The Last Case of Benedict Fox: Definitive Edition is releasing later this month, on March 26. As mentioned, it will be the game’s debut on the PlayStation 5, while a free update will also bring a new Limbo area where players will be able to test their combat skills, new secrets and puzzles scattered throughout the Mansion, and improvements to the combat and exploration to make for a “more fluid and dynamic” experience.

Also included are new traversal challenges, new story content focused on Benedict’s past, animation improvements, and more. Additionally, the Definitive Edition update also brings support for Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese in the game. Check out its latest teaser trailer below.

In our review of the game upon its original release last year, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “There’s something wildly thoughtful and provocative about The Last Case of Benedict Fox. You’ll find it within this wondrous 2.5D Metroidvania platformer’s beautiful world that is oozing life despite death being front and center. It only wavers in its messy combat experiences with the shadow forces of limbo. Despite this particular fault, there’s still plenty to love.” Read the full review through here.

"This is a story of friendship, a road trip, a fictional immigrant tale, a sci-fi dystopia, and a kind of situation comedy."

Highwater has been available on mobile devices for nearly a year. Was it always the plan to eventually bring the game to more platforms, or was it something that came about following its initial release?

Originally, the game was made for PC primarily. When we were past the demo phase, the Netflix offer happened. We hoped to release Highwater simultaneously on Netflix, PC and consoles, but that didn’t happen for various reasons.

Highwater boasts a very unique and distinctive art style. How did you land on this aesthetic for the game?

The vivid bluish color palette, the fog, and melancholy atmosphere were already introduced in our other games that are set in the aftermath of this fictional ecological catastrophe. The low-poly characters were both an aesthetic and practical solution to the general scope of missions, number of friends in the crew and NPCs in a relatively short development period. Kentucky Route Zero was partly the inspiration behind this look that has a bit of minimalist, moody, theater feel.

Highwater’s dystopian post-apocalyptic setting is one of its most intriguing elements. Can you tell us more about what kind of a story the game tells within that setting and the themes it tackles?

A week before the elites of Alphaville depart for Mars, a group of friends living in a flood zone decide to go on a precarious journey in hopes of sneaking onto the Mars-bound rocket. This is a story of friendship, a road trip, a fictional immigrant tale, a sci-fi dystopia, and a kind of situation comedy. The goal was to make a bittersweet comedy about the apocalypse, to turn the general trope of mainstream apocalyptic entertainment on its head. The setting combines two main influences: Central European modernism (most notably brutalism in Former Yugoslavia) and Silicon Valley singularity-meets-space utopianism exemplified in a mix of Apple HQ architecture, SpaceX, NASA, Buckminster Fuller, and Metropolis. These cityscapes are either steeped in or surrounded by water, which is a cross between the stark images of recent floods globally and Lake Geneva.

"The exploration serves several goals: narrative, finding loot or collectables, and listening to the in-game radio."

How much emphasis does the game place on exploration? How does the experience on that front differ when players are in their boat as opposed to when they’re on land?

The exploration serves several goals: narrative, finding loot or collectables, and listening to the in-game radio. This part of the game connects the “islands” where combat and key story moments take place and has a predominantly chill vibe. Conversely, situations on land mostly lead to conflict with Alphavillians, Insurgents, or other civilians trying to get by in the flood.

Hightower’s turn-based tactical combat is another one of its eye-catching elements, in particular thanks to how it focuses on environmental interaction. Can you talk more about that, and how it sets apart the game’s combat from other turn-based tactics titles?

Our idea was to start with combat that is a bit like a slapstick puzzle: the player pushes or throws found items, breaks tiles with a falling light pole, pushes shopping carts, stuns enemies with a flashlight. We hope this is a fresh take on the turn-based genre. Gradually, as we get closer to Alphaville, enemies grow in number and the combats become more serious, including range weapons, hacking, potions, etc.

With Highwater making the jump from mobile devices to PC and consoles, what sort of changes or enhancements should players expect from the game, whether in terms of visuals, controls, or the content?

Since the game was always envisioned primarily for PC and consoles, it will actually look and perform as it’s supposed to. A lot of elements were polished and two large DLCs will be available at launch.

"Since the game was always envisioned primarily for PC and consoles, it will actually look and perform as it’s supposed to. A lot of elements were polished and two large DLCs will be available at launch."

Roughly how long is an average playthrough of Highwater?

The main story probably takes an experienced player around six hours, and the two additional DLCs add up to a total of eight hours.

Highwater revolves around protagonist Nikos, who kicks off his journey as the world around him becomes more inhospitable to humans, and rumours of the potential of humanity escaping to Mars are swirling around. Throughout his journey to Hightower, Nikos will make new friends, fight insurgents, and ultimately aim to sneak into the rocket before it launches.

The game’s combat system is one of its key features, with the developer emphasizing its tactical and puzzle-centric approach to fights. Players will have the ability to interact with the world around them in a fight. For example, players can push shopping carts into enemies, or knock down a tree on them.

Highwater is slated for release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The Definitive Edition will feature several improvements to the visuals, AI, interface, and puzzles, while overhauling combat and platforming. It will also add new gameplay mechanics. Further details are pending, but in a press release, Rogue Games CEO Matt Casamassina said, “These are substantial, meaningful gameplay and visual improvements that take what was already an absolutely gorgeous, extremely engaging Metroidvania to new heights on PlayStation 5.”

Whether these improvements will come to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC remains to be seen. If it follows the trends of other Definitive Editions, they could receive the new features via a free update. Stay tuned for further clarification.

Check out our review of The Last Case of Benedict Fox here. Along with Xbox consoles and PC, it’s also playable on Game Pass.

On the surface, Sprawl looks like quite a promising game. It has a cool aesthetic, along with some fast-paced shooting action, the ability to slow down time, and a touch of parkour to liven things up. While individual parts of Sprawl look great, the bigger question really is how well these different elements can come together in offering us a game that’s actually fun to play.

When it comes to gameplay, Sprawl isn’t really trying to reinvent the wheel. The basic shooter controls are the same as they’ve been since the WASD + Mouse control scheme was figured out over two decades ago, and the game throws in a couple of extra mechanics here and there to make sure that the action keeps flowing at a good pace. Weapons are just about what you’d expect, with pistols, SMGs, rifles, shotguns, and so on. Where the variety really kicks in when it comes to minute-to-minute gameplay is in the variety of enemies you’ll face off against.

" Weapons are just about what you’d expect, with pistols, SMGs, rifles, shotguns, and so on."

Sprawl starts off quite simple: you’ll have a pistol, a sword, and basic enemies to fight. As you make your way through the game’s opening levels, you’ll slowly expand your arsenal with, for example, dual SMGs, which greatly increases the damage you can dish out at the cost of the guns chewing through their ammo reserves. The katana itself isn’t particularly useful as your primary means of doing damage, but it’ll do in a pinch. Its more important use, however, is the fact that you can use it to land finishing blows on enemies to behead them, which rewards you with health, adrenaline, and ammo drops.

Much like other modern shooters, you’re encouraged to go for special finishing blows in order to keep your momentum going. And you’ll definitely need to make good use of it, since you aren’t particularly hardy. Thankfully, you don’t necessarily have to be in melee range and attack with your katana to get enemies to drop their goodies; even just beheading them from a distance with a well-aimed headshot does the trick. You’ll still have to actually go to the health and ammo pickups, however.

Supplementing the gameplay is the ability to use bullet time, which essentially slows the game down to allow you to pull off some epic action movie moves during a gunfight. The mechanic is important enough to the general flow of a fight in Sprawl that the default keybinds set it to right-click. Bullet time isn’t infinite, however, and you do have an adrenaline gauge, which limits the duration of your slow motion bursts. Going into slow-mo doesn’t really give you any new abilities, however, and it simply allows you to react to threats and pull off some moves in a more precise way than you would have been able to otherwise.

"Going into slow-mo doesn’t really give you any new abilities"

Tying all of the core combat mechanics together is the simple parkour system that adds some much-needed depth to Sprawl’s encounters and level design. Just about any wall can be run on, preserving your forward momentum while also slowly adding some minor downward momentum to give you a time limit for how long you can wall run. Sprawl also allows you to jump off a wall into another wall run, and these jumps can be done thrice before you have to land on solid ground. While the wall running takes some getting used to—and you’ll definitely want to get used to it considering the game’s general reliance on the ability for its level design—once you’ve actually figured out how it works, the game allows you to literally and figuratively run circles around just about any combat encounter you’re bound to face.

Speaking of level design, this is where some of Sprawl’s weaknesses come into play. While the individual areas where you fight enemies are, generally speaking, fine, the overall flow of a level often feels weird. An early level will see you fighting enemies on the street level one moment, and without much in the way of transition, throw you into a wall-running platforming segment revolving around giant pipes, only to ultimately end up fighting your way across building rooftops.

Sprawl also has quite a few technical issues, especially when it comes to how it handles its audio. While you won’t really find anything wrong with it most of the time, any time you load into a new level or continue from a checkpoint, the game plays a loud, harsh sound that seemingly ignores any changes you might have made to the title’s sound volume setting. Players who typically use headphones might want to steer clear of Sprawl until at least this issue is sorted. Other technical issues revolve around how the game sometimes handles inputs, making it really difficult to understand if you’ve successfully started a wall-run.

"The overall flow of a level often feels weird."

When it comes to non-technical aspects, Sprawl only really has one major problem—it’s really bad at actually teaching you how to play. The game features a tutorial in the form of floating windows in its opening level that tell you how you can do something. The problem is that these tutorial windows don’t really spend more than maybe a sentence or two in describing, say, wall-hopping, and you’re expected to just trial and error your way through a challenge to figure out.

When it comes to the story, Sprawl isn’t straying from its genre’s traditions. Players are put into the shoes of protagonist SEVEN—a special ops super soldier that was somehow disgraced, and is essentially out for revenge. There isn’t really much in the way of a deep, complex story here, and if you’re looking for something a little bit deeper than just an excuse to mow down hundreds of enemies, you’re not going to find it here.

The visuals are what really set Sprawl apart from many of its contemporaries. It features an art style that makes use of low-resolution textures with other more modern graphics technologies, giving the game the look of an old-school FPS while still maintaining a high fidelity and frame rate. The best way I can describe the visuals of Sprawl is that it’s what my brain thinks of when I’m thinking about a retro FPS. The art style was similarly expertly used in the System Shock remake from earlier this year.

Sprawl isn’t a game without its problems, both technical and game design. Its poor job of explaining how its skill-centric parkour works, and essentially throwing you to the wolves might be endearing to some, but it definitely puts a blemish on a game that’s otherwise pretty fun if you’re into fast-paced FPSes. The gameplay is the centerpiece in Sprawl, and just about everything else is made in service offering up an entertaining, if rather by-the-numbers fast-paced shooter.

This game was reviewed on PC.

"The game’s themes include topics of nostalgia and our relationship with the past, so it felt appropriate for the player and the game’s protagonist Emily to both experience the story in a way that felt retro."

Homebody uses quite a striking visual aesthetic. Can you talk about how you decided on this look for the game, and how you’ve ensured that it gels with the tone of the experience?

The game is inspired by classic horror games, including PlayStation classics like Clock Tower and Resident Evil and PC/DOS games like Alone in the Dark, games with amazing senses of place and of the relative powerlessness of the player. The game’s themes include topics of nostalgia and our relationship with the past, so it felt appropriate for the player and the game’s protagonist Emily to both experience the story in a way that felt retro. Plus I’m just a really big fan of dithering!

Homebody’s slasher premise is one that’s instantly appealing to horror enthusiasts, with its setting of a hotel haunted by a mysterious killer. How did the idea for this setting first come about? Are there any horror stories across media that you looked to for inspiration?

Horror stories are great at providing pulpy fun while also conveying serious metaphorical weight. A mysterious masked figure with a knife can mean a lot of different things depending on who they’re stabbing, when, and why! Reconnecting with estranged friends in a musty old rental home in the middle of nowhere felt perfect for the game’s themes related to anxiety and the past.

The slasher horror elements of the game were influenced a lot by classic giallo films like Suspiria and the campy slashers of the 70s and 80s like the Friday the 13th series. The game also has a more melancholy and surreal side that was inspired in large part by the films of David Lynch.

It seems like Emily’s relationships with her friends will be an important part of the story, alongside the central threat of the killer. How crucial will that aspect be to the game’s story?

Emily and her friends being trapped in this particular house, at this particular time, and in this particular time loop, is the crux of the game’s story. We really valued making the story dark and creepy but also bittersweet, sad, and often funny, and dialogue with Emily’s friends is a huge part of that. Players will have to discover exactly why on their own, but Emily’s relationship with her friends, and the way it has changed over time, is central to the game’s themes… and she’ll need their help if she wants to escape.

"Horror stories are great at providing pulpy fun while also conveying serious metaphorical weight. A mysterious masked figure with a knife can mean a lot of different things depending on who they’re stabbing, when, and why."

Will players be able to affect the outcome of the story through their dialogue choices?

The game doesn’t have major branching or multiple endings, but it is littered with optional interacts and dialogue topics that will deepen the player’s understanding of Emily, her friends, the owner of the house, and the nature of the time loop and the killer. Throughout the game, the player’s dialogue choices will affect the emotional states of the characters and investigating certain dialogue paths will unlock new ones later in the story in unexpected ways.

What should players expect from a mechanics perspective when it comes to trying to avoid the killer as they make their way through the hotel? Will Homebody feature dynamic encounters on this front? Will the killer have persistent stalker-like AI?

The killer has a dynamic AI system that meticulously stalks the halls of the house. At a certain point each loop, the killer appears and systematically hunts Emily and her friends, and it’s able to investigate interest sources such as sounds in the environment to track down the player. Players should be ready for some unexpected behaviors too, such as the killer hiding in wait to ambush the player in critical areas of the house.

What sort of stealth options will players have? 

You can do simple things like breaking line-of-sight to throw the killer off your trail, or hide in closets to watch and wait as the killer (hopefully) moves on. The killer is also attracted to various sounds in the environment–including Emily’s footsteps, so running with the killer nearby is a guaranteed way to attract its attention.

"The game absolutely takes inspiration from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and other survival horror classics in its puzzle design, with some staples players will recognize from those games."

What can you tell us about the game’s puzzles and how they’ve been designed? Does Homebody take inspiration from genre classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil in this area?

The game absolutely takes inspiration from Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and other survival horror classics in its puzzle design, with some staples players will recognize from those games. The house was designed as an open-ended, non-linear puzzle box, with multiple puzzles to work on at any given time, similar to a more puzzle-focused adventure title like Myst or the horror classic D (which also indirectly inspired the game’s time loop element).

Will Homebody feature any combat elements?

None at all. Your only choices are to run and hide! We really wanted to chase that slasher-movie feeling of powerlessness and the killer as an unstoppable force.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of Homebody be?

Completing the game’s puzzles and story should take players an average of around 8 hours, with more depending on the amount of time they spend investigating every corner of the house and engaging in conversation with Emily’s friends. And of course, their luck/skill at evading the killer.

Set in the same universe as Golf Club: Wasteland, Highwater focuses on Nikos, who learns about the super-wealthy taking a spaceship and abandoning the planet for Mars. He decides to venture to Alphaville and sneak aboard the ship to survive.

The world is flooded due to The Great Climate Catastrophe, and players must venture to various islands by boat. Different characters can join and help in grid-based battles.

Highwater will launch for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch. with pre-orders now available. It’s available to pre-order now. Stay tuned for more details, gameplay and a concrete release date in the coming days.

Set in the mid-1920s, Benedict is brought to a decrepit mansion where he becomes the chief investigator of a murder that will ultimately offer him more than he bargained for.  And thanks to his otherworldly companion, each cold corpse on the ground is a gateway to the deceased person’s “limbo” realm. It’s this strange alternate dimension where Benedict can explore the life of the case subjects at hand while battling shadowy foes.

Benedict will start in the Mansion as a sort of hub in the mortal plane. Of course, there are secrets and details to uncover in the mansion. But many of the clues to unlocking these elements are held in the limbo dimensions which are initially accessed by Benedict through interacting with a corpse. Once in limbo, Benedict can unlock anchors throughout the labyrinthine passageways that act as both fast travel points and a place to heal. Speaking of fast travel, you can travel to any anchor you’ve unlocked at any point by simply opening your map and selecting the point you wish to head to. This convenience is an incredibly welcome feature.

"Stylistically, the world is vivid, colorful, and frightening when it needs to be. The detail and artistry behind the game’s presentation are markedly evident and are easy to appreciate."

By design, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a 2.5D Metroidvania akin to other modern titles in the same niche genre like Ori and the Blind Forest. There’s a certain grandeur offered by the game’s visual appeal. The noir setting is on point and highly atmospheric. Stylistically, the world is vivid, colorful, and frightening when it needs to be. The detail and artistry behind the game’s presentation are markedly evident and are easy to appreciate. The limbo realms are an eclectic collection of hellish landscapes and scenery from each person’s life. Many times, I found myself just gazing at the foreground and all of the oddities marking the landscape.

As you traverse each limbo, you’ll encounter hostile shadowy creatures. Benedict has two basic attacks. He can slash at his enemies with a knife for melee hits. He’s also packing a flare gun that can typically take out basic enemies with one shot. At the start of the game, until Benedict is able to make upgrades later, he only has one shot. You can refill his singular flare gun round by using melee attacks. Benedict can also use his companion to parry enemy attacks which will become highly necessary.

Combat is, perhaps, Benedict Fox’s weakest element. It’s not very fluid and enemy movements, especially in groups, are often highly imperceptible. Attacking enemies doesn’t always stagger them, they can still follow through with devastating attacks while being assaulted themselves. At a couple of points in the game, multiple creatures rushed me backing me up against a wall. I’d parry one only to be hit by the second. Then I’d jump in an attempt to leap over them only to be smacked back down. Combat can be frustrating if not approached methodically and with a bit of patience. Benedict will also be capable of performing a finishing move on some enemies that are staggered, but if there are other enemies around, engaging in the finishing move only opens him up to attack. Yes, he can be hit while performing the finisher, unfortunately.

"Combat is, perhaps, Benedict Fox’s weakest element."

As you progress in Benedict’s journey, he’ll be able to upgrade his companion’s abilities by receiving tattoos from a mysterious woman. Benedict pays for these tattoos with ink that you collect from slaying creatures out in limbo. Keep in mind, that if you die while carrying ink, you will lose it. But if you find an anchor, you can “secure” ink to keep it protected. These tattoo upgrades will give Benedict other offensive abilities. Tentacles will emerge from him that can slam enemies or pound the ground depending on the ability you’ve unlocked. This is where things can get a bit more interesting, and these powers will make life a tad easier.

The journey is ultimately guided by the investigative trail so-to-speak. As you uncover relics, notes, or other noteworthy clues while progressing through limbo, you may need to hop back to the mortal plane to progress. For instance, in limbo you might find an area that looks like a ruined version of the same study in the mansion in the mortal plane and you located a code for the desk drawer. So, you can then return to the mortal plane, go to the mansion’s study, and use that solution on the desk drawer. Other times, your companion will speak to you as you make progress in limbo alerting you to “new life” present in the mansion meaning that there is someone new in the mortal plane you can speak to. It’s important to really pay attention to the dialogue and clues throughout the world in order to know what your next move is.

Of course, if you enjoy a good puzzle, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is right up your alley. One of the game’s biggest hooks will be using a cipher tied to both letters and numbers to unlock areas within limbo. You’ll have to use the combination of a device and a diary page with all the symbols’ numeric equivalents in order to solve the cipher lock at hand. These aren’t just throwaway puzzles for the sake of adding variety to the game. They have significance and stimulate your brain enough to think about each entry you punch in for a solution. I found that making progress through the use of puzzles, a dab of basic mathematics, and the cipher is a quality and engaging mechanic.

"If you enjoy a good puzzle, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is right up your alley."

The platforming elements of Benedict Fox are smooth and intuitive. Eventually, Benedict will be able to double jump with the help of his companion. Once this ability is gained, the world within limbo opens up even more. The more abilities you unlock, the more areas you can access. For instance, there is a ground-pounding ability you will eventually gain that not only serves as an attack but also a method of breaking through weak floor boards to areas below. I really have no complaints here as the controls are tight and responsive. Any time I missed a jump, fell into a pool of ink, or slid into the maw of a ravenous man-eating plant, I knew that it was my fault alone.

The story at the center of Benedict Fox is engaging and steeped in mystery. Each new discovery leads you down a twisted trail involving an occult organization and the livelihoods of the individuals’ deaths you now investigate. It’s easy to soak up the lore behind each new relic you find as everything within the world of Benedict Fox is saturated in history and the connectivity it all has to other aspects of the narrative. This is one title that I found to be more engrossing the further I went.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.

Set in a glitzy city of Jazz Noir, with shady organizations lurking in the shadows, the story concerns Fox and his demonic companion as they investigate a decrepit mansion. After a young couple dies, their child goes missing, and it’s up to the duo to find them. Benedict’s father is also seemingly caught up in things, adding to the mystery.

With the power to explore the minds of the recently deceased, players explore inner worlds comprised of memories, emotions and past trauma. Fox can protect himself with a knife and firearm but also utilize demonic powers to slam and throw enemies. For more details, check out our feature here.

However, another title has been looking better and better with each reveal, and out soon. Developed by Plot Twist and published by Rogue Games, The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a side-scrolling action-adventure Metroidvania with gorgeous visuals, an alluring art style and heaps of cosmic horror.

It releases on April 27 for PC and Xbox Series X/S while launching day one on Game Pass. If you want a compelling noir action game with investigative elements, The Last Case of Benedict Fox may be worth checking out. Here are 12 things you should know before jumping in.

Story

The story focuses on Benedict Fox, a detective with a strange gift/curse. He has a demon with him, providing consul and helping him solve cases. With its power, Benedict can dive into the minds of the recently deceased to look for clues.

But when a mysterious case about a murdered couple and their missing child arrives on his doorstep, Benedict and his companion must delve into a world of arcane secrets, shady organizations and Lovecraftian horrors to learn the truth. How does it relate to his past? Why does the game’s store page call Benedict a “self-proclaimed” detective? What is his companion’s true goal? Just a few more mysteries to add to the pile.

Characters

Benedict Fox and his demon companion are the central two characters, and you can expect a lot of back-and-forth discussion as they analyze the case particulars. That doesn’t necessarily mean Fox is without allies. Harry Houdini – yes, the legendary escape artist – is a merchant and will sell items that can help in dire situations. A mysterious Tattooist also hangs around and can help Benedict learn new abilities. The process can be a little traumatizing, and hearing her refer to Benedict as “my beautiful canvas” doesn’t help, but whatever gets the job done.

Setting

Set after World War 1, the world of Benedict Fox is one of glitz and tension, with strange events and murders happening in the shadows. The mansion that Benedict and the demon explore is large, with numerous secrets. Benedict will discover various documents, mementos and evidence, leading him deeper into the abyss. There are plenty of threats to deal with, but the true horrors arguably await in the world of Limbo.

Limbo

With his ability to enter the minds of the deceased, Benedict and his companion can venture into another reality called Limbo to search for evidence. Limbo seems to manifest in different ways depending on the victim, with various memories and trauma creating unique worlds. One area may involve platforming across chandeliers in a snowstorm. The other may feature copious overgrowth and demonic Venus Flytraps. The Burton-esque aesthetic shines here, with copious amounts of vivid colors and shadows.

Structure

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a 2.5D Metroidvania-style game. Anyone that’s played Metroid Dread can expect plenty of hidden areas, secret items, and collectibles in addition to platforming challenges and puzzles. As you unlock new abilities, you can backtrack to previously locked-off areas and progress further, revealing a brand-new location with assorted terrors.

Puzzles

It wouldn’t be an action-adventure game without puzzles. Some include locks picked with a Kogai Pin, except the bolts in question are fingers connecting a disgusting maw. Another involves collecting items for some golem ritual. You also have to examine photographs for hidden descriptions and analyze other records to find solutions, but it doesn’t seem too complex (at least in the early going).

Enemies

Benedict and his companion will encounter various demons and monsters to slay, from flying Lovecraftian eyes that dive-bomb to creatures with shields and nimble foes with tails that can knock you back. There are also bosses to fight, from a massive multi-fanged horror with tentacles called The Librarian to a giant flying eye. Interestingly, you won’t just fight demons, as enemies from other factions will appear.

Combat

As recent gameplay trailers have shown, combat is a mix of hack and slash, with Benedict wielding a knife, and gunplay, as you can aim and shoot enemies from a distance. Benedict can also slide through enemies to knock them into the air, backstep to avoid attacks and block. Blocking at the right moment can also hurt foes, opening them up to slower but more damaging Heavy Attacks. Of course, for all his skills, it’s a good idea for Benedict not to get backed into a corner or avoid any fights he can’t win.

Powers

Benedict’s companion isn’t just there to provide moral support with an ethereal voice. He can also lend assistance by way of special powers. You can use dark tentacles to grab and throw enemies, then shoot them mid-air, with subsequent upgrades increasing the grapple’s range. Slam is useful for breaking through fragile surfaces and pushing back weaker enemies. Other abilities have yet to be detailed, but a healthy range of options is available.

Items

Houdini also provides some assistance with various items, like Stoneskin. It makes Benedict impervious to damage, though he can’t move while the effect is active. You also have the Flashlight, necessary for areas called Twilight Zones to ward away the creeping darkness, which can slay Benedict if he isn’t careful. In addition to picking locks, Kogai Pins can also snare enemies, stunning them temporarily. Items also have upgrades, increasing the amount carried and the item’s effectiveness, like the duration of the Kogai Pin’s snare.

Supports 60 FPS and 4K Ultra HD

Though its resolution and frame on Xbox Series X/S has yet to be revealed, the Xbox page does confirm 4K Ultra HD support. It also lists 120 FPS, so there are likely graphical modes for playing at 4K/60 FPS or 1080p at 120 FPS. We still need more confirmation, but everything looks smooth and sharp based on the gameplay shown.

System Requirements

The Last Case of Benedict Fox has some hefty requirements on PC, especially for those playing at recommended settings. Everyone requires Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 11 and 8 GB of installation space, regardless of the other hardware. Minimum requirements include an Intel Core i5-7400 3.00 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.20 GHz, 12 GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce 1050 Ti or equivalent AMD GPU.

The recommended requirements include an Intel Core i5-10600K CPU 4.10 GHz or an equivalent AMD CPU, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 3060 or similar AMD CPU. A fairly-demanding game, especially compared to the classics of the genre.