Josef Fares made his video game directorial debut in 2013’s Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, a touching adventure game where the player controls two brothers, each mapped to one of the console’s analog sticks. The game was a critical and commercial hit, telling an emotional story through unique game design that earned it multiple awards and Game of the Year nominations. Fares became a true industry icon in 2017, however, where he went off script during a segment promoting his next game, A Way Out, at The Game Awards, resulting in the beloved “F**k the Oscars” speech that cemented his outspoken personality as a game director.
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While both A Way Out and It Takes Two share similar DNA as split screen co-op only action games that constantly blend genres, Fares has claimed in an interview with VGC that his next game will be something completely different. Talking about his next game, which he was allegedly uncharacteristically coy regarding, Fares says that his studio Hazelight’s next title will be a “surprise but in a good way”. Fares also confirmed that he will be attending The Game Awards this year, however, the interview notes that Fares “stops short of confirming he’ll show what’s next on Geoff Keighley’s stage.”
While this isn’t outright confirmation that Hazelight’s next game will be present at The Game Awards 2022, the game has been in development for a year and a half following the release of It Takes Two, and just last month Fares posted an image on Twitter of himself with two actors in motion capture suits captioned “Sneak peek of the next game.” This would at least set the expectation that Fares is gearing up to discuss his next project sooner rather than later.
The interview also confirms that, similarly to how Game of the Year winner The Last of Us Part 2’s director Neil Druckmann presented 2021’s Game of the Year award at The Game Awards, Fares will be presenting the Game of the Year award at the ceremony this year. This ensures that more of Fares’ eccentricities are guaranteed for the show on December 8th.
It Takes Two is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Nintendo Switch version releases on November 4th.
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Source: VGC
