At its core, Skull Island: Rise of Kong is essentially a hack-and-slash action game with elements of platforming. The game revolves around the eponymous Kong, and his formative years after his parents are murdered by a vicious dinosaur named Gaw. From a gameplay standpoint, just about every aspect of the game feels like an exercise in poor design and implementation.

To start out with, Kong doesn’t have much in the way of special moves or attacks, limited largely to a shoulder tackle, a 3-hit combo, and the ability to use a heavy attack as a combo finisher. The game provides a taste of the potential abilities Kong will get by putting players in the shoes of his mother for its prologue chapter, which also acts as a tutorial. Some of the fancier abilities that you get teased with include an aimed jump, the ability to headbutt rocks, and the ability to pound the ground so hard that it gives way to the rest of the level.

"The game revolves around the eponymous Kong, and his formative years after his parents are murdered by a vicious dinosaur named Gaw."

Unfortunately, the combat in Skull Island: Rise of Kong, despite its efforts, is terrible. There is little to no reaction by the game’s various enemies to being hit, and it often feels like the enemy animations are skipping over some vital parts. For example, pick up and throw a small raptor and it’ll just about immediately get up with no indication that it was flung away from Kong in the first place. Considering how much of the game’s combat feels like an afterthought—a terrible idea when you consider the fact that combat is pretty much all the game has going for it—the standard 3-hit combo often tends to be the only real way to dispatch enemies, so you won’t really end up caring about any new abilities you unlock.

Speaking of combat, enemy AI is also horrendously broken. An early example of the enemy AI being terrible was the climactic boss fight against Gaw at the end of the prologue, where I was able to simply break Gaw’s scripting by constantly running around it in circles, essentially freezing Gaw in place, constantly turning to get a closer look at you. Smaller enemies don’t fare much better; raptors and crabs will do little more than charge at you in a straight line, with the former often looking downright hilarious doing it since they constantly kept spawning in and running towards me.

The ability to pick up and throw smaller enemies around is borderline useless if you want to use it for anything more than getting a quick laugh. The smaller enemies don’t really seem to take any damage, even if you throw them at walls, and like I said before, they’ll just get right back up and come at you again. The fact that the speed of the throwing animation is a potential upgrade in the skill tree also makes the very idea of trying to use the ability early on against larger enemies ridiculous, since you’ll often end up getting hit by avoidable attacks in your attempts to throw something at the enemy.

"I was able to simply break Gaw’s scripting by constantly running around it in circles"

Even the game’s camera is one of the worst I’ve seen since before developers started designing third-person games around letting the player control the camera. On its own, the camera already feels too far away from Kong, offering a massive field of view, but at the same time just about ruining any sense of scale or perspective the game might be going for. There’s also a lock-on, which pulls the camera back even further, and often allows level geometry—like branches or leaves of a tree—to get in the way of letting you see what’s happening.

Combat isn’t the only place where Skull Island: Rise of Kong fails itself, however. Even just the simple act of exploring its levels often turns into exercises in frustration and failure. At the very core level, the game doesn’t control well. Kong’s animations are selectively either too sudden, or too slow. Hit the jump button, for example, and Kong will shoot straight for the sky. A sprinting jump, on the other hand, seems to take a few frames to go off, and could often mean that you miss your jump because you ran out of land to sprint on, needing you to go all the way back to start all over.

The level design itself isn’t really anything to write home about either. Levels are split into small arenas where you fight things, and long corridors where you’ll be running around and platforming. In fact, the level design downright discourages exploration, since taking a side-path will likely ultimately loop back around into earlier in the level, essentially wasting quite a bit of your time without giving you much to show for it. Sure, there are collectibles to gather, but these collectibles are little more than 3D models in a menu; there’s no backstory or lore associated with them, and even the models themselves tend to glitch out, like showing you a skull while you’ve selected the chest in the game’s collectibles menu.

"Combat isn’t the only place where Skull Island: Rise of Kong fails itself"

Skull Island: Rise of Kong tries to be somewhat clever with its level design by throwing in some metroidvania elements here and there; there are a couple of abilities you need to be able to fully explore the game’s levels. That means that if you want to destroy a wall of rocks that might be hiding yet another useless collectible, you’ll have to come back once you’ve unlocked the ability to headbutt walls. The game even has a skill tree where you can expand on some of Kong’s capabilities. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really make unlocking new abilities easy, and even just the base level upgrades cost 5 skill points. For the sake of context, it took me around an hour’s worth of play time, which involved finishing the entire prologue, and getting into a fair number of fights, before I got my first skill point.

Visually, the game can often look downright ugly owing to its art style, which seems to be going for something resembling a hyper-stylized look with the use of contrasting colors, sharp lighting and shadows, and bold highlights. Sadly, it ends up looking like what I expect a game to look like when it’s early in development, and making use of placeholder graphics.

Alongside its other ideas also being rather poor, a running theme with Skull Island: Rise of Kong is a lack of polish. The game has terrible visuals, some downright horrendous gameplay, and level design that seems to be more keen on wasting your time rather than presenting you with any interesting challenges or rewards. The level of polish is so low, that the game’s taskbar icon on Windows is just the standard placeholder icon any game developed in Unreal Engine has. Unless you’re a massive fan of monkeys, stay clear of this game.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

One of the developers has revealed that work on the game started back in June 2022, and was set to go on until June 2, 2023.

“The development process of this game was started in June of last year and it was aimed to end on June 2nd this year,” said the developer, who remains anonymous. “So one year development process.”

A former developer from IguanaBee stated that this is par for the course for working with publisher GameMill. The publisher reportedly has a reputation for contracting studios to develop games based on major IPs in short periods of time for quick releases.

“It was very common for us not to be provided with all the information about the project,” said the former developer. “Which was quite frustrating when working because we had to improvise with the limited information we had on hand.”

Going by the developers that spoke to The Verge, this seems to also come down to the fact that IguanaBee as a studio was trapped in a never-ending cycle of having to develop games on a contractual basis with publishers in order to keep the studio open.

It is worth noting that, typically, a game can take anywhere from a year to half a decade to develop, depending on the scope of the game and the size of the studio. Even indie studios tend to typically need longer than a single year to develop games for modern systems. Short single-year turnaround time for game development was much more common in the past, when gaming platforms were more technically limited.

Other developers working at the studio have stated that IguanaBee tends to take on these contracts in order to be able to make games it actually wants to make.

“To be honest, they seemed much more motivated and enthusiastic than the rest of the team working for GameMill. Who knows why,” said the former developer in reference to the team at the studio working on puzzle platformer What Lies in the Multiverse.

“It’s a love/hate relationship because they are the ones who accept or give the projects and Iguanabee doesn’t have the means to develop almost anything on its own because well, money,” said the first anonymous developer, who also goes on to talk about the short deadline needing quite a bit of crunch.

“The crunch was really set in motion in February,” said the developer. “I was on automatic pilot by the end of February because all hope was lost.”

Along the way, you’ll explore various locations, from jungles and caves to swamps and mountains, battling all kinds of threats. Kong can unleash powerful combos and his signature roar to send them packing, but he’ll also unlock new abilities throughout the 5-6 hour story. Check out our interview with the developer for more details.

Skull Island: Rise of Kong retails for $39.99, but there’s also a Colossal Edition for $49.99. It includes film grains that mimic the look of the 1933 and 1970s films, the Kong Style Pack to recolor Kong with eight different shades, behind-the-scenes artwork, an orchestral soundtrack and a Boss Rush Mode.

To learn more about the game and what we can expect from its combat, exploration, story, and more, we recently reached out to its developers with a few of our questions. Below, you can read our interview with IganuaBee’s Guillermo Gomez Zará, who’s the lead game designer on Skull Island: Rise of Kong.

"Our game was a collaboration with the author and creator of the lore of Skull Island, Joe DeVito. With his vision and approval, we have adapted the origin story based on Merian C. Cooper’s original King Kong and DeVito’s Skull Island universe – from the art concepts, storytelling and much more to create various environments, enemies, and story that the player will experience in this installment."

What can you tell us about how Skull Island: Rise of Kong will leverage the rich history and lore of King Kong and Skull Island?

Our game was a collaboration with the author and creator of the lore of Skull Island, Joe DeVito. With his vision and approval, we have adapted the origin story based on Merian C. Cooper’s original King Kong and DeVito’s Skull Island universe – from the art concepts, storytelling and much more to create various environments, enemies, and story that the player will experience in this installment.

The game follows Kong from his childhood through his rise to become King. We experience every stage of his growth and participate in his development, which takes place in iconic and unique locations on Skull Island. For example, there will be sections of the game where the flora and fauna of Skull Island has been altered by skullite, an unusual mineral unique to DeVito’s Skull Island. Its effects on the island’s entire biosphere – including Kong himself – are unpredictable! Additionally, the player will be able to explore, fight and gather different collectibles, creating an expanded, more immersive experience into Skull Island and its lore. This game has been built for all fans of Cooper’s original King Kong and those who want to explore the mysteries and wonders of Skull Island.

It seems like combat is going to be a core component of Skull Island: Rise of Kong. Can you tell us about what sort of an experience the game is looking to deliver in that area? What sort of a balance is it striking between empowering players while still providing a challenge?

Our goal is a simple, accessible, and fun game for all players to experience how Kong battled his way to become a King. We have a very easy to learn system of combos and skills that will make the player feel like the great Kong in this dangerous island.

Players will have a skill tree where they will be able to improve their skills according to different variables, adapting it to the combat style they like the most. All this structure was designed echoing and reminding one of the designs of some of the most classic hack ‘n slash games. This will offer a variety of ways for Kong to fight, allowing for a lot of replayability. The challenge will come in how the players use their different skills to defeat a wide array of enemies in their respective hordes and dangerous combat zones. We want it to be an entertaining experience above all.

King Kong has always been associated with scale, so what should players expect from the game on that front, especially where its boss fights and set piece moments are concerned?

In Skull Island: Rise of Kong, we want the player to feel like a giant creature inside this island. Throughout the levels, the player will see how Kong grows, both in size and in ability, to face all the dangers that lurk around him. But his appearance will be more imposing against the island’s bosses, which will pose him a challenging fight in both size and skill. It is important to remind fans that the Kong in our game is based on the works of Cooper and DeVito. Kong’s height will grow to approximately 30 ft tall.

"Our goal is a simple, accessible, and fun game for all players to experience how Kong battled his way to become a King. We have a very easy to learn system of combos and skills that will make the player feel like the great Kong in this dangerous island."

What should players expect from the variety of enemies and bosses Kong will be locking horns with in the game?

In our game, we tried to generate a diverse fauna of enemies that adhere to its different biomes. Each adversary has its respective behaviors and attacks that will test the player. Players will see some new enemy designs that have never been seen before. Some examples include giant sand worms, colossal crabs, and deadly spiders. Most dangerous of all the monstrous Gaw, queen of a dinosaur subspecies called Deathrunners–forward evolved super saurians. These sentient terrors will stalk and surprise the player out of nowhere and are among the creatures that are waiting for you to discover and fight.

What can you tell us about the set of abilities players will have access to in the game and how much variety they’ll offer? Will abilities apply only to combat, or will some of them also be traversal- or exploration-focused?

The skills we have given the player have multiple uses throughout the game. The basis of the different skills is to give the player more tools to survive and fight against the diversity of enemies on the island. In combat, Kong will have a repertoire of basic skills to be able to battle and defeat every type of adversary, as well as navigation and movement skills. In addition, he will also have special abilities that expand these edges including a terrifying roar that can stun enemies in their place.

On the other hand, some skills may be utilized to unlock new paths and areas throughout the game, expanding the exploration of the different levels we have created. This is either by using the strength of his fists or jumping great distances.  As has already been mentioned, the player will also be able to improve these abilities by expanding the unique characteristics of each of them. This provides the player with a wider set of tools for combat, as well as for the continued investigation of Skull Island.

Given that Skull Island: Rise of Kong will see players experiencing the journey of Kong as he goes from orphan to king of the island, how will the game tackle its progression mechanics to ensure players feel that power curve? And on a more visual level, what sort of changes can we expect to see Kong go through throughout the story?

The progression mechanics of our game are focused on exploration and fighting opponents. To earn experience points, you must complete special events. These events will be encountered along the way and will test you against hordes of enemies as well as the use of your special abilities. At the same time, boss fights in each level will give you new abilities and also more experience points. During the game you will see how Kong will grow physically, in size, but also gaining scars among other visual aspects.

"Each adversary has its respective behaviors and attacks that will test the player. Players will see some new enemy designs that have never been seen before."

How much of an emphasis will Skull Island: Rise of Kong place on exploration? What approach does the game take with the design of its levels and environments, in terms of how large and varied they will be?

As mentioned above, the DNA of our game is the combination of combat and discovery of the island’s secrets. The player will have interesting places to traverse as paths to new levels using their special skills. Our levels have been designed both to immerse the player in Skull Island and its mysteries as well as to have different challenging spaces whether it is mobility, combat or the special events, in conjunction with the boss areas. These maps are quite large and have many secrets to be discovered. Along with that, within Kong’s base abilities you will be able to use a special ability to help you find places of interest, collectibles and more.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of Skull Island: Rise of Kong be?

Our game was designed to last about 5-6 hours. It might vary depending if the player is hardcore, casual or a collector (in such case it might be even longer). There is an experience to be had by every kind of gamer and we hope they enjoy it from start to finish.

In a recent interview, we posed the question to lead game designer Guillermo Gomez Zará, who revealed that Skull Island: Rise of Kong will be roughly 5-6 hours long, though depending on your play style and how much you’re focusing on going after things such as collectibles, you can get more out of the game.

“Our game was designed to last about 5-6 hours,” the developer said. “It might vary depending on if the player is hardcore, casual or a collector (in such case it might be even longer). There is an experience to be had by every kind of gamer and we hope they enjoy it from start to finish.”

Zará also touched on how the game will approach exploration, stating the maps that players will be traversing will be “quite large” and will have “many secrets to be discovered”.

“The DNA of our game is the combination of combat and discovery of the island’s secrets,” Zará said. “The player will have interesting places to traverse as paths to new levels using their special skills. Our levels have been designed both to immerse the player in Skull Island and its mysteries as well as to have different challenging spaces whether it is mobility, combat or the special events, in conjunction with the boss areas. These maps are quite large and have many secrets to be discovered. Along with that, within Kong’s base abilities you will be able to use a special ability to help you find places of interest, collectibles and more.”

Skull Island: Rise of Kong is due out sometime later this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A specific release date hasn’t yet been announced.

Our full interview with Zará will be going live soon, so stay tuned for that.

As always with the franchise, Operation Blackout pits G.I. Joe against Cobra and looks for the soldiers to take Cobra down. The twist is that the story is told from both sides, allowing you to control characters from both G.I. Joe and Cobra. There are 12 total characters, six from each side, each of which has a slightly different build, ranging from Roadblock’s strength to Storm Shadow’s agility, and every mission can be played either solo or in local co-op. Each character has a unique starting weapon and ultimate ability, but because every character can wield every weapon, it becomes less about the playable character’s traits and more about your personal weapon preferences, rendering their unique traits generally moot.

At its core, Operation Blackout is a standard third-person shooter. As either a G.I. Joe or Cobra character, you’ll be shooting endless waves of grunts until the game allows you to progress to the next objective. Early on, you’ll find a rhythm of the types of weapons and strategies you find most appealing, and you will rarely have to stray from that strategy, as the game almost never forces you out of your comfort zone.

"Its G.I. Joe skin is enough for a glimpse of nostalgic fun, but after a while, Operation Blackout becomes grating and forgettable."

It can be fun while you’re aimlessly running and shooting anything that moves, but the novelty of doing so quickly wears off as the repetition sets in. Mission structures are almost directly copied and pasted throughout, making the game’s 17 main story missions quickly blend together. The trouble is that it never switches anything up. When you’re on foot, you’ll see everything the game has to offer within the first handful of missions, and it spends the rest of the time repeating what feels like the same mission time and time again. There aren’t any character upgrades, new enemy types, or gameplay twists.

A consequence of such a straightforward structure is that Operation Blackout’s core gameplay is put front and center at all times, which is both a blessing and a curse. The pure combat is relatively fun in itself because of its fast-paced running and gunning that doesn’t tend to let up. When it comes to the actual shooting, though, it becomes much more uneven. Aiming is as floaty as I’ve felt in a game in recent memory, to the point where it is drastically easier to shoot enemies by repeatedly using auto-aim than staying continuously aimed and moving the cursor. Some enemies that zig-zag their way to you are sometimes seemingly impossible to hit, and it can become a coin flip as to who wins the battle.

The fact that shooting is so central to the game at all times makes it very difficult to overlook the frustrating aiming, as most of my deaths came from enemies that evaded my shots by stepping a couple inches sideways instead of enemies who really challenged me or threw me a curveball. This isn’t helped by the AI, which is either reckless or intrusive. Enemies often rush you with no regard for themselves, and, if playing alone, your partner is only noticeable when they stand directly in the way of an enemy rushing you, which happens more often than it should.

"It can be fun while you’re aimlessly running and shooting anything that moves, but the novelty of doing so quickly wears off as the repetition sets in."

Everything comes together to make an experience that’s both unbalanced and unsatisfying. Some enemies can go down in a single shot burst, while others absorb bullets to almost no end. Grenades, too, are so powerful that they easily become a crutch, especially when compared with the idea of using a gun. At some points, encounters can be won with a single well-placed grenade or a couple of headshots, but at others, enemies seem to come from out of nowhere and make the difficulty spike dramatically. It’s ultimately unsatisfying to get through many of the levels, as I often felt I either had gamed the system or was already frustrated in the amount of time it took to beat a mission. Rarely does the game hit a sweet spot that makes it feel like less of a chore to get through.

Some bright spots come in the form of intermittent missions where you control a vehicle through a larger environment. These missions are largely on rails and incredibly linear, but I had more fun shooting from a tank than at any point shooting on foot, and it was always exciting to hop back in and blow something else up. Like the other missions, the vehicle sequences are almost identical to one another and have very few changes, but I generally looked forward to these encounters because they were the most fun and satisfying parts of the game. There are only a few total missions like this, but they’re highlights for a game that desperately needed them.

On a story level, Operation Blackout tells a very familiar and expected G.I. Joe story, contextualizing your missions to take down Cobra through a series of static screens with voiceovers to tell you where you’re going and why. Of course, fans of the series will recognize characters and locations, and it’s certainly made with the fan in mind, especially with the art style that impressively and nostalgically matches the style of the animated series. But this fan service can only go so far.

"Everything comes together to make an experience that’s both unbalanced and unsatisfying."

Environments are very frequently reused, and by the end, you’ll have visited the same Cobra base a handful of times and been returned to other locations more often than not. For environments that aren’t particularly distinct among themselves, they all begin to blur together. Alongside the main story is a local multiplayer mode that pits up to four players against each other in a handful of standard multiplayer modes, including Capture the Flag and Deathmatch, using characters from G.I. Joe and Cobra. Relying solely on shooting, this mode has very little staying power because it both doesn’t have an online component and isn’t introducing anything new to the formula, so it’s altogether very forgettable.

If you’re not already a fan of the G.I. Joe franchise, Operation Blackout does not have much going for it, and, if it weren’t for the G.I. Joe skin, you would never be able to tell it’s a G.I. Joe game. There’s nothing under the surface that differentiates it from any other generic third-person shooter, and its inconsistent and unbalanced gameplay makes it even less interesting. It’s painfully average at almost every turn, and, even with the relatively few bright spots and unique moments throughout, I never felt like I played anything in Operation Blackout that countless other games haven’t done better and more consistently. While those familiar with the franchise may find some nostalgia hidden around the edges, it’s hard to recommend to someone who isn’t already fully invested in the G.I. Joe universe.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to the game’s launch.

"Playing as G.I. Joe and Cobra was a critical design element from the start. Even though Cobra are the bad guys, fans enjoy the Cobra characters just as much as G.I. Joe."

The idea of being able to play as characters from both sides is an interesting one. What led to the decision to give players that option, and what sort of an impact does that have on the story and mission variety?

Playing as G.I. Joe and Cobra was a critical design element from the start. Even though Cobra are the bad guys, fans enjoy the Cobra characters just as much as G.I. Joe. When playing with G.I. Joe action figures, we actively create stories for both Cobra and G.I. Joe, imagining elaborate plot lines for not just Roadblock and Duke, but also Storm Shadow and Cobra Commander.

The story potential this opened up was huge! We were able to offer an entirely different set of characters, each with their own play style. This really adds depth and variety to the game.

It also allowed us to explore Cobra in the story. In the animated series and comic books, Cobra was often shown fighting among themselves. Whether it was Destro or Baroness or Zartan, Cobra members were not always as loyal to Cobra Commander as portrayed themselves. It was fun to develop this with the story.

With a dozen playable characters, can you talk to use how much they differ from each other in terms of playing style and abilities?

This is a great question. Our goal was to create a robust roster of characters that each introduced unique play styles and abilities.At the foundation, is a class system. Each character falls into one of five classes: Soldier, Ninja, Heavy, Skirmish, and Support. Within each class, each character has a unique set of attacks and Ultimates.

For example, Snake Eyes are Storm Shadow both Ninja class. Their strengths are mobility and high damage in close combat. Zartan, on the other hand, is Skirmish class. He works best when eliminating enemies one by one in the most efficient manner. Then you have a character like Roadblock, a Heavy. He is big and tough, almost like a human tank with automatic fire that suppress a large number of enemies. All characters have their strengths and weaknesses, and fun to play for different reasons.

What can you tell us about the weapons players will have access to in the game and what sort of variety they will bring to the table?

Each character has his and her own signature weapon which helps define the character playstyle. This signature weapon cannot be dropped or exchanged. It is a part of the character, as if part of the uniform.

We also feature secondary weapons that help supplement each character’s offensive option. Secondary weapons are shared so can be used by any character. This encourages players to find their preferred mix. These weapons include Shotguns, Pistols, Sniper Rifles, Assault Rifles and SMGs.

"You can play with any character and have a shot at winning, but some characters will have a far easier (or harder) time in some situations."

How do the various character abilities and weapons impact Operation Blackout’s multiplayer modes?

You can play with any character and have a shot at winning, but some characters will have a far easier (or harder) time in some situations. For example, you may choose Snake Eyes for a Capture the Flag for his speed, but Destro or Zartan could really tough to run against. While on the other hand, for a King of the Hill, Destro may look like the perfect match, but Lady Jaye’s ultimate can be great in these dense situations.

The key is to adapt to the situation because there is no one solution that works.

What was behind the decision to keep the multiplayer modes to a maximum of four players?

One of the first pillars of the game was to create an awesome local multiplayer experience. Some of our best memories have been next to our friends and siblings playing games in local co-op. We felt that nothing compares to laughing alongside with your friend solving problems together and celebrating beating a level together, or bragging about beating your friend.

Four players lets more people play on the same screen to maximize that multiplayer experience at home.

Given the game’s multiplayer component, are you considering adding more characters, weapons, maps, or modes to it after launch?

Yes! This is definitely a consideration, and we want to hear from the fans what they want to see in the game. G.I. Joe has a massive universe and lore full of characters and environments we can add to the game. We also can’t wait to hear what modes and weapons consumers want to play.

How much depth and variety can players expect from the cosmetic customization options in the game?

We wanted to have fun with this, so added alternative skins for characters and weapons that players are going to unlock as they progress through the game. It’s really fun seeing you favorite character in winter gear, and we were even able to add some fun outfits. Hasbro was a great partner for this. If fans want more in the game, we want to hear it.

"G.I. Joe has a massive universe and lore full of characters and environments we can add to the game. We also can’t wait to hear what modes and weapons consumers want to play."

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout’s campaign be?

In the Campaign Mode, players will play through 17 missions with a full story. We wanted to bring to life a story that fans of G.I. Joe will love, as if G.I. Joe Operation Blackout was a lost classic storyline of the series. Depending on the difficulty modes players choose, we have seen in our playtest that a first time play through is about 8 hours of gameplay. It can be much longer for the completionist that will complete all the secondary objectives. And of course, there is the multiplayer mode, and I can tell you from personal experience, our team is still having fun with this.

We reached out to Cristian Gonzalez and Daniel Winkler from IguanaBee who answered the following questions about the game.

"Aesthetically speaking, art toys were the primary influence and their infinite possibility to connect with different types of audiences while maintaining their same shape, but changing their content."

What initially inspired the unique concept behind Headsnatchers?

Cristian Gonzalez : Aesthetically speaking, art toys were the primary influence and their infinite possibility to connect with different types of audiences while maintaining their same shape, but changing their content.  I have Kid Robot toys all over my house and office and I’ve always found curious how they connected to such a wide audience, from toy collectors to my mother hahaha. In terms of game mechanics, we wanted to maintain our tradition of mixing violence, dark humor and modern art. Also, we found that ripping heads off was very funny and it lead to making some really gore but hilarious situations.

Were there any particular challenges you faced during the game’s development?

Cristian Gonzalez : I think that, the main challenge was creating a game mechanic and a simple button layout that allowed us to create levels with different themes, but maintaining the humor while playing.

What would you say is a key aspect of a party game?

Cristian Gonzalez : Button layout. The game must be simple enough, so any person can take the controller, learn how to play in a few seconds and let the game generate competition and laughter between the players. I think laughter is the most important factor.

What can you tell us about the gameplay experience in Headsnatchers?

Cristian Gonzalez : You’ve got to be very aware while playing Headsnatchers, because everyone will try to rip the head off of any opponent, so you must fight to survive and win. We also have 25 levels where each one has a different way of winning. For example, in the “Pier” level, you have to take the head off your opponent and throw it to the sea so the shark can eat it. The greatest part is that, even if you lose your head, you can go get it and recover it, because if your head is still in the level, you can still play!

Can you tell us a bit about the ways in which each level is distinctive with its own rules and attributes?

Cristian Gonzalez : As I’ve said before, the central mechanic of the game is to take the head off of your opponent. Now, that’s where each level is different, for example, in the football stage, you must take your opponent’s head and kick it into your field goal to eliminate it, or in another case, you’re escaping prison and you need your opponent’s head to feed the guard dogs and make them fall asleep, so you can escape. So, each level has their own theme, but the button layout is the same in each one, so you don’t have to learn new things for new levels.

What can you tell us about the different weapons and items in the game?

Cristian Gonzalez : In some levels, there are weapons that help you to quickly knock down your opponents. Among these weapons you’ll find shotguns, bow & arrow, axes, swords, guitars, spoons, knifes, bats and many others. Each one has a special move, where you’ll get a flashier and gruesome animation to take the head out of your opponent.

Can you tell us what the single-player mode will be like?

Cristian Gonzalez : We call it “Zombie Castle”, where you must rescue a partner that was kidnapped by the castle’s creatures. You know, a very original and never-seen-before set up. So, you must go through every floor of the castle until you reach the top of the tower. Another interesting thing about this mode, is that each time you play, it’s gonna be a different experience, because each floor will appear in a random manner. It has three difficulty settings, where Hard Mode is too much to handle, even for ourselves. So, each time you finish a castle, you’ll win a new head for you to play in the different modes.

"One of the cool things about the button layout, is the fact that it’s really easy to learn, but if you want to do more moves, some buttons have a second function."

Will there be a high skill ceiling for this game or will it be fairly simple overall?

Cristian Gonzalez : One of the cool things about the button layout, is the fact that it’s really easy to learn, but if you want to do more moves, some buttons have a second function. So, if you hold a button, a new move will be used, so you can use it in more specific settings or time, making the game a bit more competitive and technical.

Will the online component feature some kind of ranking system?

Cristian Gonzalez : We don’t have it planned for launch, but there may be a possibility in the future, who knows.

The game is now confirmed for the PS, which also means it will support the PS4 Pro. Can you please let us know the resolution and frame rate it will run at on the PS4 Pro?

Daniel Winkler: We’re targeting to have the maximum resolution, without lowering the frame rate, but since we’re still working on the polishing and optimization of the game, we don’t want to over nor under compromise yet.

Given that you are now working on both the PS4 Pro and PC, what kind of technical differences did you found between the two?

Daniel Winkler: Headsnatchers is made with Unreal Engine 4, so developing for one platform had made it very straight forward to make everything working well for the other. Only details like the DirectX is not supported by PS4, so, some graphical stuff had to be changed to look similar using Open GL (for example tessellation).

In a recent interview, Mark Cerny, the lead engineer of the PlayStation 4 Pro claimed that converting a base PS4 game to PS4 Pro version is just 0.2 Or 0.3% of the overall effort. What is your take on this? Do you think that the extra work required to develop an additional Pro version will actually be bigger than the number quoted?

Daniel Winkler: Yes, that seems very accurate. Unlike PS3, Sony did a great job at making PS4 an easy to develop for console and that stays true with PS4 Pro. With PS4 Pro, they give us a more powerful console that works with the same architecture. From a developer view, that is awesome!

Is there a specific reason why you are launching your game on the Xbox One?

Daniel Winkler: Actually, we’re not launching for Xbox One yet, but we’re still open to include this platform to our Headsnatchers repertoire in a near future.

"So, as long we have enough people buying the game to have the cost of more content creation covered, we’ll be happily delivering new free content from time to time to the players."

Any chance of a Nintendo Switch version?

Cristian Gonzalez: There’s always a chance, and we think it would work perfectly for it, but for now we’re focused on the PS4 and Steam.

Does the game have any sort of microtransactions or loot boxes?

Cristian Gonzalez: Not at all, you can unlock every extra content we created for the game just by playing the game. Like the old days.

What is your take on the recent trend of Games as a service model and the possible controversial monetization practices arising from it?

Daniel Winkler: It depends a lot on how you are using it on your game. There are cases where it’s very nicely done, like in Overwatch for example. But we all know the dark side of that system. It’s understandable why big companies are trying new models like this one. In an era of abundance of games, making a very noticeable game and also market it in a good way, is more expensive every time. And, people getting used to the mobile schemes and the amount of sales available in every platform, tend to get used to pay less every time, or at least they expect the games to cost less.

So, that puts companies in a hard situation, where they can easily get a lot of money, but in other hand jeopardize the continuity of the whole company depending only on one game. We had very bad times that still stir our stomachs just by remembering, so imagining a similar situation but involving thousands of workers give us shivers.

Well, about Headsnatchers, our main goal is to have the players have an awesome time with our game. And the more people enjoying our game, the happier we’ll be. So, as long we have enough people buying the game to have the cost of more content creation covered, we’ll be happily delivering new free content from time to time to the players.

The current generation of consoles will probably end in the next couple of years. What is your biggest expectation from the next PlayStation and Xbox?

Cristian Gonzalez: We think is very interesting what Nintendo is doing. Doing a portable console, while maintaining the same quality as a household console, that could be a very good goal for others. On the other side of the field, if we continue pushing the power of the consoles, that means fewer things to optimize on and we can just concentrate on creating without any limits. And well, maybe all of the companies will band together to create the one true console, that way we just make one game and don’t worry about ports, hahahaha!

From a developer perspective, do you think the next-gen console era will be the 4K/60fps era?

Cristian Gonzalez: I mean, it’s likely will get to that, but I think players are showing that their interest go more into competing with people around the world and play games that are more ambitious in gameplay and story. Having the latest ultra-mega hyper realistic graphics isn’t that high on players’ lists. Fun over details.

Is there anything more you’d like to tell our readers?

Cristian Gonzalez: We invite you all to play Headsnatchers, so far, we haven’t seen anyone who hasn’t laughed with our game, and all that we want is to see everyone have a blast and fight with your friends in this colorful party of decapitation we’ve made for you.

As the industry continues to speculate on what the future holds for consoles, there can be very differing views on the subject. When the PS4 and Xbox One first launched, some believed that the days of physical consoles were over. As the PS4 attained new heights of success and the PS4 Pro released, followed by Microsoft going all in with the Xbox One X, the stronger bet now is on consoles hanging around for much longer.

That being said, it’s interesting to hear the thoughts of IguanaBee CEO Cristian Gonzalez, who’s working on Headsnatchers for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. When asked about his expectation for the next PlayStation and Xbox One, Gonzalez pointed to the Nintendo Switch as a worthwhile goal.

“We think it’s very interesting what Nintendo is doing. Doing a portable console, while maintaining the same quality as a household console – that could be a very good goal for others. On the other side of the field, if we continue pushing the power of the consoles, that means fewer things to optimize on and we can just concentrate on creating without any limits. And well, maybe all of the companies will band together to create the one true console, that way we just make one game and not worry about ports,” he said, laughing.

Will the next generation mark the reign of 4K consoles running at 60 FPS? Gonzalez believes that the industry will reach that point eventually but for now, many players either want to compete with others from around the world or experience more ambitious stories and gameplay.

“I mean, it’s likely we’ll get to that, but I think players are showing that their interest is more into competing with people around the world and playing games that are more ambitious in gameplay and story. Having the latest ultra-mega hyper realistic graphics isn’t that high on players’ lists. Fun over details.”

Judging by the success of multiplayer games like Overwatch and yearly Call of Duty installments, not to mention the gameplay offered by titles like God of War, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, he’s not wrong. What are your thoughts on the same? Let us know below.