A TALE OF TWO INDIES
Having launched to quiet applause, Asobo Studio’s ‘Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy’ has been struggling to find an audience. In spite of all the polish on screen and the technical achievements of their latest offering, the title seems to have had a much softer landing than expected. The paltry all time peak of just under six thousand concurrent players on Steam serves as a dark omen heralding bleak news about the game’s fortunes. While nigh on impossible to determine the exact number of copies sold thus far, the dark arts of steam gazing may have given us a glimpse beyond the veil of how the title is performing on console. Especially as said title was available day and date on all platforms. While the two prior titles didn’t fair much better on Steam, they both have higher concurrent player counts than Resonance. Published by Focus Entertainment and launched day and date on Xbox GamePass, the studio may have a financial cushion but it remains to be seen as to whether it will be successful in the long run. The title is an aberration in the gaming world having launched with exceedingly high production values and has largely been bug and fault since its public debut. Testament to the prowess of Asobo Studio who built the game and its predecessors on their in-house game engine. Sadly, it was released in a launch window filled with a cacophony of other seemingly more resonant titles. These include the warmly received ’Star Wars: Zero Company’ which walked past an estimated million copies mere weeks after launch and the much maligned ‘Marvel’s Wolverine’ which has sold approximately 1.9 million copies to date.
While nigh on impossible to determine the exact number of copies sold thus far, the dark arts of steam gazing may have given us a glimpse beyond the veil of how the title is performing on console.
In stark contrast to the muted response to Asobo’s latest offering, Remedy’s ‘Control Resonance’ has received a much more boisterous welcome from both critics and gamers alike. Peaking at a concurrent player count several factors more than ‘A Plague Tale Legacy’ on Steam, it wouldn’t be surprising if this title saunters past a million copies sold over the next few weeks. However, even at a relatively low production cost of approximately fifty million dollars, Remedy estimates they need to sell three to four million copies to break-even. Roughly twice the number of copies they needed to sell to become profitable for ‘Alan Wake 2.’ While the latter was paid for and published by Epic Game Studios for around eighty million dollars, Control’s sophomore outing was partially funded by Annapurna Pictures who covered half the development costs. It is doubtful that the title will be profitable in the near future. Remedy’s titles seem to be front loaded with the studio’s faithful quick to adapt new launches, save for the ill-fated ‘FBC Firebreak.’ It may be years before this title is profitable. However, with the remakes of the first two ‘Max Payne’ games in development in partnership with Rockstar games, the studio is not necessarily needy for funds.
Not content with the natural, Remedy’s world is littered with preternatural beauty.
It is curious that both titles seem to have been developed for roughly around the same budget and with roughly the same number of developers. However, their scope and ambition wildly differ. While Asobo’s offering is more ambitious compared to its prior titles, it is a linear narrative with puzzle elements and hack and slash mechanics gleaned from Sucker Punch’s ‘Ghost of Tsushima’ and Activision’s ‘Sekiro: Shadow’s Die Twice.’ It also features natural locations such as the greek islands and a sun soaked Venice. Asobo’s title has also benefited from time. This shows in the quality of work they have meted out. Not one single patch has been deployed by the studio from before launch. The character models are sublime as are the environments. The sound design is excellent as is the score. An all round top tier production. Remedy’s offering is a bit more messy. Remedy did not curb their ambitions. The Oldest House and the streets of New York are a morass of set pieces. Not content with the natural, Remedy’s world is littered with preternatural beauty. The mundane move in macabre sequences forming part of Remedy’s brilliant environmental storytelling. A macabre beauty that is hard to outmatch. Sadly however, the rest of the production has suffered. There are performance issues on console and the visual presentation is lacklustre. The spectacular sights are marred by visual noise from using upscaling technology. The character models also seem odd. While in line with the narrative the costume design also seems perfunctory at best, lacking the visual flourishes of Asobo’s efforts.
While these titles launched within a month of each other, they were both released in the same crowded period. Remedy’s outing is burdened with the weight of impossible numbers. In spite of having a dedicated fan base, ‘Control Resonant’ may struggle to cross the finish line in a timely manner. Meanwhile, Asobo’s outing while technically more sound is saddled with the curse of being pedestrian while vying for an audience who are in love with the eccentric. It remains to be seen which of these titles will hit profitability first. However it does seem like a steep climb. Hopefully, both find resonance with their respective audiences sooner rather than later.
Video companion piece here.
Image credits in order of appearance: Image par Clker-Free-Vector-Images de Pixabay; Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay