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Obsidian has been working for years on Avowed, a first-person fantasy RPG set in the same world as its excellent Pillars of Eternity games. Unlike the isometric styling of those titles, Avowed is a first-person adventure more in the vein of something like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or The Outer Worlds.
Whether you call them Metroid-likes, exploration-based action platformers, big map adventures, or simply Metroidvanias, this sub-genre has exploded in popularity. What was once a criminally underused design template has become one of the most commonly used formats in games. That’s especially true for indie developers, who seem more than happy to make up for prolonged droughts between actual Metroid and Castlevania titles by concocting their own unique spins on the style. While some 3D games have adopted the formula to success (see: Batman: Arkham Asylum), this list will only highlight 2D-style titles for the sake of clarity. Here are 10 great modern Metroidvanias, in reverse chronological release order, that you’ll have a great time getting lost in.
The revival of this long-dormant franchise moves into the gear-and-power-gated family of games colloquially termed Metroidvanias, thanks to its similarity to early classics like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It’s a genre that has been gaining traction in recent years, but Ubisoft’s return to the Prince of Persia franchise is one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. It's even managed to make a spot for itself on our list of the Best Metroidvania Games you should make a point to play.
Machine Games’ Indiana Jones game received an official name and got its first gameplay showing during today’s Xbox Developer Direct. We also learned that it’s launching later this year. EW.com also confirmed that though Harrison Ford's likeness will appear in the game, he will be performed by Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite).
Today, during the most recent Xbox Developer Direct, Ara: History Untold, a new strategy game from Oxide Games, got a deep dive revealing gameplay and more. The game was first announced in 2022.
Last year was a fantastic year for games, with standout triple-A releases like Baldur's Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and great independent games like Jusant, Sea of Stars, and countless others. But in 2023 alone, more than 10,000 developers and people in games-adjacent industries were laid off. Plus, the unchecked rise of A.I. continued, and Unity burned developers with its controversial new game engine policies, not to name a few other not-so-great parts about 2023 – it was a great year for games but one of the worst for those who make them.
Dead by Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive has reportedly laid off 45 people, Kotaku has learned. The publication says those with knowledge of the situation at the studio said the layoffs only affected people at Behaviour's Montreal, Canada studio, with those 45 affected let go last week, between January 9 and 11.
CI Games, the publisher behind last year's Lords of the Fallen and the Sniper Ghost Warrior franchise, has laid off 10 percent of its staff, as first reported by GamesIndustry.biz. The publication says its sources pointed to laid-off staff posting about the job cuts on LinkedIn, but has since received confirmation from CI Games.