XIII (2020 video game)

XIII
Developer(s)PlayMagic[a]
Publisher(s)Microids
Director(s)Giuseppe Crugliano
Producer(s)James Tuner
Designer(s)Julius Carter
Programmer(s)Dmitry Shtainer
Artist(s)Nick Kasolos
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
Release
  • PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
  • November 10, 2020
  • Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
  • September 13, 2022
Genre(s)First-person shooter, stealth
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

XIII is a first-person shooter game developed by PlayMagic and published by Microids. It is a remake of the 2003 video game of the same name. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in November 2020. Updated versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S were released in September 2022.

XIII received negative reviews from critics and players. It was criticized for its changes to the art style, game design differences from the original, and the game's numerous technical and audio issues. Microids issued an apology for the game's technical issues on launch and later released a major new update for the game in September 2022, this time developed by Tower Five, in an effort to improve the remake's quality.[1]

Plot

Main article: XIII (2003 video game) § Synopsis

Development and release

The remake of XIII was announced on April 18, 2019, with PlayMagic developing the game and Microids publishing it for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The game was originally scheduled to release on November 13,[2] until it was delayed to 2020 for further development.[3] In June 2020, it was announced that the game would release for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on November 10.[4] In October 2020, it was announced that the Nintendo Switch version was delayed to 2021.[5]

The original plan was to remaster the game using original assets and Unity plug-ins. Unfortunately, the original source code was deemed lost and the 2003 version was running in an extremely outdated game engine. Therefore, the team had no choice but to redo the entire game from scratch, which required the team to hire new staff and extend development to remake the levels, assets, cutscenes, and animations.[6]

According to former staff of PlayMagic, it was reported that CEO and Creative Director Giuseppe Crugliano was to be blamed for the game's failure due to poor project management, a lack of staff, low morale, and toxic company culture. Crugliano denied these allegations but admitted to a problem with late payments, claiming they were the result of cash flow problems from project cancellations and unpaid fees from clients.[6]

Due to the poor reception to the game, Microids announced in June 2022 that they had replaced PlayMagic with Tower Five as the developer, who had been working on fixing the issues from the 2020 release. Microids released the improved version for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on September 13, 2022, as well as updating the 2020 version.[1]

Reception

Critical reception

XIII received "generally unfavorable" reviews from critics for most platforms, while the PS5 version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[7][8][9][10]

A lot of criticism were aimed towards the remake's unnecessary changes from the original, such as the art style and the weapon limit, as well as the game's numerous technical and audio issues. Developer PlayMagic and publisher Microids issued a joint statement apologizing to players for the state of the game at release, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly affected the game's production. On Steam, the game received an "Overwhelmingly Negative" rating from players.[14]

Sales

The release of the remake caused an increase in sales of the 2003 original game, causing the original to outsell the remake in the first week of the remake's release in the United Kingdom.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ Tower Five developed the 2022 update, along with the Nintendo Switch version.
  2. ^ 2022 version

References

  1. ^ a b Plunkett, Luke (June 29, 2022). "Terrible Remake Is Being Remade All Over Again". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  2. ^ "XIII: A remake of the thrilling cel-shading FPS is in the works!". Microids. April 18, 2019. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "PlayMagic Ltd and Microids announces that the release of XIII slips to 2020". Playmagic. August 9, 2019. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "XIII remake launches November 10". Gematsu. June 11, 2020. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Moyse, Chris (October 19, 2020). "XIII remake Nintendo Switch port delayed to 2021". Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Yarwood, Jack (September 22, 2021). "Inside PlayMagic, the Studio Behind the Disastrous XIII Remake". Fanbyte. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "XIII (Remake) for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "XIII (Remake) for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "XIII (Remake) for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "XIII (Remake) for Playstation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  11. ^ Helm, Jordan (November 30, 2020). "Review: XIII". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "XIII : Remake Le remake qui vous fera préférer l'original" [XIII : Remake The remake that will make you prefer the original]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). November 14, 2020. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Banas, Graham (September 26, 2022). "Mini Review: XIII (PS5) - Improvements Can't Save This Remaster Redo". Push Square. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Macgregor, Jody (November 15, 2020). "Creators of the XIII remake apologize for technical issues after disastrous launch". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  15. ^ @Chris_Dring (November 20, 2020). "Just looking at the UK digital charts... the new XIII remake has inspired gamers to rush out and buy the original 2…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.