15. Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs

Considering how successful Pac-Man 99 was, it’s understandable that Bandai Namco Entertainment sought to make a follow-up. Chomp Champs even took a multi-dimensional approach, allowing players to escape the confines of their mazes and devour the opposition (and their Ghosts). However, this isn’t so much a spiritual successor as a port of PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle, which launched in November 2020 and sank alongside Google Stadia.

All these years later, Chomp Champs is little more than the same experience for other platforms but with cross-play. The gameplay can be fun for a bit and performance is solid, but the overall package is so barren that it’s impossible to ignore the flaws. Whether it’s the embarrassingly low-rent user interface, lack of offline modes, the bland music or the terrible Ranked experience, Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs is imminently forgettable.

14. Graven

Boomer shooters are common these days, but the sheer variety and creativity many exude is great. As a spiritual successor to Hexen, Slipgate Ironworks’ Graven seemed like a winner from the moment early access was announced. Sure, there were some rough edges but there was hope that subsequent Acts would be even better. However, the final product is left wanting.

A reliance on checkpoints instead of a traditional save system seems fine until you’re hard stuck or puzzles begin to break, setting progress back by a fair amount. The immersive sim elements are intriguing but ultimately lacking, the stamina system is restrictive, and the enemy design is frustrating. Couple this with numerous bugs and glitches, some game-breaking, and Graven fails to measure up to its inspiration.

13. Endless Ocean Luminous

As a follow-up to Endless Ocean: Adventures of the Deep from 2009, Endless Ocean Luminous could have offered a relaxing aquatic exploration experience with some bits to help you learn more about various species underwater. Unfortunately, its focus is all over the place, bogging down the overall product. There is a story, but progression is an annoyance due to the clunky scanning, which you must constantly engage with. The lack of realism to the whole affair is also a bummer, and the dull visuals don’t help either.

12. Alone in the Dark

Not only is it another failed attempt to bring the classic survival horror franchise into the new generation, but the developer shut down shortly after due to its lackluster reception. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that the reboot just wasn’t good. Combat feels unpolished and rough, but given the lack of compelling challenges, it’s more of an inconvenience. The sheer amount of bugs with the audio alone is enough to keep fans away, and despite the intriguing set-up, the writing and performances from its lead actors are simply lackluster.

11. Sker Ritual

Have you ever played Maid of Sker and felt, “Hm, this needs a first-person shooter spin-off with multiplayer”? Probably not, but that didn’t stop Capcom and its awful Resident Evil multiplayer modes. Thus we have Sker Ritual, which essentially borrows the round-based format from Call of Duty’s Zombies mode. However, it’s lacking in many ways, from the matchmaking and UI to the glitches and messy visuals. Couple this with an issue at launch where the host could retain their XP on quitting while other players couldn’t, and it’s easy to see why Sker Ritual is essentially dead.

10. Outpost: Infinity Siege

Team Ranger’s Outpost: Infinity Siege is a genre mash-up that could have worked with more focus and less tedium. A tower defense/first-person shooter hybrid can be great – as evidenced by the beginning of the game, despite the laughable dialogue and increasingly absurd plot. However, once the rogue-like and extraction shooter elements come into play, things fall apart. The horrible AI, dull map designs, grindy progression and numerous glitches on release didn’t help either. Though it’s seen many improvements and updates since then, Outpost: Infinity Siege needs a rethink of its fundamentals.

9. Die by The Blade

Outside of Tekken, Street Fighter, Guilty Gear, and whatnot are more niche fighting games that could use some exposure. Die by the Blade isn’t one of those games. It’s not even in the same stratosphere based on the mechanics alone, with clunky combos and movement that feels like molasses. Matches devolve into little more than rock-paper-scissors, and the lack of content beyond that, including no campaign or proper ranked mode, results in a tedious experience.

8. Undead Inc.

Ndemic Creations’ Plague Inc. was one of my favorite mobile games back in the day, and there was some hope that Undead Inc. from Rightsized Games would channel some of that nostalgia. It doesn’t, unfortunately, and can’t even provide a compelling management experience on its own. Numerous bugs, lackluster content, be it in the biomes or facilities, crashes, horrible interface – the list goes on. What is a compelling concept that could have explored the darker side of pharmaceutical companies ends up way out of its depth.

7. Winter Survival (Early Access)

Yes, it’s early access, but Winter Survival is seemingly set on doing everything wrong with its survival sandbox premise. An empty world lacking in much to do, a lackluster crafting UI, awful combat that focuses on timed strikes and often ends in disaster – it’s all the worse when you’re constantly nagged about having to sleep, eat and drink. The injury and trauma system could have been something unique, but as it stands, Winter Survival has a ways to go with its fundamentals.

6. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

For all the backlash it received after its initial gameplay reveal, you would think Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League would have something on its sleeve to win players. Honestly, the opening hours of the story were intriguing, even if each squad member, their CO, Amanda Waller, the Rogue’s Gallery, the brainwashed heroes, you name it, couldn’t go five minutes without chatter. Once the Elseworlds kick in, the plot promptly falls off a cliff. The awful boss battles and recycled open-world activities further kill the enthusiasm (even if the gunplay was passable).

Even with the marketing might of Warner Bros. Discovery and recognition of the Suicide Squad property, Kill the Justice League fell short of expectations, contributing to a $200 million impact on revenue. Its first season is a dud, and player numbers range in the hundreds on Steam nowadays. On the bright side, at least WB is committed to completing the current roadmap. After that? It could end up joining the likes of Anthem and Marvel’s Avengers.

5. Skull and Bones

What are the chances that February would bring not one but two long-in-development, live-service titles that failed to resonate with players? Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed with Skull and Bones, announced at E3 2017 and facing multiple delays, reported reboots, leadership changes and more throughout its nightmarish development.

The fact that it finally launched is shocking enough…until you play the game and grind through the menial labor that is the story. Activities served as little more than sailing from point A to point B, shooting some ships and/or mythical creatures, and maybe plundering a few hapless souls. The loot felt menial; the actual pirate aspects felt empty and soulless, and the game is just the same grind with a dash of PvEvP thrown in. Skull and Bones didn’t exactly have every opportunity to succeed but seeing it flop so succinctly is sad.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants

As a port of Raw Thrills’ 2017 beat ’em up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants seems unassuming enough. Then you see that GameMill Entertainment of The Walking Dead: Destinies and Skull Island: Rise of Kong is involved. While not a disaster on the level of those two titles, it’s still a miserable experience. The combat is terrible. The movement is terrible. The visuals are bland and the distinctions between characters are almost non-existent. Even if all those issues were shored up, there isn’t enough content or replay value to justify revisiting it.

3. Bulletstorm VR

How do you mess up Bulletstorm, one of the most fun first-person shooters ever made? As it turns out, very easily. Though original developer People Can Fly published it, Bulletstorm VR is developed by Incuvo, who worked on Green Hell VR (released to a mixed response on Steam). The gunplay is cooked right out of the gate, from its horrid aiming and reload mechanics to the lackluster impact. Then there were the crashes, missing textures on Quest headsets and poor performance.

If that wasn’t enough, several missions were outright cut. Remember your emotional bond with Waggleton P. Tallylicker and controlling it to wreak havoc on enemies? Gone. Not even the extra missions focused on Trishka could salvage this mess. Several updates were released to improve the experience and even add the vulgarity back in but alas, it’s too little, too late.

2. Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator

Nacon’s had some pretty horrendous releases over the years like Gangs of Sherwood and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, but it’s also had winners like RoboCop: Rogue City and Session: Skate Sim. Taxi Life unfortunately falls into the former, as part of the publisher’s iffy “Simulator” series.

The “simulation” part has its share of problems, from the unrealistic behavior of the traffic and passengers to the infuriating pedestrians, who will walk in front of you when the light is green with joyous abandon. The lack of support for many steering wheels is bad enough yet the default controls are equally shabby. Performance, despite the admittedly decent-looking visuals, leaves much to be desired. Creating any sim is a tall task, but Taxi Life makes it seem like a herculean effort.

1. Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash

Imagine being able to launch a video game based on the popular Jujutsu Kaisen series, that too just a few months after the conclusion of the Shibuya Incident. What better publisher than Bandai Namco Entertainment with its success on other shounen franchises like Naruto and Dragon Ball? Unfortunately, Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash isn’t it. It’s little more than a shameless cash-in, existing for no other reason than to cash in on a peak moment in the series’ popularity.

The combat is exceedingly dull, marking a new low for any sense of depth an arena fighter could have. The balance is all over the place, the visuals are ugly and the Story Mode does a horrendous job of representing the first season and Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Any hope of deriving fun from the online multiplayer is quickly dashed by the terrible netcode. Even if you’re a die-hard fan of anime games, Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash is little more than cursed.

Set in a dark fantasy world, Graven puts players into the shoes of an exiled protagonist that has been sent to a mysterious swamp. During the boat trip, however, it becomes abundantly clear that something is very deeply wrong with the swamp, and with nothing better to do, the protagonist decides to jump into the fray and figure out what’s going on. The plot in Graven isn’t going to win any awards by any stretch. It does, however, do an excellent job of giving you a vague objective that can be worked towards, while also creating an incredibly interesting world to explore.

The first thing that will jump out to anyone on starting Graven is just how well the game manages to meld its use of a classic low-poly art style. The art style is meant to evoke a certain nostalgia for games from the late 90s and early 00s, while at the same time making use of modern techniques for various aspects like lighting and level design. The use of modern technology isn’t particularly hard to spot either, since the game’s approach to level design, destructibility and lighting are very clearly making use of current techniques.

It’s thanks to these very visuals that the best thing about Graven becomes abundantly clear to anyone playing—the game knows how to lay down a thick atmosphere. Regardless of what you’re doing, be it exploring a small swamp town ravaged by a mysterious plague and beset by enemies, or underground ruins where the drainage system has been blocked off by piles of corpses, there’s always a level of dread that follows the player thanks in large part to the game’s excellent visuals and art design.

When it comes to gameplay, Graven has a lot more going on than you’d expect. Starting the game out with little more than a staff as a melee weapon and maybe a couple of health potions, Graven initially feels a bit like an RPG. The feeling grows deeper as you crawl into the depths of your first dungeon, where you’ll find your first “ranged” attack—a fire spell. This magic ability isn’t really a real attack, since its primary use is setting environmental objects on fire, and occasionally making enemies take a damage-over-time effect. It is at this point that it becomes clear that Graven might just have a problem with picking a lane and sticking to it.

Graven is trying to be several things—a simplistic open world-ish RPG complete with quest logs, side quests, and even an economy, a tough-as-nails boomer shooter with strange weapons and magic abilities, and even a dungeon crawler with puzzles that have to be solved with the use of the environment and the player’s own abilities. Unfortunately, it’s this lack of focus that makes Graven feel like a rather incomplete title.

"Graven has a lot more going on than you’d expect."

Let’s take combat, for instance. Graven has a host of different weapons available, like a crossbow, a powerful sword, and various magical abilities. Where the combat tends to fall apart, however, is the complete lack of reactions from enemies for anything other than the killing blow. Even the weakest of enemies, like zombies or skeletons, will barely react to being shot by a crossbow bolt, and wacking them with a staff does little more than push them slightly off-balance. The first fire spell you get is also guilty of this, with it being incredibly difficult if you’ve successfully managed to set someone on fire.

On the flip side, it’s not like you can level up and get better abilities to then be able to take on enemies in more destructive ways. Graven isn’t really an RPG, and your only real form of progression is through acquiring new weapons, spells, and potions by either going out in the world and exploring it, or by spending some of your well-earned gold at the nearest blacksmith or alchemist. The journal—an incredibly useful tool in any RPG to keep track of what you were doing—also manages to be little more than a to-do list. You’re not really going to get to make meaningful choices or pick up interesting side quests like you would in an RPG, and the best you can expect from the journal is that it might occasionally give you directions to your next objective.

Even the fact that messing around with the environment is supposed to be a pretty big deal in Graven is more of a surface-level idea than anything. You can’t really get up to immersive sim-styled shenanigans where you get the freedom to figure out your own unique solutions to problems presented by the title. Rather, Graven is strict about what kind of objects in the world you can interact with, and what you can’t. Furniture is an interesting example here, since you can freely use your staff to break apart just about anything you see inside a house, as long as it’s not a shelf. For some reason, shelves are completely indestructible. The world’s interactivity is ultimately in service of keeping the player bound to a linear path rather than offering any new, unique ways solutions to puzzles or combat challenges.

"Graven is quite strict about what kind of objects in the world you can interact with"

The general gameplay of Graven feeling incredibly weak and rather dull does quite a disservice to what is an otherwise very interesting looking game. I want to know what’s going on in this weird swamp, and I’m incredibly curious about what’s going in the rest of the world. The art design being top notch also doesn’t help matters, since despite how lovingly-crafted the dungeons in Graven might be, it doesn’t take long to realize that it has all been in service to a game with fundamentally unsatisfying gameplay.

On a very fundamental level, Graven feels like it’s going through something of an identity crisis. It tries to present this interesting dark fantasy setting in much the same style something like a FromSoftware title would, through the use of environmental storytelling. It also sometimes pretends to be a proper RPG with unique spells, a quest log, and even a character screen that doesn’t really give you any useful information aside from telling you how much gold you have. And then there are its attempts to be a classic fast-paced shooter in the vein of classic games. Sadly, none of these different ideas of what Graven is trying to be ends up being particularly successful.

Graven is one of those games where I really wish I could enjoy it. The world it presented, as well as its art style that feels like an excellent throwback to late 90s shooters were incredibly interesting. Sadly, none of its mechanics ever feel like the mesh together in a satisfying way, and the combat itself feels like it’s there out of obligation, rather than to present any real gameplay challenge that might be interesting or fun for the player.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

While the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake continues to chug along, Ubisoft Montpellier has something different coming up with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It stars a new playable character, Sargon, who must rescue Prince Ghassan.

As a 2D action side-scroller with Metroid-style exploration, it features several time-focused powers, with Sargon also capable of slashing, dashing and parrying attacks. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown could be an interesting spin-off to the main series with an interconnected world with secrets to discover and a fresh story. We’ll find out when it launches on January 18th for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

The Last of Us Part 2 is getting the “remastered” treatment on PS5, with PS4 owners able to upgrade for $10. Available on January 19th, it adds two modes – Fidelity for native 4K and Performance for 1440p upscaled to 4K while improving other visual aspects like shadow quality, level of detail distances and more.

Developer commentary from director Neil Druckmann and narrative lead Halley Gross is included, with actors Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Laura Bailey along for the ride and three Lost Levels cut from the game. Those expecting more gameplay can also jump into No Return, a roguelike survival mode with various playable characters, each having unique abilities and randomized challenges. There’s also a new Speedrun Mode, Photo Mode options, new skins for Ellie and Abby, and more.

Tekken 8

Bandai Namco’s flagship fighter is finally getting a sequel, built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5. Tekken 8 is more than just a graphical leap – it continues the story of Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima while adding the new Arcade Quest. Select an avatar and venture through the world of arcades, battling challengers and building your crew’s reputation. There are 32 playable characters, from classics like Jin, Paul, Nina, Alisa and more to newcomers like Azucena, Victor and Reina.

The mechanics have also been revamped, with the new Heat system leaning into more aggressive play. Sharpen your skills in Super Ghost Battles, take a break with Tekken Ball or improve your combos thanks to the overhauled My Replay and Tips. Tekken 8 launches on January 26th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC and looks to set a new standard for the series.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Touted as the longest game in the series – so long that the development team is worried you’ll get sick if you keep playing continuously – Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launches on January 26th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Ichiban Kasuga returns, venturing to Honolulu City to meet his mother, who was assumed dead for years.

After some shenanigans, he meets up with Kazuma Kiryu, who is on a mission for the Daidoji faction. Old friends return, new characters are introduced, and the turn-based combat offers new mechanics like area-of-effect attacks, easier combos with allies and more. You also have several new activities, from arcade games to Dondoko Island, an entire island community that you build and populate, Animal Crossing-style. Is it too much? Probably, but it also looks amazing.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy

Ryunosuke and Phoenix Wright have had their contemporary compilations, and it’s finally the turn of Apollo Justice. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is out on January 25th for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch, and collects Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice into one collection.

It also includes two Special Episodes previously DLC-only, an Animation Studio for creating custom scenes, an Art Library to view illustrations and other artwork, the Orchestra Hall and much more. If you want to complete the Phoenix Wright journey, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is worth picking up.

Bulletstorm VR

It’s been a while since People Can Fly’s Bulletstorm launched, showcasing all the kicking, sliding, environmental destruction and Skillshots that a first-person shooter could offer. With Bulletstorm VR, players can pull enemies close or redirect them for some makeshift shields. There’s also dual-wielding to add more spice to combat and two exclusive levels starring Trishka Novak, who can utilize energy blades to dismember foes. Bulletstorm VR launches on January 18th and will be available for PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest and PC via Steam VR.

Graven

It’s hard to believe that Slipgate Ironworks’ Graven launched in early access almost three years ago. On January 23rd, it will finally be available for PC (later for other platforms), offering several regions to explore and old-school combat. The full release promises nine new enemies, 13 new weapons and mods, new unique bosses and other challenges. As a Hexen 2 spiritual successor, Graven should offer a compelling dark fantasy.

Enshrouded

Survival crafting games in the vein of Valheim have begun to pop up more recently, and Enshrouded looks like a potential hit (at least based on its demo). Described as “Valheim meets Zelda,” you awaken in the world of Embervale, with a pestilent fog consuming the kingdom.

Explore various locations, from dungeons and caves to forests, while collecting materials and building a base, with NPCs able to take shelter and lend assistance. Craft powerful gear and weapons, then venture into the Shroud to tackle bosses and other threats. With support for up to 16 players and sleek-looking combat, Enshrouded is worth checking out when it launches on January 24th for PC via Steam Early Access.

New Cycle

Have you ever looked at Frostpunk and thought, “But what if with solar flares?”, there’s New Cycle from Core Engage. With the Old World in ruins, it’s up to you to build up a colony of survivors by gathering resources and expanding to thrive. The current state of the world brings unstable seasons and “destructive events,” as the developer describes them, for more challenges to your colony. You also must manage your people’s efficiency and morale, lest they become unruly. New Cycle launches on January 18th for PC.

Then there’s Ghost Ship Games which is known for the co-op first person shooter Deep Rock Galactic. It will remain autonomous though Embracer and Coffee Stain will support it with “new game development projects.” DigixArt is known for 11-11 Memories Retold and the upcoming Road 96 – it will remain independent under Koch Media.

3D Realms and Slipgate Ironworks are interesting though. The former will with Saber Interactive going forward and has six new titles in the works, though CEO Mike Nielsen is setting down in favor of Frederik Schreiber. Slipgate (which is working on Graven) has been acquired for its “proven expertise in development, co-development and porting.” It’s been acquired under Saber Interactive, which means it should be working with the team going forward.

Graven has been described as a spiritual successor of the Hexen games. What was it that prompted the decision to make such a game?

We’re all big fans of hardcore medieval first person shooters, here at Slipgate and 3D Realms. However, the slower paced, more thoughtful shooter within this type of setting, was something we thought was missing. We always wanted a game like Graven, which was the main motivation for us making it.

One look at Graven instantly makes it clear that it’s going for an old-school shooter approach, especially from a visuals perspective, and that, of course, is something that 3D Realms games have often been known to do. With Graven, however, what sort of a balance are you looking to strike between old-school and modernized gameplay?

From a visual perspective, we wanted to create something right out of 1998, however, in terms of the gameplay itself, we’re introducing more modern features. For us, “Old School” doesn’t necessarily mean that the game will feel old to play. For us, the term relates more to taking what we like from older games like Hexen, and innovating in terms of elements we didn’t like. A good example of this is how games like Hexen approached “Quests”. In games like Hexen, “What you had to do” was often so obscure, that it was almost impossible to finish these games, without a strategy guide. This is in stark contrast to how we’re making a game like Graven.

How much of an emphasis does Graven put on its setting and storytelling? I ask because it seems like its dark medieval fantasy setting looks especially rife for some really engaging lore and backstories.

Lore is everywhere, but always in small snippets. We are trying to avoid ever giving the player a wall of text, or exposition dump, but reading what you find is advised. Often these will point toward secrets, or send you down the path for a quest which would not be encountered otherwise. The Priest also makes observations as you progress, noting landmarks or interesting features, referencing elements of the lore, instead of just putting a waypoint marker down. You can largely ignore the lore scraps, but you will be missing out on a lot of opportunities in doing so.

"We are not making a short game, and if you do rush through it, doing the bare minimum for each location, you will miss out on a lot of content in terms of areas, levels, themes, monsters, weapons, potions, and spells."

What can you tell us about Graven’s world as far as things such as size and environmental variety are concerned?

We have three primary biomes: swamp, snowy mountains, and a supernatural desert. These biomes are comprised of outdoor areas, structures such as castles, towns, manors, and cities. Any given sub-area in Graven is roughly 30 minutes of gameplay if engaging in minimal combat and exploration. There are also some surreal and horror areas sown into the game.

Combat is of course going to be a crucial factor in Graven, but what should fans expect from things such as weapons, spells. and enemy designs, and the variety found in these areas?

Spells are for functionality, such as puzzle solving, or managing a tough fight, rather than directly harming. Freeze water to slide across it quickly, magnetize rock to incapacitate enemy swords. Weapons themselves are between the mundane and the fantastic. Crossbows, maces, and your trusty staff, as well as an enchanted almost steampunk like candelabra, crude iron and wood devices for slinging burning peat bricks, magically charged caltrops, and an hourglass which brings purgatory to those before you. Enemies are largely reflective of their biome, perversions of nature, local cults with their own belief systems, and corruptions of reality made flesh. There are also common enemies which can be found underwater, as well as a widespread and more organized cult to contend with throughout the game. Expect to take into account damage types and hit locations, without a rock-paper-scissors behavior.

How extensive are the customization and upgrade mechanics for weapons and spells going to be in Graven?

Upgrades are few but substantial. All are optional, but the emphasis is on expanding their functionality and viability, without changing their identity. You can’t carry everything with you out into the wilds of Graven.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of Graven’s campaign be?

We’ve not calculated that yet, but we are not making a short game, and if you do rush through it, doing the bare minimum for each location, you will miss out on a lot of content in terms of areas, levels, themes, monsters, weapons, potions, and spells. Graven is a game of exploration and experimentation.

Given that Graven will also be available on next-gen consoles, can you talk to use about some of the ways the game will leverage their more powerful hardware?

Absolutely! Even though Graven is not utilizing features such as raytracing, we’re still experimenting with features such as “no loading”, which is something we believe we can achieve with PS5 and Xbox Series X. The additional power of these consoles will also allow us to do proper splitscreen coop at 60 fps, which is one of our main targets!

What frame rates and resolution will Graven be targeting on the PS5 and Xbox Series X?

Our current targets are 60fps, 4k on Xbox One X and PS4 pro, with 120fps, 4k for Series X and PS5. For Switch we’re also aiming at 60 fps.

What are the docked and undocked resolution and frame rate of the Switch version?

We’re aiming to have the game running at native resolution, 60fps on both docked and undocked.

What are your thoughts on the PS5’s custom 3D audio engine Tempest? How much of a difference do you think tech like this will make to how immersive games can be?

Audio engines are definitely not getting enough attention, when talking about next generation features, so we’re really looking forward to how the new 3D audio engine works on the PS5.

"Even though Graven is not utilizing features such as raytracing, we’re still experimenting with features such as “no loading”, which is something we believe we can achieve with PS5 and Xbox Series X."

Since the reveal of the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s specs, a lot of comparisons have been made between the GPU  speeds of the two consoles’ GPUs, with the PS5 at 10.28 TFLOPS  and the Xbox Series X at 12 TFLOPS- but how much of an impact on development do you think that difference will have?

For developers, the increased speed will have a huge impact. Going from one generation to the next is always fun, as it gives developers so much more power to work with.

In terms of the differences between PS5 and Xbox Series X, both consoles are very similar.

The PS5 features an incredibly fast SSD with 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth. This is faster than anything that is available out there. How can developers can take advantage of this and what will it result to, and how does this compare to Series X’s 2.4GB/s raw?

Both are SSDs and both are fast compared to previous generations. So this alone will definitely help with level streaming and loading times. For Graven we’re aiming to have zero loading time.

There is a difference in the Zen 2 CPUs of both consoles. The Xbox series X features 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.8GHz, whereas the PS5 features 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz. Your thoughts on this difference?

On high end AAA games, this might give the Xbox Series X an edge over PS5, however it remains to be seen. For us, and the games we currently make, the difference doesn’t really matter.

What are your thoughts on the Xbox Series X’s Velocity architecture and how it could make development easier on the system?

The Velocity Architecture will hopefully allow us to stream in data much faster throughout the world of Graven, which is a benefit, as we’re aiming to have zero loading screens in the game, with smooth transitions between sections of the game.

So, there is a power difference between the two new consoles, there is no doubt about that. But do you think that power advantage of Xbox Series X will matter because of Microsoft’s cross gen policy?

The power advantage of the Series X will only really matter on very high-end AAA games. But again, it remains to be seen. The power difference between the two platforms is not that important. How competently developers (especially AAA developers), put their games together, will dictate how much power they can get out of the new systems.

"Audio engines are definitely not getting enough attention, when talking about next generation features, so we’re really looking forward to how the new 3D audio engine works on the PS5."

Do you think the Xbox Series X will out-power most gaming PCs for years to come?

It depends on how you define “most gaming PCs”. Most gaming PCs are sold to teenagers, who only want something to play Fortnite and Counter-Strike on. So if we’re talking about the mass-market gaming PCs, then yes. The upcoming consoles will be more powerful. However, enthusiast gaming PCs will outperform the new consoles by far, especially with the new Nvidia 30- series of GPUs.

There was a comment recently by a developer who stated that the PS5 is easy to code for compared to Xbox Series X. What are your thoughts on the same?

The Xbox Series X is DX12 based. On paper, it’s relatively straightforward to code for, if you’re already working with DX based games on PC. But this question is more related to which kind of game you’re trying to port, or develop for each platform. Both have exceptional tools.

The PS5 and the Xbox Series X are both impressive pieces of machinery, and in many ways both are evenly matched. But while both have advantages over the other in unique ways, in terms of pure raw power, there’s little doubt that the Xbox Series X is the console that comes out on top. But how much difference is that gap going to make?

According to 3D Realms, developers of the upcoming first person action title Graven, it won’t make an awful amount of difference. Speaking to Graven’s lead designer David Queener and 3D Realms VP and Graven’s director Frederik Schreiber in a recent interview, we asked if they felt the gap between the two consoles – however small (or not) it may be – will make much of a difference, and their answer was that that will probably only be the case with “very high-end AAA games.”

“The power advantage of the Series X will only really matter in very high-end AAA games,” the developers said. “But again, it remains to be seen. The power difference between the two platforms is not that important. How competently developers (especially AAA developers), put their games together, will dictate how much power they can get out of the new systems.”

It makes sense that the premium first party studios at both Sony and Microsoft will likely be looking to get the most out of their respective console’s hardware, but with multiplatform developers who will be looking to achieve parity in their games across all consoles, it’s doubtful that we’ll see a lot of differences between the two consoles. Of course, the Xbox Series S is also a crucial factor that might have something to say in this situation.

3D Realm’s Graven launches next year for PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Our full interview with its developers will go live soon, so stay tuned.