Unseen News

Unseen News

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow [PS3/Xbox 360/PC] – Beta

Yassine Bakrim
27-07-2025
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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a modern reboot of the Castlevania franchise originally developed and published by Konami. Mercury Steam managed to revamp the combat of the original franchise, injecting a well-done combat system undoubtedly inspired by several action games of that era. Not only this, but the art direction of the Lords of Shadow is nothing but a work of art. Before the game was released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC, it underwent a few changes. Most of the beta content is challenging to find, but there are a few differences and cut content we can observe below.

Images:

Videos:

This video is important as it shows a glimpse of the initial pitch of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The game was originally going to feature Simon Belmont, but that didn’t happen. Eventually, Simon Belmont, Alucard and Trevor were incorporated into Mirrors of Fate.

Below, you’ll find a couple of iterations and cut characters. One of whom looked fascinating in the design process.

Frankenstein Dracula

While attempting to create a compelling design for Lord Dracula, Mercury Steam generated a host of iterations. One of them was a Frankenstein Dracula that didn’t make it past the cutting room floor.

Menacing, bloody and gruesome are just some of the words one can use to describe these early designs of Lord Dracula. While Dracula didn’t make an appearance in Lords of Shadow or Mirrors of Fate, he was the main character of Lords of Shadow 2.

Alucard

Another character that went through various iterations was none other than the Prince of Darkness himself, Alucard. In these early designs, we can see that Alucard bore a slightly different look. That is pretty much everything I can find from the beta footage of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. 

Unseen News

Perfect Dark – Reboot [Xbox Series X/S & PC] Cancelled

Yassine Bakrim
02-07-2025
1 Comment

After years of dormancy, Perfect Dark was set to make a return, boasting stunning visuals, refined mechanics, and a fully re-imagined reboot. Unlike previous entries in the franchise, this revival wasn’t being helmed by Rare. Instead, a new studio called The Initiative was steering the wheel. The game was officially announced in 2020, and Perfect Dark fans couldn’t wait to see Joanna Dark return after years in the shadows.

Occasionally, snippets of gameplay would surface online here and there, offering brief glimpses into the project’s progress. But for the most part, Microsoft Game Studios and The Initiative never announced a concrete release date

That is, until July 2nd, 2025 — when Microsoft confirmed the cancellation of the Perfect Dark reboot and the closure of The Initiative. According to Microsoft, the cancellation was the result of a broader strategic shift and cost-cutting measures within the company. What remains now are a handful of gameplay clips and concept images of what could have been.

Videos:

Images:

Concept Images:

According to a write-up by MP1st (efrain), we can read more details about this cancelled Perfect Dark game:

“The creative vision was to reimagine the franchise while retaining the core DNA from the original Nintendo 64 title. The primary inspiration for this approach was the HBO series Westworld, which successfully reimagined a classic property for a modern audience while exploring fresh themes and concepts.

The documentation also reveals that up until at least April of this year, The Initiative was actively working on the game’s Vertical Slice 1. In game development, this term refers to a playable proof-of-concept that gives a representative idea of the final game’s quality and feel. It is mentioned too that this vertical slice belonged to “Season 1.” which could confirm previous reports claiming that an episodic format was planned for its release.

When it comes to gameplay, the documents mention several conceptual systems, such as the Relentless System and a Reward System, though only one is detailed in-depth.

This is the Adrenaline System, which would have treated adrenaline as a resource that the player would’ve regenerated over time and granted access to a variety of powerful abilities. These would have included the capacity to heal, increase damage dealt to enemies, or reduce incoming damage. We would’ve also got the ability to slow down time to dodge bullets, aim with more precision, or even increase movement speed. Killing multiple enemies in quick succession would have extended this slow-time effect, with the possibility of activating special execution animations.

The gallery also includes other concept art for locations intended for this first season, showing places like Cairo, a city that could be seen in the gameplay trailer, as well as other futuristic settings. The documentation refers to this aesthetic as “Eco Sci-Fi,” which would have combined futuristic design with a focus on sustainable, green environments.”

 
Unseen News

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams [PS2] – Beta

Yassine Bakrim
01-07-2025
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Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams is the fourth mainline instalment in the Onimusha franchise, developed and published by Capcom. This instalment revamped the combat of the previous trilogy, introduced a new main character, a new RPG system, and a different direction altogether. However, before being released to the world, the game underwent several changes. One of which I think should have remained.

Images:

Differences:

  • Different stance when absorbing souls
  • Soki can charge up his sword to execute a powerful attack (just like in the Onimusha trilogy)
  • Visible HP bar on top for your companion
  • Requiem (Sword of Purification) once had a separate magic bar
  • Different lock-on stance
  • An online co-op feature was once planned, but wasn’t really implemented

Videos:

Differences:

  • Unused Requiem attack move
  • Different Ohatsu and Tenkai fascial
  • Different transformation (bright green flames)
  • Cutscenes were originally all in CGI
  • Ban Danemon soldiers are regular Genmas
  • The Issen attack lacks special effects (usually, the screen blurs for a few seconds, and your surroundings turn dark)
  • Faster Issen attacks
  • Marcellus appears as a boss briefly in the promo trailer
  • Unused battle stage  (It is possible that it was part of the Test of Valour missions, or a boss)
  • Slightly different save portal (Likely uses one from Onimusha 3: Demon’s Siege)
  • Soki is able to charge his weapon (similar to Onimusha 3)

Other Cut Content discovered by Murad58

  

Unseen News

Rise of the Kasai [PS2] – Beta

Yassine Bakrim
25-06-2025
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Rise of the Kasai is the sequel to the Mark of Kri originally developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony in 2002. The sequel kept the fundamentals of the original and introduced a cast of new characters, villains and new goons for you to hack and slash through. Before Rise of the Kasai released in the market, there were a few beta changes that you can observe below. Oh, and an online Co-Op system was implemented early in the development of the game, but Sony cut that feature from the final release.

Videos:

Beta changes:

  • Different Tati voice
  • Different Bottle Rocket Entertainment intro (no animation with the brush)
  • Lack of Tati’s battle cry when picking healing items
  • Light blood splatter for enemies
  • Loud sneezing (enemies)
  • The Ngari level uses the Mt Bausuku theme

Images:

 
Unseen News

Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening [PS2] — Beta

Yassine Bakrim
21-06-2025
No Comments

By now, everyone has already played or heard of Devil May Cry 3. It’s a hack and slash video game and part of the Devil May Cry series that single-handedly revolutionised the genre as we know it today. However, before Devil May Cry 3 hit store shelves, it went through several changes that we can observe in this article.

Originally, when DMC 3 was unveiled at E3 2004, the red orbs, HP, Boss, and Devil Trigger HUD were slightly different. Not only this, but some dodge movements from Devil May Cry 2 were cut from the final release. Saying all this via text won’t cut it, so check the images and videos below.

Images (Pre E3 2004):

Beta changes:

  • Different Red Orbs
  • Different HP/Devil Trigger HUD
  • Slightly different graphics
  • Slightly different Beowulf and Cerberus design (Beowulf is missing his eye)
  • Different demons in the sixth picture (count from left to right)
  • Wild Stomp is not tied to Gunslinger Style
  • Using Sword Pierce with Rebellion results in Dante using Beowulf’s moves instead of the final version’s kick.
  • Different taunt dialogue
  • Unused areas
  • Different entrance to Temen-ni-gru’s main hall
  • Different mission select screen

Videos:

Beta Changes: (observed by HyperSonicXtreme on YouTube)

  • At 00:05 – No red trench coat hanging next to the door. Different door and no poster of the sexy lady on the other side of the door
  • At 0:22 – The pupils in his eyes are only looking in one direction while talking on the phone, while in the final, he’s moving them a bit more.
  • 1:36 – The tip of the pizza is bitten off in the final when he picks it up.
  • 1:01 – The Diamond Window panes on the door changed.
  • 1:10 – The wall had a lot of stuff on it in the final version, no ceiling light, no posters, no rails, etc.
  • 1:27 – Those different swords hanging on the wall are removed in the final.
  • 1:31 – Different door and a picture frame not in the final. Teen Dante’s facial expressions look different from the final.
  • 2:36 – Especially at 1:36 when he’s about to eat the pizza. Just look at those eyelids wide open and compare them to the final. He also slightly sticks his tongue out in the final when he’s about to eat it. Here, it’s just a wide-open mouth. The Pizza Box. (Pizza 1 box with different font changed to just Pizza) Changed the phone and chair design. The pool table looks different. (They changed it from green to red.)
  • Pause at 2:51. When Teen Dante puts the gun in the demon’s mouth, it’s a different demon design. No glowing red eyes, brown cloth, plus the fingers holding the gun look weird. In the late 2004 trial version (When getting the Japanese Biohazard Outbreak File #2 game), they had glowing white eyes with a cracked vertical face. Just watch Devil May Cry HD Collection: DMC 3: Special Edition First 11 Minutes HD – YouTube.
  • Pause at 6:16 for the comparison. The 3-headed Demon Dog Cerberus boss face, eyes and teeth look different.

My observation:

  • At 9:12 – It’s a completely different dodge. It likely uses the same move from Devil May Cry 2.
  • Different enemy design
  • Different Style meter
  • Different coat physics
  • Different Sword Pierce animation
  • Different Dante’s face and animation at 1:37
  • The enemies that attack Dante in the beginning are different
  • Drive moveset lacks the red charge.
  • At 7:45 – Different environment
  • At 7:59 – Different environment
  • At 8:40 – Attacking Hell Wrath with Rebellion is possible
  • At 8:58 – Different screen