Hexworks’ Lords of the Fallen is a reboot/sequel to the 2014 Souls-like action RPG of the same name and sold one million copies within ten days of launch. It’s received multiple updates, with the latest (Master of Fate) providing different modifiers for subsequent playthroughs. While it won’t receive further updates, CI Games estimates $100 million in net revenue from the title in the coming years.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 launched in 2021 as the latest entry in the stealth sniping series. Like its predecessor, the focus is on missions in large environments with multiple options for sniping at long distances or going head-on against enemies. Stay tuned for details on both titles and their Game Pass release dates in the coming weeks.

These are allegedly NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…., Star Ocean: The Divine Force,13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, and Unpacking. Some titles are exclusive to PS4 and will be playable on PS5 via backwards compatibility, but it’s unknown if the PS5 versions for others are included.

Of course, this isn’t the entire list, but the headliners (at least the first three), so don’t expect anything else. Nevertheless, these are some solid offerings, with the critical acclaim for Unpacking, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139….

Sony will likely announce their arrival in the coming days, especially with September 19th falling on a Tuesday (usually the PlayStation Store’s weekly reset). Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is already available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. Owners of the PS4 version will thankfully be given a free patch to the PS5 version. The game can run at 60 fps on 1080p or 30 fps at a 4K resolution. It’s still disappointing to see the lack of a 120 fps mode given how significantly more demanding games on the platform can push for at least a 4K/60 fps experience.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is a great experience for fans of the genre, building upon the foundation of its deep tactical gameplay that made the series popular in the first place.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is set in a fictional Middle-Eastern city being run by a couple of despotic rulers. When one of them dies, his wife takes over, but now, the region is caught in turmoil, which threatens to have an impact on the rest of the world as well, mostly because the conflict might inflate oil prices around the globe. You play as elite sniper Raven, who is sent in to dismantle the tyrannical regime by taking out its most high profile players one after the other. If that all sounds utterly boring and generic- well, that’s because it is. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2’s story feels like it was written by an AI bot that was designed to craft generic plot setups for modern military shooters and keep pumping them out by the hundreds on a conveyor belt. The plot is boring, the characters are dull, and writing is passable at best, and laughably bad at worst.

"Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is still not a perfect game, but it shows, just like its immediate predecessor did, that the series can deliver great content when it sticks to what it’s good at."

But you’re not here for the story. You’re here for the sniping. Luckily enough, Contracts 2 knows that, and that’s the part the game is best at. Like its direct predecessor, Contracts 2 is mission based. There are areas, each one a large sandbox, and each populated with targets to kill and objectives to complete, while each area also has optional challenges and contracts to take on. But most of that is broth- the meat and potatoes of this dish is the sniping, and the missions where you’ll be taking out targets by firing off shots from distances that are even longer than the game’s name.

Sniping in Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 feels empowering and nuanced. Wind, gravity, things in the environment, whether or not a target is moving- all of these and more are things that you have to consider as you’re making shots, and the further away you are from your target, the trickier things get. Often, you’ll be sniping enemies from a distance of over 1 kilometer, and adjusting your scope in a number of ways to ensure that you’ve got the target lined up perfectly. What’s laudable is that not only does Contracts 2 have this level of complexity and nuance, it also manages to do all of that without becoming opaque or inaccessible.

On easier difficulties, the game has handy assists to help you even with the trickiest of shots, but even on harder difficulties, overcoming all of these obstacles doesn’t feel like a chore, but a challenge to be smartly tackled. And once you do fire off a shot, watching it fly for seconds through the air and then causing a morbidly beautiful explosion of blood and chunks is oh-so-satisfying. It makes you feel like an absolute badass to think that you’ve taken out a target from such an impossible distance, and that’s no coincidence- Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 has ways of making you feel really clever.

That’s because of how well designed its main missions and objectives are. Like a cross between Sniper Elite and Hitman, with a little bit of Splinter Cell thrown in for good measure, Contracts 2 places its target in reactive, dynamic sandboxes. Each of these presents you with a variety of things to interact with, a number of ways to take out your targets, and gives you the freedom to proceed however you please. Your target might be constantly moving, might be indoors and blocked from view. You could distract enemies by creating a ruckus, you could shoot a container and make it drop right on a target’s head. You could shoot a fuse box to open a door a target is standing behind, you could find ways to make a target get close to an explosive barrel and then snipe that for a fiery victory. Hell, you can find ways to line up your shot so that you can take out two targets with a single bullet.

Surveying these dense and dynamic killboxes from a distance with your binoculars, spotting important details, and puzzling out how to make them work to your advantage. Executing on your plan and killing off perfectly strategized and perfectly timed kills feels even better. And adapting on the fly when things go wrong and managing to find a way to still succeed? That’s just fun. Completing objectives – optional and otherwise – also lets you upgrade weapons and purchase new skills, and though the progression mechanics aren’t anything to write home about, they’re decent enough investments.

"Sniping in Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 feels empowering and nuanced."

As I mentioned earlier though, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is not a perfect game. Visually, this is a pretty solid looking game, and audio design is also quite impressive, especially for percussive sniper shots that echo loudly in large, open space. That said, there are some technical issues and animation bugs- not major ones, thankfully, but enough that they couldn’t be ignored. But Contracts 2’s biggest issues are with the close range combat. Sniping is what this game is best at, but every so often, it forces you into up-close encounters and shootouts. Close-range shooting in Contracts 2 is quite lackluster, and the weapons don’t feel nearly as good to shoot as the sniper rifles do, so these sections are, without fail, slogs to get through. Meanwhile, stealth is also pretty basic in the game, and it doesn’t help that enemy AI can be incompetently dumb. Given how important a role stealth players in Contracts 2, that feels like a particularly glaring flaw.

All in all, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is, by and large, a solid game. Purely as a sniping game, it’s perhaps one of the better ones of its kind, at least in recent memory, and it builds on the strengths of the first Contracts in smart ways. A dull story, bland close-range combat, and disappointing stealth sections bring down the experience in some ways, but for the most part, Contracts 2 knows what it’s good at, and in those areas, it almost always flies high.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.

CI Games has delayed the PS5 version on Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 due to “unforeseen technical issues discovered in the weeks leading up to launch,” the company announced on Twitter. The game is still set to release on June 4th on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, and PC on June 4th.

To apologize, CI Games has decided to release the game’s first DLC , described as “a new and extensive region complete with all new contracts,” to all players free of charge, regardless of platform. The DLC is still in development and CI Games promised more information soon.

In addition, CI Games announced that both the physical and digital PS4 versions of the game will offer a free digital upgrade to the PS5 version so PS5 players can still play the game on June 4th. The PlayStation 5 version will feature native 4k resolution, enhanced textures and visuals, and faster load times.

“We could not have foreseen these issues,” CI Games executive producer Tobias Heussner said in a press release. “However, we would like to assure our players that our highly experienced, professional and dedicated team are working hard with the platform holder and engine provider to resolve the problems as soon as feasibly possible, to ensure we can bring the PlayStation 5 community the high caliber sniping game they have been waiting for. We will offer a free digital upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version with all physical and digital purchases of the PlayStation 4 release.”

While the delay is unfortunate, it seems like CI Games is doing all they can to make things right. You can check out the latest trailer for Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 here, and read our interview with lead creative producer Kenton Fletcher here.

Some important news for our PS5 players pic.twitter.com/EuDT0GymiO

— Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 | ON SALE (@SGWContracts) May 7, 2021

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on realism and authenticity. Can you talk about how that materializes in the gameplay in terms of the mechanics and how it affects things such as the shooting and physics?

Realism and authenticity are certainly important to us and it’s something that players will see shining through the game, particularly when it comes to the depth of our sniping mechanics. One thing we are very careful to do though is ensure we’re not making the game inaccessible for anyone. In Contracts 2, players will notice that the sniping physics on the higher difficulty levels draws increasingly closer to the real thing with wind adjustment and bullet drop playing a significant role. We also provide modes that allow players a much less challenging experience, without completely sacrificing authenticity.

The game is also focusing quite a bit on replayability, with each objective allowing players to go about it in different ways. Can you talk a little bit more about that? How did that impact things such as level design and AI during development?

One of the things we’ve found over many iterations of the Sniper Ghost Warrior franchise is that our players enjoy having the freedom to approach objectives in their own way. During the Contracts games, we’ve really opened up the ability to do that, and it’s been very well received. Obviously, the game systems and level design need to be especially strong to support this, and it’s something that we’ve worked hard on, with some really deep multi-tiered level design and reactive AI.

How large will the maps in the game be? How much variety do they offer from each other?

With the new extreme long range sniping sections featuring for the first time, we’ve taken a slightly different approach with the maps for this one. While the large open maps players loved in the first Contracts are back for Contracts 2, we now also have some maps focused more on the long shot scenarios. It provides a change in the pacing of the game, and hopefully will feel fresh and interesting to players.

What sort of a balance does the game strike between long-range objectives and close-quarters combat?

To a certain extent, the balance is determined by the players own playstyle. Although there are sections of the game that require long range shooting, and some that require a more up close and personal approach, what we try to do as much as possible is let the player’s own gameplay style dictate what they focus on.

"The range of weapons and gadgets in Contracts 2 really opens up a whole new vista of opportunities for players to experiment with and find their own unique ways to achieve their objectives."

What can players expect from the game’s arsenal of weapons and gadgets as far as variety and the range of options is concerned?

The range of weapons and gadgets in Contracts 2 really opens up a whole new vista of opportunities for players to experiment with and find their own unique ways to achieve their objectives. The very popular drone is back along with a new contender for favourite tech toy, the Remote Turret. This fabulous gadget allows you to take out targets from different locations and set up some really elaborate and clever attacks. Combine this with gas mines, decoys, a whole range of strikingly different ammo types and… well, I’d better not give away everything!

How extensive of an upgrade system does Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 have?

We have a really extensive development system where players can unlock upgrades for both Raven and for the gadgets and tech that he carries. We wanted to make sure the upgrade system had a lot of depth and promise to it, so some of the late game upgrades unlock quite substantial new functionality for the gadgets. Combined with a really interested Challenge system, it ensures that we can promise players some very worthwhile replayability.

Having targets in the game that can be as far away as over 1000m away is surely exciting to hear for series fans, but it also begs the question of what effect that has on accessibility. How is the game striking a balance between being challenging and being welcoming to those who might not have played Sniper Ghost Warrior games in the past?

As I mentioned earlier, accessibility has been something we really did want to focus on with Contracts 2. The sensation of sniping from very long distances is amazing, but we didn’t want to make it so you had to basically be a real sniper to pull it off ! As with most things in the game, it’s multi-layered. On lower difficulties, we provide a range of target assist tools to ensure that any of our snipers can immerse into the experience. Then with each of the long-range scenarios, we have a whole range of ways they can be completed, some requiring more precision than others. There’s always something there to encourage you to learn and play again.

What are your plans for Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 in terms of post-launch support?

We have a substantial set of post-launch content planned, some of which we’ve already revealed and some which we hope will be a nice surprise for our players as they continue their Sniper Ghost Warrior journeys. All I can really say to people at this point, is stay tuned via our social media channels!

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the game be?

The playtime will vary substantially depending on each player’s style of play, but we’d estimate that a straight playthrough of the main storyline should take around eight hours. As people engage in the Challenges and completionist content, however, this will certainly be considerably longer!

Do you have any plans to launch on the Switch?

We’re not launching initially with a Switch version, but at CI Games we’re always looking for ways to bring our games to the widest range of players possible. Obviously, different platforms bring with them quite different technical challenges. We’re looking into this and will see whether it’s something we can explore further down the line.

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

It’s fairly normal of course for a new generation of consoles to bring with it certain technical differences and capabilities between the different platforms. As the generation progresses, you’re likely to see developers pushing further to utilize every aspect of the console capabilities, but there’s a learning process involved for everybody. The new machines already provide a huge leap forward for the development teams, allowing us to do things that were previously out of reach realistically.

The PS5 features an incredibly fast SSD with 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth, which is faster than anything that is available out there. How can developers take advantage of this? How does this compare to the Xbox Series X’s 2.4GB/s raw bandwidth?

The console advance to high speed SSD allows for a real leap forward in terms of load times and data access, which should allow developers to deliver much smoother, more user friendly game experience for players. It also opens up a huge range of possibilities internally with the game engines, and this is something that will have an increasingly large impact as the generation unfolds. As with every generation, however, it takes time for new capabilities to be explored and game engines to be rebuilt to really push the boundaries of what is now available through the hardware.

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

While the Xbox packs a little more horsepower in that regard, the variable frequency with the PS5 gives you some more room to direct the horsepower available. You could see a small difference in the early titles in the generation, but as the generation unfolds and developers learn new tricks and find optimal throughputs things will change. For us, our main goal will always be to deliver a comparable experience on each platform.

"We’re not launching initially with a Switch version, but at CI Games we’re always looking for ways to bring our games to the widest range of players possible. Obviously, different platforms bring with them quite different technical challenges. We’re looking into this and will see whether it’s something we can explore further down the line."

The Xbox Series S features lesser hardware compared to Xbox Series X and Microsoft is pushing it as a 1440p/60 FPS console. Do you think it will be able to hold up for the more graphically intensive next-gen games?

The specifications of a platform’s hardware will always place limitations on what is achievable, but developers have a lot of experience with working across multiple SKUs and getting the best experiences they can from the technology.

What resolution and frame rate is the game targeting to run at on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S? Furthermore, will the game have multiple graphical modes?

We will have 30 FPS when running the game in 4K on PS5 or Xbox Series X. Xbox Series S will run in full HD (1080p).

We’re also planning an option for players to choose between resolution and performance. With this option they can choose to play in 4K or in 2K at 60 FPS.

Unlike their predecessors, which were outdated even when they launched, the PS5 and Xbox Series X have legitimately impressive hardware that spells exciting things for how games might grow and change in the future. It’s still early days for both consoles, of course, and it’s probably going to be a while until we actually start seeing the effects that the newer hardware has on development and games in general, but developers across the industry have generally had positive things to say about the new consoles.

Recently, for instance, we spoke with Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 developer CI Games, more specifically with the tactical stealth-shooter’s lead creative producer Kenton Fletcher, who had similarly positive things to say. When asked about the differences between the hardware of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, Fletcher said that we’re going to see more developers leveraging the specs of both consoles properly as the generation progresses, and that already, it’s clear that they are “a huge leap forward” for devs.

“It’s fairly normal of course for a new generation of consoles to bring with it certain technical differences and capabilities between the different platforms,” Fletcher said. “As the generation progresses, you’re likely to see developers pushing further to utilize every aspect of the console capabilities, but there’s a learning process involved for everybody. The new machines already provide a huge leap forward for the development teams, allowing us to do things that were previously out of reach realistically.”

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 launches on June 4 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. On PS5 and Xbox Series X, CI Games is planning to have modes for 4K/30 FPS and 2K/60 FPS.

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

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is going to move away from the previous game’s Eastern European setting and take players to the Middle East, providing more large maps full of sniping opportunities, stealth and combat encounters, traditional firefights, and plenty of brutality and gore. In a recently released trailer, the game gives a brief lowdown on the place where we’ll be doing all that.

Kuamar is a fictional state under the despotic rule of a tyrannical president, Omar Al-Bakr, whose wife, Bibi Rashida also rules by his side. With wide open spaces for sniping and enemy bases to infiltrate for more up-close stealth and action, Kuamar’s numerous maps are going to house plenty of diverse locales for players to flex their sniping and sneaking muscles. Take a look at the trailer below.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 launches on June 4 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Lead creative producer Kenton Fletcher told us in a recent interview that CI Games is planning on having 4K/30 FPS and 2K/60 FPS options in the game’s next-gen versions. Read more on that through here. Our full interview with Fletcher will also be going live soon, so stay tuned for that.

Sniper Ghost Warriors Contracts 2 is launching not long from now with the promise of more long-range assassinations across big maps, and a combination of first person firefights and stealth. Like most other releases right now, it’s going to be a cross-gen game, but how exactly will it perform on the more powerful hardware of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?

We recently got the chance to talk about the upcoming game with its lead producer Kenton Fletcher at CI Games, who provided brief details on the performance and resolution that can be expected for the game’s next-gen versions. Fletcher said that on PS5 and Xbox Series X, the game will run at 4K and 30 FPS, while on the Xbox Series S, the resolution will be knocked down to 1080p.

Meanwhile, the developer is also planning to have a separate visual mode prioritizing a higher frame rate count, which will see the game running in 2K at 60 frames per second on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Whether a performance mode is also being planned for Xbox Series S remains to be seen.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 will launch on June 4 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Our full interview with Fletcher will be live soon, so stay tuned for that.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West sees Aloy embarking on a quest to stop a deadly plague, and offers new machines, tribes and regions, from San Francisco to Utah. There’s even underwater exploration which should provide some new mechanics to the already solid gameplay. The true scope and scale of the game remains a mystery but it’s looking incredibly good thus far. It’s out in the second half of 2021 and will also be coming to PS5.