Reader mourns Patrick Stewart at 86, recalls Oblivion role

A reader in the Friday Games Inbox expressed sadness over the death of Sir Patrick Stewart, who was 86 years old.

The writer, signing off as Johnson, described Stewart as a man who lived a full life and never seemed to phone in a role. Johnson noted that while Stewart will be best remembered for his work in Star Trek and theatre, he also made a surprising number of video game appearances. The letter highlighted his voice work in several Star Trek and X-Men titles, as well as his roles in both Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow games, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, and Lands Of Lore: The Throne Of Chaos. Johnson argued that most people will likely remember Stewart best as Emperor Uriel Septim VII in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. The reader appreciated that Stewart seemed to make an effort in that role rather than simply using his Picard voice. Johnson sent best wishes to Stewart's family, friends, and fans.

In another letter, a reader named Andy examined the video game release schedule for the coming months. Andy pointed out that the only major games scheduled for November to compete with Grand Theft Auto 6 are from Nintendo and World of Warcraft: Forever, noting that these are not direct competitors. Andy observed that December is typically a quiet month, but January is scheduled to be busier than most years. The January lineup includes Stranger Than Heaven, Forza Horizon 6 on PlayStation 5, Metroid Ravenous, and Metro 2039. Andy added that February is set to be even busier. Although Andy acknowledged that Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a massive release, the other publishers' schedules suggest they do not expect it to absorb all attention forever.

A reader known as Burnside discussed the upcoming X-Men game from Insomniac. Burnside stated that they were fine with the announcement, even though they found the previous Wolverine title only okay. The writer expressed hope that the new game would not follow the same formula of swapping between different characters at different points in the game. Burnside suggested that a team game needs team mechanics, such as multiplayer or squad action similar to the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series. The reader noted that while Square Enix's Avengers game struggled with multiplayer, it seemed unlikely that Sony would invest heavily in a squad action game. Burnside concluded that if the game simply changes the controllable character at different levels, it would be a waste.

TommyFatFingers wrote about their experience with Star Wars Zero Company, which they described as a game and a half. The reader noted that they had reached day 30 of gameplay and found the story engaging, particularly the one-liners from the crew during cutscenes. TommyFatFingers, who is middle-aged like the main character Hawks, joked that the game might be tailored to them. The writer called the game a combination of XCOM and Star Wars and stated it was their game of the year so far. In a postscript, TommyFatFingers mentioned that their cafe, now a brunch restaurant serving gourmet burgers and loaded fries, has been doing well for 1.5 years. The writer added that they applied strategy game lessons to running the business but wished for a pause button.

Asker, another reader, shared excitement over a new dinosaur survival horror game called The Lost Wild. Asker noted that the developers admitted getting scared while playing their own game. The writer welcomed this new contender, especially since the dinosaurs are reportedly scientifically accurate. Asker compared the new title to a potential Dino Crisis remake, suggesting that The Lost Wild has the potential to be better.

Hammeriron welcomed the confirmation that The Duskbloods is being delayed until next year. The reader stated that they preferred this approach to releasing a game on a deadline regardless of its state. Hammeriron enjoyed the Network Test but preferred FromSoftware's single-player titles, finding the multiplayer rules in The Duskbloods restrictive. The writer mentioned bouncing off Nightreign quickly and worried about waiting for a FromSoftware game that matches their preferences.

Cocles, a reader, mused about the upcoming Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake. They wondered what the game would have looked like if developers had taken a different approach, making Hyrule Field larger and adding open-world elements and modern role-playing systems. Cocles acknowledged that such a change would have been a huge amount of work and might have changed the game out of all recognition, but found the alternative interesting to consider.