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The Verge
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
With FBC: Firebreak, Remedy wants to tell a different kind of story
Finnish studio Remedy is best known for its single-player action games, like the survival horror of Alan Wake and the supernatural thriller Control. With FBC: Firebreak, the developer is going in a different direction. It's the studio's first multiplayer release: a three-player co-op shooter set in the universe of Control. But while it won't have the more traditional cinematic storytelling the studio has become known for, that doesn't mean Remedy is abandoning its narrative roots. Instead, it is trying to explore them in a new genre. 'This game actually has quite a bit of narrative design thinking in it, especially because there is not a lot of room for direct storytelling,' says game director Mike Kayatta. Firebreak is set a few years after the events of Control, after which a building known as the Oldest House — the NYC headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, a government organization that investigates the supernatural — was sealed off to prevent a deadly force called the Hiss from getting out. But there were still people inside. While many of them were FBC bureaucrats and office workers, Firebreak follows members of the titular emergency unit, who serve as the first responders keeping everyone else (relatively) safe. That means venturing out into the Oldest House to fix machinery, eradicate the Hiss, and investigate other paranormal situations. Also, there are a lot of sticky notes, and you have to shower quite a bit. I was able to play through a few missions of Firebreak at Remedy's offices, and the game feels very different from the studio's previous work. It's a first-person shooter that relies heavily on cooperation. In each mission, you and two other players are let loose in the Oldest House to complete specific goals; in one of them, we had to repair the machinery that controlled the building's ventilation, and in another we had to clear away a growing wave of sticky notes that covered every surface. In some cases, the missions had multiple layers to them. After clearing out the sticky notes, for instance, we eventually fought our way to a gigantic boss monster made of even more stickies. In some ways, Firebreak seems like a traditional multiplayer shooter. You can equip different types of guns, toss grenades, and you're often up against hordes of the Hiss, which behave a lot like swarming zombies. As you progress, you earn currency to put toward upgrading your gear, and you can purchase new skins and sprays like in Fortnite. Each player also has to select a 'crisis kit,' which includes both special abilities — like letting you jump high in the air — as well as specific tools. One has a wrench for repairing machines, while another has a hose for putting out fires. In my brief experience, the game's structure necessitated coordination. You can't just run into the Oldest House, guns blazing, and expect to survive. Over voice chat, my team was constantly yelling directions and warnings at each other, giving a heads up that a fresh wave of Hiss was coming or sending the person with the right tool to repair something. Often, these repairs were life-or-death necessities. Scattered around each level were facilities to refill your ammo or shower (which removes status ailments and also replenishes your health), but they often lacked power, meaning you couldn't get bullets or health until you got them up and running. It was a chaotic mess (in a good way), but as with Control, what struck me most about Firebreak was the world itself. It's just so delightfully weird, infusing a bland office space with a sinister tone. Office cubicles become cover in shootouts, while those sticky notes are like an invasive species, smothering everything — including you, if you can't make it to a shower in time. Unlike Control, however, Firebreak is reliant almost entirely on its world to tell the story. There are no cutscenes to watch or audio logs to uncover. Instead, you sort out what's happening by being in this place, and both listening to the little bits of chatter between characters and observing the state of the Oldest House. Or you can try to suss it out anyways, but I'm still not sure why a giant rubber duck started following me in one level. Kayatta likens this storytelling technique to hearing stories from firefighters in the field. 'We're not telling a beginning to end story,' he explains. 'A lot of that is because the people inside the game are talking to themselves, and they're filling that narrative space for us.' The decision was made in part so as not to interrupt a bunch of friends playing together, letting you and your co-op partners fill in the space with your own chatter. But the structure is also designed to help Firebreak work for two audiences simultaneously: Control fans and newcomers. 'The important thing for us is that if you played Control, you signed up for a single-player, exploration, character- and story-focused experience,' Kayatta says. 'It was super important that we didn't say, 'Ha ha, curve ball, now you need to go find two friends and play a cooperative game that is a totally different genre from a different perspective.' That feels terrible. Those people need to be protected so that they can go from Control 1 to Control 2 and experience the journey that we promised them. And we are absolutely going to make that happen. On the other hand, we also want this to be rewarding and fulfilling for them [if they do play Firebreak ].' Meanwhile, he says that 'then you have what we hope is a large audience who actually has never played Control … we wanted to make sure that they could understand the world and didn't feel the constant pressure to go back and play Control.' That means a balancing act between having enough narrative to be interesting to new players and feel distinctly Remedy, but without so much direct storytelling that Firebreak becomes required reading for anyone waiting to jump into Control 's sequel. And if you do want to dig further into things like the Hiss or what an Altered Item is, you can always play the original Control or dig into a Wiki (or maybe one day watch a movie or show). When it comes to how much you want to dig into Firebreak 's narrative, Kayatta says that they 'want it to be up to you.' No matter which way you look at it, Firebreak is a big departure for Remedy. It's a new genre, an expansion into multiplayer, and the studio's first self-published game as it attempts to take more ownership of its own franchises. It's an opportunity to expand in a new direction while still attempting to stay true to what a Remedy game is. 'Forever we have had these very controlled single-player experiences, and we will continue to do that,' Kayatta says. 'But we ask the question with Firebreak: what is it like to share one of those spaces with your friends?'
Digital Trends
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
I'm already having a blast with FBC: Firebreak's creative co-op action
As I fought a giant sticky note monster deep within the executive offices of the Federal Bureau of Control, I found quiet solace in the fact that Remedy Entertainment hadn't lost any of its quirky, wildly creative charm with its new cooperative first-person shooter FBC: Firebreak. Whenever a studio known for excellent single-player adventures branches out and tries something different, it always feels like a toss-up as to whether or not it'll succeed. Situations like Rare and Sea of Thieves stand as success stories, while disasters like Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League serve as cautionary tales. Fortunately, after going hands-on with the game for three hours, it feels like FBC: Firebreak is going to be the former, not the latter. Recommended Videos The studio's lack of experience with the genre can be seen in things like UI clarity, but for the most part, this is a cooperative shooter that thrives thanks to satisfying gun play and creative mission design that takes full advantage of Remedy's wacky connected universe. FBC: Firebreak is a game I already want to go back and play more of, which is a good sign after just a few hours of hands-on. In FBC: Firebreak, players control volunteers clearing out supernatural threats that have overtaken The Oldest House. Players complete different jobs in teams of three, completing special mission-specific objectives before returning to the elevator and leaving. It occupies the same space as games like Left 4 Dead and Deep Rock Galactic, which is a smart move for Remedy rather than trying to make a name for itself in the competitive extraction shooter or battle royale spaces. Each player can equip a different kit associated with a different element. I used the Jump Kit, which centers around electrocuting enemies. A good team composition would also include a kit that could get enemies wet, as that increased the area of effect for my electrical abilities. Different situations in each of FBC's levels impact the elements at play. A fiery grenade can set off a sprinkler, staying near a furnace for too long can cause heat damage, or holding radiated leech pearls for too long could poison me. A lot of the fun in FBC comes from the interplay of all these elements, and I was cheering when my squad could pull off a devastating enemy combo. The gunplay of FBC also feels tight so far, with the machine gun becoming a favorite of mine due to how the gun animated as I fired it. As someone who was disappointed by only being able to wield a pistol in Control, I appreciate that FBC lets me use some of the other weapons I've seen in that world. FBC is at its strongest when it leans into the Remedy of it all. Exploring the furnace from a new angle made me more intimately familiar with the area, while level conceits like sticky note monsters or growths on a wall that drop radioactive pearls are supernatural in a way that only quite works in Remedy's Connected Universe. I'm also grateful that this hands-on affirmed that FBC has strong mission design. The weakness of many co-op shooters, like Suicide Squad, is that missions often just boil down to killing a certain number of enemies and moving on. FBC is never quite that simple, having players move a shuttle along a track as they collect pearls or run around the furnace activating generators as hordes of enemies charge at players. The objectives change as players increase the difficulty, which should add some more replay value. FBC isn't like other cooperative shooters, and that's its greatest strength. It's also why I hope it'll allow me to overlook some of Remedy's growing pains as it enters the multiplayer space with a new interpretation on the world of Control. During my time with FBC, there were some UI and UX clarity issues. For instance, I had trouble understanding which enemies were damaging me. One objective, which had my team filling barrels with a substance before throwing them into a giant furnace, was confusing because it wasn't completely clear which barrels were filled or where we could fill them. In a debrief before my demo, Remedy said it was working on making features, systems, and UI clearer, so hopefully some of that will be resolved before launch. If it can clean all of that up, though, Remedy has what could be a gem of a multiplayer shooter on its hands. As someone subscribed to both of the services FBC is launching onto, I'm eager to give it another shot when it comes out. FBC: Firebreak launches for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on June 17 and will be available from day one as part of the PS Plus Premium and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalogs.
Daily Record
12-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Cost of East Kilbride railway enhancement works rockets to £144million
The original estimate for the cost of the work was between £100m and £120m. The final bill for the East Kilbride Enhancement Project has rocketed to £144million. The major infrastructure project to electrify the train line between East Kilbride and Glasgow train line is expected to be completed this December. Since January, specialist teams have been working around-the-clock to install the new infrastructure needed to power electric trains as part of a £140million investment by the Scottish Government. So far during the closure Network Rail has double-tracked 1.4km of railway between East Kilbride and Hairmyres, installed over 22km of overhead electric power lines, erected new footbridges at Busby, Clarkston and Giffnock stations, renewed the railway bridge over East Kilbride Road in Busby and lowered the track under three key bridges. Engineers are finishing the installation of new signalling systems on the route and are working towards completion of the new Hairmyres station. The train line is scheduled to reopen on May 18 following a 16-week closure. The original estimate for the cost of the work was between £100m and £120m but this was later revised to £139.8m. The new £144million figure was mentioned in a letter to Richard Leonard, convener of Holyrood's public audit committee by director general of the Scottish Exchequer Alyson Stafford. Ms Stafford said that the additional cost was mostly due to Transport Scotland having to contribute towards the car park at a new relocated station in Hairmyres, East Kilbride. She said: "The Original Business Case (OBC) outlined that total project cost was estimated to be £100m to £120m and that it was estimated to be operational in December 2024. "The Full Business Case (FBC) outlined that total project cost was estimated to be £139.8m and that it was estimated to be operational in December Anticipated Final Cost is now £143.7 million which is an increase to that at FBC and as previously reported." The work also includes a new accessible footbridge at Giffnock station and a new station entrance at Clarkston. The existing track will also be lowered near Busby, Clarkston and Giffnock stations for new overhead line equipment. A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: "Unfortunately SPT could not fulfil its contribution with the withdrawal of its capital grant funding last financial year. "The electrification of the East Kilbride to Glasgow Central line is part of the Scottish Government's plans to decarbonise Scotland's rail passenger services by 2035. A Network Rail Scotland spokesperson added: 'Our engineers have been working around-the-clock to deliver the enhancements at East Kilbride as quickly as possible, and we remain on course to deliver the electrification of the railway on time and to budget. "We have been working with multiple partners to deliver this significant package of works, including the construction of a new station building at Hairmyres. Further funding has been provided by Transport Scotland to enable South Lanarkshire Council to deliver a new station car park, which will support more members of the public to utilise the railway. "We are looking forward to welcoming passengers back onto the railway, as planned, on Sunday, May 18." And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
Scotsman
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Party Rings makes major change and sends fans rushing to Asda
Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC) has unveiled a major change for its much-loved Party Rings range, with the iconic biscuit being re-shaped for the first time in the brand's 42-year history. Under The Sea Minis offer the much-loved iced shortcake taste of a Party Ring, in fun fish shapes. The tasty new treats are available now at Asda in packs of six mini bags for just £1.50. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Hundreds of people flocked to a Snack News and Reviews Facebook post to tag their friends and family to let them know the news, saying 'OMG we have to get them', 'I actually need these' and 'you better get me several packs.' Others said the products were 'cute' and 'adorable' - another simply commented 'Hell Yeah.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Parents have also shared how great they think the products would be for parties, with one social media user saying, 'we need these for any future parties'. The launch has even sparked debate among super fans, with one user saying, 'but they're not rings though?!' Under the Sea Mini Party Rings come in 6 mini bags Commenting on the launch, Davina Valetti Marketing Controller of Party Rings said: 'Under the Sea Minis is an exciting milestone for the Party Rings brand. It's not every day you change something that's been loved for over 40 years – but we think people are going to be pleased with what we've done. We're still bringing the party, just with a fun new twist.'
Metro
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Party Rings biscuits are getting a drastic new look after 42 years
Since 1983, a buffet table at a child's party hasn't been complete without a plate full of brightly coloured ring-shaped biscuits. Party Rings burst onto the biscuit scene 42 years ago and the icing topped shortcakes have proved a hit with kids and adults alike ever since. Over the last four decades, the iconic sweet and crunchy treat has changed ever so slightly, with Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC – the company behind the brand), launching mini and chocolate versions of the biscuits. But for the very first time in its history, Party Rings just got a brand new shape – and it's not round. The iced biscuits have been re-shaped to look like fish in new Party Rings Under The Sea Minis. Sold in a multi-pack of six mini bags, the biscuits are available now in Asda for £1.50. Speaking about the launch, Davina Valetti the marketing controller of Party Rings said: 'Under the Sea Minis is an exciting milestone for the Party Rings brand. It's not every day you change something that's been loved for over 40 years – but we think people are going to be pleased what we've done. 'We're still bringing the party, just with a fun new twist.' This isn't the only change that's been made either, as the brand also recently started making a limited-edition Strawberry flavour. These can be found in Home Bargains, Farm Foods, Poundland and Iceland for 90p per pack. Shoppers are already going wild over the new look Party Rings after snaps of the packs were shared on social media, hailing them 'cute' and 'adorable'. On Facebook, on the Snack News & Reviews page, people were quick to say they would 'love' to try the biscuits. Helen Marshall claimed they'd be perfect as a snack on a seaside holiday, as Lisa Sims wrote: 'OMG these are too cute.' 'I know a little girl who would love these,' proclaimed Kirsty Moore, and Seana Deacon shared: 'Need to get a few packs of these'. More Trending Elsewhere on Facebook, some were baffled by the new shape and the choice to still call them 'Party Rings'. Jade Delbridge-Bays pointed out: 'They're not really party rings they're party fish.' And Nick Dunger agreed, commenting: 'But they aren't ring-shaped. I'm confused.' Cara Love wasn't very impressed with the new product, saying: 'So sad, they look terrible. Bring back Mini Party Rings.' View More » But not all those who were sceptical were opposed to trying them, with Liz Goff adding: 'Omg that's not party rings… but I might still have to get some to check them out.' Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Mega new supermarket is launching in UK that's like 'Tesco and Amazon Prime combined' MORE: Beloved Sega Mega Drive series is coming back with remasters and a new sequel MORE: Cadbury fans go wild over new twist on 'top tier' chocolate bar
