This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge for PS VR2, Lego Star Wars: Castaways, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Then we talked about free text messaging on Air Canada flights and BenQ’s beautiful 34-inch monitor for creatives, the PD3420Q.
May the fourth has become a day to celebrate the Star Wars franchise (from the movies’ mantra, “May the force be with you”) but it’s also an opportunity to celebrate some of the great video games that are set in that universe.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor a scintillating action-adventure
Cal Kestis is every bit the hero in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, just as he was in the first game, 2019’s Fallen Order. Only he’s not a Padawan anymore. No, the apprentice is now a full-blown Jedi, and he’s got the skills to match.
With many sequels, the powers of the protagonist are somehow taken away, or inhibited. Not in Survivor. In Fallen Order, Cal acquired his powers as he progressed through the story, and in Survivor he’s still got them.
Cal has new skills to learn, of course, as he continues to resist the Empire. Along the way he’ll travel to different planets to explore the surroundings and battle the bad guys. There are dungeons here, too, called Jedi Chambers, which provide challenges that reward you with skill points.
You’ll need those skill points to improve your abilities in combat and you’ll need to practice your controller skills, too, to really feel like a Jedi.
Droid sidekick BD-1 also returns. So much of these Star Wars Jedi games are about the people in Cal’s life who he helps, connects with, and learns from. He gathers them around him in Survivor, too, showing that surviving is a process that is best accomplished as a community.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now for PS5, Windows, Xbox Series X/S. Rated teen.
Going into the Star Wars universe with PS VR2
There’s no better way to experience Star Wars than being in the world itself and for most of us, virtual reality is as close as we’re going to get.
Sadly, you can’t play Star Wars Squadrons on the PS VR2. That spaceship simulator is only available for the first PS VR headset and basic console controllers.
And you really feel like you’re on Batuu, where you end up after a crash landing. You interact with the denizens of the place and after completing the tutorial sections and the introductory chapter, you get to explore other locations and become other characters by playing the stories that you’re told by the owner of the cantina.
The haptics in the controllers make it all the more convincing. Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge is the best way to visit the world of Star Wars.
Available only on Apple Arcade, this is a fun mobile action game that carries all the charm of the Lego games. You get to play through iconic moments from the franchise and visit memorable environments.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Developed by Edmonton’s BioWare (now part of EA) and released in 2003, this role-playing game takes place thousands of years before the events of the films. A remake of this classic is in the works, but you can play the original on mobile devices, computers, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Air Canada is going to let passengers text for free on its flights, and the 34-inch Benq monitor is a dream.
Air Canada bringing free messaging to all Wi-Fi-equipped flights
Air Canada announced today that, in partnership with Bell, passengers on flights that are equipped with Wi-Fi will be able to use messaging services for free.
This includes Apple’s iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google Messages.
Free messaging will begin on May 15, 2023.
Air Canada will also be handing out free Bell SIM cards on inbound international flights. This makes it easy for visitors and immigrants to connect to a mobile network in Canada. But it’s going to be Bell’s mobile network.
BenQ’s 34-inch monitor provides a productivity boost
I’ve been using three screens in my home office, with a 27-inch iMac as the anchor. But that’s going to change.
My new key monitor is going to be BenQ’s 34-inch monitor intended for designers and creatives, the PD3420Q (CDN$1,030).
This ultrawide 2K monitor has a 21:9 ratio, which allows for a full 16:9 HD display with additional screen real estate. The screen is bright, the colours absolutely spot on, and it’s all supported by high dynamic range. For designers, photographers, and video editors, accurate colour is essential and it’s not always done properly. The PD3420Q does it right.
There are multiple ports, too, including Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort, and HDMI, so you can connect multiple devices and peripherals like hard drives and keyboards, and you can daisy chain them.
This week on The Shift, Shane Hewitt and I talked about Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, the Canadian Game Awards and big winner Tunic, Sega’s offer for Rovio, Joseph Staten moving from Halo to Netflix Games, and the release of Honkai: Star Rail.
Horizon Forbidden West gets an expansion in the form of Burning Shores, Tunic wins big at the Canadian Game Awards, biz moves at Sega and Netflix, and the launch of Honkai Star Rail.
Burning Shores expands Aloy’s Forbidden West quest
I relish the opportunity go return to the world Guerrilla has created in Horizon. In Burning Shores, Aloy’s explorations and adventures in Forbidden West take her to what used to be Los Angeles.
While there, Aloy meets new people and discovers new machine creatures and unravels even more of the story of what happened to Earth.
While Forbidden West was available for owners of PS4 and PS5 consoles, this expansion has been released only on PS5. On my system connected to an LG 4K OLED, the visuals are breathtaking.
Meanwhile, Guerrilla has confirmed that a third game in the Horizon franchise is in development, along with an “online project” set in the same universe.
Tunic, Cuphead expansion among Canadian Game Awards winners
Tunic, designed by Halifax’s Andrew Shouldice, won the lions share of accolades, taking the awards for Best Game Design, Best Audio Design, Best PC Game, and Best Console Game, and Shouldice’s development team was recognized as Studio of the Year.
The Delicious Last Course, an expansion of the acclaimed platformer, Cuphead from Studio MDHR, won for Best Art Direction and Best Score/Soundtrack.
And Kari Wahlgren, who plays Harley Quinn in Gotham Knights, the action role-playing game from WB Games Montreal, was recognized for Best Performance.
The business side of video games: Sega and Netflix make moves
Joseph Staten, who has been working on Halo for nearly a decade and the head of creative on Halo Infinite, the latest game in the franchise, has been hired by Netflix as a creative director leading the development of a new, “AAA” multiplatform game.
Honkai: Star Rail is the new free-to-play game from the developers of Genshin Impact
One of the biggest games of the last few years is Genshin Impact, developed and published by Chinese outfit miHoYo in 2020. That free-to-play action role-playing game with turn-based combat that was set in a fantasy world of magic.
Honkai: Star Rail is cut from the same cloth. It’s free-to-play, it’s a role-playing game, it’s got turn-based combat. But this is a space opera which gives its protagonist cosmic power and amnesia as a starting place for an epic story that is inspired by anime and Final Fantasy.
Another difference with Star Rail is that it’s not an open world, instead having you move through the maps by selecting destinations where you can then explore.
Honkai Star Rail is available now on Android, iOS, and Windows, and is coming to PS4 and PS5.
The Mind Control Division is the intelligence arm of Blaine Kyllo's Solo Corps Creative Incorporated. This department conducts investigations and experiments into media and technology culture.
