MOOD SWINGS - Game Pass Goodness, Payday 3 Makes Bank, And Frostbite On Switch Opens Doors
Jolly vibes.
By Jay Tee and Mike
22/03/21
MOOD SWINGS?
Besides being the obvious side effect to a hormonal outburst, ‘Mood Swings’ is an editorial crafted by our editor Jay Tee, alongside contributions from the team. It’s like a series of extended tweets, ranting or raving about something terrible / great that has happened in the world of gaming. It’s a collection of random musings designed to provide a snapshot of what we’re doing, things you should be excited for, and stuff to avoid as you navigate the choppy waters of this wonderfully unpredictable hobby.
Anything, from reactions to a new game announcement, surprising breaking news, to “our cat just nibbled our thumb sticks”, can be found here. We try to be as honest as possible, sharing our gut reactions to stuff that has occurred in the last twenty four hours.
GAME PASS GOODNESS
Microsoft is absolutely taking names and making waves with their Game Pass service this month and it's great to see their no holds barred approach in full force. As if the Bethesda deal wasn't enough, we got the announcement of Outriders day and date, plus other big wins like Octopath Traveler and Undertale coming to the service. It's been good.
Follow that up with EA Play finally coming to Game Pass for PC, and it's capping off a relentless period. It seems pretty clear they didn't know when Bethesda and EA Play was going to land, which is why we've got a perfect storm of announcements. But we're not complaining! - Mike
I’d also like to tip my hat to the new Xbox Wireless Headset that dropped this week. I think Microsoft dropped the ball on decent bespoke accessories during the Xbox One era, and relied too heavily on third party’s filling in the gaps.
But this new headset is fantastic; comfortable, great sound quality, an… okay microphone, and the dual connectivity with rotating sound control dials feel like premium features well ahead of this price point. - Jay Tee
PAYDAY 3 MAKES BANK
After a tumultuous period of uncertainty, Starbreeze have got the business side of their act together and locked down a publishing agreement for Payday 3. That particular franchise is easily one of their most noteworthy and profitable, but the high profile borking of their Walking Dead effort left things looking a tad dicey.
It’s great to see them take such a pragmatic approach; setting the release date for 2023 allows the dev team to let it cook. Cyberpunk is a painful lesson in announcing too early and the cost of misrepresenting a product. Payday 2 was fun but janky, so the extended dev cycle, and financial security afforded by Koch Media’s involvement, has put them in a good spot. - Jay Tee
FROSTBITE ON SWITCH OPENS DOORS
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a jolly continuation of EA’s more modest shooter spin off, but it’s the recent port to Switch that really caught my attention. As a Frostbite engine powered title, PvZ:BfN (catchy!) is the first game built on DICE’s tech to make the leap to Ninty’s hybrid wonder.
Traditionally, bespoke (and terrible) versions of FIFA are the closest we’ve got. But this opens the door to a whole mess of Frostbite powered ports, and if the optimisation work has already been done, we could even see new titles pop up down the line. At the very least, it shows a willingness from EA to keep supporting the Switch. - Jay Tee
The series deserves more love.