by Jayce Ham
Playstations 5 and Xboxes One X/S continue to be hard to acquire, despite the consoles now being out for nearly five months. However, just a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to snag one for myself. It was a stressful and taxing journey, however, which brings me to my point. Why are these consoles so hard to acquire? The answer is the pandemic. While the video game industry has thrived during this time, there have also been some difficult times. Producing physical hardware at the amount the public demands has become harder to do while also keeping warehouse workers safe. Sony and Microsoft promise that this problem will be resolved soon.
Despite the problems of physical hardware, video games continue to be made. On March 18, Square Enix held a forty-minute online live event where they announced several new games and updates. Outriders, releasing on April 1, by developer People Can Fly has been gaining new traction lately as it was announced that it will be coming to Xbox Games Pass on day 1 of release. Square Enix showed several minutes of gameplay and story and has fans excited for what’s to come on the day of the game’s release. Those who have played the game already say that it is more fun as a multiplayer than a single-player, but we shall see what more say when the game releases to the public. 
The event also excited Marvel fans with the release of the Hawkeye DLC for the Marvel’s Avengers game which released late last year. The DLC launched the day of the Square Enix event and features a new storyline as Hawkeye which leads to him becoming a playable character in the multiplayer features of the original game. Fans of the game, however, were disappointed that there were not many other exciting announcements for the game besides some small updates coming later this year.
The game at the center of the Square Enix event was Life is Strange: True Colors, the third game in the critically acclaimed Life is Strange series. The game is set to release on September 10 as a full game, not episodic like the previous games, though the game does allow for chapter breaks if you do not wish to play the game all at once. You play as Alex Chen, a young Asian American woman with the powers of an empath. She uses these powers to discover the truth behind her long-lost brother’s mysterious death. The game, to my excitement and surprise, includes a beloved character from Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Steph, who Alex Chen has the option of romancing in the new game. Steph will also have a DLC available for fans to play. It was also announced that remastered versions of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm will be released on the same day as the new game and can be purchased on their own or as a part of the Ultimate Edition of Life is Strange: True Colors. 
Unfortunately, there has been a bit of sad news in the gaming community as well. Blizzard, the company famous for games such as Overwatch and World of Warcraft, has just laid off hundreds of employees. The company blames the pandemic for the layoffs. The layoffs have caused outrage as the CEO has just garnered a huge raise, despite the company claiming they had no choice to lay off employees due to budget cuts.
Despite this sad news, I can’t wait to see what more games are announced next month as the developers prepare for the summer game releases.
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