the ones you need on hand at all times is never a bad thing.

Just like oils, these potions can confer advantages that could mean the difference between life and death in a hard encounter. There’s a reason the game pushes the mechanic not once, but twice, in the early game.

10. Upgrade Your Alchemy Recipes

It’s definitely worth seeking out the Enhanced and Superior variants of any potions or other mixtures you can concoct, improving on the effects they bestow in the process.

Potions and the like remain very useful well into the endgame, and having ones that are just better at what they do is going to make it quite easy for Geralt, no matter how formidable the challenge he faces currently is.

11. Grab Witcher Gear Early

The new revamped skill tree means that you can get working on a build quite early on in the game. To that end, it makes sense to check up on all the available Witcher armor pieces you can track down and see which one suits your playstyle best.

We’re particularly fond of the Viper set this time around, given how the Alchemy part of the new skill tree has a lot of cool stuff around poison builds, and the damage over time that you can trigger looks quite nifty. It’s a good idea to find a set you like and stick to it, investing in consistent upgrades over time while you play around with its looks using the new transmog function.

12. Buy Maps And Read Notice Boards

Maps and Notice Boards should be among the main things you chase down if you’re in a new area, as they often lead you to interesting quests, treasures, or points of interest. Notice Boards are a great place to begin looking for Contracts in the vicinity, and they can even send you towards other interesting quests like fistfights for you to take part in, or even races.

All of these activities are great sources of money and XP when you’re in a pinch, so it’s a great idea to do, as a Witcher does, and seek out some honest work from time to time. You’ll soon find you’ve got enough money to warrant a visit from a tax collector. No, we’re not kidding.

13. Repair Your Equipment Regularly

A Witcher’s blades are among his most potent tools, as is the armor that lets him absorb hits that would fell any mortal combatant. Keeping your gear in fighting shape is a huge part of succeeding, and you’re going to want to stock up on repair kits to use out in the field when there’s no blacksmith for miles in any direction.

You could also turn off the damage system using the newly added accessibility feature, but we can’t see ourselves on The Path without taking the time to maintain our weapons and armor as we go about our business.

14. Manage Your Capacity

Like many open worlds, you’re encouraged to loot anything that isn’t nailed down in the game, although you want to be discreet about it if there are others around to call you out on the habit. However, that means your inventory is going to fill up quite quickly if you’re not careful.

Investing in saddlebags for Roach and making effective use of your Stash whenever you can access it is going to save you a lot of trouble from moments where you’re forced to drop a few things or have Geralt walk along at an agonizingly slow pace until you can find a merchant to sell off some stuff.

15. Save Often, and Smartly

It’s a good idea to manually save your game before you trigger an important conversation, as things are quite unpredictable in The Continent, and something you say could easily lead to consequences you didn’t account for.

Save scumming is definitely a strategy in a title where the results of your choices could mean a very grim fate for a character you care about, and things can even unfold after many hours of playing other quests. Having the option to try turning things around is definitely welcome, especially if you’re only planning one playthrough of the game from start to finish.

And that’s a wrap on our tips to make your time in The Continent a lot smoother than when we first set out of White Orchard. We hope you enjoy your time in that world as much as we did, and perhaps even have more success as a new Witcher thanks to our sage advice.

However, reports as per KeplerL2 indicate that the PS6 and Project Helix might have had their chips taped out and locked in for that late 2027 release window are now doing the rounds, showcasing that both brands could be going full steam ahead on their next-gen offerings. But what do those chips mean? What could the new generation of consoles be able to do differently?

Those thoughts kept swirling around in our heads until we decided to do something about it. Well, we’re talking to you now, so let’s dive right in.

An Important Milestone

It’s probably a good idea to begin with what the term “tape-out” means. It’s essentially an old-school way of saying that a design is finalized and is ready to be sent out to fabrication. For us, that means that Sony and Microsoft could now be locked in, heading straight towards manufacturing and validating their new offerings.

Rumors have it that the PS6’s chip is going to be capable of 40 TFLOPS, while Project Helix is housing one that goes up to 56 TFLOPS. Those are measures of how many trillions of floating-point operations each console has per second, and while it might seem that Project Helix might have a significant advantage over the PS6 from those numbers, the reality is slightly less glamorous.

It’s in how each console uses what’s available to it that the true distinction could lie this time around.

The PS6 – Evolution or Revolution?

Speculations about what the PS6 can achieve with 40 TFLOPS point to a console that comes with about 12 times better ray tracing potential, and an AI processing speed that’s 50-70 times faster than what the PS5 can put out.

That’s definitely a bump up, but perhaps not in the way that you might be expecting. The rumored AMD architecture, the new chip, and the speculations surrounding the upcoming console’s output are all indicators that the goalposts may have changed after the current generation of gaming hardware. The smaller chip points to a strategy focused on getting the best performance per watt while pushing reconstruction and efficiency instead of merely bringing the biggest guns to the fight.

That could make the PS6 bring better performance than its predecessor, yes, but it could present that improvement as a massive upgrade thanks to the software that’s making use of it. So what’s Microsoft’s approach to next-gen hardware, then?

Project Helix Bringing The Big Guns

The higher 56 TFLOPS count points to an advantage in raw GPU resources in raw GPU resources, ray tracing, frame rates, and resolutions. But do those parameters that were once so important in differentiating a Series S from an X matter as much in a world where upscaling and frame generation are now a thing?

If the rumored specs are accurate, Xbox appears to be going for a more aggressive hardware design, but there’s no way of knowing how that extra output is going to measure up against the PS6 until we see what its makers have done with it, and what other developers do with it over time. We also remembered that this one’s kind of a big deal for the brand, and it could be the start of a fresh new chapter for the iconic console.

We certainly hope so, and there are areas where the two behemoths could share some common benefits while finding creative ways to use them.

New Benchmarks For A New Generation

While the PS5 and Xbox Series were pitched with improved native rendering resolutions with better frame rates, we’re not so sure that those are parameters that should govern what their successors are judged by.

We’ve got ML reconstruction, better temporal techniques, neural rendering (although that one does come with a lot of debate around it), frame generation, and denoising alongside ray tracing and path tracing as potential additions. If you’ve played anything on a relatively powerful PC, you’ve already seen what each of these can do with an image rendered at 1080p for yourselves.

We think that the PS6 and Helix are going to be judged based on how intelligently they can reconstruct a developer’s vision from a place of efficiency instead of brute-forcing their way to better resolutions and frame rates. There’s also the scope to iron out some features that should have been better on the current generation based on what was promised, but are largely a compromise between quality and performance.

If your mind immediately went to the ritual of loading up a game’s graphical settings and choosing between higher visual fidelity and frame rates, you’re probably going to agree with us on this one. Ray tracing has definitely been great, but it has come at the cost of 30 fps, which some of us are still all right with, but it’s safe to say that we’d like to see 60 FPS become the new minimum. That’s not to say it’s all the new consoles should be aiming for, and we’re curious to see if 120 fps modes become more common over time with a new generation of games, and if the visual quality a console can provide can sustain itself at higher frame rates.

Ray tracing could also become a default, and perhaps even weave in some stuff from path tracing too, which could allow so many things to improve on either console. Reflections, global illumination, shadows, geometry, and so many other factors could immediately benefit from improvements to how light reacts with the world it inhabits.

The PS5 Pro has been doing quite well already, and is already making RT feel like a rendering baseline rather than a feature that forces us into 30 fps. We’re hoping that the next generation of consoles removes the compromise altogether. But ray tracing and better frame rates are only parts of any modern experience in gaming.

There’s also the larger context of what a console should do in today’s day and age. Sony and Microsoft are once again taking seemingly different paths to keeping players entertained.

The Roads Leading To Potentially Great Games

This is where things get quite interesting. Sony appears likely to retain a more traditional closed-console approach. Microsoft’s Helix-focused strategy seems to be opening up the console to a broader overlap between Xbox and PC, essentially entering the competition against Sony by default, although they could be transforming into different categories of devices altogether.

We say that because while Project Helix opening its doors to PC players is definitely great, and could bring an absolutely ginormous library and more flexibility to us, there are risks. UI optimizations across varying hardware, the Windows overhead, hardware standards that can vary across games, multiple storefronts, and the potential erosion of simplicity that consumers expect from consoles are all areas that Helix should be looking carefully at.

However, Xbox Play Anywhere works well enough if you think about it, and Helix making that bridge more seamless isn’t something too out of the ordinary to consider a possibility. The Steam Machine has shown us that the same UI can be translated quite effectively depending on whether it’s being operated with a controller or a keyboard and mouse. We expect trade-offs, but we’d say there are strong reasons for a bit of optimism here.

Sony’s biggest weapon, on the other hand, could be in doubling down on its tightly controlled hardware target that allows studios to build games around a single configuration, and thus allow for better polish and presentation, and perhaps better-tuned graphical controls granted to players in the process.

There’s also the CPU on board to consider, which remains a mystery on both consoles until official announcements are made. Speculation is simply pointless at this juncture, but we’d say that whatever Sony and Microsoft are working with could be a major differentiator, as NPC counts, simulations, physics, destruction, animation systems, traversal speeds, and world-streaming all stand to improve with a better CPU running under the hood. It’s an area where the PS6 and Helix could do more than just churn out prettier versions of games in comparison to lower-specced consoles, something that the PS5 Pro and Series X are already doing quite well.

Justifying an upgrade over that means bringing better hardware while also making the software on board work well enough with it to create tangible improvements over the previous generation of consoles. That’s an uphill task considering the visual feasts we’re being served up from time to time.

But there’s the all-important factor of pricing to consider, and that rumored late 2027 launch window to factor into the equation.

Don’t Forget About The Price Tag

It’s all fine and dandy to dream of a beefy GPU and CPU, but a console needs other components to function, and those components are proving quite expensive, along with manufacturing costs that both Sony and Microsoft need to factor into their respective strategies.

How much of those costs can they stop from eating into our wallets? Helix’s beefier chip could point to a higher price tag, something that could be offset by the push towards improved PC compatibility. That could position it as a great option for someone who’s looking for a living-room console while their PC is always close at hand.

Sony’s lower TFLOPS count might leave it a bit of wiggle room to keep things down to more mainstream console prices, but it’s too early to begin hoping those expectations are going to be fulfilled. We’re going to wait on official word from both brands before we begin hacking away at those vines, but it is interesting to see what options the two companies have.

Of course, there are also the games to consider. Sony definitely needs some juicy exclusives that demonstrate what its new machine can do, and potentially show us how it does things better than its age-old rival. Microsoft, on the other hand, needs a game that showcases the merits of a console/PC hybrid, and why that matters in modern gaming.

We’d like to think backwards compatibility is going to be taken for granted at this point, but that’s something else that’s too high up in the air for us to reliably catch just yet. But new experiences that justify the hardware on offer are definitely something both Sony and Microsoft should already be laser-focused on.

And that’s about it! Sony and Microsoft might be sharing a common beginning to a new chapter with their AMD foundations, but are travelling along vastly different roads on the journey to bringing a new generation of gaming hardware and games to life.

Wings of Theve isn’t trying to be a realistic simulation of aerial combat. You’re not spending hours learning the intricacies of flying. You’re pulling off ridiculous manoeuvres, locking onto enemy fighters, and piercing through billowing clouds while an orchestral score swells behind you. Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve puts you in the cockpit, dims the lights, turns up the volume, and makes you feel like the star of your very own aviation blockbuster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tobjsv6Ip4What’s obvious in the lead up to the game’s release is this isn’t a franchise that’s still figuring out what it wants to be. By the time the eighth numbered entry launches on October 2nd, Ace Combat will have spent three decades refining its particular style of arcade-infused aerial combat, with Brand Director Kazutoki Kono having worked on the series since 1996.

This is a remarkable amount of experience to bring to a single game, particularly when the formula itself has remained steadfastly focused for so long: give you a fighter jet, launch you into an enormous sky, and make you feel like you belong there.

Yet, Wings of Theve isn’t resting on the foundation established by its predecessors. If anything, the latest entry seems intent on pushing those foundations further than ever before. Kono has continually described three core pillars underpinning Ace Combat: creating a photorealistic sky to give you a sense of freedom in flight, making enemy engagements instantly satisfying, and delivering the personal experience of becoming an ace pilot.

And these three interlinking ideas help explain why Wings of Theve feels so ambitious. Each is enhanced by modern hardware, enriched by contemporary storytelling, and defined through decades of developer expertise, all in service of strengthening the same underlying fantasy. Now, the series can realise these three pillars more completely than the technology of previous generations has ever allowed.

Look – for all the aircraft, missiles, explosions, and fantastical set pieces that distinguish Ace Combat, one the series’ most important characters has always been the sky itself. After all, you’ll spend many blistering hours suspended above the world, so making that space feel convincing is arguably more important than making the ground below look pretty.

Wings of Theve is being developed with Unreal Engine 5 alongside Project Aces’ own proprietary cloud rendering tech, allowing the studio to create larger and more detailed aerial environments which push its clouds, weather, lighting, and atmosphere considerably further. The result isn’t just a version of the sky which looks better than before. It’s a layered, organic, dynamic space that can influence your tactical approach by giving you a clear sense of altitude, velocity, and scale.

This matters for an arcade-leaning shooter where accessible controls should feel immediately exhilarating despite their simplicity. The more convincing the sky around you becomes, the easier it is to forget you’re sitting in front of a screen and enjoy the sensation of tearing through the air at hundreds of miles per hour. The clouds are no longer the backdrop, but the centre of the action.

And this brings us back to one of Kazutoki Kono’s three pillars: the photorealistic sky which preserves a sense of freedom in flight. Through modern hardware, Project Aces has the opportunity to make you feel in-tune with the sky more than ever before. Through readable formations and multi-layered cloud patterns, you won’t need to monitor your altimeter. Instead, you’re in it; flying intuitively.

However, making the sky look convincing is one thing; making you care about the person flying through it is another. Wings of Theve is placing a greater emphasis on you living the experience of a star pilot than previous entries. Through first-person perspectives, aircraft carrier gameplay, and cinematic cutscenes, Ace Combat 8 is poised to make you feel like the person inside the cockpit.

But the switch to first-person isn’t doing all of the heavy lifting. No, the game’s story is built around the legend of the Wings of Theve, with you at the centre of a propagandist tool which carries considerably more weight than a high kill count. You’re not just another aircraft – you’re the pilot your nation depends on, surrounded by a cast of wingmen whose own stories unfurl alongside your rise.

Previous Ace Combat titles showed you that your character was a legendary pilot, whereas now you’re seeing the conflict through their eyes – in the cockpit, on the flight deck, and in the mess halls of the Endurance, your aircraft carrier home.

And this is where the game’s blockbuster, Maverickian ambitions begin to crystallise. See, the core of Wings of Theve’s colossal war is a human story. Surrounding each desperate sortie are people, and like the sky, you’re very much operating at their centre. You’re in it, living it, breathing the same air. And yes, this is a notion underlined by the game’s live-action prequel series too, where pocketfuls of aerial combat take a back seat for character-driven drama.

That prequel series – HOUR ZERO – puts its human characters front and centre to establish the circumstances people are facing before you even climb into the cockpit yourself. It’s a striking choice for a series defined by aircraft, but it reveals something important: Bandai Namco doesn’t just want to show the game’s audience what flying in Ace Combat looks like. It wants them to understand what its story will feel like.

And, there’s a secondary objective here too, and one that could help the series overcome one of its biggest hurdles: awareness. Series Producer Manabu Shimomoto has acknowledged that getting newcomers to discover Ace Combat has historically been a challenge, arguing that audiovisual content like HOUR ZERO can provide a meaningful entry point before new players experience the thrill of flight for themselves. And, to bring it back to the underlying idea in this feature, the live-action series is another way of selling the fantasy. By the time you finally enter the cockpit – whether you’re a rookie or a veteran – you’re not just slingshotting into a battle but flying into an already established story.

So, reverting again to Kono’s three pillars – modern technology makes the sky feel more convincing, arcade mechanics refined through three decades of experience make enemy engagement satisfying, and the experience of becoming an ace pilot is realised through the story, cinematics, and first-person perspective. After thirty years, Ace Combat 8 appears to have reached a point where every part of the experience is pulling in the same direction.

Sure, the Top Gun analogy is overused, but think about what it is that makes those films so appealing. Their stories, characters, and F-14 Tomcats all support the star pilot fantasy, showing you just how cool it is to be a fighter pilot. Ace Combat, similarly, has a meaningful story, engaging characters, and an airport’s worth of supersonic machinery, and bringing them all together leads to one simple realisation: you belong in the sky.

Well, we told you about a lot of what was changing a while ago, but new information has come up since then to warrant a second look at what the remaster is doing both above and under the hood to make The Continent an open-world that stands tall among its current-gen peers. Let’s get right into it, blades drawn and a sign ready on our fingertips.

1. The New Adaptive Combat Camera

If you hopped on to test out the current-gen update that dropped a few years ago, the option to switch camera perspectives during exploration and combat instead of the original release’s fixed one was very welcome.

Well, Remastered is taking things a step further when Geralt draws a blade, making the camera become an ally all on its own by switching perspectives based on how many foes he’s facing at any given moment. That’s a great change and is one that should make those displays of swordsmanship we know you’re already preparing for look very immersive indeed.

2. Improvements To Quest Tracking

Going between your Journal and Map in the original release was a tad clunky, a part of the few flaws that the game had. It wasn’t game-breaking, yes, but it could be an annoyance in a game that was otherwise so high-quality. Well, that’s changing now, as the Map and your Journal are more unified.

Tracking objectives across different quests is now a thing, alongside Smart Filters that include proximity-based icons to let you know what you can get to within a radius you determine. We can’t wait to see what else is changing to make our Maps less cluttered and more focused on the things we know, love, and are experiencing in an entirely new light.

3. Reworked Motion Blur

CDPR has talked about improvements to motion blur implementations across the board, which should make panning your camera around in a fight, or perhaps speeding along a winding road on Roach, feel a lot more immersive.

It’s going to work well with all the other graphical improvements on the table to make Remastered feel like a worthy upgrade to an already great title, and we’re itching to join Vesemir at White Orchard as we wait to try it all out for ourselves.

4. Another HDR Upgrade

The next-gen update did a lot of good things to improve how things look and feel when you’re out in the world slaying monsters and chasing down obscure questlines, but things might be getting even better with the list of upgrades specifically mentioning HDR improvements.

We’re expecting to see better highlights, interior lighting and colors, darker corners, more authentic sunsets and fires, and better effects from Signs. That flamethrower upgrade on Igni could end up being something we use often just because of how cool it is, despite how useful it can be against monsters of all kinds.

5. Ray-Traced Hair On PC

We’ve spoken at length about ray tracing and path tracing on the PC version, but one of the things we’ve come to appreciate since then is that Geralt’s hair and beard are going to benefit from that if you have it running on your PC.

That’s going to be great if you’re a fan of how the game signifies the passage of time with your haircut getting gradually longer, now with the ability to throw light back at you when the conditions are right. Talk about a glow-up!

6. DirectX 12-Only Rendering on PC

An important change under the hood in the PC version of Remastered is that it’s going to run exclusively on DirectX 12, with DX11support being dropped.

CDPR has said that this is a change that’s going to help it support technical improvements and modern hardware more effectively, so it’s probably not a change you’re going to notice. However, it’s going to help maintain consistent quality across varying hardware if and when there are things to fix, which is always great to have.

7. Rendering Parallelization

Once again, this is something to look out for if you’re on PC, although what it brings to the table is going to be operating behind the scenes. But it’s very good news, as it’s going to make better use of your CPU’s cores, allowing them to run tasks much more efficiently.

We’re quite excited to see how this affects performance on our systems, but we’re quite optimistic about things improving given how well this one runs already.

8. 60 fps With Ray Tracing On PS5 Pro

Of course, the PC version of the game isn’t the only one getting some love from the developers, as the PS5 Pro version is now confirmed to have Ray Tracing with 60 fps as a performance target if that’s what you’re choosing to run.

That’s better than the 30 fps already on offer, and should make playing Remastered on Sony’s mid-gen powerhouse a great option for those of you looking to push it to its limits on a console.

9. Unlocked Framerates On PS5 Pro

Another thing to look forward to on the PS5 Pro is that Remastered is bringing unlocked framerates for those of you who want smooth performance out of it. On compatible displays, this could perform as high as 90 fps with PSSR working in the background.

That’s quite the boost, and it’s one we’re definitely going to test out in the open world as well as in combat quite extensively to see how it holds up under the strain that The Continent can place on any hardware when it’s firing on all cylinders.

10. Switch 2 Performance Targets

For those of you looking to trade in performance for portability, the Switch 2 version of Remastered is looking at 720p handheld and 1080p docked, with 30-40 fps as the target framerate.

If you’ve got a VRR-compatible 120Hz display, you’re looking at a more consistent 40 fps when you’re docked, which should help make things smoother when you’re not on the go.

11. Interesting Joy-Con Implementations

The Switch 2 version is also bringing mouse control support, and is even making the Joy-Con double up as one if you set it down on a surface through the addition of a dynamic mode.

That’s something to enjoy if you’re diving into this one on your Switch 2, and it could even become your preferred method of controlling Geralt and Roach as they travel across those sprawling maps.

12. Gyro Aiming On Switch 2

CDPR is clearly trying to bring as many goodies as it can to each version of Remastered, and this Switch 2 addition is sure to help with precision aiming, which should work well with the reported addition of sensitivity/camera controls to tweak.

That’s a great way to make using your signs or crossbows more seamless, while the new combat animations make switching to your swords even more fluid in the process. This is something we’re intrigued about, and we can’t wait to see how it changes the combat.

13. Touchscreen Support On Switch 2

The UI and QoL improvements have been a big part of the developer’s list of improvements, and the Switch 2 could make navigating the game’s many complex menus a whole lot easier thanks to the touchscreen becoming a part of it all.

Official touchscreen support is confirmed, and it’s sure to make switching your gear around, or perhaps disposing of stuff to clear a full inventory, a whole lot easier in the process.

14. Motion Pattern Gestures On Switch 2

This is among the ones we’re the most excited about, ever since CDPR showed Nintendo Life motion inputs that could be used to activate specific actions in-game. For instance, raising your right Joy-Con can have Geralt whistle for Roach, something that can make things feel immediately more immersive as a result.

We can’t wait to test out the full extent of these additions and see how they could change the way we approach the experience. We’re certainly hoping for distinct actions to draw either steel or silver swords, and hopefully ones to activate our Signs as well.

15. Xbox Play Anywhere Support

If you own the Xbox version of The Wild Hunt but want to play it on PC, this one’s sure to be good news to you, as you now get to do just that.

Just use your copy of the game to boot up a PC playthrough, and you’re all set, which should save you some cash otherwise spent on another copy. Which would still be worthwhile if you’re looking for all the new stuff it’s bringing, but having a cost-effective alternative never hurts, does it?

And that’s about it for this one. We can’t wait to see if The Witcher 3 Remastered manages to make a world that’s so familiar to us feel brand new, but given how reinventing great games has been kind of a thing for this particular team, we can’t help but feel optimistic about its chances.

It was once synonymous with horror in gaming, being a pillar of the genre within the medium with innovative ideas, well-written stories, insightful interpretations of complex themes, and of course, gameplay that had you on edge for a significant part of your playtime. But that rise to glory had been balanced out by a fall from grace marked by inconsistent releases, cancelled projects, and a loss of the creative identity that set its games apart in the first place.

But all that’s in the distant past, and a more recent appraisal of the franchise’s fortunes, beginning with that excellent remake of Silent Hill 2, paints the story of a comeback worth examining as we look at a busy, and potentially bright, future for the franchise.

How has it shaped that turnaround? What has Konami done differently this time around to warrant its newfound success? We asked the same questions, and we’re happy to tell you more about what we found along the way. Let’s begin!

Back To The Beginning

Silent Hill’s newfound glory is better understood through the lens of what it has managed to achieve in the past, and the decisions that led it there. It’s important to remember how the first four titles in the franchise created an identity distinct from Resident Evil, another strong presence in the horror space at the time.

Where human greed and its consequences guided the stories in Raccoon City and its surroundings, Silent Hill took a more psychological approach, diving deep into human depravity and how it could manifest in the worlds the franchise’s protagonists found themselves in.

Every title brought an atmosphere so oppressive it became a frightening presence in and of itself, while the excellent use of each soundstage, subtle symbolism, and very insightful storytelling were once hallmarks of the franchise. Silent Hill 2 became a benchmark thanks to how well all of these elements came together to make it a title that didn’t really have anything to compare it against at the time.

But all of these positive traits would have meant nothing in games that didn’t manage to keep their players invested in what was unfolding in front of them. And while the franchise’s early lineup didn’t need to worry about such concerns, the same can’t be said for the ones that followed.

A Frightening Lack of Direction

Silent Hill: Origins is probably a good game to examine what caused the franchise to lose much of the momentum it had built through its earlier successes. The prequel was quite good as a Silent Hill title, but you could already see that it lacked the inspiration and insight that made its predecessors as famous as they were.

It was still a moody, atmospheric return to the titular town, but it lacked the subtlety of the franchise’s other entries, a facet that often made it feel like a lore drop rather than a full-fledged story that took the franchise in an interesting new direction. Homecoming felt largely the same, although it did bring technical improvements like a controllable camera and some excellent visual upgrades to the franchise’s formula.

But Alex’s search for his brother began to feel like the franchise’s ability to innovate was beginning to run out of steam despite a fairly strong offering from Double Helix after it took over from Climax Studios, which handled Origins.

Climax Studios would return with Shattered Memories, a radical reimagining of the original Silent Hill that drew praise for its bold ideas but rather shaky presentation, with the weaponless chase sequences not feeling as potent as they could have been thanks to the game distinguishing between safety and danger too strongly.

Vatra Games’ effort with Downpour was a similarly flawed experience, drawing both praise and criticism alike, and bringing an important aspect of the situation to the forefront. Despite each title’s individual strengths, it was clear that the Silent Hill franchise was lacking direction and focus, and different interpretations of its best features weren’t necessarily making the most of them all.

But does that mean the franchise had already lost its potency and potential? We’d argue that that was hardly the case.

The Comeback That Never Was

There was still P.T. in the mix, and it came out of nowhere to revive hope in a franchise that could have been easy to write off as past its prime. Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro, and what was slated to eventually become Silent Hills.

Not only did it revive interest in the franchise, but the potential from such a collaboration of great minds could also blend very well with a formula that was already proven to work when it was targeted at things beyond the ordinary. A detail that becomes significant as we move a little later down the line.

But for now, we return to the cancellation of Silent Hills, and the loss of a potentially exciting future for the franchise at the time. It would mark the beginning of a long period of dormancy, one that would see the franchise’s reputation survive only through its community and word of the heights that it was once capable of. It also marked an era where the competition continued to delve into psychological horror, a territory that the franchise once had firmly in its grasp, and perhaps even helped define.

The vehicle for the franchise now felt like it had been abandoned along the side of the road it once helped pave, blazing a path that other titles were now speeding along. But Konami didn’t give up on a franchise that was as great as this one, and the next few years might already be familiar to you, but merit a close look to understand why the new bevy of Silent Hill games have succeeded where others have not.

Regaining Its Form And Footing

2022 marked the beginning of a new chapter for the franchise, although there was no way of knowing about all the great memories it was going to give us at the time. We didn’t get news of just one game from Konami, but were told about the remake of Silent Hill 2 from Bloober Team, two new games, and a new movie!

Producer Motoi Okamoto would later explain that Konami never really intended to “test the waters” with one remake before committing to the franchise again, but was rather choosing to bet big on it right from the get-go. However, the intent behind the move doesn’t negate the valid skepticism that surrounded the announcement given the franchise’s history with external studios working on Silent Hill games.

That Silent Hill 2 was the game being remade was a big enough reason, given how much reverence it has garnered from fans over the years. Bloober had its task cut out for it, having to modernize the classic without sacrificing any of its original appeal. But the remake didn’t just manage to impress its critics, but also generated revenues that were impressive.

Five million cumulative players over combined sales metrics isn’t a joke after all, and is perhaps the best example of how the franchise regained its relevance in the current generation of games. Of course, the remake’s success could not dispel apprehensions about the game that followed it.

Silent Hill f was bringing several departures to Hinako’s story that could have, and perhaps even did, put off a few hardcore fans before they actually got to play it. It was based in Japan, in an entirely new location for starters, with combat mechanics that looked like they were putting too much of an emphasis on action instead of the franchise’s horror-focused roots.

And yet, what we got was a game that was quintessentially Silent Hill, packaged in a new world, premise, and story that helped sell everything that was great about the franchise so well, it made 1960s Japan feel like a natural new home for the experience it aimed for.

Hinako’s deeply personal story, her harrowing confrontations with her own inner demons, and the way all of it resolved was nothing short of extraordinary, and perhaps the best reflection of what the franchise was capable of when it fired on all cylinders back in the day. Konami was quick to point out that it was the first new Silent Hill game in a dozen years, and it reaching a million sales in two days is a showcase of the franchise’s unfading allure over the years. Townfall’s our next stop on this examination of the franchise’s current fortunes, and it marks an exciting new chapter for it.

A More Modern Silent Hill

If you think about it, Townfall is the third piece of a revival trilogy that showcases what has worked well for Silent Hill this time around. The first-person perspective was a welcome touch in an experience that used it well to bring a new location, art style, and narrative angle to life.

We didn’t expect examinations of the relationships between individuals, corporations, and societies in small towns to be effective vehicles for the kind of story beats that the franchise is used to telling, but Simon’s time in St. Amelia is definitely among the finer outings it has given us.

Okamoto’s assertion that it was intended to bring yet another axis to the franchise after the remake’s traditional approach and the new Japan-focused title showcases a revival that isn’t relying on a standardized formula, but on creating thoughtful interpretations of what the franchise has always examined, through the lenses of different creative teams.

With SH2 Remake, Bloober Team was able to successfully preserve those examinations while presenting them in a modernized classic. Silent Hill f took things to a new setting, story, and very unique art style to prove that it could be fresh yet familiar. Townfall has now reiterated that, while also proving that new external studios can radically reinterpret its formula while preserving its best elements and psychological horror foundations.

That variety is perhaps the best feature of Silent Hill’s current-gen revival, and it’s great that Konami isn’t asking every developer to deliver another SH2, but is instead asking them what the franchise means to their particular teams and creative perspectives. That’s probably the biggest difference between the franchise’s less successful years and now, as it has found success today despite some common factors.

Various developers working on different titles is an obvious one, as are the varying interpretations of the franchise’s story and gameplay loop. However, one crucial difference is that three successive titles could not give us a sense of deliberate strategy, and the feeling that each new game was building on the ideas before it.

However, diversity and a sense of forward momentum have felt like they’ve been baked into the underlying pillars of the latest titles, and it’s an irony that isn’t lost on us. Silent Hill has rediscovered its identity by accepting that it doesn’t have to be one specific thing, and operate within a limited framework of creative and technical options because of it.

A Long Road Ahead

It’s all well and good that the franchise has found a solid enough purchase in a modern gaming industry where even great games might not get the recognition they deserve from time to time. But how does Konami aim to sustain the momentum it has built for it?

We think the news is good, or at least a reason to be optimistic about the franchise’s chances. The remake of the original Silent Hill from Bloober is on the cards, and we see no reason to doubt that studio’s outing after the excellence it has displayed with its previous effort and with Cronos: The New Dawn. It’s a solid next step, and perhaps indicative of a newfound confidence.

Modernizing Harry Mason’s journey while rebuilding the 1999 game to make for a new experience that doesn’t just feel like SH2 Remake again. We’ve no information on how combat and exploration are changing yet, or about whether Bloober plans to expand the town, but we cannot understate the significance of making the original game that started the franchise’s journey more accessible to a modern audience.

Konami’s ambitions for the franchise might have seemed surprisingly aggressive to us when it first announced its plans for the franchise four years ago, but with Okamoto expressing hope for an “annual release of new games”, and that players should look forward to future experiences that take the franchise’s formula in bold new directions, it’s easy to see that it certainly has high hopes for its continued success.

The company has since stated it aims to go beyond the confirmed remake and Townfall too, which means we’ve got more Silent Hill on the horizon. But what would it entail? Remakes of Silent Hill 3 & 4 are definitely options to look into, considering how those games mark the franchise’s golden years and have been benchmarks against which the ones that followed them were judged.

But there’s the risk of bringing in too much Silent Hill to a franchise whose greatest problem was not having enough of it at one point. Once again, the irony is evident, but that doesn’t mitigate the risk of an ambitious release cadence diluting Konami’s ability to quality-control releases well enough for them to sustain the standards its recent titles have now created.

This is a franchise that relies heavily on its atmospheric storytelling and gameplay to bring distinctive creative voices and narrative insights to life through the eyes of its characters. A yearly release cycle could make things a tad too predictable, a fallacy that has often brought problems to even the finest of stories and innovative series of games.

Silent Hill’s exciting revival could become the very reason it loses steam if it doesn’t manage to meet the standards that its latest titles have now established as its baseline. However, this is a franchise that has already weathered one rise and fall, rising again and managing to stand tall in the process.

Its return isn’t as remarkable to us in hindsight, though. It’s in how it achieved the comeback that fascinates us, and also gives us confidence that whatever’s coming next is going to cement that revival by making clever use of new ideas grounded in the franchise’s familiar penchant for weaving in the unexpected into the very fabric of its games. There’s been no doubt in our minds that Silent Hill is back after our time with Hinako, and Simon has now made us confident that it’s here to stay for a while yet.

And we can’t help but feel a thrill even as we tremble at the thought of what horrors it’s going to bring our way when it does.

WARDOGS is developed by BULKHEAD, and sits somewhere between the mainstream appeal of Call of Duty: Warzone and the realistic military simulation of games like Hell Let Loose. It is a chaotic, ambitious shooter built around three teams fighting for control of a constantly shifting battlefield.

"There are not a lot of multiplayer shooters that can genuinely make you feel like you’re playing a completely different game from another person in the same match."

Flexibility is WARDOGS‘ greatest strength. While one player spends an entire match charging into firefights like they are playing a standard FPS, another might spend the match transporting teammates across the map, building fortifications, supplying a forward operating base or providing tactical support from a distance.

Everyone is effectively playing their own version of WARDOGS, yet all of those different approaches feed into the same overall objective. This amalgamation of subsystems makes for a compelling multiplayer experience that rarely feels boring or stale.

The three-team structure is a major part of what makes WARDOGS feel different from a traditional multiplayer shooter. Rather than having just two sides pushing against one another, in WARDOGS, there is a third faction fighting for supremacy and this often changes the flow of battle. Taking control of an objective doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve overcome the opposing threat, because another team can arrive from a completely different direction and turn an otherwise straightforward fight into a much harder battle.

This makes the battlefield considerably less predictable. A team that appears to have control of an area can suddenly find itself fighting on two fronts. In turn, the players attacking an objective have to consider not only the team currently defending it, but also where the other attacking team might be positioned. It creates a sense of uncertainty that isn’t possible to achieve in a conventional FPS.

WARDOGS throws you into a variety of enormous maps to take part in the fight. The scale of these environments allows you to constantly vary how you approach combat scenarios. There is plenty of room to move around the battlefield, flank opposing teams and find alternative routes into contested areas, meaning you aren’t simply running into a firefight in the same way over and over again.

Matches can become incredibly chaotic, particularly when multiple teams converge on the same objective. At first glance, this chaos may put certain players off, particularly if they’re accustomed to more straightforward arcade shooters. Thankfully, WARDOGS does a good job of rewarding both aggression and patience.

"The three-team structure is a major part of what makes WARDOGS feel different from a traditional multiplayer shooter."

Players can throw themselves directly into the middle of a firefight and attempt to overwhelm the opposition, or take a more measured approach and look for opportunities to support their team from a safer position.

WARDOGS doesn’t force every member of your team into playing the same game. One player might be focused entirely on combat while another is more interested in logistics, transportation or construction. These other tasks don’t feel like meaningless side activities either, they feel integral towards achieving victory.

The game’s economy gives these different roles a tangible purpose. Cash isn’t only earned by getting kills; reviving teammates, transporting players, supporting objectives and carrying out other useful tasks can all contribute towards your income. This means the things you do away from the frontline have a tangible impact on the wider battle, allowing players who aren’t particularly interested in traditional FPS combat to still make meaningful contributions and earn cash.

The battlefield itself also helps sell that sense of scale. There is a degree of destruction and environmental interaction that makes the larger engagements feel more dynamic, reinforcing the impression that you’re fighting across an active battlefield rather than simply moving between a series of static multiplayer arenas. It is an idea that sounds relatively simple on paper, but it has a surprisingly profound effect on the way WARDOGS feels to play.

One of the most enjoyable things about WARDOGS is watching the different parts of its sandbox come together. You might find yourself pushing towards an objective alongside a group of players, suddenly you’re ambushed and the rest of your team is wiped out, leaving only you alive. When all hope seems lost, someone arrives in a tank to offer salvation.

Elsewhere, another player might be constructing defensive positions while someone else provides overwatch from a distance. These players may all have completely different priorities, but they are ultimately working towards the same goal. It creates a sense that you’re participating in something much larger than your own individual performance. This is particularly important because WARDOGS doesn’t treat kills as the only meaningful measure of success.

"One of the most enjoyable things about WARDOGS is watching the different parts of its sandbox come together."

WARDOGS does have more in common with military shooters than traditional arcade FPS games, but it never feels intimidating. There is enough freedom to allow experienced players to approach it tactically, while less experienced players can simply get stuck into the action and gradually learn how its systems work while still earning money and experimenting with different playstyles.

There is a lot happening during a typical WARDOGS match, and that can make the battlefield feel completely overwhelming at times. Explosions are going off in the distance, vehicles are moving between objectives and players are constantly repositioning themselves across the map.

Matches in WARDOGS can go on for a while, but I never found myself wishing that a match would end. There is enough variety in each match, and the maps are expansive enough that the experience never feels monotonous, even during long matches.

WARDOGS‘ economy and progression systems add another layer to the way you approach each match. Your equipment has value, and dying can mean losing the kit you’ve taken into battle. Cash carries between matches, while equipment is purchased for individual deployments, meaning the decisions you make with your money can have consequences beyond a single run.

This creates an interesting risk-and-reward loop. Spending heavily on equipment can make you more effective in a particular role, but losing that investment before you’ve had a chance to make use of it gives you a reason to think twice about how aggressively you play. At the same time, the fact that you can earn money through combat, objectives and support means you aren’t completely dependent on getting kills to recover from a bad deployment.

The progression system complements this, gradually giving you access to different equipment and allowing you to develop the roles and playstyles that suit you best. Rather than simply rewarding players for being the most effective shooter on the battlefield, WARDOGS gives you reasons to develop the specific way that you want to play.

As with most large-scale multiplayer shooters, WARDOGS is at its best when you’re playing with friends. Coordinating your movements, deciding how to approach an objective and creating those cinematic moments with your mates can make for some great experiences. The game’s variety of roles becomes even more interesting when you’re able to divide responsibilities between a group of people and play to each person’s strengths.

"WARDOGS‘ economy and progression systems add another layer to the way you approach each match. "

With that said though, WARDOGS is still a lot of fun when playing alone. The game’s systems are designed in such a way that you can still find your own place within a team without necessarily needing a previously established squad.

That distinction matters because multiplayer games built around teamwork can sometimes become frustrating when you’re playing without people you know. WARDOGS largely avoids that problem by giving individual players enough freedom to decide how they want to contribute, in turn the economy offers a decent reward for those contributions.

On a technical level, I had very few issues with WARDOGS, despite the game being in Early Access. I encountered a couple of frame rate drops during the tutorial, but thankfully these never became an issue once I was actually playing active matches. I also didn’t encounter any matchmaking problems that can sometimes plague multiplayer games at launch, allowing me to get into matches without much hassle.

WARDOGS Season 2 is set to launch shortly, so hopefully that will address some of these things that need to be updated. This is still an Early Access build, so it is not perfect. The sheer number of systems interacting with one another means balancing in WARDOGS will be an ongoing challenge, particularly when weapons, vehicles, equipment and different approaches to the battlefield all have to coexist. There are already broader balance concerns being raised around the game’s three-team structure, while the long-term success of WARDOGS will also depend on how effectively BULKHEAD can expand its content and continue refining the experience.

My own experience was pretty smooth overall. However, WARDOGS clearly has room to evolve as development continues, and its current strengths will ultimately need to be bolstered by continued balancing and additional content.

WARDOGS doesn’t necessarily do anything new within the FPS space. There is nothing here that you won’t have seen before if you are well versed in the genre. However, it does include a huge variety of these tried and tested systems and executes each of them pretty well.

This game was reviewed on PC.

We’re sure you’ve got your favorites too, but here are our picks for the ones we’re going to make a beeline for when we start a new playthrough, just to see how things have changed with all that the remaster is bringing to the table. As always, we like to show our work and are happy to elaborate on why each one deserves a second look.

1. The Cave of Dreams

If you remember this one as vividly as we do. It’s probably already obvious why it’s among the places we’re eager to see the remaster work its magic on. The Skillige Isles are going to look beautiful with the remaster’s new lighting and everything else that’s coming, and the Cave of Dreams is definitely a great place to see it all come together.

Of course, it’s going to be a good idea to come there as part of the mission to assist Blueboy Lagos, which then has Geralt joining the lad and his men on an adventure involving some weird herbs and even weirder hallucinations. Of course, that ethereal blue whale is going to look even better when the light it gives off in a dark cave now comes with ray-traced effects that we can’t wait to see in action.

That isn’t even the only cool effect this one has, and seeing them all is definitely high on our list. Just as soon as we can scrape together the cash to take that ill-fated voyage to the Isles, that is.

2. The Possession

We still can’t believe we listened to Cerys the first time we played this one, and we still feel a touch of reluctance when we listen to her in “that” moment, even though we know her intentions are pure, and that everything’s okay.

But the choice with the oven isn’t the only reason that this is one quest we can’t wait to see the remaster bring to life. Cerys is a great travel buddy for starters, and her efforts to help Jarl Udalryk break free of the Hym definitely have a lot of appeal, without even considering the importance it has to events in Skillige. It also takes us across a lovely portion of the islands, and even a bit of diving. It’s a great opportunity to see the new visuals in action while also getting a good look at how things have improved underwater.

It’s also an opportunity to try the combat system’s improvements on an enemy that’s quite nasty to deal with if you happen to choose the witcher’s way when asked how you’d like to deal with it. And yet, we know we’re going to do as Cerys asks yet again.

3. The Lord of Undvik

You’ve probably thought of a few giant reasons to take this one on, and we can tell you you’re right. With all of the new graphical goodies that the remaster is bringing to the table, you can bet that we’re going to be grabbing as many shots of Octo’s ship as we can, the snow around it being gently lit up by the sun’s rays.

The icy areas that this one takes you to are definitely a great place to see the new ray/path tracing systems in action while taking in views that showcase the harsh conditions and ethereal beauty of Skellige, a contrast that has worked well even in the past. The search for Hjalmar and the eventual fight with that giant are also reasons we’re doing this one right after we meet an’ Crate for the first time.

The Dorve Ruins themselves are reason enough to give this one a shot as soon as you can, and there’s also the matter of that sweet discount you net from all of Skillege’s merchants if things go according to plan.

4. Contract: The Phantom of Eldberg

That nasty enitent is definitely among the harder wraiths to bring down, but the island we fight it on is definitely a good place for the remaster to flex its muscles. There’s that lighthouse, for starters, as well as the fog that comes from a place that’s been taken over by wraiths.

There’s also all that business with Mikkjal, the lighthouse keeper, to contend with, but we’re quite well-versed at getting the man to spill his secrets by this point. We’re definitely going into the lighthouse for that incriminating document after all, but we must admit we’re also doing it for the view, which was already incredible to begin with.

The remaster’s new visuals are sure to give that specific scene a lot of new polish, while the Penitent fight should let us test our mettle against a deadly foe with the new combat improvements- a fight that could let us enjoy ourselves until Mikkjal lights the lighthouse’s fire.

5. Where the Cat and Wolf Play…

The remaster’s improvements are sure to bring the gruesome scene that we discover as Geralt to life in ways that make a visit to Honorton worthwhile. We’re already squemish at the thought of how the extensive damage that a bunch of necrophages can do is going to be presented to us. It was horrifying enough in the original release, and the team behind it is sure to have grinned at the thought of giving it more detail.

Of course, the fight with Geatan is going to be a major draw in bringing us back to this one. Fighting a fellow Witcher, and one from the agile Cat School no less, is a good way to see how the new combat additions can change the way you approach it. Perhaps the new chain could help keep Gaetan at bay long enough for us to bring him down.

Just remember not to let him drink his potion before the fight, even if he asks nicely. Fool us once and all that.

6. In the Heart of the Woods

The story’s going to bring us to this one anyway, but it’s still a quest that we can’t wait to revisit in the remaster. The Woodland Spirit’s eerie presence in Fayrlund is among the most memorable quest chains in the game, and its narrative significance cannot be understated, given how the Crones essentially paint a target on its back and send a Geralt-shaped missile its way.

Granted, the way this one exposes just how bleak life can get in The Continent, although we’d argue subsequent missions you take on in the quest chain make things a whole lot worse. However, the Woodland Spirit’s eerie hideout, the search for the right horse, and all the visual effects that come with the ritual to set it free,, if you so choose, are all reasons we’re going to rush to get started with this one.

That getting there requires meeting and engaging with the Bloody Baron’s questline is just icing on the cake.

7. Master Armorers

Yoana’s definitely among the more interesting blacksmiths we’ve met in our travels across the worlds of fantasy titles, and helping her one-up her overbearing boss is a victory in and of itself. That we get to have a conveniently located master armorer is also an incentive to get started with this one sooner rather than later if you’re on a new playthrough.

But all of those reasons melt away when we think of where Clan Tordarroch Forge is located. It just so happens to be where The Lord of Undvik takes place, which is an already beautiful part of the Skillge Islands, and is thus a conveniently placed location for an objective that lets you complete two great quests.

The forge itself carries an air of desolation, a sad reminder of Yoanna’s people’s former glory, but those tools are as dependable as ever in the right hands. We can’t wait to do all of this again, and check out any new details on the armor she eventually crafts for us.

8. Of Swords and Dumplings

Yoanna’s a great blacksmith to have in Velen, but what of other places in The Continent? The aptly named Hattori is definitely among the finest blacksmiths around, although convincing him to come out of his self-imposed retirement is a bit of a journey on its own.

The chance to stick it to organized crime is definitely a part of this one’s allure, as is the opportunity to have yet another master blacksmith in our debt, and one who makes some really fine weapons at that! The swords Hattori eventually gives us are also great reasons to dive into this one, and have them at hand to see how they fit into any new systems around gear, and the revamped approach to builds that the remaster is bringing.

Having an ally who can craft all the weapons we could need is definitely a plus.

9. The Volunteer

If The Witcher 3 Remastered is your first time with the game, this is one to remember and worth revisiting. The story of the Redanian soldiers and the peasants’ boats is a tragic one, a story that shows it’s often the ones who are left behind who suffer the effects of a conflict.

If you’re already a veteran of this quest, you know what we’re talking about and have probably already made a note to pick up the red paint from Oxenfurt. Either way, it isn’t a playthrough of The Witcher 3 without a meeting with the titular volunteer of this quest.

10. King’s Gambit

This one’s narrative significance is definitely a good reason to dive into it, especially since we’ve already spoken at length about finishing the quests that precede it. But we’re especially interested in following all the different trails that Geralt’s investigation sends him tracking in this one, their lingering effects now coming with the remaster’s magic to make it all look and feel all the more immersive.

We’re certainly tempted to skip over the way this one ends, though. We’re no fans of Birna’s arrogance ourselves, but man, this one ends on a bleak note. But that’s just life in Skillege. We could just side with Hjalmar, though.

Whatever we decide, this one’s got a lot of fighting to do, and a bevy of combat improvements to test out while doing so!

And there you have it. These are our picks for the quest’s were running straight to, either on foot or with Roach, or by boat carrying us there. You’ve obviously guessed that we love stormy islands with icy mountains in our games from this one, and we’d say that such places are the best ones to enjoy a dose of current-gen goodness on a beloved classic

We’ll see you on The Path pretty soon!

Let’s go over everything you need to know before picking it up, starting with…

The Story and Who Shade is

When you think Star Wars, the first things to come to mind are usually the Force, the Jedi, the Sith, the Empire, the Rebellion, etc. Racing is probably far down the list, but it’s sometimes everything. Thus, we have the Galactic League in the Outer Rim, where the top racers gather to compete and be the best. Behind the scenes, its founder, Darius Pax, is trying to stop Kestar Bool, long-reigning champion, from wresting control and enlists the help of Shade (aka, you). There’s no better way to halt Bool’s momentum than dethroning him, but it also seems Shade is seeking revenge for his own reasons.

Branching Campaign Structure

Obviously, the campaign is a vital part of the Galactic Racer experience, but what’s interesting is how it’s handled. Rather than going from one racer to another, it’s actually a roguelite experience that branches. You choose the next event type and rewards, and gain upgrades along the way – all to reach the grand finals. Aside from delivering a fresh experience with each run, there’s also a fair amount to unlock, which we’ll get to in a bit.

Tracks

The other important piece of any racing title is the tracks. Each track is hand-crafted, with its own layouts, hazards, visual identity, and racing challenges, helping ensure that no two courses feel quite the same.

Racer Styles and Favors

Before beginning a run, you need to choose a Racer Style for Shade. There appear to be 15 in total, but only a handful are available at the start, including Survivor, which gives you the Shield Ability and increases speed (which you’ll lose on crashing). Tenacious provides the Autopilot Ability and lets you crash one extra time. Ranking up these Styles and unlocking further benefits requires fulfilling conditions, so even if a run fails, you can come back stronger. Favors are also available for additional perks like Mad Genius, where you get one extra crash per event.

Event Types

As for events, you’ll partake in everything from standard races against 11 other racers to a Field Test, which involves racing solo and beating the target time. Eliminator is a risk-vs-reward endeavor – it pays well and offers some big upgrades, but requires finishing in the top 3. Anything less and you’ll face elimination. It all culminates in a Qualifier, where Shade battles an “exceptional” competitor to continue onward.

Vehicle Types

Podracing may be many an old-school racer’s go-to, but there are three other repulsorcraft to play with. You have the Land Speeder, which offers strong resilience and can drift around corners; the Speeder Bike for the fastest acceleration and Kinetic Burst to quickly burst out of corners; and the new Skimspeeder, boasting the highest speed and Knife Edge cornering to maintain it (but at the cost of the slowest acceleration).

Upgrading Your Vehicle’s Stats

While each vehicle has different strengths and weaknesses, you can mitigate the latter by selecting upgrades after races. Improve your Resilience or Cornering, or maybe lean into the vehicle’s strengths at the risk of falling behind in other categories when it matters. Alternatively, skip an upgrade for Credits if you’re confident enough.

Vehicle Parts

But the real appeal is the Vehicle Parts, which can significantly change how a repulsorcraft functions in specific scenarios. For example, Afterburner Recharge will fully refill the Afterburner when your Ramjets are ready, and Depleted Shielding will activate a Shield for five seconds after using Afterburner. You can even turn Malfunctions, which require fixing in real time, into a benefit with Overcharged Systems providing temporary energy and reduced ability cooldowns when one occurs.

Afterburners and Ramjets

For those who have the need for speed, Galactic Racer has two ways to pull that off. Afterburner is your standard boost, and also dictates the rate of acceleration and deceleration. Ramjets are the Star Wars version of Nitrous – good for a quick burst of speed, but the more it’s used, the more heat builds up. Too much and, well, fireworks ensue. Keep the weather in mind – a colder environment allows for much more judicious Ramjet usage.

Extensive Vehicle Customization

What would a League that attracts all kinds of scum and villainy be without customization? You can customize every vehicle with different liveries, colors, and whatnot, but that’s not all. The sheer number of custom parts allows for potentially millions of different combinations, according to Fuse Games, ensuring that even two of the same repulsorcraft end up looking wildly different. Which is all the more important in…

Multiplayer Tours

Getting revenge on Kestar Bool is nice and all, but those who want to wreck real players can venture into Multiplayer Tours (alongside Quick Races). Compete against 11 others across races, pick upgrades and face off in the final. The difference here is you can take Contracts to earn more parts and Credits, or even predict your finish for additional rewards. And for those who want to mark other players and create rivals in the process, well, have at it.

Multiple Playable Characters

The other key differentiator is that you can choose different characters – including the infamous Sebulba from Phantom Menace – when playing online. Each has unique starting abilities and passives, like Dud Bolt fully refilling his Afterburner and increasing the power of its next usage by nailing Perfect Landings, or Gasgano gaining Surging when his shields are depleted.

Minimum PC Requirements

Strangely enough, only the minimum requirements have been revealed on PC. Aside from an SSD with 50 GB of space, you’ll need an Intel Core i5-8400 or an AMD Ryzen 5 2600, 12 GB of RAM, and either an Nvidia RTX 2060, an Intel Arc A580 or an AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB. The graphical quality and performance parameters remain to be revealed, though.

4K/60 FPS on Consoles

In terms of console performance, Galactic Racer is aiming high. As noted in Digital Foundry’s preview, it runs at 60 FPS only – no Quality Mode with 30 FPS. Lumen GI is also active on all platforms except Xbox Series S, and with TSR, the resolution floats between 1440p and 1690p. This was back in June, however, so Fuse Games may very well hit its 4K target, even if it’s upscaled, by release.

No Season Passes

Given that it has multiplayer, you would think that there would be some seasonal model or passes to grind post-launch. But as confirmed by studio CEO Matt Webster to IGN, that’s not the case. Why? Well, in his own words, “No. This is a premium release, right? We have our campaign, and we have arcade mode, and we have multiplayer, and it’s a self-contained thing.”

This doesn’t mean the team isn’t considering any post-launch opportunities. But Season Passes are a flat “no,” because, “In my head, a season pass is connected to free-to-play games, and that’s not what we are making,” says Webster.