Crimsonland was the very first game 10tons made. It was the very first game I made. If someone would have said at that time that I’d still be talking about it almost 18 years later… not sure if I’d have believed that. That’s crazy.

Nevertheless, over the years, Crimsonland has gathered some sort of a cult following. Some players can’t seem to get enough of it. The biggest fans have played it over thousands of hours. While I can only speculate why all this has happened, I do have a few guesses how the game earned its hardcore following.

Maze of monsters

When the game originally came out in 2003, most 2D games still used software rendering. Using 3D accelerators enabled us to have thousands of moving monsters on screen at once. This had some novelty value especially back then, and there’s no denying that it can be very satisfying to mow down those monster hordes. This also defined the concept of level structure in a new way. Suddenly the monsters themselves provided an ever evolving maze to navigate through. You needed to plan and plow your way through the enemies to get to that next sweet powerup. Everything is in flux all the time, so you need to be constantly taking risks, planning new routes, and trying to figure out soft spots in the horde. I think this sort of plasticity keeps the gameplay fresh longer.

Level up, die, repeat

The survival mode of Crimsonland may have been one of the first action roguelike style experiences out there. Inspired by bigger RPGs like the Fallout series, one goal was to fit that RPG progress into shorter action game format. Kill monsters, gather experience points, level up, and try to survive as long as possible. Each time you level up, you get to pick one of the random Perks. As you get to know what each Perk does, and what combinations of weapons and Perks might be useful, you’ll start to form new strategies. You perished this time, but maybe in the next run you’ll get lucky? This makes it very tempting to play that one more new game.

But I can only speculate why the game got popular. The truth is that the fans and them spreading the word is what has made Crimsonland popular. People are still talking about the game. And there’s still one question we hear all the time. When is Crimsonland 2 coming out?

We also wanted the game to have characters and stories that would really mean something to players, so we’ve given every character in the game a tale that slowly plays out over weeks or months. Some of those tales are silly, and some of those tales are deadly serious. We hope the result will be a narrative and game that makes you delighted to play for a few minutes or an hour every day for a long time to come.

Cozy Grove’s distinctive look has been driven in large part by Noemí Gómez, our wildly talented and charming Spanish colleague. Noemí brings an extraordinary whimsy to everything she draws, which is perfect for a game that includes vegetable-bear hybrids and giant fox salesmen on a constantly shifting, limbo-esque island.

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Hi everyone! There’s lots of new features, content, and incredible things to look forward to in today’s update, especially after Square Enix Presents. Clint Barton as Hawkeye has joined our roster of playable characters along with his own Operation: Future Imperfect. His story will take you to a new biome called the Wasteland, where you’ll encounter many enemies, including a new enemy type, the Cargo Runner Synthoid, that will drop items when defeated. You’ll also face off against a new villain, Maestro, a twisted Hulk from an alternate timeline who has Bruce’s wits and the Hulk’s power.

We have been working hard on the community-requested Campaign Replay, and we’re excited to finally roll it out! You will be able to restart and replay the Reassemble Campaign from the beginning as many times as you like, experiencing Kamala’s journey reuniting the Avengers to your heart’s content. We can’t wait to see your new Photo Mode shots.

Additionally, we are also implementing customizable HARM Rooms, so you can tailor your Super Hero training experience with various modifiers like enemy type, number, difficulty, and more!

On top of this, we are giving everyone a free Ms. Marvel Outfit: Night Galaxy! And last but most certainly not least, Marvel’s Avengers next-gen versions are here—read up on the details of the new features and improvements coming to PlayStation 5 below!

PlayStation 5 Features and Improvements

Let’s talk about what new features and improvements you can expect when booting up Marvel’s Avengers on PlayStation 5. Before we begin, we’d like to remind everyone that players who own the PlayStation 4 version of the game will be able to upgrade to the full next-gen version at no additional cost!*

Marvel’s Avengers takes full advantage of the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback functionality by giving every Avenger a unique feel that is fully personalized to their specific playstyle. Every skill and ability that uses the adaptive triggers—from readying up defensive abilities, to firing ranged weapons—has had special attention and functionality applied to enhance a satisfying combat-control experience. Imagine feeling the reverberation of charging Iron Man’s repulsors, the kickback of using his rockets, and the building intensity of focusing his heat lasers. Or the fast-paced force of Kate Bishop quickly firing a flurry of arrows, complimenting the tension of charging up that perfect shot. The entire combat system has been retuned and customized specifically to take advantage of the DualSense controller.

Marvel’s Avengers supports the PlayStation 5 console’s improved 3D audio technology that powers its unique spatial audio capabilities. With your compatible headphones, you can hear the fight all around you with the PS5 console’s Tempest 3D AudioTech, which simulates sound from a variety of different directions and sources. Hear Black Widow’s pistols firing behind you and Iron Man blasting his Unibeam as he hovers overhead for realistic surround sound, making Marvel’s Avengers an even more immersiv

When we first announced Project Athia last year, we were overwhelmed with joy from seeing the excitement and conversations shared by fans online. Now, at long last, we’re ready to share the game’s official title and logo with you:

I’m also excited to share a brand-new scene from the game, which you can view here:

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Forspoken is an action RPG where you will take on the role of Frey Holland, an ordinary young woman who must harness her magical abilities to survive in a fantastical and dangerous land called Athia. As Frey, you will embark on a thrilling, other-worldly adventure and face treacherous trials to unravel the mystery behind the unknown land of Athia and awaken something much more from within.

As you’ll see in the new game clip, Frey is able to traverse the world with incredible speed and fluidity. I can’t wait for players to experience firsthand just how satisfying it feels to move through Athia, scaling cliffs, and leaping across ravines in the future.

Frey takes center stage in Forspoken, and we’re delighted to announce that actor, Ella Balinska is performing the character. We were looking for someone who could convincingly portray Frey’s dynamic character, and we knew immediately that Ella was the perfect person to play her. From the beginning, Ella understood the themes and concept of the game and was able to channel this in her performance to bring Frey’s character to life. Not only is Ella talented and well matched to the role of Frey, but she is also extremely passionate about Forspoken as her first video game project. 

And there it is! On behalf of Square Enix and the entire Luminous Productions team, we hope you enjoyed the sneak peek. The creators are working hard around the world on the development of Forspoken, and we can’t wait for you to experience Frey’s story in 2022.

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It’s a very exciting time here at Hazelight. We’re about to bring our baby into the world. Next week, on March 26, the wild, funny, and magical co-op action adventure platformer It Takes Two will blow your minds away. I’m not kidding! You’ve never seen anything like it.

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Catch up on the latest trailer, then keep scrolling for new gameplay info.

Don’t take my word for it though. Just download the Friend’s Pass version of It Takes Two from the PlayStation Store on PS4 or PS5 on March 26. It’s free. Give it a go in local couch co-op – or have a friend download the Friend’s Pass as well to play online – and you can try out the entire first level. If you enjoy it, only one of you needs to buy the full game to keep playing together.

One aspect of It Takes Two that I’m really passionate about is the way we’re marrying story and gameplay in innovative ways. I’ve talked a lot about this since we revealed the game. But today, I wanted to dive into the backstories of our two main characters, Cody and May, to give you some more examples of how this comes to life.

May wields a sickle against enemies while Cody rams as a tomato.

In the beginning of the story, we learn that Cody and May are about to split up. Their daughter, Rose, is devastated. She desperately wants them to stay together. Feeling she can’t share her worries with her parents, she turns to a book titled “Book of Love” and two dolls that she’s created to represent her parents. When she wishes for them to become friends again, Rose unknowingly and magically transforms them into the dolls, teleporting mom and dad into a magical world.

Here, they encounter Dr. Hakim, a living version of Rose’s “Book of Love”. He’s a crazy and passionate guy (kinda like me – I actually did the mocap for Dr. Hakim myself!) and claims that he’s promised Rose to fix their broken marriage.