One of the things that many fans noticed immediately when shown in-game footage of Super Mario Odyssey was that the life counter, a staple in every Mario game till now, was missing. Should the plumber meet his demise, the game merely subtracts some coins from your total and then restarts you at a checkpoint. It’s divided opinion somewhat, but this is something that’s become more and more of a trend in modern platformers, as lives are really just a holdover from the glory days of arcades.

Speaking more on this issue in this month’s Game Informer, Kenta Motokura—the director of Super Mario Odyssey—explained that the concept was canned because it wouldn’t gel well with the general design of the game. Here’s what he said:

We thought about how a lives system would work in this kind of broad, exploration-focused game. In this sort of game, there would be a lot of different restart points. We decided not to use the lives system because it was not an element that was absolutely necessary. We also thought that it would affect some users’ desire to play because, while users who are good at the game would rarely see the (game over) screen that comes up when Mario runs out of lives, inexperienced users would probably end up seeing it frequently.

It makes a lot of sense, but the question is whether this will become a standard for all Mario games, or if it’s just for Odyssey.

What do you think? Does a life counter still have a place in modern game design? Do you think they’re going to drop it from Mario games for good? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Halloween is on the way and our chums over at Wales Interactive are ready to embrace the scary season with their upcoming supernatural horror game Don’t Knock Twice, which is coming to Switch eShop on 17th October priced at £9.99 / €12.49 / $12.49.

Here’s some blurb from the PR to get you up to speed on the game:

Don’t Knock Twice is a first-person horror game based on a psychologically terrifying urban legend. To save her estranged daughter, a guilt-ridden mother must uncover the frightening truth behind the urban tale of a vengeful, demonic witch. One knock to wake her from her bed, twice to raise her from the dead.
 
To find and save your daughter, you will explore all depths of a grand manor house, searching for hidden clues and wield items to escape the terror that surrounds you.
 
The game was developed alongside the 2017 horror film, Don’t Knock Twice, starring Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) and directed by Caradog James (The Machine).

It all sounds like a ruddy good time to us. Do you plan to check this one out later in the month, or are you too scared?

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is Now Available on Steam!

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an RPG inspired by the classic console greats, featuring deep dungeon diving, turn-based combat presented in a classic JRPG format, and a rich story driven by exploration of the world.

We’re thrilled to share the first official name for an Overwatch League team: the Shanghai Dragons! The dragon and the color red were chosen as themes in the team’s logo because they resonate with Chinese culture and history. Congratulations to team owner Netease and the Overwatch League Shanghai Dragons!

For more background, check out the team’s official press release as well as the new Shanghai Dragons accounts on Weibo, on WeChat as ShanghaiDragons, Facebook, and Twitter. Be sure to keep up with the latest Overwatch League news on overwatchleague.com and our official Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram feeds as well.

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