Latest articles by Fraser Brown
The director of the first Assassin's Creed with naval battles found it 'bizarre' to watch Skull and Bones' agonisingly long development, because it was 'essentially the same stuff re-shipping 14 years after we made it'
News
Devs behind GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and TimeSplitters are done with big shooters after getting burned by Embracer, so their next game is a Balatro-like twist on Scrabble—and you can try the demo now
News Beyond Words is part of Steam Next Fest.
Krafton's new chief AI officer says the company 'uses AI as a tool to amplify human imagination and creativity, not replace it' 3 months after it announced a hiring freeze and launched a voluntary resignation programme
News Sure, buddy.
Assassin's Creed 3's greatest feature was pushed to the side until Black Flag because Ubisoft was worried that 'the tech wouldn't work'
News We had to wait another year for a proper high seas adventure.
This musical RPG is doing important work by letting you beat up music snobs, but I really stuck around for the painful (brilliant) puns
Lollapunlooza I'm easily entertained.
The best Geralt, Doug Cockle, completed The Witcher 3, got the best ending, and was driven 'bonkers' by the Bloody Baron quest
News And now we know he's got a thing for red heads.
Understandable AI paranoia has inspired a developer to change the handcrafted character art in its upcoming sim: 'They look a bit AI'
News Transport Fever 3's characters look pretty uncanny, and that's a bigger problem than it used to be.
Obsidian was 'surprised' that Avowed players bounced off one of the RPG's most important systems: 'That frustration came through loud and clear'
News Who's got time to upgrade their gear when there are adventures to be had?
Avowed's massive anniversary update adds new playable races, but they don't get any unique dialogue because there were 'no dedicated narrative people available'
News The new races are just a "mechanical distinction".
I didn't expect to kidnap alligators, save Woodstock or give people dysentery in a game called Transport Fever 3—but here we are
On the road again It's OK, I released the alligators.
Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy might just have everything I want from a CRPG
Future crimes Owlcat's found my wishlist.
Age of Wonders 4's next expansion introduces nomadic, post-apocalyptic bunnies
news A new species, magical post-apocalyptic maps and a trio of new tomes are coming with Rise from Ruin in March.
Medieval physics romp Besiege has spent a decade letting us conquer the land and sea, so naturally its next expansion is heading to the final frontier
News Flit off into space to conquer alien worlds.
Fallout 76's design director is still defending its original absence of NPCs: 'At the beginning, we wanted it all to be player-driven'
News I guess they briefly forgot about all the other player-driven Fallouts full of NPCs.
I'm the biggest Baldur's Gate 3 fan, but the HBO TV show is filling me with dread
Baldur's irate A linear follow-up to my favourite non-linear RPG? Get outta here.
Nioh 3's open world is incredibly formulaic compared to Elden Ring's, so I'm slightly embarrassed by how much I'm loving it
Playing it safe The traditional approach is less exciting, but it works well for the series' first open-world outing.
Bethesda's former Elder Scrolls loremaster won't tell us where The Elder Scrolls 6 is set, but the team originally agreed on it way back in the Fallout 4 days
News Keep guessing.
Nearly 20 years ago, the makers of Age of Empires tried to make a Halo MMO, and then the studio closed: 'I still feel like no-one has really done the action MMO I see in my mind'
News The audacious quest ended all the way back in 2008 after five years of development.
Indie devs should avoid 'most indie publishers' says Manor Lords indie publisher Hooded Horse: 'The vast majority of indie publishers are predatory and opportunistic'
News "People can hate me for this if they want."
Earth Must Die review: An inventive adventure game that's just a bit too obsessed with orgies
Killer jokes Point and click, now with servants.
'We will f*ck up': The publisher of Against the Storm and Manor Lords is committed to keeping generative AI out, but it's easier said than done
News It's everywhere and unavoidable; it's probably going to slip in.
CEO of Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse wants it to be 'a positive influence and a great company for 100 plus years' by fighting AI and treating devs ethically
From the horse's mouth The indie publisher keeps striking gold, but CEO Tim Bender is still "fundamentally unambitious", prizing stability and ethics over massive growth and profits.
Skyrim's co-lead designer says Starfield's main problem is that it never fully cohered as a game: 'It was a releasable game, but it wasn't the best'
News And the reception was what he expected.
