Turns out the answer isn’t a simple yes, as the latest developer showcase focused on how you need to prepare every time you accompany Seven on another foray into dangerous and hostile territory as he searches for his missing daughter. It isn’t just your loadout of guns and armor – you’re going to have to think carefully about the type of vehicles you want to be using to make your entry, as that’s a detail that’s going to determine your mobility in engagement zones where the terrain might favor one vehicle type over another.

Combine that with enemy types that need viable strategies to take down, and you’ll probably welcome the option to seamlessly tag along with other players and work through objectives together.  It’s interesting to see how all of this blends with the world, but until then, the showcase below is worth a watch.

Of course, other improvements abound for character lighting, depth of field, tone mapping, and more on all platforms. It should also perform better with less artifacting from the Dynamic Resolution Scaling. Best of all, you can now enable settings such as bloom, depth of field, and light shafts.

Otherwise, there’s the standard array of fixes for issues like Geralt somehow colliding with corpses that he recently executed with Aard, an “unintentionally delayed” response when dodging, and stamina fully draining if you sprinted and dodged simultaneously. One useful improvement is that the Exploding Shield now reflects damage at attackers.

Check out the full patch notes below. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered is also available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. The free update launched with massive fanfare but received backlash from PC performance issues and various bugs. CD Projekt RED has been relatively on top of these, but the core experience is still absolutely stellar – check out our review for more details.

Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where the “Automatically Apply Blade Oils” feature would work only if enabled during the current game session.
• Fixed an issue where, under specific circumstances, player-controlled boats could start moving uncontrollably and ignore terrain collisions.
• Improved ladder interaction animations.
• Fixed an issue where Geralt would collide with dead enemies after the Aard finisher.
• Fixed an issue where Vesemir would repeat a line if Quen was cast multiple times.
• Fixed an issue where dodging could have an unintentionally delayed response.
• Fixed an issue where it was possible to throw a bomb even if the option is disabled.
• Fixed an issue where the bonus granted by the Synergy skill displayed incorrect values.
• Added damage reflection to the Exploding Shield skill.
  Fixed an issue where Geralt’s Stamina would be fully drained when sprinting and dodging at the same time.

UI

• Fixed an issue where the “You’ve gained an ability point!” pop-up could stay stuck on the screen.
• Fixed an issue where input hints flashed for a brief moment on the meditation screen.
• Fixed an issue where the Potions tutorial didn’t appear after accessing the Consumables tab.
• Fixed some misaligned progress bars in the UI.

Visuals & Performance

• Made various visual adjustments, including improvements to Bloom, tone mapping, character lighting, Ray Tracing, and Path Tracing.
• Added Bloom, Light Shafts, and Depth of Field options to the graphics settings.
• Made various optimizations to improve performance.
• Fixed an issue where Dynamic Resolution Scaling could cause visual artifacts in certain configurations.

Audio

• The fix for voiceover audio becoming significantly quieter than other in-game audio after navigating through the pause menu tabs is now also implemented on consoles.

Nintendo Switch 2-specific

• Made adjustments to image sharpening and resolution to improve visual clarity and fidelity.
• Fixed a rare crash that could occur when changing between in-game regions.
• Optimized cache handling for Cross-Platform Mod Support.
• Fixed an issue where HD Rumble could only be felt in the left Joy-Con 2 when climbing a ladder.
• Fixed an issue where map pins could be placed on the black bars surrounding the map.

Other

• Due to backend issues, the policy consent screen will appear again. You’ll need to confirm your preferences once more. Choosing to opt in helps us improve the game.
• Fixed an issue where My Rewards and Twitch/Bilibili Drops wouldn’t appear in the chest in Vizima if it had been opened previously. As a result of this fix, some of the items may be duplicated. Consider them a bonus!
• Fixed an issue where foliage did not react to collisions.
• Fixed an issue that could affect save file data and added measures to address saves that may have already been affected.
• Ukrainian text localization is now available in all regions.

Up to five players can participate, and with the various locations, you can allocate one to each, or split the group in different arrangements. Custom Mode, despite the name, involves simply playing when it’s your turn.

Round Robin is more interesting because you have limited time before the game swaps to another player. And of course, you can vote on choices, with the results revealed afterwards. Unfortunately, crossplay isn’t available, and each player needs a separate copy.

This update includes 13 new Premonitions about forthcoming events, which should help keep you alive (or hasten your death if you ignore them). There’s also new DLC that adds retro-futuristic suits for the crew, in case you weren’t feeling fashionable enough while struggling to survive.

Directive 8020 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out our review, where we gave it an 8 due to the presentation and the paranoia in its sci-fi setup. On Metacritic, it’s currently at a 72 Metascore based on 61 reviews.

This guide for Enshrouded is all about farming the Runes you will need, not just for skill resets, but also weapon and armor upgrades, and other enhancements.

How To Respec

The respec function is readily available at any of your Flame Altars as the ‘Reset Skill Points’ button, and requires nothing more than Runes to spare.

However, that cost in Runes is based entirely upon the number of skill points you have already invested into the tree. You can, of course, only refund nodes instead of the whole tree, though you will have to pay attention to other dependencies.

How To Farm Runes

As a currency in-game, you can never have enough Runes, especially as you approach the endgame. Fortunately, much of the Rune farming opportunities are presented hand-in-hand with other activities, making it worth your time.

Salvaging gear is the most consistent source of Runes, since you will be acquiring scores of weapons, armor, and other recyclable items in your explorations.

Gear that you find in high-tier chests is the best of these, since that directly translates into an increased turnover in Runes. Respawn timers on the chests prevent you from simply reloading saves, so try and identify multiple loot routes that you can run while you wait.

Don’t even hesitate to salvage your duplicate drops from the epic and legendary tiers, and you should dispose of them rather than have them occupying storage space.

Beating fell enemies can provide some good Rune rates, with elites and bosses offering much larger drops.

Those are all the best sources of Runes you can grind, as well as how to reset your skill tree in Enshrouded.

This guide for Enshrouded is all about leveling up as quickly and efficiently as possible, with minimal effort.

Questing

Progressing the story remains the biggest single source of XP, 49,825 XP to be precise, but it also serves to put you into the path of earning XP from other sources such as location and item discovery. There are 171 of these awarded, so they will eventually dry up as a source for XP.

Make awakening survivors a priority whenever available, as they themselves are major quest-givers.

Exploration

Discovering new locations around the open world supplies a routine amount of XP, but with a much lower individual payout than quests themselves. With scores of places to explore, it can be a steady source of early game XP, but is actually lower as a total lumpsum than collecting item sets.

Item Sets

There are 126 item sets in the game, each awarding XP, with the highest offering up to 2,200 XP for completion. These will eventually contribute a total of 48,925 XP to your pool, by the time you are done.

Mining

As the most dependable source of XP, with little to no stress as well as minimal effort, mining the right resource materials will eventually provide you with the lion’s share of your total XP pool.

• 12 XP Celestium Ore
• 12 XP Diamond
• 10 XP Amber
• 10 XP Amethyst
• 10 XP Aquamarine
• 10 XP Flintstone
• 10 XP Gold Ore
• 10 XP Iron Ore
• 10 XP Lapislazuli
• 10 XP Mother-Of-Pearl
• 10 XP Silver Ore
• 10 XP Sulfur
• 10 XP Tin Ore
• 9 XP Copper Ore
• 8 XP Obsidian
• 8 XP Red Marble Fragment
• 7 XP Fossilized Bone
• 5 XP Coal
• 5 XP Salt
• 4 XP Lump of Clay

If you are determined to make mining a particular ore a source of your XP grind, bear in mind that resources within the area of a Flame Altar do not regenerate.

Combat

Taking on enemies that are levels above you is the ideal source for XP gains, with fell, elites, and bosses offering up massive payouts of course.

For each level an enemy is above yours, you will receive a 10% bonus to XP, but with that reward comes the risk of death as well as the loss of your time and effort. The maximum cap is 90% of base XP, which is awarded from beating enemies ten levels above your own.

The reverse is also true, in the event that you attempt to farm lower-level enemies instead: there is a 10% penalty to XP gained for each level lower they are than you.

Having additional players in your group also reduces XP payouts, 5% per additional player. The minimum is finally capped at just 60% by the time you have nine players, but this presents opportunities to take on much higher level enemies

That is everything there is to know about sources for grinding XP in order to reach the new level cap in Enshrouded.

As you delved deeper, the many problems became more apparent. Level design became repetitive, as did enemy variety, and even as the gameplay loop revolved around slaying out as quickly and brutally as possible, Boltgun went about that in some pretty unextraordinary ways.

Cue Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2, which aims to address almost every single shortcoming from the original, particularly the level design. Almost like the team had something to prove and set out to implement almost every non-stealth first-person trope it could, to fantastic results. Even if it falls prey to some of its predecessor’s issues, the result is a boomer shooter worth more than the initial playthrough.

"Just when I thought Boltgun 2 didn’t have any other tricks up its sleeve, it surprised me with some platforming sections and environmental hazards."

Story-wise, you’ll be shocked to learn that xenos need purging. While the Imperial fleet orbits Akrimonus Prime, the planet is suddenly corrupted, causing massive damage. With enemy forces roaming unchecked, it’s all you can do to suit up as Malum Caedo or newcomer Nyra Veyrath to purge them and escape.

Overall, it’s a simple yet compelling set-up, and navigating through the broken corridors of the ship, obtaining your arsenal and learning all the mechanics is handled well enough. Of course, from there, the mission structure follows a generic “purge corruption” narrative.

But the good news is that it facilitates mission chains and side operations that can tell their own intriguing stories. “There is Only War,” for example, places you on the front line en route to a munitions facility that soldiers are protecting, fighting alongside Krieg Death Korps. It’s the perfect opportunity to become acquainted with Boltgun 2’s more open environments. And these aren’t just open killing fields either. Enemies are set up in destroyed buildings and various pillboxes, using every ounce of advantage they can get. From there, you’ll transition into actual trench warfare, presenting excellent opportunities to charge through and turn enemies into a fine crimson paste – all of this and more before you even reach the munitions facility or the capital.

Boltgun 2 mostly picks up from there, as you venture into a dilapidated prison with claustrophobic corridors and enemies hiding between every sealed cell; navigate blood fortress, sweeping through one moment and gradually discovering a massive threat that awaits below; and perhaps my favorite, venturing into the core of a corrupt moon, navigating a cargo train (and fighting off enemies running parallel to it), and using minecarts to descend further in, splattering any unwilling enemies in the way.

And even if I occasionally had to be reminded where to go, courtesy of the nifty navigation feature, the level design flowed naturally, right down to the Purge sections. Just when I thought Boltgun 2 didn’t have any other tricks up its sleeve, it surprised me with some platforming sections and environmental hazards.

"I’m a bit disappointed that Malum gets one new armament – the Frag Cannon – while the Vengeance Launcher is gone…I’m also not a big fan of how the Heavy Bolter feels when readying it compared to the original."

Yes, much of the progression revolves around the same key-finding gameplay loop that’s defined boomer shooters for decades. However, it rarely feels canned or reduces the action to simply wandering around, trying to find what you need to progress. That said, there are some levels I wasn’t the biggest fan of, namely the first mission of Welcome to the Wilds and the second mission of Breaking the Ice, both featured in the demo conveniently enough. I wouldn’t categorize them as outright bad, but in the grand scheme of purging, there are other levels which feel far beyond them in terms of overarching quality and mechanics.

Did I mention the enemy variety? Because beyond simple grenadiers and foot soldiers, you’ll contend with Daemons, some perfect for cutting down to size with melee strikes and shotgun blasts, and others that require more backing away and kiting to avoid the majority of their damage. Between the Bloodletters, who you’ll be tempted to gun down mid-jumping slash to the Berserkers that you should execute ASAP, lest they become frenzied and much stronger near-death; or the marines whose war projectiles will disorient as phase-shifting Scarab Occult Terminators attempt to gun you down, there are a lot of different threats that mix up the gameplay in compelling ways.

None of this would matter if Boltgun 2 felt horrible to play, but that’s thankfully not the case…for the most part. Both Malum and Nyra feel fantastic to control. The former embodies the weightiness of an Ultramarine and has higher base health (even more than in the demo), while the latter is quicker, has higher base armor (which is still odd) and can slow down time when jumping mid-slide. They leverage the basic premise of forward momentum – where slain enemies will drop bits of health and armor, so the key to survival is slaying out even harder – and feel fun in their own right.

Then there are the weapons. I’m a bit disappointed that Malum gets one new armament – the Frag Cannon – while the Vengeance Launcher is gone. The Meltagun is also different, feeling more like a mid-range beam than the thermal shockwave seen in its predecessor or even Boltgun 1. I’m also not a big fan of how the Heavy Bolter feels when readying it compared to the original. And while many of the new weapons, including the Heavy Flamer and the Stake-Thrower, lay with Nyra, the latter is a bit awkward to use at times. At least the Melta Bomb hits hard enough, though its deployment takes some getting used to.

"It may not rewrite the genre’s rulebook, but as a title that channels so much terrifyingly awesome stuff from its universe, there’s a lot to like and more than a few things that would make the players proud."

With enemy tankiness being a concern in Boltgun 1, the sequel feels better in places. Tearing through foot soldiers with a Boltgun, sometimes a single shot at a time and others requiring two, feels immensely satisfying. It also makes sense that your heaviest weapons were suited to the bigger foes whose lore-accurate power is no joke. Some foes felt like they required a few too many shots to kill, even on Medium difficulty (*cough*Tormentors*cough*), but it didn’t feel overtly egregious. I didn’t venture into the highest difficulty, Exterminatus, but Hard still felt like it adhered to that philosophy of forward momentum, even if tap strafing felt much more essential to survival.

Presentation-wise, and it should come as no surprise, the pixel art still looks phenomenal, and arguably even more so given the wider range of environments that you’ll traverse. Seeing Auroch Digital faithfully translate the Warhammer universe into this art style while keeping that same atmosphere and feel is great. If only the music could match up. No, not the final boss battle, composed by Mick Gordon and utterly fantastic, but the rest of the game, especially with how non-existent it can feel at times.

Despite its shortcomings, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is a worthy follow-up and deserving of your time, whether you’re a fan of boomer shooters or 40K. It may not rewrite the genre’s rulebook, but as a title that channels so much terrifyingly awesome stuff from its universe, there’s a lot to like and more than a few things that would make the players proud.

This game was reviewed on PC.

What’s more, it’s a blend that does things well from what we’ve seen of the game. Exploring the world, engaging with additional content, and the rewards you derive from it all seem to feed into each other and the combat system in a way that could see Soul stand tall among all the great new faces we’ve met over this year.

But why do we think so? What has us this optimistic about a game that’s still close to one week away? We’re happy to tell you everything we’re thinking, as always!

Discovering Density

The promise of eight distinct maps, each of which looks quite big and filled with things to discover, is among the biggest draws of the Wulin, and is such an obvious one we decided to tackle it first. Each one has been described as an open zone with a linear path to the next story beat, with optional detours for you to explore.

That sounds quite formulaic on paper, and it’s kind of been done already in Nioh 3 and a few other titles. Assuming each map is a self-contained chapter with some overlap between regions, we’d say there are merits to the approach that are specific to Soul’s story, and the way the world blends martial arts and steampunk.

It’s interesting, then, that the traversal mechanics are as impressive as the moves Soul pulls off against equally skilled foes. We’ve seen him run along walls in the return of a mechanic we’ve missed over the years, climb up chains or swing from them, and generally interact with levels that seem designed around verticality and layered discoveries that come from engaging with more of the world that the story requires (more on that in a bit).

But we’ve seen several games that make moving through the world as awesome as everything else you do in it. Marvel’s Spider-Man immediately comes to mind as a title where many of us forgot that the subway exists thanks to how web-slinging our way around New York not only felt faster, but was just so damn fun! Having that on offer in a game that relies heavily on stylish moves and spectacle is definitely a plus for its world, but is that enough to make that world worth encouraging with?

There’s also the potential for distinct regions that stand out from each other, and it is already evident in what we’ve seen so far. Of course, that variety isn’t going to mean much if it’s only visual without meaningfully tying into the things you’re doing there, which means we’ll take a little detour to discuss how the world entices you to go off the beaten track. We’re happy to have glad tidings on that front, though.

The Art of Conversations

Soul might be on a ticking clock, but he clearly needs every advantage he can secure against enemies who offer him no quarter, especially if you’re going to be diving into the game’s Hardcore mode on launch. That time constraint and the sheer difficulty of his effort to restore his heart and clear his name in the process can seem like a deterrent toward allowing distractions to steer your decisions.

However, that changes when the distractions in question are so compelling, while the rewards they dole out could justify indulging them in the first place. Take that archer on a rooftop we saw in one of the game’s previews, for instance. His need for the return of his damaged bow might seem trivial in the face of Soul needing to replace a damaged heart.

But when you consider that acceding to the request yields a ranged Phantom Edge to use, that changes the equation considerably. We’re not going to assume that every side quest is going to yield similarly useful rewards, but we think that the intrigue itself is a great indicator of side content that encourages curiosity. To think that a single conversation could shape the way you enjoy the rest of the game is something to consider when you think about why the Wulin could be as compelling as the battles it brings you to.

That’s especially good considering that your maps of each region are only meant to point you in the direction of interesting discoveries, and you’re going to have to engage with the level design and traversal mechanics to actually get to them. Factor in regions that are locked behind specific tools, and you begin to see the underpinnings of a world that’s designed to be as engaging as its story and combat.

There’s an implied purpose to each detour you could take, and whether it stands realized at the end of the trip stands to be seen. But the fact that there is a solid reason to let Soul try to help the people he meets on the way to his redemption is good news for the experience overall.

And while we’re on the subject of the overall experience, it’s time to look at how the world weaves in its thematic influences, tying them quite spectacularly with its mechanical foundations.

Less Repetition, More Experimentation

Two mechanical aspects of Phantom Blade Zero have stood out to us in our ruminations on how the Wulin is important to the game’s success. One: enemies you kill remain dead when you return to a previously visited area, a departure from established traditions that comes with immediately tangible gameplay impacts. Two: you’re not tied to a specific weapon and skill loadout, and are free to respec as many times as you’d like, which is something that’s slowly catching on and is certainly welcome to those of us who like to tinker around with different builds without needing to begin new playthroughs.

But it’s more than that. The absence of respawning enemies means that there’s a limited amount of XP to go around upgrades-wise, and that means you’re going to be more deliberate in how you spend it all. It could also mean replay value in your current playthrough while also being a strong reason for subsequent ones.

Revisiting areas you’ve cleared before is sure to be easier than it normally is in similar experiences since there are no enemies to deal with. It could also mean you get to explore each place with a fresh set of eyes without having enemies interrupting your search for more secrets. However, is that necessarily better in a game that does place a heavy emphasis on its combat system?

You might say that having fewer fights in a game like Phantom Blade Zero is a risk, and we’d agree. It would mean that the Wulin must bear the brunt of keeping its levels interesting enough to warrant returning to them. But those eight maps, and distinct steampunk-inspired additions to traditional Chinese structures, seem inspired and seem well-suited to keeping the flame of intrigue alive.

From the bandit-infested valleys to that creepy warehouse with puppets suspended in the air, and that metal tower with pagoda roofs and steampunk chimneys that houses the Lion Dance Grandmaster, there are tangible changes in the visual signature, geography, and atmosphere in each region to justify its existence and lend some much-needed variety to the game when you’re not wielding a blade.

That each boss and perhaps even grunt enemies we’ve seen seem suited to the region, coming with distinct movesets that reflect the themes on display, is a showcase of a lot of thought being sunk into how the Wulin can have a lasting appeal outside of the epic battles it lets you be a part of.

The Promise of Potential

There’s every chance that the Phantom World becomes a viable star of the show in the final game, but it’s going to depend on its many elements coming together well enough to sell it. The atmosphere must draw your attention, the navigation and traversal must sustain it, and there need to be meaningful rewards or discoveries at the end to reward your efforts.

With concerns about early enemies posing a rather lackluster threat level, there’s already a little scope for a lack of momentum between bosses. However, we believe that isn’t going to be a problem for those of us diving into Hardcore Mode right off the bat, and it might even encourage more of you to do the same.

But the sheer potential of a world that’s packed with so much detail and integrated so well into the gameplay loop cannot be denied. The Wulin might not be the greatest place for Soul to exist in thanks to the circumstances, but it’s definitely looking like a world we’re going to be yearning to return to every time we have to leave it.

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.

"Atari and Digital Eclipse have teamed up once again to bring the beloved licensed platformer to modern platforms"

The original Toy Story 3 came out at the tail end of the era where we would still get multiple discrete versions of a game across different platforms, but despite its name, Complete Edition doesn’t quite compile all of the content from all of those versions into a single, unified package. This remaster is based on Toy Story 3’s PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, which means the exclusive levels and content from the PS2 and PSP versions (which were very good in their own right) and the DS version are MIA here. That is certainly a disappointment, though then again, it’s difficult to imagine a solution to this problem, short of Atari and Digital Eclipse including all versions of the original release in Complete Edition. That said, the previously PS3 exclusive ability to play as Emperor Zurg in the Toy Box mode is included, while Complete Edition also adds four new theme packs to customize the town with in the aforementioned mode, so that’s something. Still, Complete Edition is something of a misnomer here.

Luckily, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Toy Story 3 weren’t no slouches, which means what is on offer here in Complete Edition has plenty to enjoy, even if the release isn’t quite as comprehensive as some might have hoped. Present and accounted for here are both, the story mode, which tells a version of the movie’s tale, and the Toy Box mode, which lets you freely run around a customizable town full of missions, side missions, collectibles, and more. Both modes also allow players to swap between Woody, Jesse, and Buzz as playable characters, each of whom has their own unique abilities.

"Luckily, the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Toy Story 3 weren’t no slouches, which means what is on offer here in Complete Edition has plenty to enjoy"

Where story mode is concerned, Toy Story 3 functions as a linear platformer with all the bells and whistles of the world of Toy Story. Narratively, the game doesn’t really match up to the highs of the movie it is based on, though that is perhaps an unfair expectation. Toy Story 3 the movie, like other instalments in the franchise, is a benchmark for animation filmmaking as a whole, especially where writing and storytelling are concerned, and that is definitely not something that the game was going for. The game, instead, loosely follows the movie’s story, covering all of its main beats, adding in flourishes of its own, and deliberately skipping over a lot of the details and nuances.

Outside of those obvious narrative deficiencies though, the game does a great job of capturing some of the movie’s best moments and sequences in delightfully crafted platforming levels. From Andy’s room to Sunnyside Daycare and more, Toy Story 3 allows players to roam around in several iconic locations from the movie while navigating fun platforming challenges. The platforming itself never loses its charm, while swapping between Woody, Buzz, and Jesse to overcome different challenges also keeps things interesting.

It has to be said, however, that Toy Story 3 does stumble in some ways that you don’t want to see in a platformer. Movement can often feel floaty and imprecise, while often there’s also input lag, which can lead to unnecessary moments of frustration. The controls can also sometimes feel a little wonky, and all of these problems put together can sometimes get in the way in ways that feel especially grating in what is essentially a platformer. While some may have hoped that at least the most blatant of these issues would have been sanded out in the remastered Complete Edition release, that doesn’t seem to be the case, which is disappointing.

On the other hand, the game does know how to keep players interested as far as gameplay variety is concerned. Moving from level to level is always fun, not only to see what kind of new environment you will find yourself in, but also to experience new kinds of minigames, challenges, and more. From levels focused on Buzz Lightyear’s adventures as a Space Ranger fighting against the evils of Emperor Zurg, to minigames involving horse riding, racing around rooms in Hot Wheels-esque cars, and more, there’s a delightful variety to the activities on offer in Toy Story 3.

"The game does know how to keep players interested as far as gameplay variety is concerned."

And then, of course, there is the Toy Box mode, which I’ve brought up on a couple of occasions. Toy Box serves as a great way to aimlessly run around and tackle compelling and enjoyable optional objectives. You can customize NPCs’ appearances, change what buildings look like, tackle a variety of missions and side missions, and more, all while freely exploring a Wild West styled town. Though not an endlessly replayable mode, Toy Box is certainly a fun distraction. Meanwhile, there are also plenty of collectibles for players to find throughout the game’s offerings, including figures, cards, and more, all of which you can then view in Al’s Toy Store – another fun nod for fans of the movies to appreciate.

In terms of content, then, in spite of the fact that it ignores all but the original game’s PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, Toy Story 3 Complete Edition does pack plenty of punch. It is, of course, also a technical upgrade over the original release, as you’d expect from a remaster. It offers support for up to 4K resolutions and 60 FPS frame rates, though it is, at best, a conservative upgrade. Visually, it looks solid, though that is more down to the charming Toy Story aesthetic than anything else. Meanwhile, though support for 60 FPS is certainly an appreciable step up, I will say that I often ran into situations where the frame rate was buckling visibly. Hopefully that is something that Digital Eclipse and Atari will fix with patches in the coming weeks.

Overall, Toy Story 3 Complete Edition is a conservative upgrade of a solid, beloved diamond in the rough. It is, of course, also a welcome surprise, because a remaster of the Toy Story 3 licensed game wasn’t really something that anyone was expecting (or, truthfully, hoping for). Though it still has the flaws of the original experience and isn’t quite as comprehensive as its name suggests, Complete Edition is a fun, charming, delightful platformer that fans of the Toy Story universe and platforming experiences in general will surely enjoy.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

Webster noted that Fuse Games relied quite a bit on external partners while keeping a small core. With this and what he calls “distributed development”, Webster noted that he doesn’t want to constantly keep growing and shrinking the studio depending on the needs of any given project.

“We want to operate at Premier League level. We know what that takes, but we didn’t want to grow and shrink for a bunch of different reasons. Because when you shrink, there’s a personal impact to people, but you also lose an incredible amount of knowledge, which I think is probably way more expensive to retrieve.”

Discussing distributed development further, Webster said that the team operates on three distinct tiers of game development. The tiers, split up depending on how distant they are from the core teams, involve outsourcing at the furthest tier and in-house work at its lowest tier.

“You give a brief, you get an output back, and you integrate it in. Which sounds transactional, but you shouldn’t treat it as transactional. It’s very important that you build relationships with those folks; you get a better result when you do so.”

A middle tier involves giving self-contained development work to an external team. An example of this, according to Webster, is the photo mode in Star Wars: Galactic Racer. This kind of work tends to be easy to hand off since the team can essentially just provide a brief and make use of cross-discipline teams.

“It’s clear to brief, clear to point to a set of features, and you need a cross-discipline team to bring it together, so you need production, art, UI, and code to create that thing. But because we’re in Unreal, it can be self-contained. So, someone can go off and build that, and we can slot it in.”

Closer still is what Webster calls co-development with workers that “are in our stand-ups, they’re in our Slack channels, they’re in our code base, they’re in all of our team stuff. They are, to all intents and purposes, an extension of our team. They just happen to work for another company.”

Star Wars: Galactic Racer was released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S earlier this month. In our review, we gave it a score of 9 out of 10 thanks to its tight core racing mechanics, satisfying takedowns, and an addictive roguelite structure that ensures that the campaign can offer plenty of variety thanks to the number of builds players can try out for their vehicles. For more on the racing game, check out what Webster has said about modern players’ cognitive loads and how racing games should challenge you.

Planet Zoo 2 makes all the incremental upgrades that you would expect from a sequel of its kind, from an expanded roster of animals and an even greater focus on realism and authenticity to more granular management mechanics and improved visuals, among other things. At the same time, of course, there are also a handful of headlining changes and improvements that the overall experience builds itself on.

"It’s no shock, then, that expectations have been high from the studio’s latest outing"

For instance, in addition to constructing, expanding, and managing zoos, you will now also be overseeing nature reserves. Planet Zoo 2 admirably shines a spotlight on wildlife and nature conservation as one of its main pillars, and nature reserves lead the charge on that front. Reserves task you with overseeing large, natural parcels of land where animals can exist in their natural habitats without any human intervention whatsoever. You can release animals of your choosing from your global network of zoos into reserves, which you can then freely explore on foot or in research buggies.

Creating and managing different ecosystems to suit the different needs of all of your animals is a fun part of nature reserves, while it is, of course, also always enjoyable to drive your buggy around reserves and simply observing (and taking pictures of) animals out in the wild. That said, I do think this aspect of the experience feels a little underbaked. Other than editing the terrain to create new ecosystems and leisurely driving around to look at and photograph animals, there’s not much to do. There aren’t many management mechanics to speak of here, which means there’s little depth in gameplay, too.

When it comes to the zoos themselves, the management mechanics are much more what you would expect from a game of this kind. You’ll be hiring and managing your zoo’s staff, ranging from keepers and vets to mechanics and more; you’ll be worrying over guest satisfaction, and ensuring that your zoos provide the kind of entertainment, comfort, and educational satisfaction that paying guests are looking for; you’ll be prioritizing the health and happiness of your animals, and ensuring that all of their needs are being met. Planet Zoo 2 builds on all of the foundations of its predecessor to allow players an even greater degree of control over all aspects imaginable of their zoos- from the animals to the entry prices, from the amenities to the staff, from the prices at the hot dog stands and gift shops to so, so much more. To the age-old Zoo Tycoon fan in me, there’s definitely a lot to love here.

Given Frontier Developments’ pedigree and legacy, it’s not exactly a surprise that Planet Zoo 2 boasts the sort of systemic and mechanical depth that it does. It is disappointing, however, that where its controls and user interface are concerned, it can often be a bit of a mess. The UI is often difficult to read, the screen is frequently cluttered by an excess of icons and options, and navigating all of those options is frequently far from intuitive.

"To the age-old Zoo Tycoon fan in me, there’s definitely a lot to love here."

I’ve been playing Planet Zoo 2 on the PS5, and I obviously understand that consoles aren’t the best place to play this genre- but Planet Zoo 2 feels like a game that has entirely ignored all of the steps forward that the genre has made with console controls and interfaces over the years. Frontier Developments’ own Jurassic World Evolution games are wonderfully readable and surprisingly accessible experiences even when played with controllers, so it’s baffling to see Planet Zoo 2 making the sort of mistakes that it does. This is a game that keeps getting in its own way- more than a few times, thanks to the finnicky controls and poorly designed UI, I found myself struggling to get through even the most basic of tasks.

A major step that Planet Zoo 2 does successfully take forward is with the addition of fully aquatic or flying breeds of animals. You’re now allowed to build aviaries with dedicated roofs to keep the birds in their exhibits, as well as aquatic exhibits (or, for the smaller species of animals, smaller exhibits in the forms of aquariums and terrariums), while additional customization options are also available, including nests, perches, underwater options, and more. Between the healthy variety on display with the roster of available animals and the level of customization, these new options feel like a valuable addition, allowing players yet more freedom in expression in how they customize their zoos.

All of that is, as you would expect, best enjoyed in the sandbox mode. Planet Zoo 2’s sandbox mode is where the game is at its best, with players being allowed to mess around with its full suite of creation and customization tools with as little (or as many) restrictions as they want. The career mode, however, is a different story. In essence, the mode functions as little more than a set of tutorials to get players used to the game’s core systems and mechanics, as well as some of its biggest changes from the first game. Unfortunately, however, there’s little to be impressed by here. Objectives are usually rote and uninteresting, and can often feel like busywork. Especially when compared to the campaigns in the Jurassic World Evolution and Planet Coaster games, what’s on offer here feels disappointingly simplistic and straightforward.

"Planet Zoo 2’s sandbox mode is where the game is at its best"

Planet Zoo 2 is also an inconsistent experience from a technical perspective. There’s absolutely no doubting that this is an impressive and immediately noticeable step up over the first game. The seven year gap between the two instalments is clear to see on-screen, in everything from the more detailed environments and gorgeous animal models to the mesmerizing and highly authentic animations that virtually every single species in the game boasts.

At the same time, however, the game also suffers from some significant technical deficiencies. For starters, load times are quite long when hopping from location to location, especially in career mode- which isn’t something that I have been used to criticizing games for in the PS5 era. I have also encountered a few frame rate drops here and there, though most egregiously, there have been a handful of bugs that have either soft-locked progression, or outright blocked progress and forced me to restart the career mode from the very beginning- the latter, in fact, has happened to me multiple times in the time that I have spent with the game so far. Frontier Developments does admittedly have a history of putting out games that are a little rough around the edges at launch, though Planet Zoo 2 feels like one of their rougher releases in a while. Hopefully, fixes are coming soon, and many of them, because several of these issues can actively get in the way of your enjoyment as things stand right now.

Overall, Planet Zoo 2 is an uneven experience. It boasts engaging management mechanics, and the animals – who are, of course, the stars of the show – look better than ever. But though there’s plenty to like here, especially in terms of the layered systems and mechanics, some glaring issues also stand out- like the half baked execution of nature reserves, or the cluttered and unintuitive UI, or the many glitches and bugs that hamper the experience. Planet Zoo 2 has most of the pieces in place to be a worthy follow up to its beloved predecessor, but for now, there’s a lot here that players might find difficult to overlook.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.