IGN has launched a new weekly series rounding up game preview coverage, highlighting anticipated titles as the holiday season approaches. This week's roundup features insights into Marvel's Wolverine, Star Wars: Zero Company, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, and Job Simulator: Human Relations.
Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine is described as a linear AAA action game, continuing the studio's success with superhero titles. Early impressions praise its violent combat, which includes a Rage Meter, though it reportedly lacks the attack personalization seen in Spider-Man. The narrative presents a pre-X-Men Logan working alongside characters often portrayed as adversaries. The game also includes non-combat Lowtown areas intended to offer a change of pace and opportunities for character development, with the hope that the full release will feature more such moments.
Star Wars: Zero Company, a turn-based tactics adventure, aims to be accessible to newcomers to the genre while offering depth for veterans. The game features permadeath as an optional setting, which the preview suggests enhances the weight of strategic decisions. While the near-finished build showcased enjoyable combat maneuvers reminiscent of Star Wars films, it also exhibited bugs and technical issues, raising concerns with its approaching release date.
Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, set in the world of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, introduces new elements alongside familiar structures. The game aims to front-load individual hero stories and incorporates a new Blaze Arts combat system offering risk and reward. However, the save-game system may present challenges for players wishing to explore all narrative paths.
Job Simulator: Human Relations, a non-VR iteration of the popular comedic multiplayer workplace simulator, is now playable on flat-screen monitors. The game retains the chaotic and humorous office antics of its predecessor, with players controlling an anthropomorphic CRT monitor navigating an increasingly absurd corporate environment. The preview notes that the extent of variety and replayability in the full game remains to be seen.
These previews offer an early look at games expected in the coming months, with the industry's focus shifting towards releases following the summer period.