The Casting of Frank Stone, the upcoming narrative horror game set in the Dead By Daylight universe by Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games, has its first gameplay trailer. The game was first announced at the 2023 Game Awards. 

The story unfolds in 1980 in the town of Cedar Hills, a town scarred by the murderous killer Frank Stone. It stars four friends who set out to create a horror film at a derelict steel mill dubbed Murder Mill. Naturally, that goes as horribly as you’d imagine, and players must survive by making choices that decide the characters’ relationships and fates. Sudden quick-time events can also be the deciding factor between whether someone lives or dies. 

Similar to Supermassive’s previous titles like The Quarry and the Dark Pictures Anthology, The Casting of Frank Stone can go down multiple paths based on your choices. Players will also solve environmental puzzles and gather clues to learn more about Cedar Hills

The Casting of Frank Stone still has no release date, but it will launch later this year for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. 

Studio director Amir Rao gave us an office tour while visiting Supergiant Games for our Hades II cover story trip. Enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the studio that previously brought you Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and Hades!

See The Supergiant Games Office Tour: 

During our trip to Supergiant Games for our Hades II cover story, we had a chance to speak with one of the studio's original seven employees and its principal voice actor, Logan Cunningham. From providing the voice of Rucks in Bastion to Red's titular Transistor to Hades himself, Cunningham has played a vital part of every Supergiant title. In this rare interview, we ask Logan how he entered the world of voice acting, how he joined Supergiant Games, and which characters are his favorites to play (and which he'd want to redo). 

Game Informer: When did you first discover that you were good at creating or imitating voices?

Logan Cunningham: I don't think there was ever a moment that I discovered that. I always did that. From when I was a kid, my brother and I, we would record stupid little... almost like our own little radio plays but based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, just with a cassette recorder. I don't know; maybe it started there. The first time I think I realized I had a voice that people consider to be nice was in elementary school because my English teachers would always ask me to read from whatever book we were studying at the time. But I never set out to be a voice actor. [I] certainly [had] no formal training. There's not really any formal training for voice acting that I think exists. Everybody falls backward into it, just like I did. From my understanding, from my experience with everyone, every voice actor that I meet, I ask them like, 'Oh, how did you start?' and it's always the same story. 'I did one, then I did another, a third one, and now 15 years later here I am'. And my case is a little different in that the way I got my first job was from knowing one of the people who started Supergiant Games and then also knowing [Supergiant composer] Darren Korb.

Did you have any go-to characters you liked to imitate? Or was there a character you concocted that became your primary voice?

I was pretty much weaned on Star Trek: The Next Generation, so I think even at, like, six I had a pretty good Patrick Stewart. But not really. I didn't really focus on anybody in particular. If I encountered a voice that I liked, I would just sort of do it – not for anyone, just for me. Just on my own in the bathtub, which I still do.

The most sacred places to practice: the shower, the bathtub.

It's where you're at your most vulnerable. 

Yes, quite literally. When you first made your big leap into doing voice acting, as you mentioned, coming on with Supergiant, what was that initial conversation like?

It was literally my friend Amir [Rao], who I knew had left his job at Electronic Arts with his friend Gavin Simon, and they moved from LA back to San Jose, which is where we're all from, Amir, me, and Darren, into his dad's house and they started a startup; which was a game developer, which I don't even think I knew that term at the time. All I knew was a friend of mine was making a video game. And they had gotten to the point where they wanted to try something with voice-over, and so now they needed an actor, and I was the actor that they happened to know personally. And they had no money, and so I was cheap. And I was roommates with Darren in New York at the time, who was already involved. He came on board maybe, like, December '09? And then I recorded the first lines of Bastion [in] February; yeah it was Presidents Day weekend 2010. Yes, it really did just start with me doing a friend of favor.

When you look back on your first big role as a voice actor with Bastion, how did you feel about that performance at the time? And how do you feel about it now that you've had a chance to reflect on it over a decade later?

I was just trying to get through it. I had no idea what I was doing. None of us did. Darren and I certainly, that was our first time working on a video game in any capacity, but I just approached it as an actor. I just tried to keep the character consistent and give it as much life as I could. I had a lot of help from Greg [Kasavin] writing an amazing character and amazing story. Once we were working on Transistor, the Transistor performance is pretty much just me, but just kind of at a whisper. And with Rucks in Bastion, the narrator, what made a good take during those sessions was if the voice was right. And then in Transistor, what made a good take was if the performance was right.

Hades

To jump ahead to Hades II, what new characters do you provide the voice for in the game?

I'm not going to say. I'll let people guess and figure it out. Hades, I can confirm because he's in the trailer.

How did it feel when you first heard Supergiant was doing its first sequel? How did it feel to be returning to a world for the first time instead of preparing for a whole new one?

Really happy and I wasn't surprised at all. At all. Because we loved making that game so much. It was so clear, to me anyway, that we weren't done with it. There was so much still left to do and explore and characters to meet and stories to tell. So I was thrilled.

I was excited, too, especially because I really enjoyed your work as Hades in the first game. Can you talk about the process of preparing for that role, what that looked like, and what you felt you needed to bring to that role to bring that character to life?

Just imagining not the worst dad possible, but a very difficult one who's just a workaholic, is constantly busy and never has time for you, is really powerful, and has a really important job. And because of it, [he's] miserable most, if not all, the time but is also still kind of a person and has a past and regrets and all those things that make a character interesting. But yeah, coming up with the voice was a lot of fun because it is basically just Tywin Lannister and Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness in Legend, if you've ever seen that movie. So yeah, getting to play around with that.

The Voice of Supergiant Games

Here are all of the characters Logan Cunningham has voiced in Supegiant's first four games. 

Bastion - Rucks

Transistor - The Transistor

Pyre - The Voice, Bertrude, Dalbert, Lendel, Ignarius

Hades - Hades, Poseidon, Achilles, Charon, Asterius, The Storyteller

Of all the characters you've voiced in your games, do you have any ones that stand out as your favorite or most cherished characters? Do you feel particularly close to them the way some actors do about a role or character that they've played?

Favorite is probably a tie between Rucks and Hades. Rucks because he was the first and my introduction to Supergiant; my foot in the door, if you like. Hades, because he was so much fun to do. It's really fun to play someone who's just, like, a bastard. He's just like a s****y person. But what often comes to mind is the Transistor, actually. Like, if I have the opportunity to sort of do that one over, I might. Or I will at least heavily think about it. My kind of immediate reaction once I played the thing from start to finish was like, 'Okay.' I wasn't quite sure I was playing that guy. I felt I was maybe playing somebody else.

Now that you've been doing this for so long, and you mentioned before not being formally trained, what were some of the on-the-job training lessons you've learned over the years to improve as a voice actor?

All kinds of vocal warm-ups. Whereas at the start, it might take me a couple of hours to get ready. Now I am pretty much good to go in 20 minutes to half an hour. I know how much time I need to spend with the script if I'm lucky enough to have the time to see the lines beforehand because very often, it's just 'Hey, who are we doing today? Achilles? Great, all right'. And it's mostly in the recording session itself, I'll get a chance to read the line, whatever the next line is that we have to do, I'll get to read through it once or twice and then I just have to go for it. So, I guess I've gotten more efficient. But I think everyone at Supergiant, certainly all of us who worked on Bastion and we're all still there, we've all gotten more professionalized, I guess.

I always wonder about this with voice actors because I find myself doing this. You mentioned before it's fun to sort of do a voice when you're alone, you're around the house just doing a voice; do you ever find yourself doing that with any of the characters you've played in the past? Do you ever just go around the house and start talking as Hades randomly since you mentioned how much fun it is to occupy that role? Or do you sort of retire them once the project is over? 

I don't really, but I will find myself doing, randomly at times, voices that inspired some of those characters. I still love just walking around my place just doing lines from Deadwood as Al Swearengen, which was a huge influence on Rucks. At the very least, it's a nice vocal exercise. But it's just kind of one of those silly, crazy things that actors do, and one of the reasons it's good that I live alone.

Bastion

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing voice acting or to aspiring/young voice actors who want to improve?

Make sure you're an actor, that you know how to act. Because it's not just doing funny voices. I think it used to be that way years and years ago. It's not anymore. Keep working, keep improving. Take classes, take every opportunity you have. If you know people who are making things, work with them. If you know a decent amount of those people who are making stuff, one of them might make it and remember you and take you along. That is absolutely what happened to me.

How would you compare your experience working on Hades II to previous games? Has this felt the most challenging or the most exciting? How do you feel about what is being asked of you for this game compared to what you've done before?

Not necessarily more challenge. It's just different. What I will confirm, and I think this has been confirmed maybe in other places, there are a number of returning characters that I did in Hades in Hades II in addition to some new ones, which are the ones that I can't talk about. So there might be a character of mine from the first one where Melinoë, the protagonist, might mention, 'blah, blah, blah' to 'blah blah blah' and that'll inform the performance. There is a kind of melancholy that I've certainly felt with a lot of the characters that I've been doing in the sequel compared to the original, Hades 1, which hopefully adds interesting layers. I don't know, we'll see. We're still working on it.

Is there a character you've played from the Supergiant Games that you most identify with on a personal level?

Is it weird to say Charon?

Why is that?

He's someone who doesn't say words and generally would like to be left alone, I think [laughs]. I can imagine running a store just like, 'Ah, get what you want, get out.' I identify with that.

Transistor

What is the thing that you're most proud of with Hades II, both in regards to what you're bringing to it as an actor and what the game is doing to build upon the first game? What are you most excited about for players to experience?

I won't be able to speak to my own work on it until it's done. All I know is just I'm working on it, I'm doing it. Darren, who's my director, is happy with what I'm doing. I seem to be delivering what he's asking. Greg seems to be satisfied as well. It's feeling good. It's sounding good to me. I'm just happy that [Hades II] is happening, that it exists, and that it is already as good as it is. And that people are beginning to discover that on a larger scale. 

Hades was such a massive success for the studio. As someone who was there from the humble beginnings, how have you personally internalized Hades' overwhelming success?

I get recognized occasionally on the street for Hades, which is very strange. And that's largely I think due to the NoClip stuff that we did. In support of Hades once 1.0 came out, we did some videos for Twitter, for YouTube, and, obviously, through NoClip, quite a few of our faces got out there in a way that they hadn't before. Pre-Hades, the sort of public faces of Supergiant, the recognizable faces, were basically Greg and Amir. And Darren, on occasion. But now it's me at the bar that I go to all the time, and some, like, 23-year-old kid coming up to me like, 'Sir, are you are you...? And I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah, I am'. And it blows his mind, and in my head, I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm him. Somebody's got to be. It's me, yes. Thank you for playing, nice to meet you, good to see you.' So that's been an alteration or an accommodation I've had to make my life since release. Obviously, winning the BAFTA was huge. I was much more excited for all the other people who won BAFTAs. Greg and Jen [Zee] in particular, who I feel have gone unrecognized for their amazing work for far too long. 

How has it felt seeing Supergiant's growth from what it was in the beginning to where it is now?

We just have more resources now. Certainly, from my perspective, from my role there, I'm privy to this; we have access to a much higher, I don't know if caliber is the right word, but we are able to at least get in contact with and have conversations with and possibly even cast actors that we wouldn't have been able to get 100 feet in front of, or even 100 miles, even five years ago. And now, that seems to be something within our reach and is within reach, and I'm excited for people to discover that as well.

But at its heart, we're the same. We're the same people. Amir and Darren and me, we still make each other laugh with the same jokes that we made each other laugh at when we were 17 or whatever. We still share, whenever we do get together, horror stories, war stories from making Bastion. From Transistor, how terrified we all were making that one. The kind of wild child that is Pyre and how we didn't learn really how to describe that game until it was out.  But we're kind of like a shark: we don't really stop. We don't take too many breaks. We just move on. We finish something once we're happy with it, and then we let it out.

We're in a better place now than we were. Hades was our first experience with our Early Access, and that worked out really well for us. And we're doing the same with this one. We were pretty still early on with Hades, and we knew that Early Access was something we were going to do, I remember talking to Amir about it and him just saying 'Yeah, this is the game we've made so far that I'm least worried about'. Because of Early Access, anything that's wrong with the game, we'll just fix it before we ship it. So we're not gonna have to wait three years until we ship a completed thing to figure out if people like it or not. Or even know what it is or how to describe it.

Hades II is available now in Early Access on Steam and the Epic Games Store. Be sure to visit our cover story hub for more exclusive features and videos about the game. 

If you subscribe to the digital edition of Game Informer, you can now learn all about our trip to Supergiant for Hades II! Following the cover reveal our digital issue is now live on web browsers, iPad/iPhone, and Android devices.

Alongside our 12-page Hades II cover story, you will also find big features on our trip to Wizards of the Coast to learn all about what is next for Dungeons & Dragons, how Digital Eclipse is conserving video game history with its documentary video games, details from our trip to South Korea to play The First Descendant, a feature about tracking down and playing a thought-lost Star Wars arcade cabinet, a piece on the history and current state of Final Fantasy XI, and lots more! We've also got previews for The Rogue Prince of Persia, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Monaci 2, Still Wakes the Deep, Tales of the Shire, and reviews for Stellar Blade, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes, Sand Land, TopSpin 2K5, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Animal Well, and much more!

If you love print as much as we do, you can subscribe to the physical magazine:

Subscribe Now

You get 10 issues for $19.91, or two years and 20 issues for $34.99. Individual issues are also now available for purchase at this link or in any GameStop store.

You can download the apps to read the issue by following this link.

Amazon has ordered a new Tomb Raider TV series to production, and it will be written and produced by Fleabag star and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who also starred in last year's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Like Amazon's Fallout series, this Tomb Raider show will premiere exclusively on Prime Video to more than 240 countries and territories around the world. 

This series order arrives as part of a larger deal between Amazon MGM Studios and Tomb Raider reboot developer Crystal Dynamics, which is currently working on a new Tomb Raider game in Unreal Engine 5. In December of 2022, we learned Amazon Games will publish that in-development Tomb Raider game, which Amazon describes as a "single-player, narrative-driven adventure that will add a new chapter to Lara Croft's story in the Tomb Raider series." 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena Shaw in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

"With great IP, the possibilities are endless," Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann writes in a press release. "The richness and depth of the fiction allows the Tomb Raider series from Prime Video and the video game from Amazon Games to tell separate stories about Lara Croft's adventures. We're honored that Crystal Dynamics has entrusted Amazon with this iconic franchise, and we're looking forward to seeing where this collaboration takes us." 

This is the second upcoming TV adaptation to star the iconic treasure hunter. Netflix's animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, starring Haley Atwell, is set to premiere sometime this year. That particular show is set within the continuity of Crystal Dynamic's reboot trilogy, taking place after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. 

If you're curious about Crystal Dynamics' recent Tomb Raider reboot, you can pick up Tomb Raider: Game of the Year Edition on PC via GOG for free if you're an Amazon Prime member throughout May. For more, read Game Informer’s thoughts on the most recent Tomb Raider game in our Shadow of the Tomb Raider review

It's a stacked month for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The long-awaited Senua's Saga: Hellblade II launches onto the service next week, and noteworthy 2023 titles such as Immortals of Aveum, Lords of the Fallen, Humanity, and Chants of Sennaar join the library. Take a look at all the games coming as well as those leaving Game Pass at the end of the month. We've also included links to our reviews for applicable titles. 

What's Coming To Game Pass

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Console, PC, Cloud) - Today | Our Review

Chants of Sennaar (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 15

EA Sports NHL 24 via EA Play (Cloud) - May 16

Immortals of Aveum via EA Play (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 16 | Our Review

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 21

Galacticare (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 23

Hauntii (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 23

Moving Out 2 (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 28

Humanity (Console, PC, Cloud) - May 28 | Our Review

Lords of the Fallen (Xbox Series X/S, PC, Cloud) - May 30 | Our Review

Fireworks (PC) - June 4

Rolling Hills (Console, PC, Cloud) - June 4

What’s Leaving Game Pass on May 31

Chicory: A Colorful Tale (Console, PC, Cloud) | Our Review

Farworld Pioneers (Console, PC, Cloud)

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle (Console, PC, Cloud)

Pac-Man Museum Plus (Console, PC, Cloud)

Little Witch in the Woods (Console, PC, Cloud)

Railway Empire II (Console, PC, Cloud)

Dungeons & Dragons has a big year ahead of it. The classic tabletop RPG is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the most significant event of that celebration is undoubtedly the release of a revision for the game's core rules, including the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. Backwards-compatible with the entirety of the 5th edition of the game, the new books are nonetheless a big new step forward for the game, reflecting a decade of iteration and evolution as the game has exploded in popularity.

The books aren’t far off. Players and Dungeon Masters alike can watch for pre-orders starting on June 18; each book is set to be priced at $49.99. Each of the three new books comes in at a hefty 384 pages apiece.

Characters from the classic D&D cartoon get a makeover in this internal art from a chapter opener in the new Player's Handbook. Artist Credit: Dmitry Burmak

We had the good fortune to visit Wizards of the Coast a few weeks ago to learn more from the artists and designers about what to expect in the revised game, and we have a ton of exclusive details about the revised D&D in this month’s Game Informer magazine. The magazine article includes extensive insight from Wizards of the Coast designers, including Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. Our conversations with the designers offer great depth into what to expect out of each of the three core books on the way. We hope you’ll support that kind of exclusive coverage of D&D with a subscription to GI for less than $2 an issue so you can check the article out for yourself.

In addition to all the fun new design insights discussed in our magazine article, we also wanted to show off some of the remarkable art coming as part of the latest books. We’re including that here, alongside details from the art team working to craft the game’s look.

We’re especially excited to reveal a close look at the cover art for the new Player’s Handbook. 

The front cover of the newly revised version of D&D's Player's Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

As the first planned release of the three new core rulebooks, it’s also likely the one that’s most important to the broadest swath of D&D players; its appearance in each prior edition has helped define the tone of the game.

The new Player’s Handbook front cover embraces the game’s revitalized approach to pushing forward legendary characters from across the history of the game. We see the likes of Yolande the Elven queen, Strongheart the knight, Elkhorn the Dwarven warrior, the divine Mercion, and the rogueish Molliver, all charging together into an adventure. These are figures hearkening back to the earliest era of the game. Wrapped around them is a benevolent gold dragon – a nod to the “golden” 50th anniversary of the game and an enticing reminder that the dragons in the game’s title can be allies as frequently as enemies.

A gold dragon teams up with a party of legendary heroes to confront a red dragon and its kobold minions in the full front cover art for the new Player's Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

The new cover art comes from the experienced hand of freelance illustrator, Tyler Jacobson. “I’ve worked on DND since 2009. And I did the covers back in the fifth edition,” Jacobson says. “I did the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide, as well as many of the other covers that came after that for [titles] like Storm King’s Thunder and Volo’s.”

The direction for the cover art is highly intentional, meant to reflect the content inside. “With the cover art, we wanted to represent each experience,” Jacobson says. “How do we make the Player's Handbook look like it's the players' experience? And how do we make the Dungeon Master’s Guide feel like the Dungeon Master’s experience?”

The back cover of the Player's Handbook features an unknown party of adventurers flying into danger on the back of a bronze dragon. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

A separate piece of art on the reverse side of the Player’s Handbook goes the other direction from the mythical heroes depicted on the front, depicting a party of unknown heroes, and nodding to players who will craft their own legends.

The new Player’s Handbook (and all the rulebooks moving forward into this new era of the game) features a red book spine, which, in my mind, subtly nods to some classic visual cues like the classic red boxed set from the 1980s. But whether that’s intentional or not, the red hue also easily sets the new books apart from any other recent rulebooks you have on your shelf.

From sketch to completed art of the new Player's Handbook. Artist Credit: Tyler Jacobson

Early book printings will bear a D&D 50th seal on the back – a recognition of the big five-decade anniversary.

As fans have come to expect, you can also look forward to alternate book covers available in your local game store – the new alternate Player’s Handbook depicts a gorgeous scene of elves and a sinuous gold dragon, all printed in a gold foil treatment.

Beyond the cover, there’s no shortage of art filling the books' pages, as evidenced by the extensive visuals we saw from the interior pages of the Player’s Handbook.

Artist Néstor Ossandón Leal shows the process from sketch to completed art. Artist Credit: Néstor Ossandón Leal

“A lot of our chapter openers are famous heroes,” says studio art director Josh Herman. “Almost every chapter opening features a different hero, or group of heroes in a different setting. So, you've got Dragonlance, and other ones, like Ravenloft; you’ve got a whole suite of them. Whereas the Dungeon Master’s Guide is all about villains. The cover is all about the villains and the sort of threats that the DM gets to play up. And in that art, you get to see a lot of our famous locations and some of our famous villains in its chapter openers. So, it's sort of like the opposite side of the coin; we want to present all of the facets of the game in a way that hopefully people can understand.”

The completed art that launches the Fighter class section in the Player's Handbook. Artist Credit: Néstor Ossandón Leal

I was especially struck by the mix of characters and settings on display in the revised books. Where many prior official books seemed to default to the familiar Forgotten Realms setting (chief home of the Baldur’s Gate video games), these new core books seem to embrace the multiversal nature of D&D, including the characters and locations of myriad worlds.  “I think like 10 years after [5th edition’s launch], all of these settings have come out,” Herman says. “Like Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Planescape. That's probably why the differences are so much there; we want to show off all the different ways that players can play just like you can choose any type of character, and we want to create a broad gamut for you to pick from.”

A silver dragon enjoys the adulation of a city's parade route. Artist Credit: Campbell White

The art in the new core books has a chief goal of helping to further an understanding of the game. Spells are often shown being cast. Art for character backgrounds shows a possible place your hero could have come from. It even extends to the visuals of creatures in the Monster Manual. “There's a lot of mindfulness about the mixture; to pick the monster design accurately to the stat block,” says art director Emi Tanji. “If it's a creature that does slashing damage or something like you want to make sure we see claws. And you want to make sure if the art has shows something that's like a stinger, but there's nothing in the stat block – that would be weird, right?”

As I had the chance to explore completed pages during my visit to Wizards of the Coast, I was impressed by the bounty of art that fleshes out the books and how the art is presented to act as a visual tool for organization. “We worked with the design team to ensure that every class starts with the left-hand page,” Herman says. “Whereas before in 2014, it was just kind of a running journal. Now what we wanted to do is every class would open with a full-page piece of art on the left-hand side with a similar set of lead data on the right hand, so that every time you get to a new class, you get sort of an immediate visual, which we tried to theme around almost like an iconic version of what that class is.”

Concept art reveals the redesigned look for the red dragon. Artist Credit: Alexander Ostrowski

The revised books also gave the art and design team at Wizards of the Coast a chance to return to some of its most iconic visuals and refine the approach, including the titular dragons of the classic five metallic and five chromatic species. “All the dragon stuff was really great,” Herman says “We went through all 10 of them. We have new designs for all of those and there will be a lot of that in the Monster Manual for sure. We are trying to update those designs to be something in which players could see that dragon's personality or what biome they live in, or where they fit in the cast of all of the dragons.”

The new look for the bronze dragon, and concepts for its breath weapon. Artist Credit: Alexander Ostrowski

As a longtime D&D player, I came away from perusing this new version of D&D with a lot of excitement. The art we’re sharing here publicly is just a sampling of what I had the opportunity to look over; there’s a cohesive visual language to the new books that is enticing. And I love the way the game seems to embrace the long history of heroes, villains, and iconic named monsters that have arisen over 50 years of play.

If the art on display here has you excited, I hope you don’t miss out on our in-depth tour of the design work expressed in the books themselves, as described in this month’s Game Informer magazine. Our eight-page article includes details on all three books, including new character options, building player bastions, new apex-tier monsters on the way, and the surprising importance and inclusions of what is arguably the oldest D&D campaign setting of them all – Greyhawk. In a magazine that is chiefly focused on video games, we figuratively rolled the dice on offering this level of depth on a tabletop game like D&D in one of our issues, thanks to its incredible influence on gaming, and its recent success and reach to newcomers. If that kind of coverage is something you like, we’d appreciate your support in checking out the magazine. 

In the meantime, enjoy exploring the breadth of all this new Dungeons & Dragons art! Click through the gallery below for full-size images of all the art included in this article, plus additional first-look pieces on the way in the new books. 

 

 

Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed in its latest financial earnings report it sold 20.8 million PlayStation 5 units in the fiscal year that ended on March 31. In doing so, Sony sold more than any fiscal year since the console's launch in November 2020. However, despite that achievement, Sony still fell short of its original PS5 sales target for this year, missing it by more than 4 million units. 

Originally targeting 25 million units for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, Sony sold 20.8 million, bringing the grand total up to 59 million, despite the 4 million units miss. As noted by VideoGamesChronicle, however, Sony revised that 25 million unit target in February to just 21 million; it still didn't hit that target, though, just narrowly missing the mark. 

At 59 million units, the PS5 is just behind the PlayStation 4's 60 million units at the same point in its life cycle. However, Tokyo-based video game analyst Serkan Toto told VGC that 20.8 million units sold is likely going to remain the peak for the PS5, and that this number would have been much lower if not for the release of Helldivers 2 in February, which is PlayStation's fastest-selling game ever after selling 12 million copies in 12 weeks. 

On the earnings call, Sony told investors to expect gaming sales to decrease in the fiscal year that just began (and ends March of next year) due to an expected decrease in console sales. There are also no major games from existing franchises releasing between now and then, according to the company. However, Sony says it still plans to release Concord, the new multiplayer online shooter IP from Firewalk Studios coming to PS5 and PC, this year. 

For more about PlayStation, read about how Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino have been named dual CEOs of the company, and then read Game Informer's Stellar Blade review. After that, check out Game Informer's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review. 

How do you feel about the PlayStation 5 at this point in its lifecycle? Let us know in the comments below!

Jake Solomon, former long-time Firaxis designer and director who spearheaded Marvel’s Midnight Suns and was a lead designer on XCOM: Enemy Unknown, has announced he’s formed a new company following his departure from Firaxis last February. Midsummer Studios is a team consisting of veteran Firaxis and Maxis designers. 

Midsummer was founded by Solomon, who serves as CEO and creative director, game director Will Miller (also formerly of Firaxis), and COO/CFO Nelsie Birch, a newcomer to games with a 25-year career in financial and operations management. They’re joined by executive producer Grant Rodiek, an 18-year veteran of Maxis Studios and former producer/director on several entries of The Sims. In addition to them, the small team currently consists of six other designers.

The company’s debut game will be a next-gen life sim that, according to the press release, “emphasizes player-driven narratives, allowing communities to share memorable moments that grow out of the creativity of players themselves.” 

“The best stories in games are written by the players,” said Solomon in the press release. “At Midsummer we’re making a life sim focused on the drama of modern life, where our players will write meaningful stories just by playing, and then share those stories with the world.”

Midsummer has secured a $6 million investment with several partners and is focused on growing a sustainable studio that values the health and happiness of its employees.

Paper Trail is a neat upcoming indie game, especially if you're into papercraft. The adventure stars Paige (get it?), a young girl with the power to fold reality like it's made out of paper. She uses this ability to run away from home in pursuit of her dreams, with players solving origami-focused pathfinding puzzles to get her from one scenic locale to the next. Join editors Marcus Stewart, Kyle Hilliard, and Wesley LeBlanc as they take a look at the opening chapter of this pleasant and mind-bending journey. 

Head over to Game Informer's YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

Helldivers 2 is PlayStation's fastest-selling game ever, the company has announced in its latest financial earnings call. It achieved this title after crossing 12 million copies sold in 12 weeks, beating out the record previously held by God of War Ragnarök, which sold 11 million copies in 10 weeks, as reported by VideoGamesChronicle. 

Developer Arrowhead Game Studios' live-service multiplayer shooter sequel hit PlayStation 5 on February 8, with a simultaneous PC launch that same day, which is new for PlayStation. Its usual PC strategy sees PlayStation games launching on PC years after the game's console release – Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is only just now coming to PC this month, for example. It seems launching on PC day-and-date with PS5 was the right call, though, as Helldivers 2 is now a bonafide hit for PlayStation. 

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt celebrated the news, noting there are more Helldivers 2 players than Swedes (the studio is based in Stockholm, Sweden) while thanking players for helping the team and PlayStation reach this achievement. 

As announced in the Sony earnings call, we have sold over 12M units!

It's crazy to think that there are more Helldivers than there are Swedes 🤯

What a massive achievement from everyone involved in realizing @Helldivers2. A massive thank you to the community for your support,…

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 14, 2024

Notably, Arrowhead Game Studios is independent – PlayStation published Helldivers 2 as a PS5 console exclusive, in a way previously referred to as second-party. However, given acquisitions are happening more and more this generation, it wouldn't be surprising if PlayStation attempted to bring Arrowhead Game Studios under the first-party umbrella. 

For more, read Game Informer's Helldivers 2 review, and then read about how PlayStation recently walked back its Helldivers 2 PlayStation Network changes. 

[Source: VideoGamesChronicle]

Are you one of the 12 million Helldivers 2 players? Let us know in the comments below! 

Sony has appointed Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino as dual CEOs of PlayStation, following Jim Ryan's departure from the company this spring; they will begin June 1. Ryan announced he was leaving PlayStation last year, with Sony Group Corporation COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki stepping in as interim CEO following his departure in March. After that brief stint, PlayStation is tackling the CEO position with two figures, each with different focuses. 

Hulst has been appointed CEO of SIE's Studio Business Group while Nishino has been appointed CEO of SIE's Platform Business Group. Totoki, now through as interim CEO, will serve as a Chairman of SIE in addition to returning to his role as COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation. Both Nishino and Hulst will report to Totoki. 

"Sony Interactive Entertainment is a dynamic and growing business that delivers incredible entertainment experiences through the connection of content and technology," Totoki writes in a press release. "These two leaders will have clear responsibilities and will manage strategic direction to ensure the focus remains on deepening engagement with existing PlayStation users and expanding experiences to new audiences."

Nishino was the senior vice president of PlayStation's Platform Experience Group, "responsible for developing the experiences and technology with PlayStation products and services," including the PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2, and PlayStation Network. Sony says in his new CEO position, he will continue to be responsible for technology, products, services, and platform experiences. He will also oversee third party publisher and developer relations and commercial operations, including sales and marketing of hardware, services, and peripherals, the press release reads. 

"We will continue to connect players through world-class products, services, and technology," Nishino writes. "We always strive to grow our community even bigger with innovation in every area at Sony Interactive Entertainment. I am honored to be appointed such an important role alongside Hermen. By working more closely together, we will be positioned to build incredible experiences for an ever-expanding audience now and in the future." 

Hulst was the senior vice president and PlayStation Studios head, responsible for "developing content across many devices including PlayStation consoles and PCs, and bringing video game IP to new mediums such as film and television through PlayStation Productions." As CEO, Hulst will be responsible for the development, publishing, and business operations of first party content. 

"I am thrilled to lead the studio business group and continue to build on our success with PlayStation 5, while preparing for the future," he writes in the press release. "The video game industry is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world and has been built on the marriage of content and technology, and I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of play and entertainment."

Totoki says in a separate blog post that later this month, players will "learn more about the long-term vision for Sony Group and the essential role SIE plays in that vision," hinting that the company might have some kind of event happening in May. He adds, "[Fiscal Year 2024] marks the start of the Mid-Range Plan period for Sony Group in which we will set the course for sustainable growth." 

For more about PlayStation, read Game Informer's Stellar Blade review, and then read Game Informer's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review. After that, check out this Game Informer interview with former PlayStation boss Jack Tretton about acquisitions, live service games, E3, and more. 

What do you think about PlayStation's dual CEO approach? Let us know in the comments below!

Last week, The Joker was announced as the first new fighter joining MultiVersus ahead of its upcoming relaunch this month. The reveal was purely cinematic, however, but today’s new trailer shows off his gameplay.

The video not only gives fans a sample of actor Mark Hamill’s new voice lines, but also reveals that Joker has an alternate costume modeled after The Batman Who Laughs. The video also shows what appears to be unique dialogue interactions between Joker and his long-time sidekick, Harley Quinn. 

MultiVersus has other new characters joining the fray that will be revealed over time. Following a lengthy hiatus since its open beta concluded last year, the game will return in an improved form on May 28.

Atlus has announced that the original version of Shin Megami Tensei V will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop on June 13. That’s one day before the launch of its expanded definitive edition, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.

On June 13, Shin Megami Tensei V’s Digital Standard and Digital Deluxe editions and all of its DLC will be removed from the eShop. However, owners of the physical and digital versions will still be able to play and redownload this content after it’s been delisted. SMT V first launched in November 2021, and Atlus declared it the best-selling game in the series in January 2022.

The original Shin Megami Tensei V Digital Standard, Digital Deluxe, and all associated DLC will be delisted from the Nintendo eShop on June 13.

Previously purchased physical and digital versions will remain playable and re-downloadable after this date.

— Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) May 13, 2024

Atlus has not provided a reason for this move, but given the timing, it’s likely to avoid confusion with the upcoming SMTV: Vengeance, which is the same game (including all DLC) but with quality-of-life improvements and an additional storyline that introduces new locations and demons. Think of it as the Persona 5 Royal of SMT V. Vengeance will also be multi-platform, whereas the original game was a Switch exclusive, and it will run for the same price as the original Standard version, $59.99.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance launches on June 14. You can read our extended preview of the game here, and you can also check out our review of the original SMT V here.

Update, 5/13/24:

The Rogue Prince of Persia, the upcoming roguelike from Dead Cells developer Evil Empire, will double-jump into Early Access on May 27. This new release date follows a delay from the original May 14 release date as a result of Hades II, which is gracing the latest cover of Game Informer, launching into Early Access last week. 

Evil Empire delayed The Rogue Prince of Persia's Early Access launch to give its team members, their mothers, and players around the world more time with Hades II. The team said at the time The Rogue Prince of Persia would still hit Early Access this month, and now we know it's May 27. 

The Rogue Prince of Persia's new release date is 27th May! If you didn't see our previous post, the TLDR is to give people time to play Hades 2, including us😄
But if Silksong shadow-drops in the next two weeks we're burning the whole thing down!
Anyway, we can also reveal The… pic.twitter.com/ZQM3l5DcBI

— Evil Empire (@Studio_Evil) May 13, 2024

The original story continues below...

Original story, 5/10/24:

Dead Cells developer Evil Empire has delayed its upcoming roguelike, The Rogue Prince of Persia, because of Hades II. Originally due out on Tuesday, May 14, in PC Early Access, Evil Empire has delayed the game to later this month to give potential players more time with Hades II, which is another roguelike that hit Early Access this week (and it's also gracing the latest cover of Game Informer Magazine). 

"So it's been a bit of a crazy week for us," a statement from Evil Empire reads. "It all started when a little game called Hades II released – you might have have heard of it? Seeing as everyone and their mum is playing that game (including our entire team...and their mums), we have decided to let people have their fun with it before we release The Rogue Prince of Persia. 

"We will still be releasing in May and will be back with a precise date on Monday. While we have every confidence in The Rogue Prince of Persia, it's not every day that a game in the same genre as you, which is one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2024, will release into Early Access a week before you plan to do the same. We are not prideful enough to ignore the implications of that, and we truly believe that this short delay is the best decision for us and our Early Access journey." 

The team says this extra time will be used to polish The Rogue Prince of Persia even more, add "even more cool things," and fix some bugs. It also notes the Day One patch for the game was getting big and this extra time will give the team more time to test it (and lower the team's stress as a result).

Game Informer went hands-on with the game recently and loved what we played – you can read our preview impressions of The Rogue Prince of Persia here. If you're curious how it looks in action, watch this New Gameplay Today all about The Rogue Prince of Persia. For more, check out our discussion with Evil Empire about the difference between a roguelike and a rogue-lite. 

Are you going to check out The Rogue Prince of Persia later this month? Let us know in the comments below!

Square Enix, the developer-publisher behind this year's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, is set to lay off an unspecified number of employees across its U.S. and European offices, which are headquartered in California and the United Kingdom, respectively, this week. According to those in attendance, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu delivered this news in a company-wide meeting, as first reported by VideoGamesChronicle. 

Layoffs such as these were suspected following Square Enix's latest financial earnings report, which includes a three-year company reboot plan with an "aggressive" multiplatform release strategy after a slide mentioned "structural reforms." You can see the slide below: 

As you can see above, as part of Square Enix's plan to rebuild its overseas business divisions from the ground up, the company "began optimizing costs at its European and American offices via structural reforms." After more than 10,000 layoffs across game studios and publishers this year, it's easy to read between the lines – structural reforms sound a lot like "layoffs," and now VGC has confirmed as much. 

The publication reports these layoffs will happen over the course of the next month, with those affected set to find out this week. The total number of expected layoffs is not known, but VGC's sources say staff was told it will mostly affect those working in publishing, IT, and Square Enix's Collective indie games division. 

U.K. employees laid off will enter into a "one-month consultancy period" in accordinace with local U.K. law, while affected U.S. staff could be out of their jobs potentially before the end of the month. 

These layoffs join a string of other disheartening 2024 layoffs and closures, which now total more than 10,000 in just the first five months of the year. 

Earlier this month, Xbox closed four Bethesda studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall studio Arkane Austin. Take-Two Interactive closed Rollerdrome studio Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games alongside major layoffs to its indie-publisher Private Division label. That same week, we learned Deliver Us Mars developer Keoken Interactive had laid off nearly its entire staff. 

Elsewhere in the year, EA laid off roughly 670 employees across all departments, resulting in the cancellation of Respawn's Star Wars FPS game. PlayStation laid off 900 employees across Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and more, closing down London Studio in the process, too. The day before, Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games announced it laid off 90 employees. 

At the end of January, we learned Embracer Group had canceled a new Deus Ex game in development at Eidos-Montréal and laid off 97 employees in the process. Also in January, Destroy All Humans remake developer Black Forest Games reportedly laid off 50 employees and Microsoft announced it was laying off 1,900 employees across its Xbox, Activision Blizzard, and ZeniMax teams, as well. Outriders studio People Can Fly laid off more than 30 employees in January, and League of Legends company Riot Games laid off 530 employees. 

Lords of the Fallen Publisher CI Games laid off 10 percent of its staff, Unity will lay off 1,800 people by the end of March, and Twitch laid off 500 employees. 

We also learned that Discord had laid off 170 employees, that layoffs happened at PTW, a support studio that's worked with companies like Blizzard and Capcom, and that SteamWorld Build company, Thunderful Group, let go of roughly 100 people. Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive also reportedly laid off 45 people, too. 

[Source: VideoGamesChronicle]

Assassin’s Creed Codename Red now has an official title: Assassin’s Creed Shadows. We’ll also get our first full-length look at the series' first Japanese entry this week. 

Ubisoft announced on X that the game’s cinematic world premiere trailer will air on May 15 at 9 a.m. P.T./12 p.m. ET. Ubisoft’s use of the word “cinematic” suggests that this trailer will not include gameplay. If that’s the case, Ubisoft could be saving a gameplay reveal for its Ubisoft Forward presentation less than a month later, on June 10.

Assassin's Creed Codename Red becomes Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Tune-in for the Official Cinematic World Premiere Trailer on May 15, 9 AM PT.#AssassinsCreedShadows pic.twitter.com/GF0BWqVOhS

— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) May 13, 2024

Assassin’s Creed Shadows was first announced in 2022 and will be the first entry set in feudal Japan. At the time, Ubisoft described the game as being an open-world RPG and the ultimate "shinobi fantasy." It is being developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the team behind Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It has no release window, but the game is expected to launch later this year.

Square Enix is rebooting itself, "aggressively" pursuing a multiplatform strategy that includes PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, and PC in the process. This comes from the company's latest financial earnings report, which details Square Enix's three-year reboot plan for long-term growth. 

Within that three-year reboot plan, Square Enix lists four pillars: 

• Enhance productivity by optimizing the development footprint in the Digital Entertainment (DE) segment
• Diversify earnings opportunities by strengthening customer contact points
• Roll out initiatives to create additional foundational stability
• Strike a balance between shareholder return and growth investment when allocating capital 

As part of this plan, Square Enix "will aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs," according to the financial report. "Especially, in regards to major franchise and AAA titles including catalog titles, it will build an environment where more customers can enjoy these titles," it continues, possibly alluding to multiplatform releases for future Final Fantasy games and more.

This strategy switch-up follows reports that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a PlayStation 5-exclusive RPG that launched in February underperformed; Final Fantasy VII Rebirth followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, Final Fantasy VII Remake, which launched exclusively on PlayStation 4 in 2020, and Final Fantasy XVI, which hit PS5 last year (although it's set to release on PC sometime in the future). 

Square Enix also says it will "devise a platforms strategy for SD [Smart Devices/PC Browser portfolio] that includes not only iOS and Android, but also the possibility of PC launches. It continues, "Furthermore, the Group will strive to maximize the acquisition of new users when launching a title and that of recurring users after starting management of game operation." 

Throughout the financial report, Square Enix uses the word "fun" as a focal point for the future development of its games. It says it wants to focus on the development of titles "delivering 'fun' that only [Square Enix] can create and build." 

In terms of numbers, Square Enix's net sales are up 3.8% year-over-year at $2.28 billion this year, with digital entertainment sales up 2.5% at $1.59 billion. However, its operating income – $209 million – is down nearly 27%. 

These numbers and subsequent strategy shift aren't surprising, considering at the end of April, Square Enix canceled some of its in-development games to be "more selective and focused," which lines up with its new philosophy. This likely means we'll be seeing more titles like Dragon Age XI, Final Fantasy XVI, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on various platforms and less games like Foamstars and The DioField Chronicle. Only time will tell, though, and Square Enix thinks it will take three years for this company reboot.

For more, read Game Informer's Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review, and then read Game Informer's Final Fantasy XVI review. After that, read about Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming Dawntrail expansion, which is due out this July. 

What are your thoughts on Square Enix's new strategy?Let us know in the comments below!

Reviewed on: PC
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: 11 Bit Studios
Developer: Odd Meter
Release: May 2, 2024 (PC), May 17, 2024 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
Rating: Mature

Indika is bizarre, surprising, and captivating. It made me question its reality almost as often as its titular protagonist, a young nun tormented by the Devil, doubts her faith. This odd adventure from its aptly named developer Odd Meter may lack some design polish, but the fascinating tale at its core instilled enough faith in me to see it through to the end. 

The game unfolds in early 19th-century Russia. Indika is treated as an outcast at her monastery, and, for some reason, she’s regularly taunted by the voice of Satan himself. The story doesn’t delve into how this sacrilegious relationship began, and that’s fine. The Devil is more of a storytelling device; a symbol of Indika’s desire to be a good person, contrasted by her growing skepticism and pragmatism in the church’s rigid viewpoints on morality and sin. This conflict comes to a head when Indika finds herself in an unlikely partnership with Ilya, an escaped prisoner with his own strong religious beliefs. 

As the pair bond over seeking a divine cure for their respective ailments – Indika’s demonic presence and IIya’s wounded arm – the third-person adventure sees them trek through locations such as deserted factories and frozen wilds. Along the way, players solve environmental puzzles and, on very rare occasions, evade threats. The obstacles themselves are respectably designed and varied, often centered on Indika inexplicably operating heavy machinery like a lift to move and stack giant cans or manipulating the massive gears of an industrial elevator. Less enjoyable moments, such as fleeing a pursuing wolf in an annoying trial-and-error escape sequence, appear rarely, thankfully. 

The gameplay becomes most interesting when the Devil’s influence overwhelms Indika to the point the world around her turns hellish red, and the environment is ripped apart into a distorted version of itself. This leads to relatively simple but thematically interesting navigation puzzles as players switch between this hellscape and reality by hitting a “pray” button to find the proper path. These are neat segments that I wish occurred more often than the small handful of times they do.  

Poking around environments leads to hidden collectibles, from religious artifacts to “indecent” publications, that reward points, which manifest as literal giant pixelated gems that appear in front of Indika. This bizarre visual flourish is a wild contrast to the otherwise realistic art direction, and these points level up Indika via a two-pronged skill tree of point modifiers (themed on ideas like Shame, Guilt, and Repentance) that impact the story less literally than it appears. 

 

This is just an example of Indika’s strangeness. Overt video game-y elements such as quirky, chiptune melodies and flashbacks that unfold as playable 16-bit platforming sequences are sprinkled throughout the experience. Whether or not this approach has any thematic significance is unclear (perhaps symbolizing the comparative simplicity of Indika’s childhood), but, at the very least, it gives Indika a surreal and playful charm.

Everything in the game, from the strange people you meet to the weird camera angles to its wild intro cutscene I won’t spoil, gives the game a potent dose of absurdity that oddly works. Indika feels like a black comedy at points, and perhaps that’s the intent. It swings for the fences, and that delightful boldness is combined with poignant commentary about the struggle of maintaining unwavering faith in a harsh, unjust world. Indika’s engaging and, at times, emotional personal journey of self-discovery pulled me to a powerful conclusion that, like most everything else, leaves its interpretation up to the player. 

The result is an adventure that feels thoughtfully conceived, humorous, and depressing all at once, as well as “off” in the right ways. Indika is one of the year’s most affecting and memorable adventures, and its themes will stick with me as I continue to ponder their meanings.

Score: 8.75

About Game Informer's review system

Purchase

Ever since it came to Switch at the tail end of last summer, Vampire Survivors has been my plane game. Sure, other run-based indies like Balatro and Dead Cells, all-encompassing triple-A titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and retro compilations like Sonic Origins and TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, have shared that title, but I always know that when I need to pass time on a flight, no game does so as effectively as Vampire Survivors. Logically, I know that each run will last, at most, 30 minutes, but for some reason, it never feels that way. And because of that, I look down for what feels like 20 minutes, and when I look up, 2 hours have passed.

I travel a lot, so I play Vampire Survivors fairly regularly. Still, each time I turn on the game, developer Poncle has snuck more into it. New characters, new maps, new ways to customize your experience – I'm continually surprised and delighted by additional features and content the developer has added in the time since I fired up the game. Sure, Poncle puts out free updates on a regular basis, sometimes even as surprises, as was the case last week, but these paid pieces of DLC – each of which cost $2.50 or less – are the tentpole content releases. The latest, Operation Guns, crosses over with Konami's legendary Contra IP in both expected and unexpected ways to deliver the same Vampire Survivors fun we've known with a distinct Contra flavor.

Operation Guns adds a significant amount of Contra content to Vampire Survivors. On top of 11 new characters, 11 base weapons, and 11 weapon evolutions, Operation Guns brings an enormous Contra-themed map called Neo Galuga, which progresses almost in lockstep with how the original Contra (and its recent remake, Operation Galuga) advances. You start out blasting, slashing, zapping, whipping, and otherwise annihilating humans and robots, but as you go further into the map, more sinister threats show that this isn't just some standard Earth-based war. Alien eggs, structures, and enemies slowly join the fray, as do an increased number of robotic adversaries. Just like what happens in the original, the alien and cyborg presence eventually takes over the war, giving Poncle plenty of room to play with the Contra license.

Before I knew it, I went from blasting away foot soldiers to enemies on jetbikes to waves of flying Metal Aliens and snake cyborgs. I loved repeating the same process of leveling up my character and their weapons, but with myriad fun discoverables scattered throughout the Neo Galuga map. Along the way, I uncovered some fun Contra-themed power-ups – like homing missiles – that allowed me to further combat the alien horde.

However, the biggest surprise came near the end of my first successful run on Neo Galuga, as a ticker appeared on the bottom of the screen, telling me that something big was happening in a specific corner of the map. I only had a few minutes to get there, and with denser waves of enemies impeding my path, I was worried I wouldn't get there in time. However, once I did, I was greeted by one of the coolest things I've seen Poncle do with Vampire Survivors. I won't spoil it beyond saying it's a unique encounter that pays homage to an iconic fight with one of the Contra series' recurring enemies. 

Though I've only done a few runs, I'm steadily unlocking new characters and weapons. Most of the new content is clear about how to unlock the next character, which is helpful in unlocking additional weapons. You unlock Bill within the Neo Galuga map, then unlock Lance by evolving Bill's Long Gun, and so on. It's all in service of giving the player a clear route to experiencing all the content that Operation Guns has to offer with as minimal friction as possible. Add on top the Bonus Stage, and the Operation Guns DLC is well worth checking out for all fans of Vampire Survivors, regardless of your Contra fandom.

The wildest part about all of this, as I always tout, is the sheer value of Vampire Survivors. Though the game is often on sale, it never really needs to be; even if you buy the game and all its DLC at full price, you're spending less than $15. It runs well on Switch, which is where I play it, but it's also verified for Steam Deck, hammering home that this is the ultimate plane game. Though Poncle continues to release free updates a year and a half after its initial Steam release, these major tentpole releases excite me for the future of Vampire Survivors.

Will the future hold more crossover content? We've already received collaborations with Among Us and Contra, but words could not describe how excited I'd be for crossovers with even more prominent properties like Final Fantasy or Resident Evil; imagine slashing your way through hordes of fiends in Zanarkand as Lightning before a boss battle against Sephiroth, or exploring Raccoon City as Chris Redfield, taking down low-level zombies before a Nemesis spawns on the map. The Operation Guns DLC even has my imagination running wild with some less obvious crossovers like Street Fighter; so many of those characters have such iconic moves. Starting off with Ryu throwing a Hadoken before evolving it all the way up to a Shinku Hadoken would be a natural progression that could be applied to several of the series' characters. And since Vampire Survivors includes music and remixes from the Contra series, that makes these crossover ideas even more enticing.

This article isn't about speculation or creating a wishlist, though. But that’s what Vampire Survivors' latest DLC inspires. It shows that Poncle is more than capable of giving these IPs the care they deserve while staying true to the Vampire Survivors formula that made me fall in love with the game in the first place. Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns DLC is out now on all platforms aside from PlayStation (that version arrives later this summer when the main game comes to the platform) and costs just $2.50.

For more on why Vampire Survivors is well worth your time, check out our review of the base game right here.