Category: Video Game News

Amy Hennig’s Skydance New Media Working On New Star Wars Game

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

I know I’ve typed a similar headline before, but whereas the last project didn’t quite make it, I have even more faith this time around that Amy Hennig will get to bring her Star Wars game dreams to life. In a collaboration between Lucasfilm Games and Skydance New Media, Amy Hennig is developing a, “…narrative-driven, action-adventure game featuring an original story.” Hennig has some unforgettable and successful games under her belt, from the Legacy of Kain series and of course my favorite, the Uncharted series, and I’ve been hoping we’d get a Star Wars game from her for quite some time. When she was working on the previous game Project Ragtag, alongside actor/writer and frequent collaborator Todd Stashwick, her comments at the Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 panel (you can see some concept art at the link) about underdogs and team of people relying on one another really stood out to me, though overall you could tell she understood the narrative underpinnings of what makes something Star Wars. With Project Ragtag, decisions by EA higher-ups, the game’s ambitions, and the dwindling team at Visceral Games led to its cancellation (I’ve summed up a complex series of events), but rather than sit back and let the dream get away from her, Hennig went and found someplace else to make it happen, joining and starting her own division at Skydance: Skydance New Media, hence my belief we’ll actually get to see this game. UPDATE: and if the rumors are to be believed, she’s finishing what she started! I don’t expect it for a few more years, as she’s got Forspoken coming out and a Marvel game at her division, so I’m betting maybe 2024-2025ish, but we’ll see and you can bet we’ll have new updates as they come. My biggest hope is the next gaming update is actually addressing the Star Wars Eclipse controversy, but the longer this goes on, the less likely this seems. Anyways, head below before some photos I took with Amy, and later Amy and Todd, at Star Wars Celebrations past! Continue reading “Amy Hennig’s Skydance New Media Working On New Star Wars Game” →

Star Wars Gaming Respawns: Jedi Fallen Order Sequel, New FPS, and Strategy Game Announced

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

While EA Games lost the exclusive rights to Star Wars games, that doesn’t mean they won’t still be behind some new titles, which Lucasfilm Games and EA confirmed with the news Respawn Entertainment will be leading the charge of new Star Wars games for EA. They have three games in active development, starting with a new Star Wars: Jedi entry, aka a sequel to Jedi – Fallen Order, and two unnamed games, a FPS (or first-person shooter) and a strategy game. For those curious if there’s still an opportunity for Battlefront III, it looks like that’s completely axed and Respawn will exclusively be behind new Star Wars games. It is disappointing Lucasfilm Games didn’t take a moment to address any of the Star Wars Eclipse controversary, instead choosing to announce more games and ignore it, but hopefully there’s a time and place for that soon. Regardless, head below for more details on the upcoming games. Continue reading “Star Wars Gaming Respawns: Jedi Fallen Order Sequel, New FPS, and Strategy Game Announced” →

LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga Releasing April 5, New Gameplay Overview Trailer

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

After what has felt like years of silence, not only did the LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga reappear today as if it was the Death Star popping into the horizon suddenly, it came with the long-awaited release date: April 5, 2022. Alongside the announcement came the extensive, 6-minute video above exploring the giant expansion to the LEGO Star Wars formula, be it an open world structure with story missions from each of the 9 main movies, side missions as well, space battles, the big character list, skill-tree upgrades, and so much more. It really looks like it’ll be worth the several year wait, but like most big games these days unfortunately, it comes with a human cost, documented by the wonderful folks at Polygon in a detailed accounting of the crunch-heavy culture fostered by the company to make this game a reality. It sounds like there is some light on the horizon for the developers, but it doesn’t erase the fact they went through so much to make LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and it’s something to be conscientious of when enjoying the game come April.

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.

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The High Republic Video Game Star Wars Eclipse Announced

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

The High Republic has solidified itself as my favorite era in the Saga so far with its expansive, diverse, inclusive, engaging, and compelling story across various books, comics, and more. New video games, especially Star Wars video games since they have become so rare in the past decade, are usually a cause of celebration. Star Wars Eclipse combines both of these things which I love into one and I honestly should be ecstatic, but the willful ignorance of Lucasfilm Games to team with developer Quantic Dream, a studio marred by homophobic, transphopic, racist, sexist, and more from its higher-ups, including its founder David Cage, cuts my excitement at the knees. There might be a great group of individual developers working at the company, that don’t feel, think, or act the way Cage and others do, and new Star Wars games are exciting, especially one that could look like this with a branching narrative and set in such an awesome era of the Saga, so I’m not going to tell you that you can’t be excited for this, but please consider all the harm Quantic Dream does with their vile conduct; if you’re looking for somewhere else to put your money, beyond the main High Republic content, how about standing in solidarity with the developers affected by Activision/Blizzard’s own terrible culture. In the end, while your feelings can vary, there’s no real excuse for Lucasfilm Games to ignore all the evidence and move forward with working with Quantic Dream, so I’m going to back to enjoying The High Republic stories coming from the amazing Luminous team and checking out other new video games on my PS5. Update: Show your support of your fellow fans with the hashtag BlackoutStarWarsEclipse on Twitter. Continue reading “The High Republic Video Game Star Wars Eclipse Announced” →

Knights of the Old Republic — Remake Announced, PS5 Timed Exclusive

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

https://youtu.be/lL-RfE-ioJ8

After years of rumors and scoops, especially from the ever wonderful and resourceful Jordan Maison over at Cinelinx, what was always a dream of many is now real: Knights of the Old Republic is being remade by Aspyr for PS5 (a timed console launch exclusive)! The brief teaser arrived at the start of PlayStation’s latest State of Play presentation, and while it contains no release date or actual gameplay footage, our Lord Revan looks glorious in HD, doesn’t she?! Over on the PlayStation Blog, Aspry talks a little about their process for rebuilding the game from the ground up and honoring its legacy, making it great for fans new and old. Hopefully by the time Knights of the Old Republic – Remake is out, it’ll be far easier to get a PS5! Continue reading “Knights of the Old Republic — Remake Announced, PS5 Timed Exclusive” →

Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge — Last Call Releases September 15, New Trailer

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

Less than a month ago, we got our first details and trailer for Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge – Last Call expansion, though much like the most recent LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga trailer, it didn’t have a release date beyond Fall 2021. All that changed today with the final trailer, an expansive look at the big update to the game, which reveals it’ll drop in two short weeks for Oculus Quest: September 15! For only $10, Last Call looks to add tons of new content to the game, from a wide variety of new characters to interact with, two new side tales (one starring Ady Sun’Zee again and the other IG-88), and a larger main story with new enemy types and tons of puzzles. Head below for a few more thoughts, the added cast, and then check back sometime later this month for a review! Continue reading “Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge — Last Call Releases September 15, New Trailer” →

LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga Gameplay Trailer, Spring 2022 Date

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

It’s been a wild two years since the initial announcement and year since the last trailer for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, the ultimate LEGO Star Wars gaming experience which spans the entire Skywalker Saga, but we finally have our next look and promise for its ultimate release: Spring 2022. I’ll believe the new date when I actually have the disc in hand, but from the new gameplay focused trailer, it’s clear the experience will be worth the wait. There looks to be a plethora of features and innovations for the series that will improve and expand the gamers’ enjoyment, be it the behind-cover shooting (last seen in The Force Awakens‘ LEGO game), graphical upgrades, the focus on dueling segments (from Rey Skywalker vs Snoke’s Guards or Luke and Vader on Cloud City), the vehicle/animal riding moments (like piloting the Falcon or hopping on a dewback), and the vast galaxy map, it’s almost a little overwhelming over the past LEGO Star Wars games. The one thing that thankfully hasn’t changed is a reverence of the Saga filled with LEGO’s signature humor about the series, from Anakin’s weird doll to Obi-Wan’s hilarious photos on his humble Tatooine home, and it’s just one of the many factors that makes the long delay feel more than worth it. Hopefully Spring 2022 really works for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, as this trailer only fans the flames of excitement (and patience) for its release! Continue reading “LEGO Star Wars The Skywalker Saga Gameplay Trailer, Spring 2022 Date” →

VR Series Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge: Last Call Expansion First Trailer

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge is the latest VR gaming series exclusive to the Oculus Quest platform from ILMxLAB and it originally released November 2020 and it’s next and final expansion, originally teased earlier this year, has its first trailer and new details. It’s still without a specific release date, but expect it sometime this Fall (maybe November again?). Check out the cool new trailer above, a few new details below, and head back here Monday (8/16) for our review of Part I our review of Part 1 now! Continue reading “VR Series Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge: Last Call Expansion First Trailer” →

Republic Commando Remaster Infiltrates PS4, Switch in April

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

Prepare your favorite Mando’a battle cry, the classic Republic Commando game from 2005 will infiltrate both the PlayStation 4 (and PS5 via backwards compatibility) and Switch on April 6 (and this announcement isn’t too surprising now knowing The Bad Batch premieres the following month). It’ll cost $14.99, and as much as I’d love to buy it immediately, May the Fourth typically has some gaming deals so maybe consider waiting a month to see if a discount arrives, but this’ll be worth a purchase regardless. I played this through fully for the first time on PC in 2014, and my review found, “Republic Commando takes a much grittier approach to the Star Wars universe…definitely one of the more commendable aspects to {the game} and helps make you feel like you’re in the boots of the grunts.” I’ll be looking forward to slightly cleaner graphics and modernized controls of this port. See some screenshots of the upcoming release below. Continue reading “Republic Commando Remaster Infiltrates PS4, Switch in April” →

Star Wars Hunters, a Free-to-Play Arena Battle Game, Coming to Switch/Mobile in 2021

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

It’s truly a new era for Lucasfilm Games and Star Wars gaming as a whole, but not all the new games are a few years off: enter Star Wars: Hunters, a free-to-play battle arena game, coming to a Switch or Android/iPhone near you! Announced in this week’s Nintendo Direct with a short, gameplay-less trailer (above), a few scant details became clear thanks to the official site’s post. Read on to learn more. Continue reading “Star Wars Hunters, a Free-to-Play Arena Battle Game, Coming to Switch/Mobile in 2021” →