It is the blessing and the curse of the younger sibling. On the one hand, the benefit of walking on ground already broken by the elder child, pre-flattened for ease of passage. On the other, the identity-smothering disappointment of the hand-me-down.
Ubisoft Toronto was built in the shadow of the publisher’s flagship studio in Montreal—an enormous ideas factory responsible for Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, and Assassin’s Creed, the very foundations of the Ubi empire. Montreal’s brightest lights were sent to Ontario’s capital to establish the new outpost: Producer extraordinaire Jade Raymond, who has since specialized in manifesting AAA studios, and the creative director Maxime Béland.
The latter brought with him a blueprint for what was, back in 2010, a shockingly modern take on the stealth game. At Ubi Montreal, Béland had led development on Splinter Cell: Conviction, a series reboot that had applied his experience with Rainbow Six: Vegas, a cover shooter, to espionage. The result was a game that played with light and shadow, but paradoxically hinged on a move called ‘mark and execute’—which saw Sam Fisher plug enemies in slo-mo as if they were melons lined up on a plank of wood. Conviction was acclaimed but controversial—a wobbly and dangerous jumping off point for a new studio.
This story is from the June 2022 edition of PC Gamer US Edition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2022 edition of PC Gamer US Edition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Special Report- Stacked Deck - Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big.
Monster Train, a deckbuilding roguelike that firmly entrenched itself as the crown prince to the kingly Slay the Spire back in 2020, was the kind of smash success you might call Champagne Big. Four years later, its successor Inkbound’s launch from Early Access was looking more like Sandwich Big.I’m not just saying that because of the mountain of lamb and eggplants I ate while meeting with developer Shiny Shoe over lunch, to feel out what the aftermath of releasing a game looks like in 2024. I mean, have I thought about that sandwich every day since? Yes. But also, the indie team talked frankly about the struggle of luring Monster Train’s audience on board for its next game.
SCREENBOUND
How a 5D platformer went viral two months into development
OLED GAMING MONITORS
A fresh wave of OLED panels brings fresh options, greater resolutions and makes for even more impressive gaming monitors
CRYSIS 2
A cinematic FPS with tour de force visuals.
PLOD OF WAR
SENUA’S SAGA: HELLBLADE 2 fails to find a new path for its hero
GALAXY QUEST
HOMEWORLD 3 is a flashy, ambitious RTS, but some of the original magic is missing
FAR REACHING
Twenty years ago, FAR CRY changed the landscape of PC gaming forever.
THY KINGDOM COME
SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE is the culmination of decades of FromSoftware RPGs, and a gargantuan finale for ELDEN RING
KILLING FLOOR 3
Tripwire Interactive's creature feature is back
IMPERFECTLY BALANCED
Arrowhead says HELLDIVERS 2 balancing patches have 'gone too far'