Mustard has been in the games industry for nearly 25 years. He was originally the founder of Chair Entertainment, where he was also the creative director for acclaimed Metroidvania title Shadow Complex and the mobile fantasy trilogy Infinity Blade. Chair Entertainment was acquired by Epic in 2008, a year before Shadow Complex launch.

Eventually, he became the company’s chief creative officer in 2016, after which he would go on to be the creative lead for Fortnite, overseeing the game’s rise to global prominence, and its continued unprecedented success thereafter.

“After an incredible adventure, I will be retiring from my role as Chief Creative Officer at Epic this month,” he wrote. “I have enjoyed nearly 25 years in the game industry collaborating with some of the most talented people ever and I am so proud of what we have made together. From the ambitious Advent Rising, to the start of ChAIR where we created Undertow, Shadow Complex, and the Infinity Blade trilogy, to the honor of our tiny team becoming part of Epic, each new chapter allowed me to accomplish something new and original. I am especially proud of the opportunity I’ve had to help create and shape Fortnite.

“I am humbled to have been a part of the team that every day tries to bring ‘joy and delight’ to the Fortnite community! We love watching you experience every moment – leaping from the Battle Bus for the very first time, seeing the rocket crack open the sky, dancing with friends after a Victory Royale, being sucked into a black hole or being washed out to sea as The Island flipped over – and on and on! I can’t wait to now share in the future of Fortnite as a player alongside all of you! The teams are in the best hands and they are working on huge, jaw dropping, amazing things!”

Epic has yet to provide details on what leadership changes it will institute for Fortnite and for the company as a whole in the wake of Mustard’s departure.

After an incredible adventure, I will be retiring from my role as Chief Creative Officer at Epic this month.

I have enjoyed nearly 25 years in the game industry collaborating with some of the most talented people ever and I am so proud of what we have made together. From the… pic.twitter.com/HWlNEarU4K

— Donald Mustard (@DonaldMustard) September 8, 2023

Anya’s Grave – Gears of War 4

Perhaps one of the more interesting moments in Gears of War 4 is JD Fenix veering off the main mission path on the family estate to visit his mother’s grave. We’re not told up to that point about what happened to Anya but this quiet moment of introspection and sadness tells us what she meant. In a way, it’s a respectful send-off of sorts to one of the series’ key characters.

However, it’s been seven long years since the original released on the Xbox 360. How much has changed since the original launched? Let us find out.

To begin with the remastered version still runs on Unreal Engine 3 however it uses an updated version of the older build. Furthermore, you will notice the remastered version of the game has lost its classic dirty and grainy look. Instead it’s now replaced with vivid colors. We are not sure whether we are fans of this palette change and to be honest we prefer the original look. But again, this is subjective so some fans may like the new look. Moving on, some of the volumetric effects such as the fog as seen in the opening helicopter scene has been removed in the remastered version. Why exactly this was removed is unknown at this point but this is again one of those reasons why we prefer the original look.

The color palette change is also accompanied by lighting changes. Some of the  areas which were dimly lit in the original game are now clearly lit thanks to the dynamic lighting employed by the remaster. The cutscenes have also undergone minor changes. In the Xbox 360 build one can clearly observe compression artefacts; the remastered version however looks much better and sharper. Character models have also undergone slight changes. The level of detail on the faces is slightly better in the remastered version and their armor looks much better in the latest build.

However, it seems that the depth of field effect has been removed in some places and some levels lack ambient occlusion compared to the original. Due to this there is a general level of flatness in some areas.

Talking about the console versions, there isn’t much to choose from on the PS4 and Xbox One. They employ the same quality of texture filtering, feature the same core assets and have identical performance and resolution parameters (1080p). The PC version on the other hand has been optimized rather well and the recommended requirements are pretty low. The developer recommend a Nvidia GT 540 1GB/AMD 5550 1GB GPU and Intel i5/AMD A4 CPU, so it goes without saying that most PCs won’t have any issues maxing this game out at 1080p and 60fps. Graphical settings are quite limited. You can change the texture quality, opt for a better AA solution and Enable DX11 (which you should). We tested the game on our trusted Nvidia GTX 970 and i5 4690k and had absolutely no issues in running the game at a full 1080p resolution and 60fps.

Compared to the console versions, the PC build features slightly better anti-aliasing and texture quality. Although you would have to really zoom in and run them side by side to observe the differences.

So where do we stand regarding Shadow Complex Remastered? Well, to be honest we have a rather mix feeling towards the work that has gone into the remaster. Yes, the resolution and frame rate has been improved along with updates to volumetric and alpha effects but if we were to be honest with you, if you have already played through the original game, there is no reason to pick this up again. There isn’t much here besides the better frame rate and better resolution. Furthermore, the game is already backwards compatible on the Xbox One, so existing owners who already have the Xbox 360 version have one more reason to not pick this up. However for everyone else, you owe yourself to play through this once and it goes without saying the remastered version is the way to go, provided you are not a fan of the original dirty look.

It will also be interesting to see what Chair Entertainment is doing with the Shadow Complex IP. They are certainly interested in developing a sequel in the form of Shadow Complex 2 but whether it will actually happen is something that remains to be seen. We hope that working on the new consoles have given Chair Entertainment a launch pad for a potential sequel which will hopefully run on Unreal Engine 4.

One of the best games of last generation, Shadow Complex, will launch on the PS4 very soon- Shadow Complex Remastered will be, as announced, launching on the PS4. It will be available on May 3.

“Delivering Shadow Complex to the amazing audience of PlayStation gamers has always been a goal for us at Chair, and we can’t wait to introduce all of you to the game next month!” ChAIR co-founder and creative director Donald Mustard said about finally bringing the acclaimed hit Metroidvania, which predates the current Metroidvania rage among indie games and developers, to the PS4.

Shadow Complex Remastered will have remastered graphics, which will include updated lighting, post-processing, and visual effects. The updates aren’t just graphical, as the game will also have new contextual melee take-downs, new Achievements, and new Master Challenges.

You can check out a video for the PS4 version of the game below. Are you going to be getting it? Let us know in the comments section.

Epic Games and Chair Entertainment’s Xbox 360 exclusive Metroidvania, Shadow Complex, is now available in all of its remastered glory on Xbox One as Shadow Complex Remastered. The re-release is “updated with new graphical enhancements, additional Achievements, and Master Challenges.”

In addition, the developers also added some new gameplay mechanics, such as dynamic takedowns, to keep things fresh beyond just the graphical facelift that this version of the game obviously has over the original. Essentially, if you have never played Shadow Complex, this version is the one to start with; and if you’re a veteran of the old game already, it seems as though enough has changed with the remaster for another play through to be worth it.

Shadow Complex was released for the Xbox 360 originally. It received more than 50 Editor’s Choice and Game of the Year awards. It is available to download on the Xbox One right now. Let us know in the comments if you plan to get it!

Chair and Epic’s excellent Metroidvania, the one that came before the current indie Metroidvania trend, Shadow Complex is getting a current generation remaster. The remaster is available right now on PC for free, and it will also be getting a port for the Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4.

Yes, that’s right, one of the biggest Xbox 360 exclusives of last generation is now going to be available for non Xbox gamers, and indeed, PlayStation gamers too. The PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game are due out some time early next year- for now, the PC version is the only one available, and through this month, it’s free. You can download it from the game’s official website.

Check out what the game looks like in the brand new trailer for the game, which you can see for yourself below. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage, information, and news from The Game Awards, especially since there are more world premiers of games due.

While much rejoicing may be had for Xbox One fans at the thought of a new Gears of War for the console, which will remain exclusive thanks to Microsoft picking up the rights recently, there is a contingent that believes Epic Games no longer has any real franchises left. There’s also the belief that it will stick to developing and licensing Unreal Engine 4 from here on out.

However, as Epic PR Wes Phillips tweeted that, “For people saying Epic isn’t making games anymore, we currently have multiple games in development, including Fortnite.”

PR manager for Epic Dana Cowley also reiterated that, “We’re still making games, don’t worry.”

Fortnite is currently slated to release for PC, and while there may be some titles that Epic has yet to reveal, it still has major IPs like Infinity Blade and Unreal in its pocket. What are your thoughts on the power of Epic after selling Gears of War? Let us know in the comments.

Epic Games’ Cliff Blezsinski, while talking to Gamasutra (via NeoGAF), revealed that Shadow Complex 2, sequel to the awesome 2009 Xbox Live downloadable game, is actually complete. It has been developed almost fully, and Epic is now just looking for a partner to tie it off and get it published.

“Shadow Complex 2 is sitting there, it’s actually largely designed, we just need to find a partner that will help us to finish it so we can bring it to market,” Bleszinski said.

Shadow Complex 2 has long been rumoured to be in development, and Epic Games President Mike Capps even said at one point that its development was shelved since the devs were focusing on the iOS.

Let’s just hope they find a partner soon, because we absolutely loved Shadow Complex, and have been waiting for this announcement for a long time now.

Stay tuned, we’ll keep you updated.

Shadow Complex is an awesome game, truly, one of the best Xbox Live Arcade games on the scene, if not the best. We all loved it, and many of us go back to it and play it even today, two years after its release. We all have been wondering why Epic hasn’t till now announced a Shadow Complex 2, and now, Epic has told us why.

Because they thought there were better opportunities in mobile gaming, and they started working on Infinity Blade.

“The reviews were great, it was a record seller for a single-player game on the platform,” said Epic Games president Mike Capps at his GDC Europe keynote speech. “But at the same time we’ve got this mobile gaming push that’s coming in strong.”

“And the big thing for me was that we were looking at what the iPhone could do, and the games that were on iPhone, and we thought there was a huge gap,” he said. “So we put our engine team on the problem, and that’s where we came up with Infinity Blade. We were thinking about the sequel [to Shadow Complex], we were ready and ‘Maybe we should start working on this,’ and instead stopped everything and went and made Infinity Blade.”

But while Epic might be too focused on mobile gaming, and of course, PC and console games, Mike Caps added to “never say never” for a Shadow Complex sequel.

Fingers crossed.

Today and today only (Friday April 15th) Microsoft has put on sale some of its best arcade games.  These game rarely ever go on sale if not ever so here is you chance to grab them at a great price.  You can purchase the following games at 50% off on the Xbox Live Marketplace for today only.

– Shadow Complex – 600 points
– LIMBO – 600 points
– Castle Crashers – 600 points
– Trials HD – 600 points
– Monday Night Combat – 600 points