News
Ratings Board Leaks Another ‘Dead Island’ Spin-off
Deep Silver has made numerous attempts to bring Dead Island to a wider audience, and none have been particularly successful. That’s not to say the string of pseudo-sequels and spin-offs we’ve seen since the series made its debut half a decade ago haven’t built up any momentum, because they most definitely have, but in a general downhill direction.
Dead Island could use a savior, but it might have to make do with something called Dead Island: Retro Revenge if we’re to believe a listing spotted earlier this week on the Australian and Brazilian ratings boards for a Mature-rated computer game with “online interactivity” and “bloody violence.”
The listing also mentions San Diego-based Empty Clip Games as the developer, and PC, PS4 and Xbox One as the target platforms. Empty Clip hasn’t shipped a game since the release of their stylish shoot ’em up Symphony in 2012, but an update on their website mentions multiple game announcements to look forward to this summer. One of those games may be Retro Revenge.
I have serious doubts that another spin-off is what this series needs right now, but I will absolutely be rooting for this game to prove me wrong.
Riptide would’ve made for a better expansion than the barely budget-priced — it was $50 — Dead Island 1.25 we ended up getting, and since the only decent spin-off went offline in October, we’re left with Escape Dead Island, and that game was so bad it made me angry.
At this point, I can’t tell if Deep Silver genuinely wants to make a good Dead Island game, or if they recognized its death rattles and are desperate to milk that cash cow before it tips over.

News
Legendary Grimdark ‘Warhammer 40,000’ Artist John Blanche Has Passed Away at 78
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.




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