Showing posts with label Game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2026

Game Event: Last Flag – Inside the February Press Event: Catching the Flag with the Developers

I was invited, along with around 30 other outlets, to attend the Last Flag press event on Discord. On screen, the developers presenting were Producer Matthew and the two brothers behind the game, Mac and Dan Reynolds. The session included introductions, gameplay with the devs of Night Street Games and a Q&A. But before we dove into mechanics, there was a story that framed the entire project. 

Dan Reynolds shared that the idea for Last Flag came from growing up playing old school games with his brother Mac. That shared love of classic competitive gaming planted the seed. The two of them wanted to build something of their own. They reached out to a small group of developers who were interested in helping bring the idea to life. On an early video call, Dan turned on his camera to properly introduce himself. The reaction from that team was immediate:

“What… that’s you?”

It was a small, human moment. Just someone pitching a game idea and revealing that he happened to be the singer of Imagine Dragons.

 


What Is Last Flag?

Last Flag is a 5v5 PvP game built with a 1970s-inspired aesthetic. It blends approachable, likable characters with strategic depth.

The core objective is simple:

  • Hide your team’s flag

  • Find the enemy team’s flag before they find yours

Beneath that simplicity, there’s more:

  • Each character has unique abilities, giving players different roles and playstyles

  • The map contains power-ups that can shift momentum during matches

  • There are three radio towers, which serve multiple strategic purposes:

    • Capture one to respawn there

    • Gain healing while you control it and being near it

    • The longer you hold it, the more it scans the surrounding area, eventually revealing an enemy flag if its hiding in that area.

Control all three towers and your team gains serious tactical advantage. The systems encourage both teamwork and independent play, keeping matches dynamic.


First Impressions From the Beta

What I appreciated early on was that the developers clearly explained what to focus on before we jumped in. I had a clear understanding of the objective and systems going into my first match on Steam. We were in a private press server along with the devs, which kept it calm and collected. That attention to structure felt well thought out.

The world immediately felt open. It did not feel like being locked into strict lanes the way games like League of Legends structure their maps. Instead, you have options.

You can stay coordinated with your team, fighting over radio towers and building map control. Or you can break off and hunt for the enemy flag directly. Both approaches feel viable. I played two matches during the session. 

In the first game, I focused on the tower strategy. It turned into a genuine fight for control. We were constantly contesting positions, pushing and retaking ground. It felt tactical and deliberate. In the end, we lost that match, the enemy team found our flag first, It felt earned.

In the second match, I started with the tower strategy again but decided to break off and hunt for the enemy flag before it was revealed by the towers. And you know what? I found it, tucked away in a cave. 

 

On the way back, I stumbled, but my team was right behind me. Together, we secured the flag again, I grabbed hold of it once more, sprinting all the way back to our base.



The final stretch was tense, we had to defend the flag for about a minute. The enemy team tried hard to take it back, nearly succeeding, but we held our ground. Victory was ours.

It was chaotic, tactical, and genuinely fun, a perfect example of how Last Flag balances open-world freedom with team-based strategy.


Q&A Highlights

After the matches, we moved into the Q&A. A few points stood out:

  • There will be no battle pass. Free skins and other rewards are unlocked simply by playing, and the team encouraged everyone to join the open beta for exclusive rewards as you level up.

  • Currently, one map is fully playable and a second, snowy map, is complete but not yet available. Two additional maps are in development.

  • The developers emphasized that Last Flag is intended to be more of a party or family-friendly game rather than a highly competitive ranked experience, though ranked modes might be added later.

Those details, combined with the fun, dynamic gameplay, left me genuinely excited to see where the game goes. Last Flag already shows promise as a game that balances approachable mechanics, strategic depth and a playful, retro aesthetic.

//Sonny

Links:
https://lastflag.com/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2721340/Last_Flag/

Article written by: Sonny Mikszath



Thursday, October 2, 2025

Game: Hollywood Animal (Early Access - 2025)

Release: April 10, 2025 (Early Access)
Full release: N/A
Director: N/A
Developed By: Weappy Studios (Cyprus)
Distributed by: Weappy Studios (Cyprus)


 
Do you remember The Movies? A PC game that put you in the shoes of a media mogul running a movie studio. Picture that, but with far more politics. More focus on making alliances, running a profitable business and making sure problems don’t leak to the media and ruin your reputation. Hollywood Animal is what The Movies, sadly, missed out on. It highlights corruption. It highlights the obstacles you have to overcome to reach success. And it makes me feel like a swearing family member straight out of HBO’s hit Succession. I’ve played 10 hours of an early access version and this is my experience so far.
 
 
Hollywood Animal removes the “make your own movie” part of The Movies. Instead, it focuses on how to run a studio in the corrupt world of the 1930s. The “talkies” have just been introduced and you get the chance to take over your own studio. But nothing is simple. Everything must be researched. New buildings take a long time to prepare and then you have to build the darn things! My first mistake was overestimating the fast-forward function. It made me skip months upon months where no movies were written or in production. That means zero income. You never make a profit unless a film is running on the silver screen. And the process to get there is long, so you have to plan ahead and be smart. Because movies cost money! Contracts can expire, costing even more money! And people can lose motivation, which means you’ll have to bribe them. WITH MORE MONEY!

At the start, you’re in luck. An advertising bureau is still around to promote your films for free. But not for long! Soon you’ll need to build your own marketing team to take over. The only problem, as I said before, is that creating such a team takes time. So in other words: be ready for anything! Unexpected police raids can ruin your not-so-legal productions. The mayor might want to talk about his campaign. And a bootlegger might demand to make a statement about alcohol in movies. But do the good people of America really want to see that?

As you can tell, this game is not kind. As much as I like it (and I do), I can’t stop wondering what the finished product will look like. There are still “locked” features in development and I’m curious to see if more will show up in future updates. What I’ve played so far is both interesting and puzzling. Sometimes I back myself into a corner with no plausible way out. But I refuse to give up. It feels like a board game with sharp mechanics and ideas that constantly make you think about how to save another dime or how to make that mafioso really love the movie you’re putting on the big screen.

 Visually, the game is simple! It’s mainly text-based with a few pictures and illustrations. It’s a lot of reading, but very engaging. Everything from angry dogs on set to lawyers ranting about dishonesty in society. And I’m stuck in the middle, trying to use everyone as pawns to achieve my will. Challenging, but never impossible!

7/10. A game worth trying for those who enjoy bringing order out of chaos.


Homepage:
https://weappy-studio.com/hollywood-animal/

 
Article written by: Robin Andersson
https://filmfett.wordpress.com/