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GameSpot

Indie Dev Says “AI” Voice In His Game Was Actually His Wife

Someone playing Refractive Entertainment's recently released action-RPG Luminary for less than an hour accused the team of using AI for the game's only voiced character. The player said the voice "killed it" for them. There was just one problem: It wasn't AI. It was actually the developer's wife doing her first-ever voice acting gig. Refractive Entertainment launched Luminary into Steam Early Access on August 11. It's a resource-gathering action-adventure sandbox with an art style that's giving Fable meets Immortals Fenyx Rising. It's cute-looking and well-received, with a "Mostly Positive" rating out of almost 350 Steam reviews. But for an indie developer who says his game's success lives and dies by its Steam review score, one particular negative review caught the creative director's attention. On September 10, user NyteKnyte posted a short Steam review after only 0.4 hours with the game to say that Luminary looked good but "the awful AI-generated voice killed it" for them. "Feels off, like an AI game," NyteKnyte said in their review. "Hopefully its temporary and gets better, but [the AI voice] killed it for me." Not long after this review hit the game's Steam page, Refractive Entertainment responded, saying that the “awful AI-generated voice” that NyteKnyte decried was actually the creative director's wife. "While my wife might not be the greatest voice actress out there (that was her first time), I can assure you she is a real person and not AI haha," creative director Keith Kolod said. "We don't use AI at all in our game, we're just some indie game devs doing our thing with the resources we have." https://twitter.com/RefractiveENT/status/2098435648218910791 Kolod even shared the negative review on X on September 11 to wonder publicly why people just "automatically assume" that every voice in an indie game is AI just because it doesn't sound like AAA quality. He also thanked those who played Luminary and complimented his wife's portrayal of the Temple Guardian. In Discord DMs with GameSpot, Kolod said he doesn't have any issues with people using AI for any reason, especially in game development and for voiceovers. However, he doesn’t use the controversial technology because voiceovers are a way for him to "leave parts of me, my family, and friends" in the games he makes. "That said, Mikell did NOT jump to the opportunity," Kolod explained. "She is shy, felt like it would be bad, and didn't want to hurt the game. I told her this part doesn't need a lot of 'acting.' It's an ethereal goddess who should feel calming to the player as though she has delivered this speech to hundreds of Luminaries over centuries, and that I believe she could do it. The first few takes of recording you could tell she was extremely nervous, even though it's literally just me and her at my computer and a mic. [She] stumbled on words, worried about all of her inflections and how certain words sounded, but with enough takes and only reading a couple sentences at a time, I thought we got a pretty decent run. She was happy it was over." Kolod said the whole reason he built Luminary was so "me, my wife, and son [could] play together." As a Souls and Elden Ring fan, he wanted something that could introduce newer players to the action-RPG genre without the punishing difficulty of those games while creating something his whole family could enjoy together. Luminary is that for Refractive Entertainment. With no funding, no publisher, and no other job bringing in income, Luminary has a lot of expectations on its shoulders. For Mikell, lending her voice to the game wasn't about becoming a professional voice actor or saving money. She did it because she wanted to help her husband succeed. "This was my wife's first time voice acting, she wasn't a huge fan," Kolod told GameSpot. "You know how it is--everyone hates hearing their own voice in a recording who isn't a professional. As [much] fun as we had together doing it, it may be a hard sell for me to convince her to do it again. She really just helped me out of love and wanting to see me succeed with Luminary, and helping in any way she could." Despite the AI accusation, Luminary appears to be off to a promising start for the two-person team at Refractive Entertainment. Two weeks after its Steam Early Access launch, Kolod took to X on August 25 to share that the action-RPG had generated over $100,000 in sales in just one week, with the team pulling in approximately $70,000 in revenue after Steam’s cut. Not bad for a two-person studio with no funding and no publisher. The attention surrounding Mikell's voice has apparently brought even more eyes to the game, too. Kolod told GameSpot that posts about the story on Reddit and elsewhere have generated views, likes, upvotes, and more wishlists, though he said the team has yet to see that attention translate into a comparable bump in sales. And perhaps nobody was more surprised by the whole thing than Mikell herself. Before Kolod pushed the update to the game containing her voice, she had one request for her husband (who will celebrate 15 years together in November): “Ok, but I don't wanna hear if people hate my voice in reviews or on X. I did what I could.” “Little did she know it would turn into our biggest story,” Kolod said.

4h ago

GameSpot

New Pokemon Plane Looks Incredible, Even Includes Themed Cups And Napkins

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has unveiled a Pokemon-themed airliner to celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary this year, and it looks incredible. The Green Pokemon Jet, as it's called, made its inaugural flight from Haneda to Honolulu today following a big unveiling event--you can see video and images below. The airplane goes well beyond simply getting a Pokemon wrap, though it does have that, too, featuring famous Pokemon like Bulbasaur, along with Pikachu. Because how can you have a Pokemon plane and not include Pikachu? Also on display is Browt, a newer Pokemon coming in Winds and Waves. https://twitter.com/poke_times/status/2100896394277990526 Inside the aircraft, there are headrest covers, paper cups, and napkins containing Pokemon branding. Beyond that, people flying on it can watch and listen to Pokemon-themed in-flight entertainment, including Pokemon: The First Movie and the best-of soundtrack from the show (1997-2023). https://twitter.com/FlyANA_official/status/2100827162341192183 In addition to Haneda, which is the busiest airport in Japan, the Pokemon plane will make stops at a variety of airports in Okinawa, Kyushu, and Shikoku. https://twitter.com/ANA_travel_info/status/2100832382970626300 Pokemon was created in Japan, and this is not the first time we've seen a Pokemon plane. All the way back in 2000, Japan Airlines announced that its fleet of jets would include Pokemon characters printed on the sides for domestic flights, along with Pokemon-themed in-flight entertainment. In 2024, ANA created a Pokemon-themed safety video , featuring the franchise's adorable little monsters teaching passengers how to stay safe during flights.

8h ago

Major Nelson

Welcome to The World’s Game: EA Sports FC 27 Early Access Trial with EA Play Available Today

The EA Sports FC 27 10-hour EA Play trial is now available on XBOX Series X|S, XBOX One, and XBOX on PC for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members. If members decide to buy, their progress carries over to the full game, so they can pick up the season right where they left […] The post Welcome to The World’s Game: EA Sports FC 27 Early Access Trial with EA Play Available Today appeared first on XBOX Wire .

6h ago

GameSpot

I Guess I’ll Delete Every PS5 Game I Own To Make Room For FF7 Revelation

There are quite a few months until Final Fantasy 7 Revelation launches on Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. But you're going to want to get your systems ready now because the download for the final showdown between Cloud and Sephiroth may be big. According to a September 18 VGC Interview with game director Naoki Hamaguchi, the file size for Revelation will "probably" be absolutely massive. So huge, in fact, that Hamaguchi acknowledged that there was no way the game would fit on one--or even two or three--discs. "In a word, yes. Things are still getting worked out, but it's probably going to be around 200GB of game," Hamaguchi said. "I understand there are a lot of opinions about this topic, but at the end of the day, the fact is we need to overcome the hardware to a certain extent." 2OOGB is pretty huge, especially when the base PS5 (which is what I still have, sue me) holds approximately 667GB of usable storage space. With many of the games I own clocking in just at or well over 100GB (like The Elder Scrolls Online, Ghost of Yotei, Infinity Nikki, and Mortal Shell 2), I'm already debating with myself what games I delete to make room for Cloud's big sword and Sephiroth's shampoo collection. Although Hamaguchi knows that the absolutely gargantuan size of Revelation's download prevents the game from shipping on a disc, he still reiterated the team's commitment to some sort of physical release . What that is remains to be seen, but it is important to Square Enix. "One thing I want to say is, even though the game will not be on the full disc, in the position we’re in, because discs may be dying out, or maybe staying, with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, we definitely wanted to deliver some kind of physical product," Hamaguchi continued. "That was really important to us. Trust me!" We don't have an official file size for Revelation, as the game doesn't come out until April 8, 2027. However, we do know that it could take about 100 hours to finish , and with two post-launch expansions starring Vincent and Sephiroth that may be the same size as Remake's Intermission DLC, I suspect Revelation will be enormous.

9h ago

GameSpot

The New Fire Emblem Lets You Skip A Massive Chunk Of Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is a massive game that can easily last well over 100 hours. But you can actually make it a little less massive with the surprising ability to skip over a whole swath of the game, as players are starting to discover. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave consists of four story arcs starring separate protagonists, the four Flame Lords: Cai, Dietrich, Theodora, and Leda. You can play these in any order (though we have some recommendations ) and by themselves each of these campaigns can last around 10-20 hours. Each one comes to its own resolution, of sorts. But after you've completed any one of them, you can move onto the next story arc, which starts to tie all the threads together. The fortunes start to weave, you might say. And if you want, you can just skip that part entirely. Ultimately you're all coming together to defeat the Demon King under the leadership of Eshmel, a sort of futuristic warrior construct made to bring together these legendary heroes under their banner. You know from the very start that's where all this is going. The second arc starts to develop the coming war, and ramps up the difficulty with much larger maps and more formidable armies than the Heroic Games arc. But if you'd rather just skip straight to the endgame, you can actually do that. Fortune's Weave will skip the story ahead, give you a summary of the events you missed, and auto-level your characters to scale you up for the last battles. If you want to save even more time, and if you crave a real sicko-level strategy challenge, you can just skip to the final battle right from the beginning. As soon as you finish the prologue, you can turn your Eshmel around and head right to the Door of Destiny to defeat the Demon King. If you do this, the goddess of fate Fortuna will issue a stern warning that this is a terrible idea, but she won't stop you. So you really have lots of options about how and when to approach the endgame challenges. "Fortune’s Weave rewards those craving both deep interconnected stories and intricate, interlocking RPG systems in equal measure, creating a new high-water mark for the series," I wrote in my Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave review .

9h ago

GameSpot

Ex-Naughty Dog Dev Apologizes To God Of War Studio For What He Said About Laufey

Bruce Straley, best known for his work at Naughty Dog on the Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises, has apologized to God of War: Laufey studio Santa Monica Studio, after he said he was "not excited" about what the game was offering, at least in some respects. Straley told Edge that he thinks "every pixel" in Laufey looks "mindblowing and that he is "blown away" by the lengths Santa Monica Studio went to. However, Straley said he is "not excited" by "what you're doing in the game." Beyond Laufey, Straley said he feels there is "no opportunity to inject fresh, innovative ideas" in AAA games generally. A scene from Straley's new game, Coven of the Chickenfoot. In a new statement shared on social media , Straley said, "I want to apologize to the Laufey team for dragging you all into this uninvited and unnecessary negative attention." He said he was trying to make a point about his concerns about the AAA games industry generally, and acknowledged that he made a mistake by naming Laufey specifically. "I have thoughts about what’s wrong & the possible serious harm done to our industry & how we might be able to fix it. But in trying to have a thoughtful conversation I stuck my foot in my mouth & mentioned Laufey, and that was my mistake," he said. Straley said games like Half-Life 2, Gears of War, and BioShock--along with games he worked on, including Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us--"set the 'modern AAA' mold." He said these games felt like "they were trying to creative a new experience within AAA." Secondarily, Straley observed that the quest for "games-as-a-service" in a bid to make the next Overwatch or Fortnite is "not a viable strategy and frankly shows these 'industry leaders' don't know their own brand." Straley went on to say he believes the gaming industry is suffering from a "lack of good leadership, clear direction, and conviction from the people at the top." These people are in charge of the money, and therefore determine the stability of the business, he said. "I believe if they understand their brand, they could have honest, inspiring conversations with creators to steer our medium to innovate," Straley said. Straley is now working on much smaller games than he made at Naughty Dog. His new independent studio, Wildflower Interactive, is working on the puzzle-platformer Coven of the Chickenfoot. The game has players taking on the role of an elderly witch named Gertie, who works alongside a "creature-companion" that Gertie cannot speak with. Instead, Gertie needs to "discover the creature's true intentions" in other ways, like through environmental storytelling. Xbox was originally set to publish Coven of the Chickenfoot before dropping it, according to another developer . It's still in the works, backed by an unknown financier.

10h ago

GameSpot

Very Large Man Could Join Helldivers Movie After A Different Very Large (Aqua)Man Dropped Out

Sony's upcoming Helldivers movie remains in development, and now a key piece of news has surfaced. According to Deadline , Reacher star Alan Ritchson will replace Jason Momoa as the lead, following Momoa's departure earlier this year . Justin Lin, known for his work on the Fast & Furious and Star Trek franchises, remains attached to the Helldivers movie as director. Alan Ritchson in Reacher. The movie is set for release in theaters on November 10, 2027. Ritchson is reportedly going to play one of the helldivers, with other cast to be revealed later. Shams Jorjani, the CEO of Helldivers developer Arrowhead, has said he hopes the movie violently kills off celebrities . Beyond the Helldivers movie, Ritchson has said he's a big fan of Activision's Call of Duty franchise and would be up for a role in the upcoming movie . While Momoa won't be in the Helldivers movie, he is set to appear in October's Street Fighter movie as Blanka . Momoa is also coming back for the A Minecraft Movie sequel in 2027 , so he's not hurting for roles in video game movies. Helldivers 2 was released in 2024 and became an enormous success, reportedly selling more than 20 million copies . Arrowhead Studios has said it doesn't, and shouldn't , have final say in how the movie turns out.

10h ago

GameSpot

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Could Take 100 Hours To Beat, And Its Director Has Done It 46 Times

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is shaping up to be the biggest entry in the remake trilogy by a considerable margin, as game director Naoki Hamaguchi estimates that a complete playthrough of everything that the game has to offer could take up to 100 hours. That includes the campaign, side activities, and endgame content--something that Hamaguchi has experienced dozens of times for himself throughout the development of Revelation. This is all part of the job; to ensure that players enjoy a smooth experience, the developers have to check every part of the game for any potential issues. "In a standard playthrough from beginning to end, if I were to review and check every single asset and element in the game, it'll easily take over a hundred hours," Hamaguchi said to GameSpot. "Obviously, I can't do that in each and every single playthrough. As the director, I don't have enough time for that, so sometimes I would just skip combat and focus on checking the main story. In different playthroughs, I focus on different elements." In total, Hamaguchi said he had completed 46 playthroughs by the time he was interviewed. So how do you get so many game completions under your belt, when the game in question is so lengthy? Hamaguchi explained that he'd devoted all his time to playtesting the game, and he even slipped in a few testing sessions between interviews on the current Final Fantasy 7 Revelation press tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRA759MHPJs "I will try to do these playthroughs as much time as time allows," he said. "Yesterday, during a separate round of interviews, when there was downtime, I actually did bring a PS5 controller, so I checked the latest version of the build. Even on business trips, if there's even a small amount of time that I have available, I'll try to check the latest version of the game to see if there are any issues." While Final Fantasy 7 Revelation might monopolize all your attention when it launches, the team at Square Enix also wants to respect your time. Minigames aren't essential to the game's main campaign, you can skip through cutscenes if you want, and pacing has also been adjusted to keep the story moving. For more on the game, you can check out how Red XIII might steal the spotlight during the snowboarding minigame, why The Witcher 3 continues to inspire Hamaguchi, and what Chadley will be up to in the game. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation launches for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 on April 8, 2027. Interview conducted by Emma Fyffe.

10h ago

GameSpot

Should You Play Casual Or Classic Mode In Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave?

As a series, Fire Emblem has had two standout features compared to other tactical RPGs. First, characters can build relationships with their allies, and in more recent entries, even become romantically involved. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave doesn't focus on the seduction side at all, preferring to show the camaraderie between teammates. The second feature, one that's been there since the first NES game, is that characters can permanently perish in combat. Fortune's Weave gives you this option at the beginning of the campaign as Classic Mode. Be warned: this is only for those seeking a brutal challenge. Casual Mode, on the other hand, is a more forgiving way to play through this gargantuan RPG, taking away the stress of potentially leading your allies to their demise. You also choose Normal or Hard difficulty modes, options that are separate from the Casual/Classic choice, so below we'll explain the differences between these key decisions. Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave difficult mode selection. Normal vs Hard Difficulty Mode The first choice is actually between Normal and Hard modes. The game describes Hard mode as "For experienced players", while Normal is for newcomers and "intermediate" players alike. If it's your first playthrough, we recommend going with Normal. If you wish for a challenge, Hard Mode adds extra constraints and ups the difficulty in several key factors. Here are the differences between them both: Normal Mode Hard Mode Enemies you face are around the recommended level. Enemies are at least three levels above the recommended cap. Fortuna's Blessing costs no Divine Sand. Fortuna's Blessing costs Divine Sand. Other Blessings cost a small amount of Divine Sand. Other Blessings cost more Divine Sand compared to Normal Mode. Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave classic or casual selections. Casual Mode vs Classic Mode If you've never played a Fire Emblem or similar tactical RPG before, go with Casual Mode. This eliminates all permadeath from the game, instead forcing fallen friendlies to retreat from the battle, returning only after its conclusion. Another more universally accepted term for Classic is 'Ironman Mode". If anyone in your party dies in combat, that's it. While you can always reverse time, either by restarting the chapter via the pause menu or sprinkling some of the Time Dust Fortuna bestows on your current Flame Lord early in their campaign, it's more useful here if any one of your roster kicks the bucket. However, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave adds a wrinkle to Classic Mode's definition of character death, and that's what happens when guest characters in any Heroic Games match fall in battle. If anyone who isn't designated as a group leader is defeated in combat, they will retreat. Since they're not currently part of your roster, you can still find them in Dagsion, give them gifts, invite them to share a meal, and eventually recruit them to your ranks. Progression can be carried over if you played the prologue prior to release. Can I Change These Settings Mid-Campaign? Yes, but it will take some time for them to kick in. On the title screen, provided you saved in the Obelisk as your named character (the default name is Eshmel), you can select the 'Descend Again' option. This lets you replay the prologue while giving you the opportunity to change the difficulty, swap between Casual and Classic modes, and tinker with your protagonist. The catch is that you need to replay the entire prologue. Thankfully, you can skip many things with the plus button, from cutscenes to battle screens and most dungeon fights. You will need to replay two full battles, but they're not that difficult to complete because your party is overpowered even in Hard Mode. Once you reach the Obelisk Chamber Base, you can continue each Flame Lord's story where you left it. You can also reduce the difficulty from Hard to Normal at the Shrine of Causality (the big glowing sun at the top of the stairs in the Base), but not increase from Normal to Hard.

10h ago

GameSpot

People Can’t Stop Talking About Mario’s New Tiny Pockets

Nintendo recently held two Direct presentations back to back, with fans hoping that the company would reveal a new Mario game of some kind. While that didn't happen, what we did get was the reveal that Mario Kart World is getting some new tracks. Now, though, it seems the company has some more Mario news for us: new logos and renders for everyone's favorite mustachioed plumber. It seems that over the last day or so, Nintendo quietly updated the look of the "Super Mario" logo. Honestly, the change is subtle . The colors are the same, just a little less vibrant and a little more gradient. The logo is also on one line instead of stacked, as it has been for the last 30 years or so. The big "change," though, is in Mario's look. In a passing glance, you might not notice anything different. The mustache is still there. The gloves haven't gone anywhere. The hat looks the same. Everything appears to be in order. But look closer. https://twitter.com/Swag_K1RBY/status/2100773081853608419 It's tiny, but on his waist is a ... pocket? Yes, Nintendo added functional pockets to the red plumber's overalls, which is great! I always wondered where those flowers and mushrooms went, and now it makes sense. He just stores them in his small pockets. Unfortunately, if he had a Kingdom Phone--or whatever the smartphone equivalent would be in the Mushroom Kingdom--I'm sure that wouldn't fit in these pockets, especially if it was a foldable device like the newly announced iPhone Duo. I guess Mario can't play Mario Kart Tour before it shuts down forever on September 29. Those pockets are also so itty-bitty that he probably couldn't hold many Nintendo Switch game cartridges. Not that it matters much, since there aren't any new 3D Mario games coming to the Switch 2 right now. The internet is having an extensive conversation about what this means. Some believe that the new renders give Mario a more detailed look , while others are hoping we'll see our mustachioed plumber in 4K in 2027 . The main thought people are having, though, is that Nintendo finally remembered Mario. https://twitter.com/jr_taurus62289/status/2100774237526982677 Even YouTuber GameXplain posted a brief overview video of the new renders , talking about how the clothing "just looks way better" because it doesn't seem like Mario's wearing latex. The texture makes our favorite plumber's clothing appear real. All of this is great, but what would be better is if Nintendo announced a new 3D Mario game. The theory is that the company has something in the works, but nothing has been officially announced yet. These new renders certainly don't confirm anything, but with Mario getting an updated look, we can at least assume that this version of Mario will appear in whatever the next Mario game is.

11h ago