Silksong Apocalypse- redux
The second edition of Letter to a Gamer, the ad-free, non-sponsored, and AI-free gaming newsletter, is dedicated to delving into the many ripples caused by Silksong's unbelievable launch on both the community and the industry. As always, if you're a subscriber, thank you for your support: it's with your support that I can continue this project (and pay the bills). If you're not already a subscriber and want access to the full version of this newsletter (with a Silksong review, suggestions for what to play this weekend, and an editorial on the CS 2 stock market), all it takes is €4 a month to help me keep my independent gaming journalism alive.
News index
+ Silksong apocalypse
- Nintendo's evil patent
+ iPod games are safe
- There's a new Rayman in the works at Ubisoft Milan
+ Hades 2 has a release date
Hollow Knight Silksong is once again the focus of this newsletter: over the past week, a lot has been said about Team Cherry's sequel, and I feel the need to clarify a few things. I'm delving into the "difficulty" aspect in the review (available in the full version) because I'd like to use this space to discuss the matter of the price. Silksong costs €20, about half of what we'd expect but the same price as the first Hollow Knight when it launched.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the indie development world, with many authors asking on social media if 20 euros is the new ceiling for indie pricing considering the quality and quantity of Team Cherry's offering.
The answer is absolutely no. Silksong has achieved this level of polish thanks to seven years of development, funded by a successful first installment. No one in the indie development community expects this to be the new standard. Even the most unfamiliar gamer will understand that Silksong's price tag is only possible thanks to a rare, global success.
As Gian Paolo Vernocchi, CEO of Destinybit, explained to me, games are now brought to market thanks to Discord and the communities of enthusiastic, active, and interested fans who gather there. It's them the devs should ask how much they'd pay for the game they're passionate about, because they're the ones who will evangelize the work, even when it comes to price.
It's important to defuse the awkwardness that, even in the world of video games, lingers around talking about money. Development takes time and effort, and no one should be afraid to associate a financial value to their endevour. The results, however, must confront with the market's demand, the hype surrounding the title, and the feedback from its most devoted fans. Silksong shook up not the indie scene, but the AAA industry: I'll explain why in the review.
Nintendo's most evil patent ever has just been approved in the United States: the big N now owns the mechanic of summoning one creature to fight another. The greed of such a move speaks for itself, but soon a contender with deeper pockets than Pocket Pair (the creators of Palworld, which Nintendo has been suing for years now) is about to make its enterance: Honkai Nexus Anima, the new title from Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse, is about to debut, and it's a game about collecting creatures that fight each other like in a Teamfight Tactics like autobattler.
iPod games are safe: the iPod, which you can't remember if you've never had had one, had both pre-installed video games and experiences developed specifically for iTunes, which used the Click Wheel as input (that proto-touch circular dial used to adjust the volume). With the addition of Real Soccer 2009, all 54 iPod games that were on the verge of being lost forever have been saved; you can find them here.
There's a new Rayman in the works at Ubisoft Milan. It's still a long way off, but Ubisoft made a surprise appearance at Rayman Alive, an annual fan-made event where fan projects are showcased and discussed, to announce, on the occasion of the franchise's thirtieth anniversary, that a new installment is in the works at the Milan and Montpellier studios and that the series is not destined to remain in the history books.
Hades 2 will be released in 1.0 on September 25th. Announced during the latest Nintendo Direct, the release date for Hades 2 took everyone by surprise. The game will come out on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 (with a free upgrade from one console to the other), and you'll be able to transfer your progress from your Early Access saves on Steam and the Epic Games Store.
This is just a taste of everything Letter to a Gamer has to offer. Looking for a new video game and not sure what to choose? In the full version, you'll find four suggestions, including full games and demos, to broaden your gaming horizons. Want a thoughtful and impartial review of the latest video games? Each week's review is there waiting for you. Want a look behind the scenes of video game development with analysis and interviews? My in-depth articles and editorials are there for you. The full version of Letter to a Gamer costs one euro a week (click here to subscribe), and it's only thanks to those who help me pay the bills that this project can continue to exist.
See you at the next letter,
Riccardo "Tropic" Lichene