[Disney Dreamlight Valley PC - Console] Gestionnaire influenceurs - Influencer ManagerGameloftMontreal QC ca2 hours agoApplyJob DescriptionLe studio Gameloft Montréal a une opportunité excitante pour un gestionnaire de marketing d'influence pour rejoindre l'équipe d'experts en marketing de Gameloft travaillant sur Disney Dreamlight Valley.En tant que membre de l'équipe de marketing d'influence, vous rejoindrez une équipe d'experts en influence et en médias sociaux et, ensemble, nous construirons un écosystème de créateurs de contenu prospère qui stimule l'engagement, la croissance et la fidélité à long terme.Dans ce rôle, vous serez chargé de conduire et d'exécuter des campagnes d'influence, de l'élaboration de stratégies à la recherche de talents, en passant par la gestion des dossiers et le suivi des résultats. Nous recherchons une personne capable de rester à la pointe des tendances en matière de création et de médias sociaux, et de contribuer à l'établissement de relations durables.Nous recherchons quelqu'un qui comprend vraiment le rôle que jouent les influenceurs dans les jeux vidéo - et comment ils stimulent l'engagement, la croissance et la communauté. Idéalement, vous êtes un vrai joueur dans l'âme, avec un aperçu de première main de la façon dont les créateurs façonnent les conversations et alimentent le succès à long terme dans l'espace de jeu.Principales responsabilitésSoutenir le développement et l'exécution de stratégies de marketing d'influence en collaboration avec les cadres supérieurs, les équipes de marketing et les studios de jeux.Gérer les éléments quotidiens des campagnes d'influence, y compris la recherche de talents, la coordination des briefs, le suivi des livrables et l'établissement de rapports sur les indicateurs clés.Travailler en collaboration avec les équipes Acquisition des utilisateurs et Produits pour aider à élaborer des fonctionnalités qui permettent une intégration réussie des influenceurs.Collaborer avec les partenaires détenteurs de propriétés intellectuelles sur les livrables des campagnes, en veillant à ce que tout le contenu respecte les consignes des marques et obtienne les approbations nécessaires.Rédiger et tenir à jour la documentation relative aux campagnes, notamment les calendriers, les listes d'influenceurs et le suivi du budget.Contribuer à l'analyse des performances des campagnes en recueillant des données et en faisant émerger des idées pour améliorer les exécutions futures.Participer à la planification du budget et assurer un suivi précis des dépenses et des livrables.Nouer et maintenir des relations solides avec les créateurs de contenu et les agences d'influenceurs pour assurer une collaboration et une fidélité à long terme.Rester à l'affût des tendances dans les écosystèmes sociaux, de jeux et de créateurs afin d'alimenter la créativité et la pertinence des campagnes.***The Gameloft Montreal studio has an exciting opportunity for an Influencer Marketing Manager to join Gameloft's team of Marketing experts working on Disney Dreamlight Valley.As part of the Influencer marketing Team, you will join a team of influencer and social media experts and together we’ll build a thriving content creator ecosystem that drives engagement, growth, and long-term loyalty.In this role, you'll be tasked with driving and executing influencer campaigns—from shaping strategies to sourcing talent, managing briefs and tracking results. We’re looking for someone who can stay ahead of creator and social media trends, and help build long-lasting relationships.We’re looking for someone who truly understands the role influencers play in gaming—and how they drive engagement, growth, and community. Ideally, you are a true gamer at heart, with firsthand insight into how creators shape conversations and fuel long-term success in the gaming space.Gameloft’s Montreal studio is looking for a passionate Influencer Manager to join our team of experts working on Disney Dreamlight Valley. This is a unique opportunity to help grow a beloved title played by millions, within a creative, collaborative, and ever-evolving environment.Key ResponsibilitiesSupporting the development and execution of influencer marketing strategies in collaboration with senior managers, marketing teams, and game studios.Managing day-to-day elements of influencer campaigns, including sourcing talent, coordinating briefs, tracking deliverables, and reporting on key metrics.Liaising with User Acquisition and Product teams to help shape features that enable successful influencer integration.Collaborating with IP partners on campaign deliverables, ensuring all content meets brand guidelines and secures necessary approvals.Drafting and maintaining campaign documentation including, but not limited to, calendars, influencer lists, and budget tracking.Contributing to campaign performance analysis by collecting data and surfacing insights to improve future executions.Assisting with budget planning and ensuring accurate tracking of spending and deliverables.Building and maintaining strong relationships with content creators and influencer agencies to ensure long-term collaboration and loyalty.Staying on top of trends in social, gaming, and creator ecosystems to inform campaign creativity and relevancy.QualificationsBaccalauréat en marketing, communications, administration des affaires ou dans un domaine connexe.Au moins 2 années d'expérience en marketing d'influence, de préférence dans les industries du jeu, de la technologie ou du divertissement.Solides compétences organisationnelles et capacité à gérer plusieurs projets et parties prenantes.Expérience de travail direct avec des influenceurs et des agences de talents.Connaissance des principales plateformes de médias sociaux (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch) et des outils de suivi des performances.À l'aise de travailler avec les données et les mesures de performances de base (engagement, portée, CPM, etc.).Excellentes aptitudes à la communication écrite et orale ; capacité à établir une relation de confiance avec les équipes internes et les partenaires et parties prenantes externes.Créativité, esprit de collaboration et désir de prendre des initiatives.Maîtrise de l'anglais requise ; le français est un atout, mais n'est pas obligatoire.***Qualifications & SkillsBachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business administration, or a related field.At least 2 years' experience in influencer marketing; preferably within the gaming, tech, or entertainment industries.Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and stakeholders.Experience working directly with influencers and talent agencies.Familiarity with all major social media platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch) and performance-tracking tools.Comfortable working with data and basic performance metrics (engagement, reach, CPM, etc.).Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to build trust with both internal teams and external partners and stakeholders.Creative, collaborative, and eager to take initiative.Fluency in English is required; French is a bonus but not mandatory.Additional InformationCe en quoi Gameloft croit :Nous jouons le jeu pour un monde meilleur. En tant que leader dans l'industrie, nous voulons utiliser le pouvoir des jeux vidéos comme une force positive au changement.En nous rejoignant, vous aurez une multitudes d'opportunités pour aider votre environnement, faire la différence et bâtir un monde plus inclusif.Nous voulons que les Gamelofteurs se concentrent sur l'essentiel: créer du fun et des jeux de haute qualité dont ils pourront être fiers de les partager avec les joueurs du monde entier.Pour vous aider dans votre rôle, nous avons mis en place les bénéfices suivants:Ce que nous offrons :Horaire flexibleVendredi après-midi de congé toute l’année!Dès votre embauche, 3 semaines de vacances et des congés mobilesCongé offert entre Noël et le jour de l'An pour bien débuter la nouvelle annéeProgramme de REER collectif avec participation de l'employeurProgramme d'assurances collectives avantageuxAccès gratuit à une clinique médicale virtuelle 24h/24, 7 jours/7Programme d'aide aux employés et à leur famille immédiateProgramme de remboursement partiel pour votre déplacement au bureau (transport en commun et/ou stationnement)Accompagnement lors de toute relocalisation pour les nouveaux collaborateurs en provenance de pays ou de régions hors QuébecProgramme de référencement avec bonusActivités et prix offerts régulièrement par le comité socialMais aussi au studio :Local à vélos sécurisé et montant offert pour encourager le transport actif (période estivale)Collations offertes quotidiennement (fruits, café, etc.)5@7 les mercredisEspaces de jeuxTerrasse sur le toitStudio à proximité du parc Jarry et des nombreux attraits du Mile-Ex et de la Petite-ItalieActivités physiques organisées à même le studio ou au parc Jarry (ex. : yoga)***What Gameloft believes in:We play the good game for a better world. As a leader in the industry, we want to use the power of video games as a force for positive change.If you join us, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to help the environment, make a difference in communities and build a more inclusive world.We want our Gamelofters to focus on what matters: creating fun and high-quality games they’ll be proud to share with our players around the world.To help you succeed in your role, we have some cool perks:What Gameloft offers:Flexible scheduleFriday afternoon off all year round!3 weeks’ vacation and mobile days off, available as of your start dateTime off between Christmas and New Year’s Day to help you start the year off on the right footGroup RRSP program with employer contributionsGreat group insurance programFree 24/7 access to a virtual medical clinicThe Employee and Family Assistance ProgramPartial reimbursement of your commuting costs (for public transit and/or parking)Support for new employees relocating from countries or regions outside QuebecReferral program with bonusesRegular activities and prizes courtesy of our Social CommitteeAnd at the studio itself:Secure bike storage room and a subsidy to encourage active transportation (during the summer)Daily snacks (fruit, coffee, etc.)Wednesday happy hoursA game roomA rooftop terraceStudio located near Jarry Park and the charming Mile-Ex and Little Italy neighbourhoodsFitness classes at the studio itself or at Jarry Park (e.g., yoga)Company DescriptionChez Gameloft nous créons des moments de joie pour nos joueurs autour du monde à travers des expériences de jeux excitantes. C'est notre mission, et cela l'a été depuis plus de 20 ans.Nous sommes les fiers créateurs d'Asphalt, Dungeon Hunter, Modern Combat et plus de 200 autres super jeux.Il y a un jeu pour tous, et nous nous élargissons maintenant avec des jeux multi-plateforme sur PC et consoles, avec des jeux tels Disney Speedstorm et Disney Dreamlight Valley, pour offrir à nos joueurs de nouvelles aventures incroyables.Avec plus de 3,400 Gamelofteurs passionnés à travers le monde, nous sommes très fiers de nos différences et nous nous appuyons sur celles-ci pour créer des jeux aussi divers que nous le sommes.Si vous cherchez un nouveau challenge, et à travailler avec une équipe passionnée et talentueuse, n'hésitez pas à rejoindre le jeu!***Here at Gameloft, we create moments of happiness for our players all over the world through exciting gaming experiences. This is our mission, and it has been the same for over 20 years. We are the proud creators of Asphalt, Dungeon Hunter, Modern Combat, and over 200 other great games.There is a game for everyone, and we are now expanding to cross-platform games on PC and consoles, with titles such as Disney Speedstorm and Disney Dreamlight Valley, to provide our players with even more amazing adventures.With more than 3,400 passionate Gamelofters across the globe, we take great pride in our differences and draw on them to create games just as diverse as we are.If you’re looking for a new challenge and want to work with a bold and talented group of people, don’t hesitate to join the game! Modifié Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

Start SlideshowStart SlideshowImage: Paramount / Konami / Ocean / KotakuApparently there’s a new Mission: Impossible movie coming out soon. But what there isn’t is a new Mission: Impossible video game, and we’d like to hear someone explain why not. It’s outrageous. The 1960s TV show has games. The first of Cruise’s movies, 1996's Mission: Impossible, has a game. (No Tom Cruise likeness in the game, though.) Why aren’t I playing the Just Cause-like gamedo exist, and wonder quietly to ourselves if that was actually a good idea.Previous SlideNext Slide2 / 12List slidesMission Impossible (1979)List slidesMission Impossible (1979)HighretrogamelordThe very first Mission: Impossible video game, albeit an unofficial one, came out in 1979. And no, that’s not a typo. Scott Adams (no, thank god, not the Dilbert one) and Irene Adams made a series of text adventures after being inspired by Scott’s colleagues who created the seminal Colossal Cave Adventure in 1976. Widely considered to be a joint founders of the entire genre, the Adamses made a series of text adventure games (what you kids now call Interactive Fiction) for the TRS-80 in the late ‘70s, one of which was originally called Mission Impossible (without the distinctive colon that’s officially in the title of the TV shows and movies).Things were a bit of a wild west back then, given that there wasn’t really a vast home gaming industry. The game featured a spy called Phelps after the main character of the original show, who begins sat in front of a tape recorder containing a message that begins much like those on the show often did. “Good morning Mr. Phelps. Your Mission (should you decide to accept it) is to prevent this automated nuclear reactor from being destroyed by a saboteur’s TIME BOMB!” Perhaps it’s not surprising that the owners of the TV show threatened legal action.This led to all manner of names ending up attached to the game, the most common being Secret Mission, which was added to the already-printed boxes via a cheaply produced gold sticker. It’s something of a joy that one of the first ever popular text adventures should be such a brazen rip-off.Previous SlideNext Slide3 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible (1990)List slidesMission: Impossible (1990)SNES drunkTempting as it is to include the fantastic Impossible Mission platform/puzzle games of the 1980s in this list, they don’t really count, though they do still feature the greatest somersaults in gaming history. So instead we jump forward to 1990, when the Nintendo Entertainment System was blessed with a game based on the short-lived 1988 reboot of the TV series. This time we have an officially licensed game, developed by Konami, that was released just in time to mark the TV version’s cancellation after just 35 episodes. (The original 60s/70s Mission: Impossible ran for 171 episodes, with Leonard Nimoy appearing in 49 of them.) The IMF team is tasked with rescuing Jane Badler’s character, Shannon Reed, along with “Dr. O,” an IMF scientist, all through the magic of top-down 1990 action.You could switch between three characters, Max Harte, Grant Collier and Nicholas Black, each with their own skills as they charged through Venice, Switzerland, and all those good Eurozone adventure locations. Previous SlideNext Slide4 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible (1991)List slidesMission: Impossible (1991)Mission: Impossible gameplay (PC Game, 1991)It’s a year later, and there’s a second licensed game from the franchise! But this time, it’s a graphic adventure! This time published by Konami but developed by Distinctive Software, makers of many a TV/movie tie-in game, this was very much an attempt to muscle in on Sierra’s territory, complete with a near lift of Sierra’s distinctive row of interaction options across the top of the screen.It was then made more complicated by playing in real-time, with four characters to control at once as you tracked down terrorists, bugged phones and infiltrated enemy HQs. Only Jim Phelps appears to have made it over from the TV shows, however, with new characters to chose from, including the extraordinarily spelt “Rodger.”What’s so surprising about this game is that I’d simply never heard of it, despite being 14 years old at the time of its release and playing every graphic adventure I could get my hands on. However, its midi rendition of the theme tune really should have made it an all-time classic. Previous SlideNext Slide5 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible (1998)List slidesMission: Impossible (1998)N64 ArchiveSlipping subtly past Micro Games of America’s 1996 dedicated handheld game based on the series, we next find the spies appearing in video games in 1998, with the Tom Cruise era of Mission: Impossible now underway. And it’s on N64 (and a year later, PlayStation). Sometimes known as Mission: Impossible - Expect the Impossible, this console game was intended to be a tie-in with the first of the Cruise-led movies. Except, keen chronologers will note, 1998 was two years after 1996.This was originally supposed to be created by Ocean, a studio famous for its movie-based games. Think RoboCop, Platoon, Total Recall, and Lethal Weapon, all improbably realized as side-scrolling action games. That wasn’t the plan this time, however—ambitions were far higher. Mission: Impossible was an attempt to create something in the style of Rare’s GoldenEye 007, and, well, it wasn’t going great.After three years in development, and the slow realization that the N64 wasn’t powerful enough for their plans, Ocean was bought by Infogrames in 1997, and a whole new team was assigned to the project. Apparently at that time, the game was running at four frames per second. Things were made harder by Viacom, owners of the film rights, refusing to let the game feature too much gun-based violence, and Tom Cruise refusing to allow his face to be in games The new team wound up crunching for months.Yet, despite all this, it went on to sell over a million copies, even though its reviews weren’t exactly great. A late ‘90s IGN went as low as a 6.6, which was about as a low a score as the site back then would give. Previous SlideNext Slide6 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible (1999)List slidesMission: Impossible (1999)CGRundertowIt was four long years between Brian de Palma’s original Tom Cruise movie and John Woo’s somewhat unlikely follow-up. So it was that as late as 1999, the Game Boy Color’s Mission: Impossible game was still based on that first film. But this time it was as all movie-based games should be: an isometric action game. Incredibly, this belated tie-in was the work of developer Rebellion, who that same year brought us the landmark Alien Versus Predator on PC, and are now best known for an infinite number of Sniper Elite games (as well as this year’s Atomfall). There were all sorts of ambitious ideas, including an entirely game-irrelevant Agent Action Kit that let you use your GBC as a calculator, address book, and a notebook that could print stuff out on your Game Boy Printer. Sadly, none of these were part of the game itself, which was deeply mediocre.Previous SlideNext Slide7 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible - Operation Surma (2003 - Game Boy Advance)List slidesMission: Impossible - Operation Surma (2003 - Game Boy Advance)LongplayArchiveMission: Impossible - Operation Surma came out in 2003 on PS2, alongside a very different and much worse version on Game Boy Advance. It seems unfair to put them into the same slide, given they’re made by entirely different developers.By this point, Infogrames had begun wearing the ill-fitting skin of the long-dead Atari, and like so many games of the era, had two lots of developers make two versions of a game with the same name. For the GBA, it was M4 Ltd, a small UK developer that seemingly only made GBA games based on existing licenses. So alongside Antz World Sportz and Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winner’s Circle, they also created the handheld incarnation of the movie tie-in.Set between the events of Mission: Impossibles 2 and III, Operation Surma finds our espionaging heroes trying to stop the evil Surma group from releasing a virus called ICEWORM which can disable any type of security system. As you’d expect, you go all over the world in your efforts, although on the GBA version you do this in painfully static 2D, rather than in the PS2 version’s 3D action. This version got an absolute kicking by the press, with Cheat Code Central stating, “I would have had more fun gluing spray-painted macaroni to my ass than playing Mission Impossible: Operation Surma on the GBA.”Previous SlideNext Slide8 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible - Operation Surma (2003 - PS2)List slidesMission: Impossible - Operation Surma (2003 - PS2)LongplayArchiveOK, so this version was far better received, although not exactly widely loved. It was, as you can tell from the video, an entirely different game from the GBA incarnation. (As I say, this was common, but didn’t always end badly. The Tony Hawk GBA games, for instance, were masterpieces.)A third-person action game, it was packed with missions, spy tech, and a big cast of characters. And, rather importantly, it was attempting not to recreate the plot of one of the movies, but rather to bridge the time between the second and third films in the franchise.Developed by Texan team Paradigm Entertainment, who were best known for the N64's Pilotwings 64, it was a perfect example of that most damned gaming territories: fine. It was fine. As 7/10 as a game can be. It tried to do loads, it had excellent ambitions, but it all just fell a little flat without ever being bad.Yet, as Zack laments, it also marked the last console-based attempt to make a Mission: Impossible game. Why? Perhaps enough average-to-bad games had convinced Atari that the license wasn’t proving likely to get results? Or perhaps people were just fed up with Tom Cruise for being such a bloody spoilsport, and not letting his face or voice appear in any of the games. (Incidentally, Ving Rhames and John Polson showed up to voice their characters in Operation Surma!)Previous SlideNext Slide9 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible III (2006)List slidesMission: Impossible III (2006)Gameplays JavaThat’s right, we get near to the end of our round-up of every Mission: Impossible game ever with 2006's Mission: Impossible III, the mobile-only tie-in for the 2006 J.J. Abrams threequel. Created by Gameloft, who have also brought us Disney Dreamlight Valley and Sexy Poker: Top Models (alongside the Asphalt franchise and a billion other mobile IPs), this game was only ever released for phones, as were numerous other licensed Gameloft games of the era.Was it any good? I don’t know! It was released for mobile only in 2006! The game’s in portrait. Pocket Gamer liked it at the time, though, and while Carolyn here on staff hasn’t played it, she’s heard good things about a number of Gameloft’s mobile-only efforts of the era.Previous SlideNext Slide10 / 12List slidesMission: Impossible -The Game (2011)List slidesMission: Impossible -The Game (2011)Mission: Impossible - The GameI don’t think anyone’s ever even heard of this web-only game from developers Funtactix, and having watched the video above, I think that may be for the best.Previous SlideNext Slide11 / 12List slidesMission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)List slidesMission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)Mission Impossible Rogue Nation - Android Gameplay HDGlu Mobile’s 2015 tie-in Rogue Nation looks like a visually impressive gallery shooter, at least. In his brief review of the game for Pocket Gamer, Ric Cowley says all that probably needs to be said about it: “If you stick with it, there’s a perfectly average game in here. But it’s so repetitive that you’ll have seen everything it has to offer in ten minutes.” It’s now been over 20 years since there was a proper Mission: Impossible game for console or PC, despite the movies being such a massive deal. As Zack correctly laments, this is a series ripe for a fantastic video game. It’s somehow never received one. Perhaps making that hypothetical, great Mission: Impossible game is the most impossible mission of all.

As we reflect on the past year, we can’t help but be proud of all that the Unity community accomplished. From award-winning masterpieces and cult hits to the pure, unadulterated joy that Trombone Champ has brought to all of our lives. Case in point…Before we move into a new year, full of new possibilities, let’s take a moment to celebrate some of your biggest achievements from the past 12 months. Thank you for being part of our story; here’s to an even better 2023!To the best of our abilities, here’s a non-exhaustive list of Made with Unity games that you released in 2022, either into early access or full release. There have been so many great titles this year, so we’ve categorized them by genre to make this list a bit more digestible and hopefully inspire some of your future projects – though, of course, some titles defy easy genre categorization (*cough* Cult of the Lamb *cough*).See any on the list that have already become favorites or know of any that we missed? Tell us about it in the forums.Rollerdrome, Roll7 (August 16)Other action titles we love include:Sanabi, WONDER POTION (June 20) [Early Access]Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, Studio MDHR Entertainment Inc. (June 30)Midnight Fight Express, Jacob Dzwinel (August 23)Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef, Rogueside (October 20)Outshine, Fishing Cactus (November 3)SIGNALIS, rose-engine (October 27)Other horror titles we love include:The Mortuary Assistant, DarkStone Digital (August 2)Hell is Others, Strelka Games, Yonder (October 20)Bendy and the Dark Revival, Joey Drew Studios (November 15)TUNIC, TUNIC team (March 16)Other puzzle adventure titles we love include:FAR: Changing Tides, Okomotive (March 1)Syberia: The World Before, Microids Studio Paris (March 18)Lost in Play, Happy Juice Games (August 10)The Spirit and the Mouse, Albune Games (September 26)LEGO® Bricktales, ClockStone (October 12)The Past Within, Rusty Lake (November 2)How to Say Goodbye, Florian Veltman, Baptiste Portefaix, and ARTE France (November 3)Somerville, Jumpship (November 14)Ghost Song, Old Moon (November 3)Other metroidvania titles we love include:Infernax, Berzerk Studio (February 14)Haiku, the Robot, Mister Morris Games (April 28)HAAK, Blingame (August 24)Moonscars, Black Mermaid (September 27)Neon White, Angel Matrix (June 16)Other FPS titles we love include:Gloomwood, Dillon Rogers and David Szymanski (September 5) [Early Access]Isonzo, M2H and, Blackmill Games (September 13)Metal: Hellsinger, The Outsiders (September 15)Prodeus, Bounding Box Software Inc. (September 23)BONELAB, Stress Level Zero (September 29)CULTIC, Jasozz Games (October 13)Cult of the Lamb, Massive Monster (August 11)Other roguelike titles we love include:Have a Nice Death, Magic Design Studios (March 8) [Early Access]Across the Obelisk, Dreamsite Games (April 8) [Early Access]Rogue Legacy 2, Cellar Door Games (April 28)20 Minutes Till Dawn, flanne (June 8) [Early Access]Necrosmith, Alawar Premium (July 13)ORX, johnbell (August 30)Alina of the Arena, PINIX (October 13)I See Red, Whiteboard Games (October 24)Ship of Fools, Fika Productions (November 22)IMMORTALITY, Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid (August 30)Other narrative-focused titles we love include:NORCO, Geography of Robots (March 24)A Memoir Blue, Cloisters Interactive (March 24)As Dusk Falls, INTERIOR/NIGHT (July 19)Hindsight, Team Hindsight (August 4)Gerda: A Flame in Winter, PortaPlay (September 1)Beacon Pines, Hiding Spot (September 22)Pentiment, Obsidian Entertainment (November 15)Dortformantik, Toukana Interactive (April 28)Other city builder and strategy titles we love include:Diplomacy is Not an Option, Door 407 (February 9) [Early Access]Farthest Frontier, Crate Entertainment (August 9) [Early Access]The Wandering Village, Stray Fawn Studio (September 14) [Early Access]Terra Invicta, Pavonis Interactive (September 26) [Early Access]Moonbreaker, Unknown Worlds Entertainment (September 29) [Early Access]Stardeus, Kodo Linija, (October 12) [Early Access]Against the Storm, Eremite Games (November 1) [Early Access]IXION, Bulwark Studios (December 7)Citizen Sleeper, Jump Over The Age (May 2)Other RPG titles we love include:Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer’s Legacy, Ludomotion (May 27)Dungeon Munchies, maJAja (July 27)Backpack Hero, Jaspel (August 22) [Early Access]I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Northway Games (August 25)Temtem, Crema (September 6)Lost Eidolons, Ocean Drive Studio (September 13)Gedonia, Kazakov Oleg (October 14)Chained Echoes,Matthias Linda (December 8)V Rising, Stunlock Studios (May 17)[Early Access]Other survival titles we love include:Arctico, Claudio Norori, Antonio Vargas (February 15)Core Keeper, Pugstorm (March 8)[Early Access]The Planet Crafter, Miju Games (May 24)Raft: The Final Chapter,Redbeet Interactive (June 20)Flat Eye, Monkey Moon (November 14)Other management titles we love include:Bear and Breakfast, Gummy Cat (July 28)PlateUp!, It’s happening (August 4)Two Point Campus, Two Point Studios (August 9)Arcade Paradise, Nosebleed Interactive (August 11)Dave the Diver, MINTROCKET (October 27) [Early Access]Aka, Cosmo Gatto (December 14)Other simulation titles we love include:Hardspace: Shipbreaker, Blackbird Interactive (May 24)Dinkum, James Bendon (July 14) [Early Access]PowerWash Simulator, FuturLab (July 14)CTRL ALT EGO, MindThunk (July 22)Disney Dreamlight Valley, Gameloft (September 6)Construction Simulator, weltenbauer. Software Entwicklung GmbH (September 20)Slime Rancher 2, Monomi Park (September 22) [Early Access]Turbo Golf Racing, Hugecalf Studios (August 4) [Early Access]Other sports or driving titles we love include:Olli Olli World, Roll7 (February 7)Shredders, FoamPunch (March 16)Blacktop Hoops, Vinci Games (April 19)[Early Access]Hot Lap League: Deluxe Edition, Ultimate Studio (August 23)You Suck at Parking, Happy Volcano (September 14)Trombone Champ, Holy Wow (September 15)Other funny titles we love include:Tentacular, Firepunchd Games UG (March 24)The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe, Crows Crows Crows (April 27)Cosmonious High, Owlchemy Labs (May 31)The Looker, Subcreation Studio (July 17)The Last Hero of Nostalgaia, Over The Moon (October 19)MARVEL SNAP, Second Dinner (October 18)Other card titles we love include:Stacklands, Sokpop Collective (April 8)Card Shark, Nerial (June 2)Card Crawl Adventure, Tinytouchtales (August 3)That’s a wrap for 2022! Want more community news as it happens? Don’t forget to follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch.

There’s something uniquely satisfying about putting down roots in a sleepy town in games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, or Disney Dreamlight Valley. Palia evolves this tradition to great effect, injecting large-scale multiplayer into that tried-and-true formula. After more than 70 hours of chopping down trees, hunting woodland critters, decorating my home, and hanging out with my fellow Palians, I’ve had a fantastic time catching up on all I’ve missed since the early days of the beta. There are beautiful regions to explore, interesting items and artifacts to craft or collect, and lots of compelling quests to complete – and the new content in the Elderwood expansion that arrived alongside its console launch added quite a bit to what was already a life-consuming vortex of coziness. That said, Palia still feels quite unfinished in some ways, with a story that abruptly cuts off right in the middle and some pretty serious bugs and performance issues plaguing it, but it’s easy to forgive much of that when you and your friends are enjoying a quiet evening of fishing together.Palia is a cozy life sim with one major tweak: you’re in an online world that occasionally compels you to come out of your shell and interact with other humans – a sometimes Herculean task for the introverts often drawn to this genre. As you explore, you’ll encounter others out in the shared world going about their business, and are encouraged (or sometimes required) to cooperate with them. For example, you’ll get a buff for fishing with others and will find magical trees that can only be chopped down with the help of one or more friends. This has led to a community that’s astoundingly positive and helpful, with the vast majority of the public chat being PSAs from players who have found a valuable resource they’d like to share with strangers, then waiting for minutes on end for everyone to assemble before collecting it as a group. I spend a lot of time playing multiplayer games defined by the community’s potent toxicity and savage greed, so this kind of culture was truly a shock to my system that took me a long time to adjust to.PlayAlthough multiplayer is its signature twist, you can still do the vast majority of Palia’s activities by yourself. There’s also just a whole heck of a lot for you to do however you decide to tackle it, all in service of building up your home and improving your relationships with the NPC townsfolk. The usual zen-like staples of cooking and catching bugs are all here and actually quite good – the fishing minigame, for example, is less mindless than you usually find in the genre, having you tug and pull on your rod as the fish leaps into the air and puts up a fight. There’s even a few less common options like hunting, where you’ll pick off poor critters who burrow into the ground and leap into trees as you pepper them with arrows. While an absence of stress is an intentional focus of Palia’s design, it sometimes tries a bit too hard to accomplish that goal, like in how your arrows will magically home in on your target incredibly aggressively, sometimes turning corners to aid your aim. I’m all for a laid back experience, but it can be a bit obnoxious when you’re trying to line up a shot and the magnetism training wheels curve your arrow toward a different creature altogether, frustrating what’s supposed to be a chill activity.Palia has a surprisingly full-featured main story as well. It has you exploring ancient ruins to uncover the truth about a world which was once populated by humans who are curiously gone now, and the dark history of magic that seemingly caused the collapse of society. This adventure is much more light-hearted than that might sound, though, and you’re mostly just given opportunities to learn about the world and hang out with the characters who accompany you on quests while you platform around and solve simple puzzles. Per Palia’s adherence to cozy virtues, none of this is particularly demanding, and the mainline quests can be completed in a matter of hours if you focus on them, but I enjoyed diving just a tad deeper into the world and the break from grinding for iron ore to craft the next piece of furniture I just couldn’t live without.The usual staples of cooking and fishing are all here, and quite good.“That said, while I quite enjoy the tale Palia tells, it feels disappointingly incomplete compared to every other aspect of the adventure – even after the Elderwood expansion arrived. The original cliffhanger ending was replaced by yet another hanging chad just an hour or two later, with a handful of chores and a brief new major dungeon spread across a surprisingly short bit of story. You’re telling me I’ve got this massive new map to explore, new creatures to hunt, and new characters to romance, but we still haven’t finished even one arc in the main plot.Thankfully, there are plenty of distractions and minigames to mix things up, like a hotpot-themed card game I spent way too much time playing, or a surprisingly intricate platforming puzzle that took me hours to master. Sometimes these experiments exceed Palia’s grasp, like the platforming sections in particular, which are held back by clunky controls that don’t seem like they were designed with precision in mind – climbing can be quite an irritating experience as your character will let go of surfaces inconsistently, sending you plummeting to your death. But the stakes in taking these spills are always very low, so there’s not much to lose aside from a bit of your time wasted. Other times, you’ll find yourself doing a sliding picture puzzle and think “y’know, this is pretty nice,” so I mostly found myself happy they took these shots nonetheless.TieGuyTravis' Favorite Cozy GamesIf you're looking for a game that pairs well with a warm blanket and a hot cup of tea, look no further than these TieGuyTravis-approved recommendations.See AllOf course, the purpose behind all these undertakings is to gain as much gold as you can to upgrade and decorate your home, and Palia’s got one of the better home building systems I’ve seen. Rather than giving you no control over the blueprint of your house like in Animal Crossing or Disney Dreamlight Valley, or making you monkey around with a building mode that has you placing individual walls like The Sims, Palia favors a modular system: You unlock schematics for pieces of a home that you can freely snap onto various parts of your building, making it easy to design the general layout without having to get lost in the weeds. Then, once you’ve built your place, you can decorate it down to the most minute detail, dragging furniture, dolls, and cups around on a grid to make it just so. I could probably spend dozens of hours on this part of Palia alone, were it not for my insatiable need for cold hard cash to fund my homestead expansion. But that desire to make your place exactly as awesome as you want it to be is a serious motivator that sent me out in search of lumber and iron ore time and time again.Those resource grinds each have their own progression systems as well, as you level up by repeatedly going out into the world and bringing back your haul of raw materials and collectibles to sell. As you plant trees and craft furniture, you’ll unlock new equipment like a loom for creating fabric or a furnace for creating glass. You’ll also get better tools to perform cozy chores with, like a hoe that lets you till land faster or a bow and arrows that will let you take down prey in fewer shots, each of which feels like a handy upgrade that shows up at exactly the right moment you start feeling a need for it. The timegating that sometimes boxes you out of marathoning through everything in other life sims is mercifully absent here for the most part, so you can move as fast or as slow as you care to.Palia has one of the better home building systems I’ve seen. “The other major pursuit in Palia is in getting to know and develop relationships with its 26 NPC residents, most of whom are really well-written and have a lot more to them than meets the eye. Most have an arc that takes place over several quests where they let you see a bit more of their personality as you forge a friendship. I quite enjoyed hanging out with the sarcastic and moody daughter of the mayor, Kenyatta, who worked the front desk with all the enthusiasm of April from Parks and Recreation – but after helping her down the extremely chaotic path of discovering what she’s passionate about in life, I grew to appreciate her in a less superficial way. Even characters I really didn't jive with like Elouisa, a cryptid-obsessed hippy who annoyed me to no end, was at least entertainingly irritating, and I’ve learned to appreciate how much her personality bothers me over time. (We’ve all got a friend like that, don’t we?) And, of course, if you’re looking for more than friendship you can partake in Palia’s quite strong dating mechanics to get yourself a girlfriend or boyfriend, or several of them – no judging here.Unfortunately, this is one area where timegating gets in the way of a good time, and is one of the only places Palia boxes you out. You’re only allowed to chat with each character once per in-game day (a 30-minute period of real time), which improves your social links a very small amount, and you can only give each character a gift once per real world day. So if you’re trying to finish a particular character’s story, you’ll have to log on with regularity and be subjected to the same rotation of brief banter before you’re able to make any real progress. This is especially painful early on when your citizenship in Kilima Village is dependent on having someone in town to vouch for you – a task that’s made impossible to do in a short span by timegating. When every other area of Palia lets you play to your heart’s content, it’s pretty annoying to see such an essential part of this slice of life block you from progressing at your own pace.The Elderwood ExpansionThe Elderwood expansion is the most recent addition to Palia, and the biggest content update since its 2023 debut by far. It adds a substantial map with several small regions to explore and interesting new enemies to hunt (like really good frog-like creatures that spit reptilian phlegm at you), and some neat gadgets and quality of life improvements to enjoy. The Elderwood region is filled with color and weird creatures, which are quite unlike the two base maps, injecting some much needed variety into the world. Some of the additions, like relics that make tracking down materials easier and new resource nodes like palium and platinum, are fantastic things to pursue if you’re like me and have already accumulated hundreds of copper and iron. There’s even a new NPC to meet, Ulfe, a wild child who has a very different vibe than the rest of the cast so far, and who I enjoyed having a series of communication breakdowns with. Elderwood certainly doesn’t rock the boat in any major way, but it’s a nice, and overdue supplement that simply offers more of the Palia I already know and love.Palia has come a long way since I first played it over a year ago, but one thing that remained true after this latest update is that it’s still missing quite a bit. Even with the beefy new Elderwood map joining the original two, the number of areas to explore is fairly small, and though they’ve got nooks and crannies for you to discover, you can more-or-less see most of what’s available in a few hours. Social features, though awesome when they happen, still feel quite slim for a game where the killer feature is supposed to be its online functionality, and there aren’t enough activities that encourage group play. And although there are quite a few options for decorating your house, surprisingly little of it can be interacted with once placed. You can’t lie in bed, turn on the sink, or really do much of anything with most objects, which sometimes made me feel like I was building a museum rather than a home. (They did add the ability to flick the light switches on and off, which is at least something.) Elderwood isn’t planned to be the final update or anything, so these are shortcomings that will hopefully be built out in the future, but I’m a bit surprised that some of them aren’t farther along all the same.The other major issue with Palia has been its bugs and performance issues, which have gotten remarkably better but are still pretty common. I quite frequently see NPCs sink into the floor, sometimes altogether hidden underground to the point where I can’t interact with them, there’s a bunch of very visible pop-in that happens while you’re running around, and loading times when traveling between each section of the map feel far longer than they should. Playing on the Nintendo Switch is especially eyebrow raising, as everything looks pretty awful and runs significantly worse, to the point where I really can’t recommend it on that platform in the same way I enthusiastically would elsewhere.

The year’s just getting started, but there’s already a lot happening. Peruse our latest monthly roundup of Made with Unity highlights to learn what’s up in the Unity community.#MadeWithUnity games reached some exciting milestones in January.To start, we celebrated the return of a classic as Colossal Cave was released in VR. Death in the Water 2 by Lighthouse Games also launched, and it’s proving to be quite a terrifying experience.Finally, it’s great to see so many Made with Unity games nominated for the upcoming Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ D.I.C.E. Awards. The nominees include:Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, IMMORTALITY, and MARVEL SNAP for Mobile Game of the YearTUNIC and NORCO for Adventure Game of the YearCosmonious High, Tentacular, and The Last Clockwinder for Immersive Reality Game of the YearMARVEL SNAP for Online Game of the YearSpiderHeck for Fighting Game of the YearDisney Dreamlight Valley, Lost in Play, and Trombone Champ for Family Game of the YearCitizen Sleeper for Role-Playing Game of the YearIXION, Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator, and Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters for Strategy/Simulation Game of the YearOlliOlli World for Sports Game of the YearNeon White for Action Game of the YearIMMORTALITY, Neon White, and TUNIC for Outstanding Achievement for an Independent GameAmong Us VR, Cosmonious High, and The Last Clockwinder for Immersive Reality Technical AchievementMARVEL SNAP and TUNIC for Outstanding Achievement in Game DesignSomerville for Outstanding Achievement in Audio DesignCuphead: The Delicious Last Course for Outstanding Achievement in AnimationIMMORTALITY and TUNIC for Outstanding Achievement in Game DirectionIMMORTALITY, NORCO, and I Was a Teenage Exocolonist for Outstanding Achievement in StoryWe share new releases or milestone spotlights every Monday through @UnityGames on Twitter.Tuesdays are dedicated to #UnityTips on Twitter. Here are two we found helpful in January:@elvismdd shared a classic tip to highlight the GameObject causing trouble@SunnyVStudio offered some nice interactive bow strings to show off in VRWe also published a recap of highlights from our 2022 developer Twitter takeovers right here on the blog. Stay tuned for plenty more throughout the year, and keep tagging us using the #UnityTips hashtag.We love all the incredible-looking projects we see using the #MadeWithUnity hashtag.Twitter’s @Vhalenn_ showcased a breathtaking world that’s worth exploring and @HakanssonAugust demonstrated some on-point camera work. Then, @inresin’s lizard friend took us on all sorts of adventures.On Instagram, @Throwdrow’s floating sword (above) looked straight out of a fantasy world, while @chibig.studio’s witch had some errands to run.We’re so excited for a new year of #MadeWithUnity, so keep adding the hashtag to your posts to show us what you’ve been up to.There were no new Creator Spotlight streams on Twitch in January, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t busy. To close out the month, we sat down with three Unity Insiders – Samyam, Andy Touch, and Code Monkey – ahead of Global Game Jam 2023 for a kickoff panel (also on YouTube) and joined the Global Game Jam team for its Day 2 Prep Week stream.In addition, we continued the revitalizing clips on YouTube with not one but four videos highlighting snippets from recent Creator Spotlight streams, including insight on layered explosions and stylized graphics in Rollerdrome, tips on building your email list from Thomas Brush (above), and the power of command buffers with JellyCar Worlds.Don’t forget to follow us on Twitch and hit the notification bell so you never miss a stream. If you miss a future Creator Spotlight live broadcast, don’t worry: We upload all streams to this YouTube playlist.On January 26, we had our first Dev Blitz Day of the year, focusing on authoring. The event was held in both the forums and the Discord server. Throughout the day, we answered more than 200 developer questions and would like to thank everyone who participated.Our next Dev Blitz Day will be held this month (February), but the date is still TBD. Keep an eye on the forums and our Discord for future announcements.Just in case you’re prioritizing vibes this season, we’ve got you covered with cozy assets for cozy games. What are “cozy games” you might ask? Read up on the emerging genre, and maybe it’ll spark some creative ideas for your next project.Plus, catch up with some of our favorite creator showcases on Twitter last month:Nordic Landscape | John Leonard FrenchWaterCausticsEffect for URP v2 | Masataka HakozakiTerraWorld SRP (Coming Soon) | ShadercrewPoly HP – Wildman | Downrain DCIf you’re using any Unity #AssetStore assets or have published assets to show off, be sure to tag us on Twitter with your latest creations. We’re excited to see what everyone creates throughout the year.Last but not least, here’s a non-exhaustive list of Made with Unity titles released in January. Do you see any on the list that have already become favorites or notice that something is missing? Tell us about it in the forums.Gorilla Tag, Another Axiom (January 1)We Are The Caretakers, Heart Shaped Games LLC (January 6)Children of Silentown, Elf Games, Luna2 Studio (January 11)LONE RUIN, Cuddle Monster Games (January 12)Surviving the Abyss, Rocket Flair Studios (January 17)Osiris: New Dawn, Fenix Fire Entertainment (January 18)A Space for the Unbound, Mojiken (January 19)Colossal Cave, Cygnus Entertainment (January 19)The Pioneers: Surviving Desolation, Supercube (January 20)Fire Emblem™ Engage, Nintendo (January 20)Catch Me!, ByteRockers' Games (January 24)NBA All-World, Niantic (January 24)Death in the Water 2, Lighthouse Games Studio (January 26)Power Chord, Big Blue Bubble (January 26)Roller Drama, Open Lab Games (January 26)That’s a wrap for January! Want more community news as it happens? Don’t forget to follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitch.