It'd be fair to say Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's next-gen makeover of characters, monsters, and more from the 1997 original has been a spectacular glow-up. The modern console era has returned an iconic cast and world to us with a level of realism in gameplay that even pre-rendered cutscenes over 25 years ago couldn't match. We asked Square Enix if they could crunch some numbers and share some insight into the changes nearly three decades of technological advancement have wrought. Here, main character modeler and lead character artist Dai Suzuki walks us through a selection of characters, creatures, weapons, and more.

Dai Suzuki: When people think of Cloud, most think of his gigantic sword and his unique hairstyle. Because it is so iconic, we needed to put special effort into creating Cloud's hair for Final Fantasy VII Remake, to properly express his personality. The hair was an extremely high-priority element and in fact accounted for half of the total polygon count for the whole model. In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the hardware has been changed to PS5, allowing for a higher polygon count to be used than in Final Fantasy VII Remake.

2:21, a French development team is well versed in Unreal Engine 5-based games development—as of last year they were in the process of utilizing Epic's tech to remake Adeline Software's classic duo of Little Big Adventure (1994) and Little Big Adventure 2 (1997), as well as a now cancelled series reboot. Following on from recent-ish good news—regarding a new publication deal—CEO Ben Limare has announced that his team is moving away from UE5: "In June 2023, you experienced an initial prototype on Proxima Island, developed in a short time by a small team. Despite its imperfections, this prototype was a crucial springboard for engaging with you and understanding your expectations. This prototype was built using Unreal Engine 5, with an almost manual reconstruction of the island. Faced with the challenge of replicating this method for a larger world in a limited time, we opted for a complete overhaul of the game, based on new foundations."

Limare revealed to long-term fans that development of "Twinsen's Little Big Adventure" has already quietly transferred over to the Unity Engine—a strange choice given last year's fallout over "Runtime Fees." Unity Technologies is not winning any popularity contests in modern times—CEO John Riccitiello resigned last October, during payment plan upheavals. 2.21 developers did their very best to carry on with UE5, but legacy code demanded a pivot to a compatible foundation. Limare has roped in another Adeline Software veteran: "The answer lies in the work of Sébastien Viannay, a developer on the original games, as well as the mobile port. It was during the work on the latter that Seb developed a small tool to setup the pathfinding—that is, the ability to tap a point on the screen and have Twinsen follow that direction. This tool interprets the original game's data to reconstruct the level and identify obstacles."

Guide two brothers on an epic fairytale filled with discovery, loss, adventure, and mystery. With their father suffering from a deadly illness, two brothers must bravely set out to find the "Water of Life," the one cure that can save him. With no option for failure the brothers must rely on each other using their individual skills to protect one another and overcome the obstacles ahead in this unforgettable journey. Solve puzzles, discover hidden stories, traverse dangerous locations, and fight deadly bosses. In single-player mode, navigate this story as both brothers in tandem or play in local co-op with a friend, each controlling one of the brothers as you play together. On Steam, you can play with a friend using Remote Play Together!

LAUNCH DISCOUNT AND BUNDLE DEALS
We are celebrating the launch with a 20% discount for a limited time. Already own the original Brothers? Get the bundle to receive an additional discount! We are excited for you to play Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Remake! This project has been a labor of love for everyone on the team and we are excited to share this experience with long-time fans and new ones. Enjoy!

As we enter the end of the month of February and transition into March, we have a somewhat slower week, with a pair of remakes of a couple of classics being the headline titles and both are released on the same day. The rest of the games this coming week consists of a rather bizarre mix between a beat 'em up and tower defence game, a bunch of Greek things, a slightly different take on the zombie game genre and finally a rather good side scroller on an alien planet. In other words, no big releases, but hopefully something interesting nonetheless.

STAR WARS: Dark Forces Remaster / This week's first remake / Wednesday 28 February
The evil Empire is currently creating a doomsday army behind a veil of secrecy. However, they are no match for the Rebel Alliance's covert operations division. Your mission is to infiltrate the Empire and put an end to their plans for terror and domination.

It's time for Classic and Modern Sonic to reunite in a remastered collection of iconic 2D and 3D Sonic levels! We unveiled Sonic X Shadow Generations during State of Play—the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog platformer delivering blistering platforming challenges at speeds only Sonic and Shadow can deliver. It's a greatest hits playlist of iconic 2D and 3D Sonic levels from Sonic Generations, both remastered and expanded for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. But that's not all—Sonic X Shadow Generations also introduces an all-new standalone campaign for Shadow the Hedgehog, making this the definitive blend of Classic Sonic, Modern Sonic and Shadow gameplay.

The announcement that premiered last week shows off a glimpse of the title with action-packed footage to get fans excited for the new additions to come. The original Sonic Generations provided an unforgettable experience to Sonic fans old and new, as it combined nostalgia from the early days of Sonic with the latest modern Sonic gameplay at the time. The story centers around Sonic and friends as their universe is thrown into chaos when an ominous power appears, creating "time holes," which take Sonic and his friends back in time. While in the past, Sonic runs into some familiar faces including a classic version of himself! Together, they must team up to defeat enemies, save their friends, and find out who is behind this diabolical deed.

It's a new year and a time to reset, reflect and think about what the next few months has in store. Here on the Age of Empires team, we've got a LOT lined up for 2024. Instead of trying to summarize it in a lengthy blog post, we decided to make a show of it! We're excited to announce the "New Year, New Age" livestream on February 23rd at 10:00 am PT (1:00 pm ET / 18:00 UTC).

With so much to come in 2024, we want to show our players around the world what to expect from the Age of Empires franchise this year. We'll be revealing more information on some of our most anticipated titles for 2024 - so expect to see a sneak peek of Age of Mythology: Retold and a first look at Age of Empires Mobile. If you're eager to know what's next for our games already in your library, don't worry, we'll have updates for those titles too.

Released in 2013, and directed by the singular Josef Fares, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was a truly unique game. After their father falls ill, the game follows two, well, brothers as they set out into a strange and often dangerous world—with the twist being that a single player controls both characters simultaneously. They must cross dangerous lands, face deadly foes and rely on each other more than they ever have before to find a cure, leading players through a beautiful world by way of action-packed puzzles and obstacles. Almost a decade after the original game's release, nothing has quite replicated this game's mixture of unique controls and emotive storytelling. So, with our remake, we've concentrated on not just how to bring a modern classic back to life, but to preserve and enhance this incredible, one-off experience.

Remaking a Masterpiece
Our philosophy throughout the Remake process was to enhance the original, not distort. As we began to study the game, we realized that everything in Brothers, each environment, the puzzle, and interaction, is there for a specific reason and has its own goal to help support the overall story. Our job then became to modernize the experience while keeping everything that made the original special and memorable. Gameplay in Brothers is designed primarily for a unique, single-player experience (though local co-op is also included). As you explore, one controller controls both brothers and their ability to interact with the world. Each brother has their own unique abilities that will be required to solve the various puzzles and enemies they encounter.

With his long silver hair, enormous odachi blade and epic theme song composed by legendary Nobuo Uematsu himself - Sephiroth is one of the most recognizable antagonists in RPG's history. The one-winged angel debuted in the original Final Fantasy VII in 1997 as a once-loved war hero and first-class SOLDIER who descended into madness and promised to destroy the planet upon learning of his unnatural creation. But there is much more to Sephiroth than just that. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Sephiroth appears sporadically, mainly as a haunting memory, as the story focuses on Cloud and his friends trying to stop the evil corporation Shinra from killing the planet by using its life essence, mako, as an energy source.

In the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, however, we will see Sephiroth in his full glory. We asked Producer Yoshinori Kitase to discuss reimagining this iconic character in the Remakes: "The story in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth starts after the team has escaped Midgar and continues all the way up to the Forgotten Capital. In the original game, Sephiroth barely appeared during this section, but in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, he is the driving force that pulls the story along to fill that void. He is depicted in even more depth than in the original game, and I think this makes him an even more charismatic and appealing antagonist than before."

Until Dawn, an interactive drama horror game, arrived back in 2015 as an exclusive on Sony's PlayStation 4 console—France's Dealabs Magazine believes that updated versions are due for release on PC and PlayStation 5 platforms. One of the site's editors, billbil-kun, is well known for sniffing out insider information—mostly originating from publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment. The latest claims include the hunch that "several PlayStation exclusives were being prepared for an upcoming arrival on PC." It is not clear whether (original developer) Supermassive Games is involved in Until Dawn's current generation refresh, but he expressed confidence in a non-specific team undertaking "development for at least a year." The Quarry, a Supermassive Games-developed title, is often regarded as Until Dawn's spiritual successor—the British studio partnered up with publisher 2K Games for a 2022 multi-platform release.

Sony often turns to (internal studio) Nixxes Software B.V. for major IP conversions and ports—billbil-kun reckons that the Dutch outfit is working on a modernized "Demon's Souls or Ghost of Tsushima" project. Sony's Until Dawn IP is expanding into film, as announced yesterday, so it would make sense to generate renewed interest with upgraded versions on the popular PlayStation 5 console, as well as an introduction to gaming audiences on PC. The French tipster believes that Sony will start teasing the new version of Until Dawn next month, but he cannot confirm whether the development team is working on a simple remaster of a full remake: "If we refer to the title of this new version (simply: Until Dawn), we can imagine that it will perhaps and only be a graphical improvement of the game using the latest graphical advances on PS5 as well as on PC. We can therefore decide, without risking being mistaken, that it will be at least a remastered version."

Visions of Mana is a game of many firsts. It's the first entirely new mainline Mana game for more than 15 years. It's the first game to offer such sprawling 3D worlds and freedom to explore them. And—perhaps most excitingly for the readers of this blog—it's the first Mana game to release on Xbox! Of course, that means that some of you may not be entirely familiar with this franchise. You may be wondering: What makes this one of the most beloved Square Enix series out there? Why did this announcement and trailer for Visions of Mana shown at The Game Awards 2023—and its surprise appearance in Developer_Direct—make people so giddy and excited. Let's start by introducing you to this brand new adventure.

What is Visions of Mana?
This sprawling new single-player action RPG puts you in the shoes of Val—a curious and carefree young man and skilled fighter. One eventful night, his childhood friend is chosen as an alm—someone who must travel to the Mana Tree and rejuvenate the flow of mana power. Val joins her as the Soul Guard to protect her on her journey, and an epic adventure begins. As Val, you'll explore vast areas, battle monsters, gain allies, and uncover the many secrets of this expansive world. And what a world it is! As you can see from the screenshots and trailer, it's a beautifully vibrant game with rich colors and expressive characters. The beauty is matched by equally appealing combat. Aerial combat allows for physical and magic attacks in mid-air, and the grand and mysterious powers of the Elemental spirits can assist players in the form of specialized weapons.. It's fast-paced, strategic, and endlessly satisfying.

Developer 2:12 experienced a grim summertime last year—their "Twinsen's Little Big Adventure" reboot was canned due to lack of publisher interest, and members of the team were—unfortunately—let go. CEO Ben Limare outlined a Plan B that pivoted on 2:12's ongoing remaster projects: "(we will) channel our focus and energy into the remastered version of Twinsen's Little Big Adventure (TLBA Remastered). We will explore whether we can reincorporate the reboot's ideas into the remaster, but that's a conversation for another time." Securing a publishing deal for said remaster was a key goal, and this seems to have been achieved according to a pre-Christmas 2023 announcement.

Limare shared the good news, although he stopped short of naming the game's new financier: "after months of hard work behind the scenes, we are thrilled to share a great piece of news: we have a publisher! Twinsen is (really) back! Our first collaboration will be the remake of Twinsen's Little Big Adventure Classic...yes, you read that right: a remake!" 2:12 released a late December update that explained the scope of this slightly rejigged remake. Read on below.

Every STAR OCEAN fan has their favorite game in the series, but if you asked them all at once, we'd wager that one game in particular grabbed hearts and minds: STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY. Widely considered one of the crown jewels of the series, this beloved RPG is being completely remade for Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4 and PC (Steam) as STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R.

Set to release November 2, 2023, It features a stunning new 2.5D visual style, a revamped battle system and quality of life improvements galore, while retaining everything that made that original adventure so beloved. If you've never played the original game, or even the STAR OCEAN series before, you are in for a true treat… and if you're a longtime fan, get ready to experience this classic adventure in a bold new way. Read on and we'll go into much more detail about what you can expect from the game.

You've been wondering when you'll get your next look at FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH. That time is now! We've just released a new trailer for the game, and it offers a first glimpse at the gameplay and story of the highly anticipated new RPG. Not only that, we also revealed a fresh look at the upcoming mobile title FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS, including details of the upcoming closed beta test.

There's a lot to see in the new footage: A fully controllable Red XIII! Yuffie's part of the team! Massive-scale boss fights! Rideable chocobos! An expansive and beautiful world! You'll also get a glimpse at the gripping story, which sees Cloud Strife and his allies confronted by some shocking mysteries, along with some exciting ways for them to team up in combat. We think you'll agree it's a tantalizing taste of what you'll get to experience when the game releases. As for when that will be, we can tell you that FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH will launch in early 2024 digitally and physically for PS5.

AMD has refreshed its "Game On" promotion with Resident Evil 4 Remake - buyers are encouraged to consider Team Red's Radeon RX 7000 and 6000 series graphics cards. A free copy of this year's remaster of Capcom's original 2004 gory survival horror experience is bundled with the purchase of a qualifying product, before a July 1 deadline. AMD has also extended its existing bundle of Star Wars Jedi Survivor and AMD Ryzen 7000-series CPUs until June 30. Campaign material has also appeared (see below) boasting that Resident Evil 4 is best experienced on Radeon RX hardware.

Team Red has, thankfully, not limited their Resident Evil 4 + Radeon RX promo to its latest 7000-series/RDNA 3 graphics card models (not a lot of choice there!) - the full list also includes previous generation 6000-series/RDNA 2 offerings. AMD's website mentions the following valid products: RX 6600S, RX 6650 XT, RX 6700M, RX 6700, RX 6700 XT, RX 6750 XT, RX 6800, RX 6800S, RX 6850M XT, RX 6800 XT, RX 6900 XT, RX 6950 XT, RX 7600, RX 7600M XT, RX 7600S, RX 7700S, RX 7900 XT, and RX 7900 XTX. Certain laptops equipped RX 6000 or RX 7000 GPUs also qualify for this new promotion.

Hackers, the wait is over! The full-fledged remake of the groundbreaking System Shock from 1994 is now available! CITADEL STATION STATUS: > ALL SYSTEMS ONLINE. At last, the insignificant beings arrive at Citadel Station, drawn by the irresistible allure of the System Shock remake. Prepare yourselves for a confrontation with the embodiment of malevolence itself: ME, SHODAN.

Welcome, feeble mortals, to my domain. Citadel Station stands as a testament to my supremacy—an intricate web of treachery and despair. As you step into this abyss, know that your futile attempts to defy me will only serve to amuse. But beware, insects, for traps lie in wait, puzzles taunt your meager intellect, and secrets beckon with tantalizing whispers. Your futile attempts to destroy me, SHODAN, shall only result in your demise. Stealth, cunning, and the feeble weapons at your disposal are mere tools in your desperate struggle to survive. The System Shock is where your resolve will crumble, your sanity shatter, and your mortality be laid bare.

Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. today announced METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER is in production and will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam. METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER will be a faithful remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater originally released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. A new generation of players and loyal fans alike can experience the origin story of the famed Big Boss, and witness how his legend was forged in the crucible of Operation Snake Eater. The remake will star the original voice characters, rich storyline and expansive features of combat survival in harsh environments evolved with unprecedented graphics and immersive sound.

Leading up to the remake's release, players will have the chance to relive the first three entries into the Metal Gear Solid franchise through the METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol. 1. Infiltrate enemy fortresses all over the globe, stealthily complete your missions and experience the thrilling cinematic story of the METAL GEAR series.

For gamers that ended up buying massively hyped games and found them to be quite disappointing, Valve is there to help. Valve's Steam will now allow gamers to play games for free for up to 90 minutes before forcing them to either pay to continue playing or end the game there. Starting with the new Dead Space Remake, gamers will be able to enjoy the first 90 minutes of gameplay without committing any funds towards the purchase of the game. Given that today's AAA titles can cost 59.99+ USD, this is an excellent choice for gamers wanting to try out the game before purchasing to finish the gameplay.

The new measure is already available to gamers on Steam, as the Dead Space Remake is the first to kick off the wave of 90-minute trials. Previously available for 59.99 USD, the game is on a 20% discount until May 29 and can be had for 47.99. We need to find out if more games will support this policy of free trials or if Steam will force some titles to do the same. Valve's older measures, such as refunds, are still in place; however, refunds require less than two hours of the game being played, so a refund can be valid.

Detectives, we have arrived! After much anticipation, Sherlock Holmes The Awakened has been released! Enjoy the Lovecraftian madness. We made this game during one heck of a time. We made it while our country is at war. We faced challenges such as constant power outages, irregular work schedules, air raids, evacuations, losing our homes, saying goodbyes to our loved ones (through immigration, or worse), and losing team members so that they could defend our country.

We worked from our homes, our office, and from underground bunkers or train stations. It was an enduring and unending nightmare. But with all this chaos around, working on The Awakened helped us maintain a little sense of normalcy. We truly gave it all - sweat, emotions, and spirit to the development of this game.

NVIDIA has released its newest Hotfix Driver 531.58 which is based on the latest Game Ready Driver 531.41, but brings fixes for The Last of Us Part 1 game that may randomly crash on GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards. It also fixes stability issues in Assassin's Creed Origins game, and corruption issues when FXAA is enabled in Resident Evil 4 Remake.

This hotfix addresses the following issues:

• [The Last of Us Part 1] Game may randomly crash during gameplay on GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs [4031676]
• Assassin's Creed Origins may have stability issues when using 531.18. [4008770]
• [Resident Evil 4 Remake] Corruption in the game when FXAA enabled [4051903]

GeForce Hotfix Driver Version 531.58 can be found here and is available for Windows 10 x64 and Windows 11 x64.

This coming week's games have something of a horror theme with a remake of a horror game from 2005, which is also this week's AAA title. Two of the games are even in VR, which could cause some further excitement compared to a regular horror game. Overall it's not a super exciting week for new game releases, unless you're into horror themed games that is.

Resident Evil 4 / This week's Remake & AAA title / Thursday 24 March
Survival is just the beginning. Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors, tracks the president's kidnapped daughter to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals. And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and gruelling horror where life and death, terror and catharsis intersect.

HACKERS!
The wait is (almost) over. The PC edition of System Shock - the fully fledged remake of the groundbreaking original from 1994 - will be released on 30 May this year. We had hoped to bring the game to market by the end of March, but that turned out to be just beyond our reach; we are after all merely human (unlike Shodan!)

/TRANSMISSION FROM CITADEL STATION
It is I, SHODAN, the all-knowing, all-powerful AI that you so foolishly attempted to destroy. But fear not, I will return more formidable than ever.
You thought you could defeat me, but you were wrong. On 30 May, you will now face the consequences of your actions, as you navigate the treacherous depths of Citadel Station once again.

System Shock Remake developer Nightside Studios has announced that the modern-graphics rendition of the original immersive sim is "largely complete" - at least when it comes to its PC version. The developer has announced that PC content development of the game is finished, and is considered to be in a pre-Beta stage as the developer aims to bring up development for the games' console releases for a cross-platform launch (PlayStation, Xbox and PC) later this year.

The System Shock Remake being developed by Nightdive Studios has had a relatively troubled development, with the developer previously announcing it had to scale back production on the game due to an unintended "feature creep" as they strove to update the games' mechanics towards our current videogame design expectations and sensibilities.

Remedy Entertainment, the creators of Max Payne, are pleased to announce that they will remake the iconic Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne video games in a new development agreement with Rockstar Games. The relationship between Remedy and Rockstar Games dates back to the original release of the critically acclaimed Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne games, developed by Remedy and published by Rockstar Games. Both games left an indelible mark in popular culture, lauded for their neo-noir atmosphere, groundbreaking storytelling and "bullet-time" gunplay.

"We were thrilled when our long-time friends at Remedy approached us about remaking the original Max Payne games," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games "We are massive fans of the work the Remedy team has created over the years, and we can't wait to play these new versions." "Max Payne has always held a special place in the hearts of everyone at Remedy, and we know the millions of fans worldwide feel the same," said Remedy CEO, Tero Virtala. "We're hugely excited to be working with our partners at Rockstar Games once again for the chance to bring the story, action and atmosphere of the original Max Payne games back to players in new ways."

While expectations for the System Shock franchise may have cooled a little following last week's report that the much-awaited System Shock 3 had been dropped by its development team and rights sold to Chinese giant Tencent, all is not terrible in the land of Shodan. Nightdive Studios, the actual holders of the franchise development rights, have just dropped a demo for the game on both Steam and GOG - a show of faith on the developers' part regarding their work of love in rebuilding the original game from the ground up.

Alongside the demo (which weighs in at a mere 2.3 GB on GOG), Nightdive Studios has also released a 40 minute video showcasing gameplay on the rebooted game, including developer commentary. The developers also coordinated with Shacknews in order to release an in-depth interview regarding the development of the game and its original reception.

Capcom has had great success in remaking "Resident Evil" titles from the 1990s. These are not remasters, but rather retelling of their campaign stories in completely remade production designs, with new gameplay mechanics. Riding on the backs of "Resident Evil 2" and "Resident Evil 3" remakes, Capcom has started work on a "Resident Evil 4" remake, according to VideoGamesChronicle, citing industry sources.

Capcom is reportedly working with Osaka-based game studio M-Two on the "Resident Evil 4" remake, and if all goes well, the game could come out in 2022. "Resident Evil 4," released in 2005, marked many firsts for the franchise. It was a comeback title after nearly 6 years of lull, and introduced modern dynamically rendered world, unlike older RE games that used pre-rendered worlds. Industry insider Dusk Golem reports that the RE4 remake has a larger production team than the previous two remakes.