The Past, Present, And Future Of Hip-Hop In Video Games

In December 2023, Epic Games launched the next chapter of Fortnite, one of the most popular games of all time, with a huge virtual performance featuring Eminem, his avatar landing on a stage in front of fans in a far-off world. Who thought hip-hop would take it this far?

The Past, Present, And Future Of Hip-Hop In Video Games

Eminem in Fortnite (2023)

As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop last year, it’s now a good time to look back at how ingrained hip-hop music is in gaming, from NBA2K (remember that 2K13 soundtrack curated by Jay-Z?), Mortal Kombat, and Need for Speed, to Cyberpunk 2077 and, of course, Fortnite.

Mortal Kombat 11 came out of the gates in 2018 with a fiery trailer featuring music by 21 Savage, and later Megan Thee Stallion live-streamed an MK11 match on Twitch. The lore of Grand Theft Auto continues to grow, powered by recent GTA Online updates featuring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Time will tell how hip-hop will be used in Grand Theft Auto VI, which at long last stopped playing hard to get and finally gave us a trailer to chew on in December.

ToeJam & Earl (1991)

But while rappers might have quickly penetrated into the suburbs with their music in the early 1990s, that wasn’t going to happen as easily with a Genesis cartridge. One of the earliest hip-hop-infused games, ToeJam & Earl (1991), centers on two alien rappers who have crash-landed on Earth, desperate to return to their home planet. Other games followed, with varied success, including 1996’s PaRappa the Rapper. By the early aughts, Def Jam Vendetta, NBA Street, and GTA San Andreas signaled hip hop was here to stay in gaming. Today, while hip-hop is regularly featured in games, we still haven’t seen the genre make its way on a large scale to the RPG, strategy, or sci-fi genres.

Game Informer recently spoke with some of the architects and rappers involved with the hip-hop games of the past few decades, including Josh Holmes, co-creator of NBA Street & Def Jam Fight for NY, ToeJam and Earl creator Greg Johnson, rapper Saigon, and former Rockstar leads. How did these game designers go about fashioning games that incorporated hip-hop at a time when the genre was coming of age? How did they get rappers – sometimes legendary ones – to lend their voices, their likenesses, and their stories? Why did some games fall short? We then asked these hip-hop stars and game developers about the future. What role do they see hip-hop playing in gaming in the coming years? What will it take for hip-hop to be the soundtrack for a sci-fi game as much as it is for an NBA2K game? And how do video game developers make sure the culture remains authentic? This is the story of the past, present, and future of hip-hop in games.

ToeJam & Earl (1991)

The Early Days

Greg Johnson’s sleeper hit ToeJam and Earl came out the same year the whiny synths of N.W.A.’s opus Alwayz Into Somethin’ were unleashed on the world. Born to a white mother and a Black father, Johnson describes going to an ethnically diverse Los Angeles high school in the mid-1970s and listening to the kind of music that served as a forebear to rap – funk, R&B, and jazz. Specifically, Johnson recalls listening to artists like Stevie Wonder, Parliament, and Herbie Hancock. Johnson initially wanted to get into biolinguistics (“I was going to be the one to talk to the dolphins and the whales”), but in the early 1980s, he tried his hands at games during a time when Tandy, an early computer that could play games, and Space Invaders in bowling alleys were king. “I got really intrigued at the idea of what a game might be. It was wide open. You could do magic,” Johnson says.

Johnson says gaming machines couldn’t really handle complex music in those days, so putting in great music, including hip-hop, wasn’t yet in the cards. But with the Sega Genesis arriving in North America in 1989 and Johnson now consuming the music of rappers like Young MC and Heavy D, he linked up with programmer Mark Voorsanger to start work on ToeJam and Earl. As the story goes, while still working on his first game, Starflight, Johnson, long obsessed with alien life, had a dream about two aliens with hip-hop inclinations.

ToeJam & Earl (1991)

The offbeat Sega Genesis game definitely leaves an impression. Titular characters ToeJam and Earl, alien teenage rappers from a musical planet dubbed Funkotron, crash land on Earth. In each island world, our two red and orange heroes amble about, avoiding hostile humans while picking up pieces of their ship in the hopes of ditching Earth and getting back to their homeland. “I thought it would be really fun to flip things on its head and do some satire. [ToeJam and Earl are] the sane ones. They’re cool and funky. It’s the Earthlings who are the crazy ones in this insane world,” Johnson says.

Other Early Creators

The early days of hip-hop games were a wild west with no enduring franchises and many one-offs. Not all games are remembered as fondly as others, either. 1995’s Rap Jam: Volume One for SNES features character models of rappers like Coolio, Yo-Yo, and Warren G facing off in games of street basketball. NBA Street it was not. Besides a barebones hip-hop beat in the menu, the actual in-game action is devoid of music entirely, hip-hop or otherwise. Not even a DJ scratch. Then there’s the graphics and perplexing controls.

Rap Jam: Volume One (1995)

Pascal Jarry, calling in from Bordeaux, France, is well aware of how his game turned out. But the 20-year industry veteran, who has designed games in three languages and on three continents, was just a young game developer back then.

Jarry and his business partner already had a finished game, which focused on street culture, having come up with friends who were into graffiti and skateboarding in France. But the game needed a distributor. One day in the early 1990s, Jarry says he received a call from someone representing “Motown,” offering up the licenses for well-known rappers. Motown Games was a spin-off of the storied Motown Records and had just come off of Bebe’s Kids, an ill-fated video game version of the 1992 film by the same name.

PaRappa the Rapper (1996)

Soon, Jarry and his partner landed in the United States to promote the game. During a video game show on the west coast, Jarry recalls running into Coolio and inadvertently leaving him hanging after the rapper gave him a high five. “My friend Marco, the guy doing the art, said, ‘Man, you left him hanging!’” Jarry recalls with a laugh. He had half a mind to go back and complete the handshake, but Marco advised him that would be even worse.

Regarding the many critiques of the game, Jarry emphasizes that he definitely wanted to record music and sound from the featured rappers but describes his hands being tied. “At the time, I was just a subcontractor in the corner,” Jarry says. “The game was not the best game we have ever made. I like the journey of finishing that game much more than the game itself.”

Hideyuki Tanaka, character designer and art director of Bust a Groove, a 1998 cult classic hip-hop rhythm game, continues to stay connected to his game today. He has two Instagram accounts full of artwork and merchandise and a website.

Tanaka said he began drawing at a young age, primarily influenced by manga. That work eventually landed him on a kid’s television show, where he designed characters using 3D computer graphics, which caught the attention of a Square Enix producer. “They considered this to be a rhythm game and incorporated elements of fighting games to enhance the entertainment value as a game,” Tanaka explained.

Bust a Groove is not just influenced by hip-hop music but also dance, with different characters drawing from different dancing styles. Piping hot character Heat moves around a subterranean stage with the swagger of Usher as his platform shoes skate across the floor. Tanaka explained that the game’s dance choreography draws inspiration from many sources including Saturday Night Fever (character Hiro), MC Hammer, and even Spike Lee. Bust a Groove was produced with the expectation of being released in Japan, but he is heartened that the game was embraced in the U.S. and Europe as well.

The Big Leagues

The early aughts were big years for hip-hop video games. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series, in addition to punk, also had artists like Nas. And finally, entire video game franchises were being built with hip-hop, including EA’s Def Jam Vendetta, which arrived in 2003 with a roster of fighters including Ludacris, Method Man, and DMX.

Co-creator Josh Holmes says building the roster of hip-hop legends was a collaborative effort, and his team had a quick turnaround – nine months – to pivot from an intergalactic wrestling game to what became Def Jam Vendetta. Holmes personally met with each rapper to pitch them on the game and outline their role.

NBA Street (2001)

The initial game did not have all the artists the team originally wanted. Some were on tour, while others weren’t sold on the project. But with sequels Def Jam: Fight for NY and Def Jam: Icon, Holmes says rappers really started to trust the franchise’s intentions. “To this day, I continue to receive messages from fans who express how much these games meant to them and how they wish for another sequel,” Holmes says.

Mark Jordan, a.k.a. DJ Pooh, in addition to being a legendary LA-area hip-hop beatmaker for songs like Ice Cube’s “Today Was a Good Day,” joined the Grand Theft Auto franchise as a writer for San Andreas and later provided the cosign that convinced Dr. Dre to feature in GTA Online. Pooh brought a lot of other hip-hop talent to Rockstar, including Julio G (née Julio Gonzalez), the veteran voice of 93.5 KDAY radio in Los Angeles, who has worked with the likes of Eazy-E and Snoop Dogg. Julio G ended up also being the voice of Radio Los Santos, the in-game radio station that plays the same West Coast ’90s hip-hop that Julio G helped beam across SoCal.

Def Jam Vendetta (2003)

“Myself and DJ Pooh, we’ve known each other since the ’80s,” Julio G tells Game Informer. He clarifies that he’s not even a gamer, but that one day in 2003, he received a call from Pooh asking him to come down to talk about this new video game he was putting together. Julio G agreed without a second thought – and without fully understanding that he was about to be in one of the biggest games ever.

At a Los Angeles studio, Pooh asked Julio G to read from a script. Some Rockstar staff were also present. It was in this setting that Julio G delivered hilarious lines like “We got a shout out from Denise in Ganton for her man. Give her a call, man!” a reference to one of CJ’s girlfriends. And later, when a riot erupts all across Los Santos, Julio G gets on the airwaves to urge calm. He recorded his segments in about two to three hours, with 90 to 95% of those coming on the first take, he says. “I’m just reading and flipping it my way.”

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)

While every other DJ on the game goes by an alias, Julio G says Pooh insisted that Rockstar use the radio veteran’s real name because he wanted it to be authentic to LA and the legacy of West Coast rap.

As far as the range of tracks on Radio Los Santos, including Chicano rapper Frost’s “La Raza,” Julio G clarifies that that was “all DJ Pooh.” Julio G says he didn’t even hear the full recording of all of his work until someone showed him a compilation of his segments on YouTube last year.

He also had some surprising things to say about Eazy-E, who, in addition to being a gangsta rap pioneer, was also working on a video game concept before dying of HIV in 1995. The idea is something Julio G says Eazy would talk a lot about with him. “The whole concept of [his] game was getting your lowrider to a supershow, and in the process, you had to go rob somebody… go hydraulic hopping against this dude in a different neighborhood. It was like a Grand Theft Auto in its own way. He was working on it when he passed in ’95. He was working on it all through ’94,” Julio G says.

Kobe Bryant in NBA 2K24 (2023)

Rockstar’s Hip Hop Nerds

Several Rockstar brass also had a passion for hip-hop and took the task of weaving the genre into their games very seriously. One of Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser’s idols is Rick Rubin, the founder of Def Jam Recordings. Another is Greg Johnson, longtime Rockstar Games senior researcher, not to be confused with the ToeJam game developer. This Greg Johnson, now at Lightspeed LA, is a veteran hip-hop journalist for publications like Spin, Complex, and XXL. In the early 2000s, Johnson’s editor friend told him about a new opportunity at Rockstar Games, which wanted to build out a dedicated research team to gear up for the development of San Andreas. “Especially for that game, having a potential hip-hop journalist that could make the leap to game design was one thing that they were strongly considering,” Johnson says. Rockstar and Johnson quickly connected during a series of interviews, and he was soon reporting directly to Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser on the job.

Adam Tedman, former Rockstar vice president of new media and global head of digital marketing, who now works at Dan Houser’s new Absurd Ventures, was particularly keen to talk about Rockstar’s use of hip-hop in The Warriors, its 2005 beat ‘em up adapting the 1979 movie of the same name, and in Grand Theft Auto IV. Tedman helped bring producer Statik Selektah to GTA IV’s expansions, where Selektah produced tracks for Talib Kweli and Freeway. Selektah tells Game Informer he met Tedman in 2008 right after GTA IV dropped. “They asked me to come out and produce a couple of records and do the radio station and all that. It was like a dream come true,” Selektah says.

Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

Sometimes when hip-hop comes together to create music for games, there are unintended consequences. Rapper Saigon, maybe best known for his recurring role in HBO’s Entourage Season 2, says that when he went over to record “Spit” at Selektah’s house specifically for GTA, the two ended up with an entire album, All in a Days’ Work. “If I didn’t go there to do that song, that album never gets made,” Saigon said.

As a rapper early to moving between television, music, and video games, Saigon is impressed with the current generation of rappers, who are taking things to a whole new level. “They’re making songs solely for Rockstar Games and NBA2K and all those big games,” Saigon says. “It feels good to know I had some kind of influence to the generation who went on to become the most successful generation of the culture ever.”

The Future of Hip-Hop and Gaming

Several of the hip-hop stars who spoke to Game Informer are serious gamers. Saigon has been playing games for decades (“I was the one who learned how to warp [on Mario]”). Selektah speaks about unwinding with Call of Duty and GTA as a single father after his daughter goes to bed.

These days, Johnson thinks the gaming industry is starting to recognize the sheer creative talent in the hip-hop world. “When you get to know them, you find a whole bunch of comic book fans, you find anime nerds, a whole bunch of dudes who used to compete to see who could draw comic book heroes better in the third grade, you know?” Johnson says.

Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

For sports games, it’s almost inevitable that hip-hop found itself there because the music made a huge impact on several generations of NBA and NFL athletes. But now the question isn’t just about artists appearing in a game as a one-off but about actually having true equity from a business standpoint. He mentions musician Raphael Saddiq, a cofounder of independent game publisher IllFonic. Johnson expects more stars to think more about the business side of video games down the line.

He’s unsure exactly how hip-hop will be used next and if games will use hip-hop more heavily in sci-fi and other genres. But he calls rap “outlaw” music and thinks it can serve as the sound of many different stories and worlds. This is something game developers should keep in mind. “Whether you’re sampling or replaying, that’s a very hip-hop mentality and sensibility. If you’re interested in representing any outlaw vibe, any rebel culture, it could be rastas, it could be bikers, it could be smugglers, hip-hop is always a good soundtrack for that.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 363 of Game Informer.

The Friday Roundup – Movie Trailers and YouTube Playlists

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Bespoke Armor, Transmog, And Other Aspects Of Gear In Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age features a ton of different customization options. Just within the character creator, there are hundreds of options to customize things like hair, body type, what your playable character Rook’s face looks like, and so much more. There are also a ton of armor options, too. 

Companions have an armor slot, a ring slot, an accessory slot, and a weapon slot, while Rook has access to even more – a helmet, two weapon slots, a belt, an amulet slot, and two ring slots. A belt having its own slot might sound odd as it’s not an armor piece people typically think of when kitting out an RPG warrior. However, the belt is an important facet of Rook’s kit. The better Rook’s belt, the better the potency of their healing potions, which are replenished by destroying green pots scattered about the world. That’s not all, though, as higher-quality belts can proc [editor’s note: proc is a term used as a shorter way of saying “programmed random occurrence”] additional effects like momentary invulnerability. 

Bespoke Armor, Transmog, And Other Aspects Of Gear In Dragon Age: The Veilguard

When creating your character, you can immediately view aspirational armors, which won’t play into Rook’s class until the “mid-to-late game,” according to game director Corinne Busche. You can also toggle Rook’s starting gear and casual wear in the creator, giving you a pretty good look at how Rook will look in more laidback cutscenes, in combat, and how they might appear later in your Veilguard journey. Busche tells me a lot of the gear in Veilguard is bespoke to your Rook or their followers, which is to say, an armor piece for a Warrior-class Rook probably won’t be in a chest for a Mage-class Rook. On a similar note, armor designed for companion Bellara Lutara can’t be used for another companion like Lace Harding.

In just my few hours viewing Busche play the game as part of my visit to BioWare’s Edmonton office for our current Game Informer cover story, I see a lot of armor to collect from things like chests scattered about Arlathan Forest, for example, and elsewhere. Some of it looks awesome, and some of it doesn’t quite line up with my personal taste. That’s how it goes in the genre of RPGs.

However, Busche tells me there is transmogrification, or transmog for short, in the game, and calls it “robust.” This means you can take an armor’s stats and apply it to a different piece of armor. In other words, if you have a really cool piece of armor you like and find a new piece with better stats but don’t want to give up the look of your current armor, you don’t have to. Transmog allows you to take that new armor’s stats and apply them to your current armor, giving you all the benefits while keeping the visual style you prefer. 

Transmog isnt just for Rook, though; you can transmog armor and other things for your companions as well. I don’t get to see how Veilguard’s transmog system works in-game, but just knowing it exists allows me to rest easy knowing my Rook will look as fashionable as possible while saving Thedas. 

For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below. 

FFXIV: Dawntrail Impressions, Infinity Nikki Beta, And Alan Wake 2’s Night Springs DLC | GI Show

FFXIV: Dawntrail Impressions, Infinity Nikki Beta, And Alan Wake 2’s Night Springs DLC | GI Show

In this week’s episode of The Game Informer Show, former GI editor and current writer for The Indie Informer John Carson drops by to share his impressions of Final Fantasy XIV’s newly released Dawntrail expansion. We’re also joined by our wonderful podcast editor Matt Storm to give their thoughts on Alan Wake 2’s Night Springs DLC, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and their first foray into Sam Barlow’s Immortality. Marcus Stewart spills the tea on his time playing the closed beta for the bubbly open-world dress up game Infinity Nikki and his first excursion through the typing-based dungeon crawler Cryptmaster. We round the show with Kyle Hillard and Marcus giving their obligatory Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree check-ins. 

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Follow us on social media: Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Kyle Hilliard (@KyleMHilliard), John Carson (@John_Carson), and Matt Storm (@dj_stormageddon). 

The Game Informer Show is a weekly gaming podcast covering the latest video game news, industry topics, exclusive reveals, and reviews. Join us every Thursday to chat about your favorite games – past and present – with Game Informer staff, developers, and special guests from around the industry. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

The Game Informer Show – Podcast Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Intro
00:04:16 – Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
00:23:36 – Infinity Nikki Beta
00:46:00 – Alan Wake 2 Night Springs Expansion
00:52:59 – Kyle’s Jurassic Park Corner
00:58:51 – Cryptmaster
01:08:13 – Immortality
01:16:30 – Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
01:22:33 – Marcus’ Manor Lords Update
01:26:05 – Dragon Age: The Veilguard
01:35:54 – Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
01:47:47 – Housekeeping

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Monaco 2 Preview – Sneaking In A New Dimension – Game Informer

The first Monaco released in 2013 at a point when Xbox Live Arcade had hit its stride, and there was a new appetite for the type of creative and unique game that existed below the huge budget triple-A, high-fidelity experience. Those kinds of games vastly outnumber the big-budget experiences we are familiar with today, but in 2013 we were discovering such experiences and marveling at their ingenuity. The competition is stiffer for Monaco 2 as it nears release, but creator Andy Schatz is clearly excited to revisit the criminal gameplay saying, “If Monaco 1 is about cat and mouse, Monaco 2 is about complexity and creativity.”

Like the original, Monaco 2 is a game about pulling off heists. You and a team with disparate abilities work together to enter a facility of some kind, get what you need without raising an alarm, and get it out. And if you do raise an alarm – which you will, Schatz assures – then you will still have a good time. Maybe even a better time.

Monaco 2 Preview – Sneaking In A New Dimension – Game Informer

The biggest surprise about Monaco 2 is immediately apparent the moment the game starts. The game is now a full 3D experience. The original game was effectively a 2D pixelated game with players controlling nondescript blocks from an overhead perspective. The game favored information over style and was difficult to read for many. Shifting to 3D leads to dozens of improvements. The different characters look very different from one another, and the sequel can now lean into an art style inspired by Saul Boss, an artist primarily known for his work on Alfred Hitchcock’s movie posters.

The switch to 3D overall improves readability for everything, and also opens up the game to more vertical options. Schatz cites big, memorable heist movies and sequences like the one from Mission: Impossible where Tom Cruise’s character hangs from the ceiling to steal data from a computer. While you may not be literally dangling from a vent and catching sweat as it rolls down your face in the game, the hope is that you will have the same fun and intense emotions.

Schatz showed off a single-player gameplay session (though not yet fully detailed, local splitscreen and online co-op will be available) where he studied the score beforehand by looking at a blueprint of the building he intended to invade. The job is to enter a guarded opera house to plant false rumors at a specific location and steal money while there.

Schatz kicks off the heist with Cosmo and Panzer, a woman in a pink dress and a cute little Pomeranian dog that she can use to distract guards. Once inside, however, he swaps to different characters to take advantage of their abilities by jumping into a house plant where, in theory, your team is hiding. It doesn’t really make sense, but that’s okay because Monaco 2 is all about using different abilities to complete different tasks.

Much of the gameplay from that point forward is about staying out of guard sight lines and tracking their movement, procuring on-site items to help you succeed, and completing objectives however possible. The level is dense and intentionally designed with a complicated layout and hidden secrets. The idea is the more you replay a level, the better you will know it, and the more prepared you will be when you return to pull another heist.

Monaco 2 does not yet have a solid release date, nor is developer Pocketwatch Games ready to share platform details beyond PC. We are overdue, however, for a good cooperative crime game that isn’t a shooter. Schatz’s presentation is promising a concentrated and deep take on the heist fantasy with Monaco’s overdue sequel.

Capcom Keeps Bringing Resident Evil To VR – Here’s How And Why

Deflecting a crossbow’s bolt in real life takes practice. In the Resident Evil 4 (RE4) VR port, all it takes is lifting the controller in the air at the right time.

And it’s always satisfying.

The parry mechanic is one of the novel additions of the 2023 remake developed by Capcom. Whenever a bolt or melee attack from an infected villager is about to impact Leon Kennedy, you only need to press a button to deflect with the in-game knife. This action grants an opportunity to follow up with an attack on the spot while simultaneously adding to RE4’s original close-quarter smackdown.

Capcom Keeps Bringing Resident Evil To VR – Here’s How And Why

Adapting this to the PlayStation VR2 wasn’t easy. Instead of Leon doing a swift animation with just a button press, you need to grab the knife from your chest, lift it up in the air, and match the incoming attack. It’s more involved, sure, but also more immersive, adding a new layer of novelty to the mechanic.

“Enemy attacks have attack detections set at the weapon’s position,” director Keisuke Yamakawa says. “So, just by checking the contact between the enemy’s attack detection and Leon’s knife, we were almost able to get our anticipated behavior. When we managed to perform the first parry, the team was very excited about how much fun it was, and we were convinced that [the] VR Mode was going to be entertaining.”

Parrying is just one of many elements that went through careful consideration when translating the remake to virtual reality. To find out more about the process, Game Informer spoke to Yamakawa and producer Masato Kumazawa about the development of the VR Mode, how the VR version of Resident Evil Village served as a foundation, and what to expect in the future from Capcom’s ongoing push into the medium.

Knife Party

Would Leon throw a knife in the midst of battle? Virtual reality grants you greater control over characters, and the team had to consider all possibilities of player agency. In deciding where to place boundaries and where to allow people to experiment, Capcom came up with three main pillars. Namely, whether your actions are fun in VR, whether you feel like you’re incarnating Leon, and if it all fits the RE4 experience.

At first, the team wasn’t sure about this possibility. In the VR version of Resident Evil Village, you can not only throw knives as Ethan Winters but weapons as well. Since Ethan is a civilian, the concept of him throwing whatever he has at hand to hit an enemy and make a quick escape doesn’t sound irrational. However, Leon has had a ton of training and experience in the field, so he wouldn’t be throwing a pistol at somebody’s head.

Ultimately, the developers figured players would want to throw knives as Leon regardless, so they added the mechanic for VR. Unlike Village, there’s a slight delay before returning the knife to the shortcut slot after throwing – which is placed on your virtual body at arm’s reach. Moreover, there’s the advantage of recovering a bit of the knife’s durability by manually returning it to the slot. Considering knives have a more prominent use in RE4, this all fits the concept well. Aside from attacking enemies, you can throw knives at bear traps to trigger them safely out of harm’s way or do target practice with chickens to get eggs.

In the VR version of Village, you’re able to close your hands to form a fist and punch werewolves. Unlike the knife, there’s no delay or cooldown time preventing you from defending yourself with this method. Sure, the damage is vastly inferior in contrast to knives and guns, but since it’s considered a VR novelty and not a proper mechanic, there isn’t a penalty in place. Allowing you to punch Ganados as Leon was also considered early in development. The problem, the developers say, was it meant replacing the existing melee system in favor of a punch you could repeat without a clear penalty. Funnily enough, you can wield two knives simultaneously to stab enemies quickly. But of course, the durability will prevent you from endlessly repeating this action. (Unless you find all Clockwork Castellans to unlock the Primal Knife, which can be upgraded to become indestructible. You’re welcome.)

Of course, Village wasn’t the only point of reference. The original Resident Evil 4 got a standalone VR version developed by Armature Studio and published by Oculus Studios back in 2021. While the team didn’t mention it as an inspiration, there are multiple similarities, such as cutscenes displayed on a virtual TV of sorts. As for the world itself, there isn’t a big focus on interactivity, which is one of VR’s standout features. Perhaps more importantly, the first-person perspective shifts to third-person each time you perform melee actions, like the flat version.

“During the spinning kick attack, Leon’s posture changes drastically, and his body rotates,” Yamakawa says. “Therefore, it was clear that placing the camera at the head position would not produce a proper image. It was also important to be able to check the surrounding situation and the enemies caught by the kick, so we decided to use the third-person view from the beginning.”

Alternate Realities

In addition to throwing knives and manually parrying attacks, you can grab items and inspect them up close, do revolver tricks à la Revolver Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid, and even reload a shotgun by cocking the weapon with one hand. In order to keep up with the intensity of the RE4 remake, a lot had to be streamlined along the way.

Barrels and crates containing items can be destroyed by swinging your knife, but you can opt to use a button prompt that does the action for you as well. In the base game, whenever Leon enters a dark area, he turns on a flashlight until you’re back in a well-lit environment. This happens in VR, too, but the light is attached to your head by default, following your movement. You can, however, grab it from your forehead and move it yourself, similarly to Village, until the section ends. Each weapon has its peculiarities, especially when it comes to reloading, but some are simpler than what you’d expect in VR. As the team says, these shortcuts are intended to make it so your attention is on the action around you.

“For the shotgun and other weapon types that load one shot, we understand that as a VR game, it would be very interesting to reload one shell at a time,” Yamakawa says. “But in Resident Evil 4, the combat is very intense, and if the players have to reload the shells one by one during combat, it would make it very difficult and might affect your level of enjoyment.”

According to Kumazawa, the release of the VR Mode was scheduled “a year after” the initial release of the base game, which came out on March 24, 2023. It ended up being less than that, being released as a free DLC on December 8 of the same year.

This was partly thanks to the fact that when the core team was still developing the main game, it also started working on aspects of the VR Mode. Additionally, the director of Village helped the team during the initial phases of development, while Yamakawa himself worked on the VR version of Resident Evil 7. It made for a much smoother process, even if mechanics like dual-wielding weapons had to be made from scratch.

In the “Integrated Report 2015” document released by Capcom in the same year, the company expressed its interest and commitment to VR for its Development Division 1, the group responsible for the Resident Evil series. Nine years later, half of the mainline Resident Evil games released in this time have gotten a VR version on PlayStation headsets. The Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes and Armature’s version of RE4 are the outliers.

When asked if this focus on VR has influenced the way Capcom develops new games in the franchise, knowing it’d be working on a VR version ahead of time, the team suggested otherwise. “The simple answer is ‘No,’” Yamakawa says. “It’s very important to us that the main game is as interesting as possible, so we didn’t make any changes to it just because there was going to be a VR mode.” This, in addition, encompasses core additions like the parry. It wasn’t until the team started iterating on the base game to translate the experience to VR that tweaks and changes to the mechanic were made.

The interviewees say they implemented all the elements they wanted for Resident Evil 4 VR. Once they wrapped up the project, they realized VR was well-suited to the franchise. While they didn’t discuss specifics, Kumazawa says they “plan to undertake more challenges in the future.”

Moreover, Kumazawa adds that one of the reasons for releasing the VR versions of Village and 4 as free DLC is that the team wants to try to help expand the VR market. Yamakawa, personally speaking, joined the project as a director because of his enthusiasm for VR.

While conditions such as motion sickness continue to be a concern for players to access VR, Yamakawa says there’s been substantial improvement in comparison to the original PlayStation VR headset.

“When we received the first version of the original VR development kit, I spent a lot of time playing it,” Yamakawa says. “VR also matches with the Resident Evil franchise really well. I would like VR to get much more popular with the public. Since headsets can still be quite expensive and heavy, I would love for the kits to continue getting lighter and more affordable to make it more [approachable] to the general audience.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 364 of Game Informer.

5+ Useful WordPress Plugins You Should Check Out in 2024

5+ Useful WordPress Plugins You Should Check Out in 2024

WordPress’s immense popularity stems from its robust ecosystem of tools, ease of use, and flexibility. Themes and plugins are central to its versatility. Plugins, in particular, allow users to extend the functionality of their WordPress sites effectively.

Plugins are, in fact, indispensable for adding complex features to a site, eliminating the need for extensive coding or high development costs.

If the term plugin is new to you, you can think of it as an app or add-on for your website. The WordPress library, with over 50,000 plugins, offers extensive design capabilities, allowing you to unlock the full potential of WordPress itself.

A general understanding of what WordPress plugins can do and how they can leverage a website’s value and operational efficiency is key to successful website design and development.

In this collection, you’ll examine seven top WordPress plugins, each excelling in its specific area of functionality.

What You Need to Consider When Selecting a WordPress Plugin

  1. Purpose & Requirements: Clearly define what you are looking for, e.g., SEO, social media integration, eCommerce capabilities, etc.
  2. Plugin Ratings & Reviews: Make it a point to find out what other users experienced, e.g., excellent results, problems encountered, and the level of support received.
  3. Compatibility: Make certain the plugin is compatible with the version of WordPress you are using and also compatible with themes or other plugins your website is using.
  4. Update Frequency: Plugins should have been updated frequently enough to incorporate improvements, fix bugs, and remain compatible with WordPress.
  5. Support & Documentation: Good documentation can help you troubleshoot issues and make the most of the plugin’s features. Robust customer support is also important.
  6. Security: Choose plugins from developers that deliver high-quality, secure code.
  7. Performance Impact Poorly coded plugins or those overloaded with extra features could slow down your site (and add to your design workflow).
  8. Cost: Free is great if you are certain that that option meets your needs. It’s always a good idea to see if the extras a premium version offers will work to your advantage.

The Best WordPress Plugins in 2024 for Your Website Projects

1. Amelia – WordPress Booking Plugin for Appointments & Events

TL;DR: Amelia is the best choice for service-oriented businesses needing to automate and streamline their appointment booking operations.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

Spas, fitness centers, photographic studios, and other service-oriented businesses can save time and money by installing Amelia’s capabilities while at the same time profiting from increased customer or client satisfaction. With Amelia, event and appointment booking can be managed at multiple locations from a single website platform.

Veterinarian services including dog-walking, vacation care, and other special services can also make excellent use of Amelia, Petcare template.

  • User Experience: “Amelia is a great booking tool that has a nice look and feel right out of the box. It is a bit overwhelming at first because of the many settings you have but the customer service support is great. I can’t recommend this plugin enough.”
  • Client Avgerage Grade: 4.8 on Capterra.
  • Types of Support Material: Discord Group, documentation, and YouTube videos.

View Amelia

2. wpDataTables – WordPress Table Plugin

TL;DR: wpDataTables’ ease of use and powerful data management features allow users to quickly create editable and responsive tables and charts.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

The wpDataTables plugin has long been known for allowing users to work with massive amounts of complex data. Its new Multiple Database Connections functionality goes a step further by enabling users to simultaneously connect to diverse servers.

Users have the ability to create a virtually unlimited variety of tables and charts. This pricing table template, for example, features nine different formats ranging from simplistic to more complex. wpDataTables’ conditional formatting and other customization options provide a powerful means for highlighting critical data.

  • User Experience: “The support team helped resolve the compatibility issues with my theme. Really helpful and willing to go the extra way to ensure that the plugin works well in any environment.”
  • Client Avgerage Grade: 4.83/5.
  • Types of Support Material: Documentation and YouTube videos.

View wpDataTables

3. Classic Editor WordPress Plugin

TL;DR: The Classic Editor plugin restores the long-time favorite WordPress editor and “Edit Post” screen.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

Classic Editor will continue to be supported for as long as it is needed. The plugin allows users to manage default editors or give users the ability to make changes on their own.

  • User Experience: “Thank you for this plugin. I deactivated it a few months ago, trying to get used to the block editor. A nightmare. No more! I have wasted enough time already in frustration, trying to figure out how to put it to use. Back to classic!”
  • Client Avgerage Grade: 4.9/5.

View Classic Editor

4. Slider Revolution – More Than Just a WordPress Slider

TL;DR: The Slider Revolution plugin is an excellent choice for anyone interested in creating animated sliders that range from engaging to jaw-dropping.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

Slider Revolution’s top feature isn’t a single tool or function, it’s the many different ways it can be used to create sliders and web page content that will absolutely “wow” its visitors.

Designers or developers can upgrade a run-of-the-mill website to something special in minutes. Think of the last time you saw an advertisement for a Horsemanship training center: still images of happy-looking people on horseback. Now see what Slider Revolution can do with this Professional Training slider template.

Needless to say, Slider Revolution is ideal for one-page websites and portfolio websites.

  • User Experience: “Great plugin with some impressive features! Support reps are top notch all around and Abid was especially helpful.”
  • Client Avgerage Grade: 4.2/5 on Trustpilot.
  • Types of Support Material: Support manual and YouTube videos.

View Slider Revolution

5. LayerSlider – Best WordPress Slider Builder Plugin

TL;DR: LayerSlider is the best WordPress plugin for making creative sliders, slideshows, and popups.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

LayerSlider enables its users to create a live connection between a site’s content and its visitors, whether the animated content is in a slider, a page section, a popup, or a banner for marketing purposes. Its highly customizable interface and advanced features were designed to make beginners and experts alike feel right at home.

The features and templates of LayerSlider provide a universal multi-purpose solution for all kinds of websites. “Fragrance Fantasy” for example, is a template tailored for salons and lifestyle blogs where perfume comes to life in a symphony of colors and scents. This and other templates can be easily customized by adding your own content.

  • Client Insight:“Super easy to use and the animations are just wow.”
  • Types of Support Material: Support manual, built-in help in LayerSlider’s Project Editor, direct email, and ticket system.

View LayerSlider

6. Essential Grid – WordPress Gallery Plugin

TL;DR: Essential Grid is an easy to work with WordPress Gallery Plugin for businesses and creatives looking for a way to create breathtaking galleries.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

If you envision any gallery layout, you can create it with Essential Grid. If you can’t envision one, Essential Grid will also be able to help you.

All the tools you need are at your fingertips, plus you can use any of 50+ customizable templates designed to help you create an impressive gallery at a lightning-fast speed. Check out Essential Grids’ Dark Portfolio template with its impressive hover effects.

You can create as many skin variations as you want, choose masonry, cobbles, or any other type of layout, and mix and match the grids until you’re satisfied.

  • User Experience: “The tool is powerful and very well designed. The support team is incredibly fast, friendly and efficient! All the best to you!”
  • Client Avgerage Grade: 4.8/5 on Trustpilot.
  • Types of Support Material: YouTube videos and Support manual.

View Essential Grid

7. Brizy Website Builder

TL;DR: The expertly crafted Brizy WordPress website builder is great for those new to website building, but powerful enough for tech-savvy users as well.


Click the video to see this plugin in action.

Brizy is well suited for small businesses, freelancers, and agencies looking to launch a small to medium-sized website. Distinct PRO features for marketers include 3rd party tool integrations, popups, and membership features.

The design kit includes a collection of 500+ blocks designed to make it possible to create a website in minutes.

Brizy’s SAAS landing page template shows how easy website creation can be, especially when you have the needed content at your fingertips.

  • User Experience: “I’ve been using Brizy for a while now, and their support team is outstanding. Quick, knowledgeable, and always ready to help. They’ve made our website design experience a breeze. Highly recommend Brizy for their exceptional support and user-friendly platform.”
  • Client Avgerage Grade: 4.4/5 on Trustpilot/
  • Types of Support Material: Academy with Video Courses, Written DocumentationSupport Manual, Ticket Help-desk, YouTube videos & Facebook Group.

View Brizy

Choosing the Right WordPress Plugin

Choosing the right WordPress plugins for your website is crucial for maximizing its potential in terms of functionality and overall performance. Knowing upfront what you need in a plugin, checking its compatibility, and assessing user reviews are crucial to making the right acquisition. The plugins featured here offer robust solutions for various website requirements and represent the best in their respective niches.

Whether you choose Amelia’s all-inclusive booking system or wpDataTables’ powerful data management system or elect to take advantage of the WordPress Classic Editor, the Revolution Slider or LayerSlider dynamic content tools, or what Essential Grid and Brizy offer, you can appreciably improve your website’s functionality, user experience, or visual appeal.

Quick Recap

WP Plugin Summary Standout Feature
Amelia The best plugin for service-oriented businesses needing to automate and streamline their appointment booking operations. Great selection of booking and appointment services.
wpDataTables Powerful data management plugin for quickly creating editable and responsive tables and charts. A Multiple Database Connections capability.
Classic Editor Classic Editor plugin restores the long-time favorite WordPress editor and “Edit Post” screen. Used to extend post screens and add old-style meta boxes.
Slider Revolution Excellent plugin for creating animated sliders that range from engaging to jaw-dropping. The ability to add visual “wow” effects without having to rely on coding.
LayerSlider The best WordPress plugin for making creative sliders, slideshows, and popups. Highly customizable interface.
Essential Grid Easy to work with WordPress Gallery Plugin for businesses and creatives looking for a way to design breathtaking galleries. 50+ unique grid skins.
Brizy The expertly crafted Brizy WordPress website builder is especially suited for use by non-technical users. Perfectly suited for non-techies.

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