HardwareFreaks

Tag: Game Systems

  • Lord of Hatred upgraded Diablo 4 into one of the best action RPGs out there, but its new season ignores everything that made it great

    Featured image Lord of Hatred upgraded Diablo 4 into one of the best action RPGs out there but its new season ignores everything that made it great

    Diablo 4 has reached a pivotal moment, standing on a foundation built by a truly revolutionary expansion that redefined what an action RPG could be. With Lord of Hatred didn’t just add content; it injected the necessary depth, transforming the game from a straightforward loot-driven experience into a deep sandbox for character building and customization.

    That expansion introduced powerful skill trees, complex item crafting systems, and methods to curate an endgame loop based on player preference. It allowed players to truly feel like they were sculpting a demon-slaying god, pushing characters to their limits without relying on external guides. This shift provided the game with a vision that felt robust and forward-looking, suggesting a long-term potential for evolution.

    However, the experience of the current season, Season of Death Awakening, suggests a noticeable disconnect between this established depth and recent seasonal updates. While the core mechanics remain solid—the systems introduced by Lord of Hatred are still present and excellent—many elements feel like a step backward rather than an exciting continuation.

    The new seasonal structure, particularly the “Ruptures” events, struggles to integrate meaningfully with the sophisticated systems Blizzard established. These mini-events, designed to quickly boost XP and draw players into the open world, often lose their relevance once players reach max level. They feel like a leftover from earlier seasons rather than an extension of the game’s current progression.

    The same sentiment applies to the new end-game content, such as the Realmwalker boss encounter and the “Deathtoll Chamber.” These features offer rewards that can be acquired through standard endgame dungeons. While obtaining powerful loot is always appealing, these additions do not offer the same level of systemic depth or unique crafting opportunities that the Lord of Hatred expansion provided.

    Instead of doubling down on mechanics that don’t connect to the core systems, the focus should be on expanding the depth already present. The opportunity lies in leveraging the foundational changes made by Lord of Hatred to introduce new ways to manipulate character progression and item crafting, rather than simply adding ephemeral events.

    The challenge for future seasons is to ensure that seasonal content serves as an exciting layer on top of a game that has already proven its capacity for massive depth. By allowing Blizzard to follow up on the promise of customization and systemic evolution, they can create experiences that truly push the boundaries of what an action RPG can achieve.

    (Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

    Credit: PC Gamer

  • New Vegas director Josh Sawyer says games can and should pull on artistic inspirations from ‘anywhere and everywhere’: ‘Greek plays, they knocked it out of the park thousands of years ago—why not look at them?’

    The Art of the System: How Inspiration Fuels Game Design

    In the world of video games, there’s a fundamental tension at play: how do you blend mechanical systems with genuine artistic inspiration? For design director Josh Sawyer, the answer lies not in choosing one over the other, but realizing that artistic influence is an unavoidable constant throughout the entire creation process.

    When asked whether game design involves injecting art into design systems or designing systems around art, Sawyer offered a straightforward yet profound response: artistic inspiration is simply everywhere. The true heart of the design process, he argues, is understanding that the goal is to make a person think or feel something about something—not just to keep them entertained.

    This philosophy becomes crucial when dealing with games, where players invest hours of their lives into an experience. Unlike a three-hour movie, games demand that systems and moment-to-moment gameplay must reinforce the emotional beats of the story. For Sawyer, this means constantly reevaluating whether the mechanics driving player time—like looping reloads or hammer-fanning animations—are supporting the intended emotional reality, rather than just being functional.

    Consider games where player choice is paramount, such as Pentiment. In these narratives, the goal is to make moral decisions feel weighty and agonizing. Sawyer emphasizes that developers must continually ask: Is this decision designed to evoke genuine moral turmoil? Do we want the player to feel the weight of their choices, the reflection on the consequences, or a sense of true consequence?

    This quest for emotional effect often influences the world-building itself. In games like 2026 games and others, the names of abilities or systems can be crafted not just for function, but to tap into the collective consciousness—to provoke the player’s imagination about the world they are inhabiting.

    This focus on deep psychological impact extends beyond narrative structure. Sawyer notes that while complex systems like inventory management might seem purely cognitive, they still operate within a framework of artistic inspiration. Inventory systems, for instance, force the player to engage in a different kind of evaluation—weighing value and understanding stacks—which changes their cognitive mode away from pure action and into contemplation.

    The source of this creative wellspring is incredibly diverse. Sawyer draws inspiration from across history and aesthetics. He looks to the character-writing principles of Robert Bolt, pulling lessons from classical theater—finding the agonizing moral turmoil in Greek plays. His influences also stretch to musical composition, referencing Sondheim musicals, medieval illuminated manuscripts, the striking simplicity of a Rothko painting, and even misinterpreted lyrics from artists like Florence and the Machine.

    Whether it’s analyzing the archetypes of classical art or channeling the aesthetic sensibilities of a bronze sculptor father’s collection of Modigliani books, Sawyer believes that inspiration should be continual. It is the ability to pull in “certain symbolism and emotional connection” from anywhere and everywhere that ultimately transforms systems into meaningful experiences.

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    Credit: PC Gamer

  • Big companies told Hideo Kojima he’s ‘crazy’ for making OD: ‘It’s something that no one has ever seen before’

    Hideo Kojima’s OD: A Vision That Defied the Industry

    For Hideo Kojima, returning to horror was never about chasing simple scares; it was about building entirely new realities. His upcoming project, OD, is positioned not merely as a horror game, but as a profound exploration of game systems and psychological endurance, setting itself apart from the genre in ways that intrigue both creators and critics.

    The foundation of this ambitious vision stems from Kojima’s desire to create something fundamentally different. He envisioned a game that transcended the conventional limits of ‘scariness.’ Instead of relying solely on jump scares, he aimed to develop an innovative system designed to challenge players, offering a pathway that allows them to persist even when confronted by overwhelming fear.

    This is a project bolstered by a stellar ensemble cast. OD brings together familiar faces and powerful talent, featuring Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and the posthumous involvement of Udo Kier. This mix of high-profile actors and Kojima’s signature thematic depth promises an experience that is both visually arresting and emotionally complex.

    But a vision as unique as this often faces resistance when presented to the mainstream. Kojima has shared that his initial concepts, which stemmed from his work on projects like Death Stranding, were met with skepticism from major companies and developers. The pitch, he noted, was dismissed by many as too esoteric, leading to some feeling that the core concept simply could not be executed.

    Despite this initial hurdle, interest eventually found traction within key industry players. Figures like Phil Spencer, former head of Xbox, showed keen support for the project, recognizing its potential to represent a distinct type of game experience. This interest suggests a shared belief that Kojima’s work offers a valuable direction for interactive entertainment.

    This endorsement reflects a broader institutional shift. As the industry looks toward the future of gaming, there is a growing call for platforms to be more open and inclusive—a space where diverse creators can thrive. The support for projects like OD highlights a desire to foster innovation beyond established commercial formulas.

    Kojima remains committed to the integrity of his vision, acknowledging that revealing too much about the underlying game mechanics would spoil the experience. He insists that while the concept is radical, he must protect the innovative system itself. For now, OD exists as a tantalizing promise—a deep dive into a new world waiting for its release date.

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    Credit: PC Gamer