Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Ever 17 and Never 7 Remasters Announced and Coming West

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Nov 252024
 

Over the weekend, remasters of Ever 17: The Out of Infinity and Never 7: The End of Infinity were announced for Switch, PS4, and PC, and today Spike Chunsoft confirmed that they’ll be coming west.

If you’ve never heard of them, these are the first two visual novels in the Infinity series, written by none other than Kotaro Uchikoshi before he did Zero Escape.

According to the official website, Ever 17 is about a group of people trapped in an underwater theme park, while Never 7 follows a protagonist having premonitions of a girl’s tragic death.

(Never 7 is the first game in the series, but all the information about the remastered collection lists them in the order of Ever 17 and Never 7. I’m not sure why.)

The Ever 17 / Never 7 Double Pack will be available on March 6, 2025. Only a digital release has been announced so far, although it looks like the physical Asia release of the double pack will include English.

Now, here’s where things get a little trickier when it comes to fan reception to the news. In 2011, Ever 17 was remade with 3D models and a rewritten script. This remake was only ever released in Japan. The new remaster appears to be based on that remake but with the 2D sprites restored. That means it will have the remake’s script, which some fans say is inferior and gives away the twists too soon (along with some criticism for marketing it as an Uchikoshi game when he wasn’t involved with the rewritten script). So some fans are encouraging new players to play the original Ever 17 before this version.

(While the original Ever 17 was translated, the English version is no longer available, so you’d need to get a Japanese copy and patch it with a fan translation.)

This has caused some consternation around what is otherwise excellent news, which is unfortunate. I’ve been curious about these games for a long time, so I was excited to see the announcement. I don’t know if I’ll try to find a way to play the original first or just dive in with the remaster and hope for the best.

There is also a third game in the series called Remember 11, which isn’t included here, as well as a spin-off and a reboot. Whether we’ll see any of those games again remains to be seen.

Are you interested in the Ever 17 and Never 7 remasters? How do you feel about the script controversy?

Bug Fables Gets an Update for Its 5th Anniversary

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Nov 222024
 

It’s been almost 4 years since I played Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, and 5 since the game came out.

I found Bug Fables to be an excellent game that satisfied my craving for a classic Paper Mario game while still having an identity of its own. There’s still no sign of a sequel, but I have my fingers crossed.

But even if there’s no sequel, that doesn’t mean there’s no news. For its fifth anniversary, the game got a surprise update!

(I’ll admit, when they teased news coming yesterday, I had hoped for a sequel announcement, but this is still exciting.)

The 5th anniversary v1.2 update adds a fishing mini-game, a new post-game boss fight, a medal that lets allied characters support you, 11 other new medals, new items, a new music track, and some quality-of-life improvements.

It’s wonderful to see Bug Fables being supported even five years after launch, and it increases my hopes that we’ll see more from this universe someday. The additions aren’t enough to make me replay the game just yet, but it sounds like Bug Fables will be an even better experience for new players now.

Bug Fables is available on Steam, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One (all digital-only, although there was also a Limited Run Games physical release for the Switch), so if you’ve been hoping for another game in the style of Paper Mario, this looks like the best time to give Bug Fables a try!

What do you think of the new Bug Fables update?

Control 2 Will Be an Action RPG

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Nov 202024
 

Two years ago, we discussed the official announcement of Control 2, and last month I finally finished Control.

Now some new information has come out, although what it means isn’t quite clear yet.

Remedy made a few small announcements yesterday, including the detail that Control 2 will be an action RPG.

This made me pause when I first read it, because the first game already has some RPG elements despite being classified as an action-adventure game. You earn experience and unlock upgrades from a skill tree. It sounds like Control 2 will go even further in that direction (maybe something similar to how Alan Wake was a thriller with horror elements while Alan Wake 2 was survival horror). What that exactly means, however, hasn’t been explained.

Of course, it’s sparked all sorts of arguments about what defines an RPG. I usually focus on leveling up as the main criteria, but it’s definitely muddied by games with RPG elements. But if your definition of RPG excludes most JRPGs, I disagree there completely.

What I’m imagining for Control 2 right now is an expanded version of those systems so that you can customize your build and combat style, maybe with more types of equipment available, too.

Meanwhile, in a curious maybe-easter-egg-maybe-glitch, some Control players are reporting that a certain spoiler character has disappeared from their game. The discussion involves spoilers, so don’t click that link if you’re avoiding Control spoilers. There was a Control update after the release of Alan Wake 2’s Lake House DLC that this might be related to, but it’s still not entirely clear since not everyone has been able to replicate it. If it is an easter egg, however, that’s pretty neat.

I enjoyed Control despite how long it took me to finish it, and I’m planning to play Control 2. Although the multiplayer spin-off coming out in between doesn’t interest me, I’ll be looking forward to learning more about Control 2 and what its new RPG direction means.

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