In the new edition of Edge, on sale now, we meet with Alx Preston of Heart Machine to discover how the studio has left behind the shimmering pixel art of Hyper Light Drifter to embrace a fully 3D game universe for the next game in the series. In our 14-page cover story we explore how Drifter’s combination of melee combat and gunplay works from this new perspective, what it has in common with games such as Breath Of The Wild and Nier: Automata, how it incorporates co-op play, and why it will launch as an Early Access project later this year.
Elsewhere in issue 384, we untangle the puzzles of Humanity with director Yugo Nakamura and two of his key collaborators at Enhance Games, Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Mark MacDonald. Enhance CEO Mizuguchi recalls how his initial encounter with the central concept inspired in him the so-called ‘Tetris effect’, summoning tumbling crowds of humans into his dreams. The transition from that point to its arrival on PS5 has been a long one, as detailed in our extensive report.
As that journey approaches its end, we also consider another that is closer to its beginning. Netflix Games has already put its name to 55 releases to date, including the mobile versions of Immortality and Twelve Minutes, but it also has big plans for the future. Another 40 Netflix games are planned for release in 2023, and the company now employs 450 staff and runs six in-house game development studios. In our in-depth examination of the company’s ambitions, including an interview with head of external games Leanne Loombe, you may be able to discover what it was that motivated Joseph Staten to recently jump ship from Halo studio 343 to sign with Netflix as creative director of a triple-A multiplatform project based on a brand-new, original concept.
In Time Extend, we fire up Final Fantasy XV once more to consider what went awry with this royal camping trip – but also how its refusal to conform to expectations gives it a distinct flavour that lingers on the palate. In The Making Of…, we tell the story behind Weird West, discovering why it sidestepped the immersive sim’s traditional form and carved out its own identity from an overhead perspective.
Dead Island 2 leads this issue’s Play section, followed by other new arrivals including The Last Worker, Deceive Inc, Everspace 2, Have A Nice Death, Terra Nil, Dredge, Paranormasight and Can Of Wormholes. In Hype, we preview forthcoming releases including Diablo IV, Viewfinder and The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom, while columnist Steven Poole chews over the narrative ingenuity of Storyteller, and Adrian Hon digs into the game inspirations within the Rian Johnson TV show Poker Face.
Edge 384 is available at UK retailers now and by ordering online here.
