Gamestop's Stock Saga, The Medium arrives, Resident Evil 4 Remake Rumors, and more! - Renegade Arcade #12

What’s up, y’all, and welcome to another episode of the Renegade Arcade! We recorded this episode last week, so I owe everyone a mea culpa for not posting this in a timely fashion. That said, in this installment, Brock, Tyler, and I chat about the Gamestop Stock Saga, which pitted amateur Reddit investors versus the Wall Street hedge funds, and the billionaires got taken down a peg. Hooray! Also on tap, we have recent releases like Bloober Team’s The Medium and IO Interactive’s Hitman III, some tidbits about the rumored Resident Evil 4 remake, and the eternal joke-generator that is Cyberpunk 2077. Once more unto the remote hacking breach, my friends!

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Tyler, Brock, and Keona are back again with episode 12 of the Renegade Arcade! We have tons of amusing news stories, naughty Cyberpunk parody names, Tomb Raider's 25th Anniversary, rumors about a Resident Evil 4 remake, some recent releases like The Medium and Hitman III, and finally, we chat about the Gamestop Stock Saga, which is already being made into a movie or two.

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Again, guys, I apologize for being late with this one, and as such, I shall keep these show notes brief and let you get to the episode. First, let’s talk about recent releases. The Medium released last week for PC and Xbox Series S/X, and it’s a pretty neat title! I like that it’s primarily a next-gen game, as we should be seeing more of those become available now that the Series S/X and the PS5 are out in the wild. The third-person narrative horror thriller puts you in the role of Marianne, a psychic medium who helps to ward deceased people’s souls into the afterlife. It’s a very cool idea (at first it reminded me of that old CBS series with Patricia Arquette) and the idea of playing a single character who is traversing both the real world and the “spirit domain” simultaneously is a neat way to show off the power of the Series X and PC. On the negative side, the game is less outright scary and more creepy, with less survival horror-type gameplay, and more of a focus on a central murder mystery/thriller narrative with horror elements added in. Additionally, the game is third-person, but with fixed camera angles, so players who grew up on more modern survival horror titles like the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes may find themselves less than impressed with the static perspectives this game offers. Still, based on what I’ve played so far, it’s worth a run-through, especially if you can get it through Xbox Game Pass.

IO Interactive’s Hitman III has now been out for almost two weeks and continues to sell well. Stealth/action players will find lots to love here, even with just the first level, as the mission set in a luxurious sky-rise in Dubai offers a multitude of ways to progress and take out your targets. It’s a visually stunning game, too, especially on next-gen platforms and PC. Visual fidelity is great, there are very few graphical bugs, and it feels like a well-optimized experience to play through, which is something that seems more rare than ever these days. Pick it up if you’re a fan of the franchise or just looking for something to tide you over before Resident Evil Village arrives.

Speaking of the tall vampire lady simulator, Capcom released a statement last week following the sad news that 39 year old actress Jeanette Maus has passed away. She played various characters in the game, according to the developer, and was noted for her performances as Lady Dimitrescu’s daughters, the Witches. She also taught and mentored young aspiring actors, and had an on-camera acting career as well. Our deepest condolences to her friends and family during this time of mourning. She will be missed. RIP.

In other RE news, Video Games Chronicle has reported that Capcom has overhauled its plans to develop the rumored (but not confirmed) remake of Resident Evil 4. After the negative backlash surrounding the Resident Evil 3 remake (which I honestly enjoyed), Capcom has decided not to utilize development studio M-Two, which is headed up by former PlatinumGames lead Tatsuya Minami, and will instead turn over development duties to its own Division 1 production studio. M-Two was responsible for the RE3 remake, which drew criticism for missing substantial amounts of content from the original release, as well as some subpar gameplay elements, like a redundant hospital level late in the game and heavily-scripted Nemesis appearances. Meanwhile, Capcom’s Division 1 developed the more well-received Resident Evil 2 remake, which featured a more robust campaign and additional gameplay elements, like the ability to shoot zombie’s limbs off and sever them before moving in for a close-quarters kill, as well as more spontaneous appearances by the game’s heavy, Mr. X. VGC reiterates that the RE4 remake is still only rumored to be in development by Capcom, and the publisher has not actually confirmed its existence. Yet.

Tomb Raider is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, which makes me feel extremely old, and Eidos is planning a wide-ranging party for Lara Croft and her legacy. While no new game has been announced, the publisher has promised that the next title in the franchise will bridge the gap between the prequels (Tomb Raider, Rise, and Shadow) and the original games, which is pretty neat. I mean, I think Lara has risen to Tomb Raider status more than enough times already. Also, Alicia Vikander is going to star as Lara in another movie, which… thank the powers that be! I loved her in the first one, even though the plot was weak.

Finally, we did go over the Gamestop stock saga at the top of the show, which I won’t really go into here, since I’m no expert. Instead, I’ll link to this article, which was a good deep dive. Also, here’s some memes. And Jon Stewart finally joined Twitter to weigh in on the controversy! And here’s a collection of other podcasts on the Stonk Saga. Yay.

We covered so much more news on this episode, but I’ll leave that for you to discover, as well as all of our thoughts on Cyberpunk porn parody names. Because we’re naughty, and breathtaking (“No, you’re breathtaking!” screams Keanu in the distance)! Alright, Renegades, we shall see you all in a few days! Be safe out there, and comment below and let us know how we’re doing. See ya!

-Neoplasmic