In this week’s bulletin, we delve into the new remake of Riven, the controversy surrounding War Thunder’s recent event, the strategy diamond in the rough Renaissance Kingdom Wars, and the settlement between Koei Tecmo and Youzu!

The 90’s and 2020’s sides of the same coin: the Riven remake

Remakes are certainly in fashion in the past years, and that much more under the looking glass of the original’s fans. Riven was originally released 27 years ago, and the possibilities for change while creating a remake are almost endless with new technology like Unreal Engine 5 which was used for the remake of Riven. Yet, the developers at Cyan World Inc. tread the line of improvement and preservation quite elegantly. It is a step up in terms of the controls and graphics, but in parallel an homage to the 90’s style of CG that is so fondly remembered and nostalgically sought after. And just because this is a remake, does not mean all the puzzles are the same, which makes for a reminiscent, but still challenging-in-novel-ways gameplay. For fuller immersion, one can also play and experience the game in VR, which capitalizes on the atmospheric richness of the Riven world-building. Read more on Eurogamer.

War Thunder new event promotional material accidentally featured an explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger

War Thunder, the large-scale multiplayer aerial combat simulation developed by Gaijin Entertainment, is no stranger to controversy. Leaking classified documents in discussions of vehicle hardware accuracy has become more common than expected in online forums for the fans of the game. Gaijin Entertainment usually apologizes on behalf of their players, despite the leaks not being the developer’s fault, whereas the current controversy is. The promotional material for the latest online event Seek & Destroy featured a picture of a debris cloud from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster that occurred on January 28 1986 resulting in the death of all seven crew members. The developer apologized and claimed to alter the artwork as soon as possible, alongside implementing measures to prevent such a thing from happening again. At the moment of writing, despite the still reminiscent feel of the original picture of the explosion, the artwork has been changed. Meanwhile, the exact measures Gaijin Entertainment aims to put in place are unclear.

The grand strategy game to rule all: Renaissance Kingdom Wars

Indie developer Reverie World Studios released their newest game, Renaissance Kingdom Wars, in early access. The aesthetic of early 2000s RTS games is prevalent throughout all their games, but the team at Reverie World Studios now quite intentionally revels in this nostalgic and more-than-ever popular visuals in their upcoming release. The gameplay is in no way retro though, as it feels as if the developers took all the best parts from games such as Age of Empires, Total War, and Crusader Kings, and optimized them. This makes for a varied engaging experience with multiple strategy styles woven together at a pace that is accessible in terms of time consumption (especially for people unable to pour hundreds of hours into a game).

Intellectual property infringement lawsuit settled between Koei Tecmo and Youzu

The Japanese developer Koei Tecmo filed a lawsuit against the Singapore-based Youzu Interactive in April due to the latter using Koei’s music and in-game assets without permission to promote their games Dynasty Origins, Sengoku Legends: Uprising, and Infinity Kingdom. Koei Tecmo claimed that Youzu’s usage of assets might “lead to misconceptions by users and partners.” Youzu formally apologized and the suit was settled out-of-court for a fee and preventative measures were agreed upon. What this means for both the company and the offending titles in the future is unclear as in similar copyright infringement cases the potential outcomes are the developer receiving a fee for damages or revenue from the game, or sometimes the offending company’s operations ceasing.