Author Archives: Ryan McCaffrey

Developer/Publisher PM Studios has announced No Longer Human, a game with a unique visual art style and gameplay that’s described by PM itself as “a high-energy cybergoth action fvck-em-up.” It is expected to be released in 2022 for PC, with a console release also planned but no details given. Check out the announcement trailer above.

The developers cite Devil May Cry and Smash Bros. influences, with support for speedrunning also being baked into the design. You play Tsunono, a woman who is a total badass in the metaverse that anyone can easily access and immerse themselves in within this near-future world.

Gameplay features include upgradeable special attacks and moves, an “abrasive” digital hardcore soundtrack, and freeform combat. Stay tuned to PAX West, beginning today, for more on No Longer Human.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Halo Infinite finally has a release date, and it’s not what any of us would’ve guessed. We analyze what the December date may or may not mean, celebrate both the unsurprising special-edition Halo controller and the definitely-surprising special-edition Halo Infinite Xbox One, discuss the negative reaction to the Saints Row reboot, give our hands-on impressions of Far Cry 6, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out our Halo Infinite Flight performance preview, which does a deep-dive tech analysis on the still-in-development slice of Halo Infinite multiplayer:

Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan!

For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

Join IGN tomorrow – that’s Wednesday, September 1, at 11:30am PT/2:30pm ET/18:30 GMT – for the world gameplay premiere of Marvel’s Midnight Suns, the new tactical RPG from XCOM and Civilization developer Firaxis Games.

We’ll be hosting both the gameplay reveal and an extended gameplay deep-dive narrated by the Firaxis team. Both videos will be part of a short livestream presentation on the IGN.com homepage as well as on Twitch.tv/IGN and a YouTube Premiere on the IGN YouTube channel. Those videos will be followed by an interview with Firaxis.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns was announced at last week’s gamescom Opening Night Live event. It is the first full release from Firaxis since last year’s XCOM: Chimera Squad, which IGN liked. Prior to that, the studio released Civilization VI in 2016, which IGN loved.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

King Arthur: Knight’s Tale, the next-gen tactics-RPG mash-up on its way for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (and already out for PC in Early Access), has just had a new developer diary released by its developers, explaining the game’s attempt to uniquely blend turn-based tactics and RPG gameplay. You can watch that video below and it should give you a good idea of what the game is all about.

Meanwhile, the developers at NeocoreGames just dropped a summer update for the aforementioned PC version, which includes, among other things, a new class (the Sage, whose abilities revolve around ice magic), controller support, and brand-new abilities for the existing characters and classes.

For more on King Arthur: Knight’s Tale, don’t miss the announcement trailer. Another tactical RPG, Marvel Midnight Suns, was announced by XCOM developer Firaxis at Gamescom last week. IGN will have the gameplay premiere for that on Wednesday at 11:30am PT/2:30pm ET.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

The handful of hours I’ve spent with Disciples Liberation so far have shown me an adventure not quite like anything I’ve seen before. Almost all of its pieces, from the tactical, turn-based combat to the voiced, RPG dialogue to the base management have existed in other games. But the way they’re combined here is fresh and interesting.

Like previous games in the Disciples series, the core of the action is a grid-based combat system to which you’ll bring a combination of heroes and regular troops with different stats and abilities. One interesting twist here is the ability to place any character or creature on your back line, where they won’t participate in combat directly, but will provide some kind of passive buff instead. Also, the main character Avyanna and her named companions are all fully voiced, along with all of the NPCs and quest-givers you’ll meet throughout the main story.

The way you navigate this story is different from any previous entry in the series, too. Each faction won’t have its own campaign, but rather, Avyanna can decide to align herself with the ones she prefers by making story choices that can increase or decrease your affinity with them. You’ll ultimately be able to field troops from all four factions if you want to, but units from a faction that worships the ground you walk on will fight a lot harder than ones that hate your guts.

The battles themselves feel pretty familiar for a tactical turn-based game. Units have a variable number of action points that can be used to move, attack, or in some cases, both. Special abilities include rogues going into stealth mode and dealing increased damage when they pop out. Terrain features can hinder or heal you, and setting up flanking attacks further increases your edge against the enemy. All the while, applying buffs to yourself and debuffs to your enemy is a reliable path to victory.

Recruiting and upgrading the nameless footsoldiers who make up the bulk of your battle line happens in Yllian, a mysterious floating city that comes to serve as Avyanna’s home base. Spending resources like gold, iron, and wood that you find throughout the world will allow you to place and upgrade structures associated with each faction, but only once you’ve gotten the blueprints from doing their quests. The Elven Alliance are woodland skirmishers that bring some elemental power to the field. The Empire are devout humans with a balanced roster. The Undead Hordes are exactly what they sound like. And the Legions of the Damned are hellions packing plenty of demonic magic. You won’t be able to keep them all happy, though, so it makes sense to pick one or two and stick with them.

While all recruitable troops and companions have limited equipment slots, Avyanna herself is fleshed out as a full-fledged RPG hero. She can equip armor and weapons, learn spells from five different schools, and has three expansive skill trees that focus on different styles of combat. While she starts out as a balanced Mercenary, it will eventually be possible to unlock a number of other classes for her as well.

There’s a fair bit of dungeon-crawling and open world exploration as well, including puzzles, traps, and side quests. It reminded me a fair bit of the Divinity: Original Sin games, except that combat takes place on a separate screen rather than out in the open world. And while I was told that my decisions regarding the various factions would eventually guide my story’s outcomes, I didn’t get to play long enough to really see how that plays out. Likewise, Avyanna usually gets the option between a “good”, “bad,” and “wild card” option in most dialogues, but this didn’t look like it had any effect either mechanically or story-wise just yet.

I’m looking forward to exploring more of Disciples Liberation after having gotten my boots dirty in its rich fantasy world. A story-driven RPG like this with a home base, army building, and sweeping tactical combat really strikes me as a natural combination, and it’s almost surprising no one has combined these ingredients quite like this before. You’ll be able to check it out for yourself on October 21st.