Assassin’s Creed Origins – “Is That Really It?”

Assassin’s Creed was officially “on a break” before the reveal of Origins and Ubisoft was apparently retooling the series. When it was officially revealed at E3 2017, the response was…fine. Most of us saw the environments, the combat and the quest design and wondered, “Is that it?” Fortunately, the final game showcased the full extent of the open world and action RPG leanings. Yes, the stealth that defined the franchise was heavily downplayed but venturing across Ancient Egypt as Bayek felt invigorating, different and fun.

In this feature, we’ll be taking a look at fifteen such disappointing Xbox One exclusives- note that some of these games have been improved significantly since launch thanks to updates, and that we’re primarily talking about disappointing launches. Also note that for the purposes of these list, we’ll only be looking at Xbox One console exclusives.

With all that out of the way, let’s get into it.

RYSE: SON OF ROME

Ryse: Son of Rome took our breath away when it was first revealed, showcasing stunning visuals and looking like the kind of cinematic action adventure killer app that the Xbox family had always been desperately searching for. What we got was a disappointing mess that didn’t even come close to achieving what we had all hoped it would. Sure, it still looked good- but that’s about as far as it went with positives.

Super Lucky’s Tale, the Xbox One adaptation of the VR platformer Lucky’s Tale, isn’t a remarkable game by any means, but on Xbox One, it managed to find fans nonetheless. A lot had to do with the state of the platformer genre on the Xbox One (especially back then—this was before either Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy or Spyro: Reignited Trilogy had hit the console), sure, but it managed to win some people over regardless.

Now, it may be planning on making the jump to Nintendo’s Switch, a significantly more challenging market as far as platformers go, given the sheer wealth of options available on Nintendo’s console (including their own masterpiece, Super Mario Odyssey). A Playful Corp concept artist apparently referenced “environmental assets for the upcoming Switch port” of the game in their CV, Nintendo Everything reports (the discovery was originally made in a YouTube video that has since been deleted).

While a game like Super Lucky’s Tale is far more at home on the Switch than it is on Xbox, I’m still sceptical of something like this happening—for starters, consider that the game was published by Microsoft, why would they put something on the Switch? File this away under “rumors”, and for now, play the game on Xbox One or PC if you want to.

While Microsoft is now publishing more PC games than it has in years, very few of them actually make their way to Steam, which remains the premier distribution platform for PC games, and almost synonymous with PC gaming (for good or for bad…) at this point. Microsoft, of course, is trying to push its own Windows Store platform, so it makes sense- but while they wait for sales there to actually begin mattering to any appreciable degree, it seems like they are fine with some of their smaller games coming over to Steam in the meanwhile.

Not that they will be bringing said games over themselves- according to an early report published on Worth Playing, it sounds like THQ Nordic has signed a deal to bring over five of Microsoft’s games over to Steam for them. These games are ReCore: Definitive Edition, Super Lucky’s Tale, Disneyland Adventures, Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure, and Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection.

Microsoft, of course, has seen some of its first party content release on Steam in the past, such as Halo Wars: Definitive Edition and Quantum Break, so in that sense, this isn’t much of a change from them. Now, if Forza Horizon 4 were to launch on Steam too, for example, then it could be seen as them throwing in the towel on the Windows Store initiative…

After Xbox Live director of programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb teased games coming to Xbox Game Pass in March, starting with Rise of the Tomb Raider, we now have the full slate of other titles in-bound. According to Xbox Wire, these games are Sea of Thieves, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil Revelations 2, The Final Station, Euro Fishing, Sonic CD, Oxenfree and Super Lucky’s Tale.

To be fair, Sea of Thieves was already known beforehand when Microsoft announced that Xbox One exclusives would be launching on the same day for Game Pass as retail. The other titles don’t look all that bad, especially Oxenfree, Sonic CD and Resident Evil Revelations 2.

Among other Xbox One exclusives coming to the service are future titles in the Halo, Gears of War and Forza franchises, State of Decay 2, Crackdown 3 and much more. The service is currently available for $9.99 per month and features 100 available titles for playing at any given time.

Forza Motorsport 7

Loot box controversy and VIP bonuses notwithstanding, Turn 10 Studios’ Forza Motorsport was yet another awesome racing simulator. It took everything we loved about the series – the wide selection of beautifully rendered cars and tight track design – and added dynamic weather for surprisingly competitive results. The Forza Driver’s Cup was the campaign mode this time and it offered the usual range of showcase events, races and challenges.

The divisions restricted you to a particular class while the open series allowed for greater diversity in selection. Combine this with detailed car customization options, excellent presentation and the ability to tailor the difficulty to your liking, and Forza Motorsport 7 stands out as one of the best racing simulators on Xbox One.

Halo Wars 2

It’s hard to sell someone on a real-time strategy game for consoles. The Halo Wars series has been pulling it off somehow but Halo Wars 2 is a different beast. It’s been developed by The Creative Assembly and 343 Industries as opposed to Ensemble Studios. Taking place after the events of Halo 5: Guardians, Halo Wars 2 reunited us with the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire who awoke from cryo-sleep to arrive at an Ark and battle a new Brute faction called the Banished.

With a fairly solid campaign that streamlines many of the complications of RTS titles to allow for faster paced action, Halo Wars 2 also made an impact with its multiplayer modes. The wide variety of units to control along with their leaders, the addition of Blitz that combines collectible card game mechanics with strategy, and Firefight for some sweet PvE action made for some highly entertaining gameplay.

Tacoma

From the developer of Gone Home, Tacoma is also a narrative-based adventure title with plenty of mystery. As Amy, you board the Tacoma space station and unravel the events that took place under the eye of Venturis. What happened to the crew aboard the station and how does the AI ODIN play a part in all of this?

The magic of the game isn’t in the performances or writing of its characters but in how their stories are told. Amy views augmented reality data of each event and can rewind, fast forward or pause moments to glean more information. You might discover Clive’s boyish love for E.V. or miss Andrew’s more emotional moments with his son. The various plotlines unfold in a natural manner and despite the fairly linear nature of it all, Tacoma presents an intriguing story that should be experienced.

Super Lucky’s Tale

Microsoft has never really been known for its platformers. We’ve had successes like Ori and The Blind Forest but Super Lucky’s Tale was an indication that mascots could thrive on the Xbox One as well. The story itself focuses on Lucky, the protagonist, being sucked into a magical book to battle a posse of evil cats. One of those is a ninja who employs Mew-shu and wants to test Lucky before fights can actually take place. The hijinks only escalate from there.

In terms of evoking the nostalgia of old-school platformers, Super Lucky’s Tale isn’t as successful as A Hat in Time or even Yooka-Laylee (and forget about being in Super Mario Odyssey’s league). But it’s a colourful adventure with some fun abilities and challenges to overcome. That’s all we can ask for in this day and age.

Cuphead

Have you ever played a game that felt so much like a tribute to so many different mediums while still establishing its own identity? Cuphead was a mash-up of Fleischer Studios animation, spicy swing music blaring with trumpets and big drums, and the old-school difficulty of run and gun platformers. It was dripping with charm but would it be too niche for its own good?

As it turns out, it wasn’t. Cuphead was pretty flawless in its approach with awesome boss fights and tough but fair stages brimming with cool enemies. You wouldn’t think a platformer this tough could garner such universal love but Cuphead did and made it look easy.

Winner: Cuphead

Studio MDHR’s Cuphead has always had our curiosity and attention. The animation style almost felt unreal. The difficulty was apparently brutal. What was this strange game that was exclusive to the Xbox One (and would later be confirmed for Windows 10 and Steam)? How could it possibly stand up to Sony’s juggernaut of exclusives? Why was it constantly delayed?

Cuphead didn’t have the biggest budget – in fact, Studio MDHR’s founders had to mortgage their homes to complete development. It didn’t have the most forgiving difficulty curb. However, it had an identity. It had something which so many games today lack and that’s heart. Cuphead stood on its own and burrowed deep into our hearts like Mega Man, Mario, Shovel Knight, Metroid and many other platforming greats before it. To that end, it’s our pick for 2017’s Best Xbox One.

Note: GamingBolt’s Game of the Year categories, nominations and awards are selected via an internal nomination, voting and debate process. You can check the rest of categories and the respective winners here.

To learn more about the game, including why it targeted consoles after the original’s VR release, GamingBolt spoke to Playful head of marketing and communications David Calkins. If you’ve yet to play the game or want to know more about its development process, read on.

"We’ve seen a growing appetite for nostalgic platformers lately and the timing seemed perfect to for a game that taps into that nostalgia and serves it up in a modern, refined experience."

Lucky’s Tale was exclusive for the Oculus Rift when it launched. What was the response and what motivated bringing the sequel to consoles this time around?

Our experience making Lucky’s Tale was uncharted territory for us in couple ways. We were still relatively new to developing games for virtual reality. And though we are huge fans of the platforming genre, it was our first time actually making one. Despite those challenges, we are really happy with the final game and ecstatic that those who get a chance to play it are just as enthusiastic for it as we are.

For the sequel, our biggest goal was to bring Lucky to as many people as possible. We love the character and the delightful feel of his world and fellow critters – we wanted to bring that joy to a wider audience. So when we got the opportunity to work with Microsoft on a full sequel that would also be a launch title for the Xbox One X, it felt like the right next step. We’ve seen a growing appetite for nostalgic platformers lately and the timing seemed perfect to for a game that taps into that nostalgia and serves it up in a modern, refined experience.

Super Lucky’s Tale appears delightfully old-school but still provides a fresh approach to its gameplay. How did you balance between these two aspects during development?

Early on in development, we stumbled onto this idea of making a “playground platformer”. For us it became a helpful way to view our approach to Super Lucky’s Tale. It meant that rather than limiting ourselves to one specific kind of gameplay, we wanted to dig deep into the genre and explore all of the unique ideas that have evolved over the years, and then incorporate as many of them that fit within our overall vision for the game.

A lot of that involved going back to our favorite platformers from recent and distant past and asking ourselves what made them truly fun to play. It was a treat to realize how well most of them hold up even today, and that the groundbreaking ideas from the more innovative ones still resonate and feel fresh. After spending enough time standing on the shoulders of those giants, it became a matter finding unique ways to incorporate them into Lucky’s world, from movement mechanics to level design to the charm of memorable, funny characters. What made it all come together was that we developed the game to match the tastes of modern gaming – things like amazingly detailed 4K environments, intuitive level design, a rewarding game progression that leaves out some of the older games’ frustration points.

Why did you opt for a 2D platforming approach to the gameplay and how do you often the subvert the traditional 2D approach?

About a third of the game’s levels are built in 2D style. There are a few reasons we found them compelling. First, they were partly inspired by the “foxhole” moments in the first Lucky’s Tale, where you and Lucky went underground and were suddenly in a mostly 2D environment with limited z-axis depth. We really enjoyed those moments and thought they fit nicely into the game, giving players a break from the full immersion of VR to something a bit more intimate. They have a similar effect in the sequel, making for a much more diverse “playground” by adding variety and color to the experience and giving players a break from the larger, more immersive 3D levels. We think it does wonders for the game’s pacing and overall flow.

"A big pillar for us was keeping the game’s controls simple enough that even the most casual player or genre newcomer who sat down to play Super Lucky’s Tale could pick it up and feel empowered to take on the gameplay and have fun."

There are many subtle things we did to make the 2D levels feel fresh and subvert traditional approaches. There’s a lot going on in those levels, even more so than the 3D ones, such as NPCs doing humorous things in the background, or moments where you jump into a foxhole and surface in the background where you have to navigate a series of platforms from a distance and at a smaller scale.

From initial impressions, Super Lucky’s Tale is being praised for providing additional objectives but not making things too complicated for the core gameplay. Was this your intention for the experience and do things become significantly more difficult over time?

We know a lot of people who felt platformers became too difficult once they went ‘3D’. Most of those games have an additional layer of abstraction in terms of managing the camera, understanding your position relative to the obstacles ahead of you, and orienting yourself towards an area’s goals. These elements add a lot of complexity to the gameplay and essentially leave a good portion of the audience out in the cold.

A big pillar for us was keeping the game’s controls simple enough that even the most casual player or genre newcomer who sat down to play Super Lucky’s Tale could pick it up and feel empowered to take on the gameplay and have fun. That’s not to say the game is without challenge. But instead of having the difficulty lie in things like controls, we focused instead in increasing the difficulty in the levels themselves. The intensity of the gameplay increases as you progress in the game, but it’s all built on a framework of intuitive, accessible controls. For example, while you have the option to rotate the camera in the 3D levels, you don’t actually ever need to do it to get through them. This makes for a game that is more broadly appealing and something the whole family can enjoy – a goal we strive for with all of our projects at Playful.

What can Lucky do throughout the game in terms of default abilities and whatnot?

For most of the game, Lucky has a few simple controls like jump, double jump, and a tail swipe attack in addition to basic movement. There’s also a new mechanic we added for the sequel called burrow, where you dive into the ground, continue your path by digging forward and end it by springing back up to the surface. Here’s a fun tidbit. The burrow move was partially inspired by a video of a fox jumping on a trampoline. As we refined it, the move resembled a cross between the bouncy nature of that playful fox with the grace of a dolphin diving in and out of the surface of the ocean. Its final implementation felt like a revelation, and spurred even more ideas to make Lucky’s movement more fun down the road.

There are also a few bonus levels, such as on-rails runners and marble rolling mini-games that add a bit of extra variety to Lucky’s movement. Though the abilities are simple, there’s a lot of satisfaction from combining them and finding a rhythm that lets you gracefully flow over the terrain. We ramp up the game’s difficulty with each new level in a way that challenges players to master these simple controls and, by the end, become experts at movement combos.

How many worlds and levels are there to explore in the game?

There are four worlds, each with several main levels and a series of bonus levels. Each level is a world full of different creatures and habitats, and each has been taken over by a member of the Kitty Litter, the game’s antagonists.

"If you’re just rushing through the game to finish the story, it’ll take you anywhere from 4-6 hours. Unlocking everything and getting every achievement takes more like 8-10 hours."

What was your primary design philosophy when it came to designing levels?

It goes back to this concept of building a playground. To expand on that, we challenged ourselves to experiment with all kinds of variety in the level design and game mechanics. With some platformer games you know what you’re going to get with each level – maybe it’s a series of levels where you run from left to right, and while the setting might change, it’s essentially a uniform experience throughout. But with Super Lucky’s Tale, we wanted every level to feel almost like a different kind of ride. In addition to gameplay variety, we filled the world with a lot of optional collectibles and secrets to discover, making it fun to go back and replay areas. The end results is each level is a bit of a surprise where you’re not quite sure what to expect.

How long will a default playthrough be for someone who doesn’t collect everything?

If you’re just rushing through the game to finish the story, it’ll take you anywhere from 4-6 hours. Unlocking everything and getting every achievement takes more like 8-10 hours.

What are your thoughts on Super Lucky’s Tale being sandwiched between so many big releases this year?

It may seem counter-intuitive to say this, be we welcomed it. Releasing as a launch title for a new Xbox is a fantastic opportunity to introduce Lucky, who’s still relatively new and unknown in the gaming world. The fact that the Xbox launch coincided with a lot of other game releases was out of our control, but in particular we found that being released alongside several other big platformer games helped boost awareness for all of them simultaneously, Lucky included.

The game received Xbox One X support. Is native 4K and 60 frames per second on the cards?

Yep! It was built for true 4K resolution and runs at a smooth 60 frames per second throughout on the Xbox One X. You will have the same experience if you’re playing it via the Windows 10 store on a decent gaming PC.

What is the resolution and frame rate of the base Xbox One version?

Super Lucky’s Tale runs at 1080p and a consistent frame rate of 30 FPS on both the Xbox One and Xbox One S.

"It is surreal to think that something we’ve worked on can now be experienced by players worldwide."

Will Super Lucky’s Tale see any post-launch support? Is there any DLC planned at some point in the coming months?

We’re currently focused mainly on fixing the remaining bugs we weren’t able to get to before launch. We already released one big update a couple weeks ago that resolved a lot of minor issues early players were seeing and are fixing more when we can.

As for future content involving Lucky, we don’t have any details to share at this time, but we are definitely interested in telling more of Lucky’s story and are eager for the chance to do that. We’ll have more to announce in the coming months, and I think that fans of the game will be pleased.

Following the release of the base game, will you release the game on other platforms like PS4 and Steam? And is there is a reason why you are not launching on them given their larger install base?

We’re currently focused on giving as much opportunity as we can for Lucky to shine on the Xbox One and Windows 10 platforms. Again, while we don’t have any details to share beyond that, it’s fair to say we’re always interested in bringing Lucky to even more audiences.

Is there anything else you want to tell our readers before we let you go?

It is surreal to think that something we’ve worked on can now be experienced by players worldwide. The stories we’ve been hearing from players who’ve fallen in love with Lucky are what make game development such a fulfilling art for us, and their feedback is incredibly important to us. Case in point: look at how the games progressed from Lucky’s Tale to Super Lucky’s Tale – a big part of the improvement was that we listened to what players were saying and internalized it as we were concepting the sequel. So please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts with us about Super Lucky’s Tale. Tweet to us, post on our Facebook page or send us an email!

Lastly, I’d love to give a quick call out to Playful Corp.’s next game: a cinematic, side-scrolling sci-fi platformer for PlayStation VR called Star Child. You can find out more about it here: www.starchildthegame.com.

Sledgehammer Games is busy patching up and fixing Call of Duty: WW2’s servers but that doesn’t mean the first person shooter is suffering in sales. In the latest UK sales charts courtesy of Chart-Track, it was revealed that Call of Duty: WW2 was still on top. Furthermore, it not only attained the highest selling second week for a title in 2017 but for 2016 as well.

So yes, that means that second week of UK sales for Call of Duty: WW2 was higher than the second week sales of anything from last year. Keep in mind that digital sales are not tracked by Chart-Track so the actual number of copies sold is likely a lot higher.

In second place was FIFA 2018 followed by Assassin’s Creed Origins in third. Despite its own controversies and negative reviews, Need for Speed Payback still debuted in fourth placed followed by Sonic Forces in fifth.

Super Mario Odyssey is in sixth place with Forza Motorsport 7, Forza Horizon 3 and Gran Turismo Sport in seventh, eighth and ninth place respectively. And yes, even Football Manager 2018 managed to break the top 10, debuting at tenth place. Other debuts for the week include Super Lucky’s Tale at 23rd place and The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs at 27th place.

Sonic Forces wasn’t the only 3D platformer that released this week, as Microsoft is headlining the launch of its super powerful Xbox One X console with… Super Lucky’s Tale.

Okay, jokes about how odd that is aside, Super Lucky’s Tale is a charming platformer, that has gotten the sort end of the stick for coming out right after Super Mario Odyssey, arguably the greatest 3D platformer of all time- meaning it will be compared unfavorably to it, no matter what. But it’s a good game- kids, especially, are probably going to like it.

But they’re kids, so they might get stuck or lost or just overwhelmed. In which case, you want to help them out with a nice walkthrough showing them where to go and what to do, and how to do it. That’s where we come in- below is a full video walkthrough for Super Lucky’s Guide. As always, be mindful of spoilers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1JatYQjrJM

Call of Duty: WW2

It’s that time of the year again. You know, when a new Call of Duty releases and basks us in a year-long spree of microtransactions, balance changes, jokes about MLG, Doritos and Mountain Dew and DLC. However, at least this year’s Call of Duty: WW2 has the benefit of going back to a bygone era for the franchise. As the name implies, it takes place during World War 2 with a highly cinematic campaign that will encompass various theaters of the conflict. This also means that multiplayer will do away with the futuristic jetpacks and wall-running in favour of run and gun gameplay. There are some new features like a social space to meet other players, Divisions to enlist in and build different classes, the new War mode which presents a huge conflict in multiplayer for the first time and of course, a new Zombies campaign with Nazi Zombies returning. Will it help reinvigorate the franchise? We’ll find out when Call of Duty: WW2 releases on November 3rd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.