What does Bandai Namco do?
Little Nightmares III
At last year’s Gamescom, the Japanese company Bandai Namco presented the third part of the Little Nightmares series. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the change in the development team. While the first two parts of this brand from 2017 and 2021 were created by the Swedish studio Tarsier, the third part was developed by the famous team Supermassive Games. It became famous especially thanks to interactive horror stories such as Before Dawn, Quarry or Anthology of Dark Pictures. Although the developers have a wealth of experience in creating a dark horror atmosphere, the platformer genre, which the Little Nightmares series has been betting on from the very beginning, is a new experience for the studio.
These assumptions were also reflected in the playable demo I was able to try out at Gamescom this year. Right off the bat, I have to praise the audiovisual side, which was already one of the strong points of the previous two parts. Despite the change in the development team, the easily recognizable visual style of the series has certainly been preserved in the upcoming trilogy. In terms of graphics, for example, the game does a very good job with the various lighting effects that shine through the mostly darkened environments. I can also praise the detailing of the platforming environments and the work with the overall perspective, which remains true to the 2.5D perspective of the previous two parts.
Since the title relies on the horror atmosphere, the sound aspect also plays a very important role. Even in this respect, Little Nightmares III can be compared to larger games in terms of budget and performance. However, it is important not to forget that this is still a platformer, which should also offer rich possibilities in terms of gameplay. In this direction, the authors have focused on the cooperation of two characters. If you choose a purely single-player mode, one of them will be controlled by artificial intelligence. But there will also be online cooperation, in which you can entrust one of the characters to another player. The developers have already confirmed that the game will not have traditional couch co-op. Personally, I think this is great, because this format is great for offline cooperation and sharing the entire experience with another player.
In terms of logical puzzles and solving platform passages, the game relies on tasks in which both characters must work together. For example, it involves launching a bridge over a large gap, using a bow that one of the main characters is equipped with, or moving heavy objects to the right place. I think you will enjoy such moments much more with a friend than with a computer-controlled companion. Although all the mechanics mentioned worked without problems in principle, on the other hand, I can’t say that the developers gave me something truly original that I didn’t know from other adventure games and platformers.
With the exception of an interesting scene with umbrellas that, thanks to the wind, carry you to your destination on a hill, it was all about solving traditional and not very original problems. Because of this, the entire gameplay segment felt more like an introductory introductory segment, in which the authors introduce the basic mechanics and the environment. But for a presentation at an event like Gamescom, on the other hand, this is nothing special. So I personally hope that the authors will keep the original ideas and more developed gameplay mechanics in the full version for now. It would be a shame if the game only offered beautiful graphics and an immersive horror atmosphere. Little Nightmares III will be released in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S and Nintendo Switch.
Unknown 9: Awakening
When Canadian studio Reflector Entertainment, in collaboration with publisher Bandai Namco, unveiled Unknown 9: Awakening in 2020, few could have predicted that we would have to wait at least four more years for it. But a series of delays and issues saw the game showcased at Gamescom this year among other upcoming titles. Plus, the playable demo left me with mixed feelings, leaving me with doubts.
In the game, you will follow the journey of the main character Haruna, played by actress Anya Chalotra. Video game fans may know her mainly as Yennefer from the Netflix series The Witcher. In terms of the setting, the game combines a number of supernatural elements, as well as fantasy and science fiction. In addition, Bandai Namco has tempted from the very beginning with ambitious plans for the entire universe, which, in addition to the game itself, also includes books, comics or podcasts. In essence, this is definitely not a small project.
If there’s one thing that the game’s demos have interested me so far, it’s the mysterious world and the enigmatic setting that works with the concept of traveling between dimensions, taking influences from history, science fiction, fantasy, and modern times. However, any impressions I got from the various trailers largely dissipated after playing the aforementioned playthrough. What I got was an average game that was largely broken in terms of playability.
First of all, I was disappointed that I was thrown into a relatively small and strictly closed arena instead of some larger location that the authors would have allowed me to explore more closely. The developers then released several enemies into it, which I had to take care of gradually. In addition to traditional hand-to-hand combat, the main focus of the game is on reincarnation, which allows you to enter the body of a specific enemy for a few seconds and point their weapon at another unsuspecting enemy. It’s an interesting, but essentially the only original mechanic that the demo helped me with.
Otherwise, I got a traditional third-person action game with a boring or original combat system. The developers clearly tried to liven up the whole experience by using various environmental objects in the form of flammable or freezing objects that are found in certain locations. While they can be a decent help at the right time, you get tired of using them relatively quickly.
After that, the technical side became a huge disappointment for me. In terms of graphics, the game looks, to put it mildly, average, which can be forgiven. However, what can no longer be ignored is the optimization. First of all, the entire demo ran at 30 frames per second, which is completely insufficient given the already mentioned inconsistent graphics and the focus on combat. In addition, during gameplay, the AI of the computer-controlled assistant did not work at all, and did not participate in combat at all. These shortcomings could be forgiven if the game was still a few months away from release.
However, since the developers have set a release date for October this year, this is not the case. So personally, I am concerned about the technical state of the game at the time of release, when I remember what a finished demo might look like less than two months before launch. It would be a shame if the efforts to create an interesting world and, above all, a completely new universe were to come to naught precisely because of the technical side. Unknown 9: Awakening will be released on October 18 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
Source :Indian TV
