Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered Coming Later this Year!

     #JoinTheGhostbusters!

     It looks like Ghostbusters fans are in for quite a treat.  This year marks both the 35th anniversary of the franchise and the 10th anniversary of The Video Game itself.
     In recent years there's been a plethora of Ghostbusters mobile games and a few console games, but none of them have truly captured the spirit of the franchise so special in the first place, and this fact is made so much more obvious as when playing Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

     According to the official Saber Interactive announcement:

     Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered delivers a unique story from Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis that captures the supernatural comedic fun and fright fans love from the franchise, which celebrates the 35th anniversary of Ghostbusters this year. 

     As the new rookie on the Ghostbusters crew, you’ll team up with your favorite characters from the films, reunited by the voices of Aykroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson as Stantz, Spengler, Venkman and Zeddemore, alongside Annie Potts, Brian Doyle-Murray, William Atherton, and Max von Sydow. Manhattan is overrun once more by ghosts, demons, and other paranormal creatures unleashed by a mysterious force, and only the Ghostbusters can drive this evil back to whatever dimension it crawled from and save the Big Apple. 

     Hunt, fight and trap a variety of new and familiar ghouls and phantasms, all remastered in HD resolution. Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered equips you with cool gadgets and upgradeable weapons to play with in huge boss fights and destructible environments. Scan and analyze targets with the P.K.E. Meter and Paragoggles, then strap on your Proton Pack to wear ghosts down with the blast stream before wrangling them with the capture stream.

     There's a reason many fans consider The Video Game as third film despite it being removed from official canon.  It plays well, it's got a great story, and it was made by the original crew.
     The 2016 Ghostbusters game was a mere reskin of 2011's Sanctum of Slime, the Ghostbusters: Lego Dimensions game is the standard LEGO game kind of fun, there's a generic puzzle game Ghostbusters: Puzzle Fighter, for a time the small side-scrolling, gem of a platformer titled Little Ghostbusters was available, and a low key kids game PLAYMOBIL Ghostbusters, then there was the mediocre Ghostbusters: Slime City, as well as the strange augmented reality game Ghostbusters: Paranormal Blast which was essentially remade by a better company into Ghostbusters World.  There's even an augmented reality VR game by Sony Interactive called Ghostbusters: Now Hiring, which is yet another mundane game for mobile devices.  In addition there was a bunch of content added to the Respawnables from the Ghostbusters franchise that was surprisingly well done.

     Sadly, the best game the franchise has ever produced was Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and now we get it as a wonderful remaster by Saber Interactive.  We can only hope that as we close in on Jason Reitman's new Ghostbusters film (slated to release on July 10th, 2020) we might see some new games, mobile or otherwise, that are up to the high quality of The Video Game.

Good news Ray, the Remaster is staring right at me.

     Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered is coming to PS4, XBox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via the Epic Game Store later this year.

     The official site [ Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered ]

     Related Posts [ Ghostbusters ]

Square-Enix Montreal: The GO Franchise is Gone

     Last Friday Canadian developer Square-Enix Montreal's head Patrick Naud told PCGamesInsider.biz that the studio would no longer be producing games in the GO franchise, as it's becoming difficult finding ways to monetize premium games in an ever evolving mobile marketplace.  They are looking to not only find a new model to bring players their premium quality games, but finding ways of keeping them engaged with them.

     Despite the fact that a great majority of Square-Enix Montreal's revenue was generated through the up-front premium price, they seem to want to steer things away from pushing players to the store, or flooding them with advertisements to purchase things on their mobile titles.

     Naud explains the situation as:

     "The Go series was a great adventure for us as a studio. We've done the three games, we've seen the wind. The hardest element is making premium games on mobile. 

     It's one of the challenges we have today is the premium mobile market is diminishing. You've got more and more high-quality free titles so there are even fewer and fewer people inclined to try something that will not be free. 

     Despite the critical success and the great revenue we've had, it's sad to see that our games are only played by a small slither of the population because of the price point. That's such a big barrier for mobile users. A lot of people consume mobile games only and they have all these options, all these games; why should they invest money in this one unless they're very convinced? 

     That doesn't mean they won't spend in-game, but they want to spend on a game that they're sure they're going to like. The perception of choice makes it that even if it's only $5, that's too much."

     Square-Enix Montreal's goal is to make money in a way that players won't feel forced into paying for IAPs.  It should, rightfully, be something players aren't led to hitting a wall in the game.  The plan is to focus on designing games that use a "service-based" direction.
     They'll be attempting to avoid damaging players experience through offering things such as speeding up progression, extra levels of service like the hint system the GO games had, an "Undo Button" to avoid having to replay an entire puzzle over again after making a mistake, or- tying to the fact that users that spend on IAPs tend to have a much higher engagement and lengthening the games longevity- create things like Deus Ex GO's puzzle editor.  It allows for infinite replayability by letting users create, share, and challenge each other greatly extending the length the game will last and enabling better player retention in the long run.

     Luckily enough for us, Square-Enix Montreal's intention is to find a new way to bring us not just the quality, high-end premium games, but ones that lead the way with brand new concepts for others to follow.

     "The focus is still tailoring high-end, high-quality pristine mobile experiences 

     If we are to work on a known IP, our treatment will somewhat reinvent that IP. If we are to work on a new genre, our treatment - I hope - will be a style that's cloned by everyone else.

     There's still the ambition of crafting the best games in the industry. If we keep that as part of our DNA, we're going to engage users for years and years to come, which is the plan now."

     Hitman GO, Lara Croft GO, and its DLC The Shard of Life, as well as Deus Ex GO were all beautifully spartan games- simple gameplay and and tremendously reduced aesthetic and design for a decent price- but the time has come for the studio to move on due to financial viability.  This comes as a bit of a surprise, as it's been over a year and a half since the release of Deus Ex GO, and both Just Cause GO and Life is Strange GO even had domains registered.
          It would've been cool to see a Thief or Murdered: Soul Suspect adapted to the GO design, along with some intriguing new mechanics and story potential, but honestly this shift away from the franchise opens up an opportunity for a completely new and original type of game.  Perhaps a new installment in the Mana series, a new type of game akin to Vagrant Story as an action title, or a mobile 3rd person adventure game in the Legacy of Kain saga.  This offers immense possibility for the future of their mobile-focused lineup through even better innovations and ideas than they've previously brought us- just as they did by taking the Hitman franchise in a completely new direction with GO.  That one departure from previous form spawned numerous isometric-puzzler clones Ghosts of Memories, The Hacker 2.0, and even Star Wars: Heroes Path, and we can only hope they can revitalize other series' with as much ingenuity.

    Sources [ PocketGamer & 2 ]

Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm Small Update

     It's been nearly a year since I covered the announcement of Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm, and almost 8 months since the first gameplay trailer was revealed.  Well, yesterday the 5 man development team of Cornfox & Bros. gave us a tiny update via their blog and at the Touch Arcade forums assuring us that they are still hard at work crafting a vast and beautiful open world game for our enjoyment.

     These images are iPhone screenshots, and show off exactly how much better this game looks compared to the original.  They picture the Capital, and "The Grand Core"- a city-sized machine at the heart of the Capital.

     Cornfox & Bros. promise to bring us many more updates and videos as the game progresses in development- they've been hard at work, explaining that, "We have been building an adventure! More gameplay, more story, more levels, more worlds."
     The first game was great, and this one looks to surpass it in every way possible- Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm is a title to keep an eye on for sure.

     Source [ Oceanhorn 2 Dev Blog ] via [ TouchArcade ]

Dark Souls Remastered: Might Actually be Happening (Confirmed by Original Reporter)

[ UPDATE ] Apparently there's been some more confirmations to Original Tweet (& Deleted link), and Sellers also noted that two games were specifically the Dark Souls Remaster and Soul Calibur 6- as well as the fact they are NOT exclusives to the Switch.

     Dark Souls as a series might be over, but many fans (including myself) have been begging for a remastered version of the original (as well as one for Demon's Souls) for a very long time over on Reddit and elsewhere.
     Over the last few months there have been rumors circulating that one indeed may be on the way, and recently we got news of the Demon's Souls servers finally closing down after almost a decade.  Then yesterday Nintendo Switch Network writer Marcus Sellers accidentally revealed some juicy news.

     In a tweet he posted, he let it slip that at a December 15th Bandai-Namco event that "5 unannounced games would be shown off." In addition Nintendo would be featured heavily.
     What makes this even better is he replied to another person's tweet revealing the news of the Dark Souls Remaster- which has since been deleted, but thanks to the ever vigilant internet dwellers, it was screen-capped and saved.

     The tweet mentioned the fact that the 2011 game re-released in Remastered form would be coming to not only the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, but the Nintendo Switch as well.  If Seller's tweet is true, then all of us Souls fans can once again return to Lordran in all of its glory and splendor with a completely new and beautiful journey into darkness.*

     I'm sure many are hoping to also hear an official announcement of a Bloodborne sequel (personally if they do, I hope it's in a far futuristic setting like a Dead Space game), some Armored Core news, and the like, but for me- a Dark Souls Remaster is exactly the news I've been waiting for.  Improved graphics, a more balanced PvP connectivity, and better controls would be a godsend for the game.  When I say better controls- I do NOT mean the infinite rolling of the 3rd game, just a smoother flow and slightly less clunky as the methodical combat of the first game is still unmatched in its perfection.  This remaster could revitalize the entire Souls community.

     Related posts [ Dark Souls ]

     Source [ Seasoned Gaming ] via [ ComicBook ] & [ Reddit ]

*My Ps3 trophies from when DS1 first arrived. Such great memories.

THQ Nordic Releases Titan Quest: Ragnarok: A Whole NEW Expansion Pack

     In a completely surprising move, THQ Nordic has not just announced, but released a brand new expansion to the action-adventure RPG classic game Titan Quest today called Ragnarok!

     The last new expansion for the game came out just over a decade ago with March 2007's release of Titan Quest: Immortal Throne.  Now, Titan Quest's new fifth act, Ragnarok, brings our heroes into the cold and harsh lands of northern Europe, from the dark forests of Germany all the way to Asgard.  We'll encounter the Celts, Northmen, and even the Asgardian gods themselves in the largest act so far.  The glorious world of antiquity can be explored

     Players will have a plethora of new quests to complete featuring new weapons and gear, new enemies and bosses, a new 10th mastery, and even the most important cold-weather ability- wearing pants!

SOME KEY FEATURES:
Become a Runemaster, a magical warrior fighting with both, spells and weapons.
Combine newly learned with existing masteries for a total of 45 combinations.
Reach level 85 and maximize your character’s potential.
Find new and powerful gear, from colorful Celtic shields to famous weapons of Germanic legend.
New relics and charms for crafting, and a new option to improve even legendary items.
New thrown weapons strike the balance between range and speed!

IMPROVED CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION:
A wider variety of regional styles and color dyes.
Finally: wear pants!

TECHNICAL AND QOL IMPROVEMENTS:
New shaders and graphical effects.
Improved ragdoll physics.
Improved UI and combat feedback for total information.
Improved control customization.
Improved modding tools.

     This is certainly a wonderful surprise for fans of Titan Quest.

     Note: the Ragnarok expansion requires Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition to be played.

     Play Titan Quest: Ragnarok via [ Steam ]
          It 's 25% with a current price of $14.99 (regularly $19.99) Offer ends Nov. 24th.

Marvel Heroes Omega: My Thoughts on Disney Officially Shutting it Down

THE OFFICIAL NEWS

     After 4 and a half years of having some serious ups and downs, Marvel Heroes is finally being closed.  Over the last month many of us long time players have been speculating about this possibility on the forums, the first news broke from Kotaku letting them know Disney/Marvel is parting ways with Gazillion.

     As a Marvel representative stated in an email to them:

“We regret to inform our Marvel Heroes fans that we have ended our relationship with Gazillion Entertainment, and that the Marvel Heroes games will be shut down. We would like to sincerely thank the players who joined the Marvel Heroes community, and will provide any further updates as they become available.”

     Later AgentPilot posted an official statement from Gazillion on their forums:

"We’re sad to inform our players and our entire Marvel Heroes family that Marvel Heroes Omega will be shutting down. The Marvel Heroes servers will stay on until Dec 31, 2017, and we’ll be removing real money purchases as soon as possible. Players will be able to play the game entirely for free once this sunset period commences. We will share the exact date things go completely free as soon as we can. 

We’ve had the privilege of entertaining and collaborating with our players for over four years. We’re extremely humbled by that privilege and wanted to get this message out: Thank you. Thank you to our players, our tireless employees, and everyone involved in the life of Marvel Heroes, Marvel Heroes 2015, Marvel Heroes 2016, and Marvel Heroes Omega."

THE PROBLEMS

     Gazillion has been in a very turbulent times ever since David Brevik (of Diablo 2 fame) departed the company in January 2016 (check out these threads, the tone of the forums drastically shifted), and having other Gaz employees like Doomsaw and Ryolnir go was another huge hit- resulting in a quick downhill slide of the game.  Former long-time Gaz Community Agent Fenixion posted his own decision to leave on the forums on Halloween definitely gave us more worries, as well as Agent Vapor's departure.
     Really, the only good to come out of this was the surprise return of former Gaz employee Doomsaw to the forums.  He swung through and found he still had moderator privileges, but they were quickly stripped even with no other Gaz members posting anything.  Since no Gaz employees were doing or saying anything, he voluntarily went and tried to raise hope and bring levity to the forums.
     Much more recently is the highly inappropriate sexual misconduct issues concerning Gazillion's CEO Dave Dohrmann, and the fallout it's having on the rest of the staff and company. [ More references: 1, 2, 3, 4 (at about the 1.5hr mark) ]  And then Gazillion going completely silent shortly after this. [ Great video by DisKingdom about companies (Gaz particularly) going silent. ]  The long awaited and promised Omega patch, along with numerous other things like the costume closet, the Halloween event, and Thor Ragnarok tie-in pack, never arrived for the scheduled Oct. 27th date.

MY THOUGHTS
   
     It's extremely disappointing to hear, but honestly the PC player base had been dwindling from being essentially neglected for the console ports after the "Biggest Update Ever" shit all over the game (the BUE essentially prepped and simplified the game to be ported)- while it made a lot of good starts, it completely ruined the way a great many of the characters could be played, eliminating the vast variety of character play styles and shoe-horned them into essentially only one viable build for each character.
     Gaz pretty much ditched the extremely loyal PC player base for the potential for new console players and it was an absolutely terrible choice.

     I'd previously written that, "It's the only game I've made an effort to play at least a half hour a day for the last year.  It's just amazing and it keeps getting better.  Thank you Gazillion.  Marvel Heroes 2016 is a must play for fans of any Marvel properties."  In all reality, I probably put in a thousand plus hours.  The original launch was a mess, but the game progressively made it amazing by the 2016 iteration, and until the Biggest Update Ever, was easily, without-a-doubt the best Marvel game ever made.  Sadly, after the BUE (and the changes in leadership and direction) the game never got back to what it was and what it could've been.

     It'll be very sad to see this game go, but honestly they could still make a few bucks by compressing what they can and makingthe game able to play on disc or download with private servers.  Sell the game as old games were, a whole item, playable without an internet connection.  Hell, just the Danger Room section itself could be sold (obviously we'd need to be able to keep all the crap we've already unlocked/bought) as a game in itself.  It'd also need to have the Hydra damage bugs toned WAY down, which should've been fixed a year ago.
     Though it makes me wonder if Disney and Marvel will still hold all the programming and assets and whatnot, and if they might bring in a new team to possibly relaunch the game somewhere down the line.
     As for me, I'll probably get a good couple weekends of play in on this, and go back to hyping the only other Marvel game I play every day- Marvel Future Fight.

     My own Marvel Heroes account link [ MrJRB ]

     Related-ish posts [ Future Fight ]

     Sources [ Massively OP & 2, 3 ] [ Kotaku ] [ HiMyNameIsLeo ] [ MMORPG ]

Jurassic World Evolution: Trailer & Thoughts

     I heard there was a new Jurassic Park game on the way and I got immediately excited, unfortunately that excitement was swiftly quashed when I found out it was just another world builder game.

     According to the developer's official press release:

     "Jurassic World Evolution evolves players’ relationship with the Jurassic World film franchise, placing them in control of operations on the legendary island of Isla Nublar and the surrounding islands of the Muertes Archipelago. 

     Players will build their own Jurassic World as they bioengineer new dinosaur breeds and construct attractions, containment and research facilities. Every choice leads to a different path and spectacular challenges arise when ‘life finds a way.’"

     I'm not going to lie, though the developer has over a decade of world/city building, management, and simulation games experience, I just feel they could've done better for the Jurassic Park legacy than this genre of game.  The old Sega Genesis game was a great platformer, the Sega CD version was a point-and-click mystery (as was the far superior, and much more recent Telltale version), and this honestly feels like an upscaled version of Ludia's mobile tie-in Jurassic World: The Game.  The mobile game was a good time-waster, overloaded with IAPs and the like with an interesting dinosaur evolving and battling sub-game- but it was also a mobile game, and not a full console game.  While I don't like this type of game, I'm sure it'll have a bunch of people hyped.

     All I'd like to see, and have wanted to see for decades, is a 3rd person action-adventure game like Uncharted 4 or Rise of the Tomb Raider that takes place in the Jurassic Park universe.  If they could get a company like Naughty Dog or Crystal Dynamics/Eidos Montreal to make it, the game would top the charts instantly.  The closest we got to it is the LEGO Jurassic World game, it wasn't the best, but it was still pretty damned fun despite the flaws (that plague all the LEGO games).

     Jurassic World Evolution will arrive on PC, PS4, and XBox One in Summer 2018, in time for the theatrical release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on June 22, 2018.

     SOURCE [ Frontier ]

RiME Gets a Release Date!

     RiME has had a rocky production since its announcement at the at Sony's Gamescom 2013 Press Conference, but Tequila Works' game has finally received a set release date!

     Rime appears to be an amalgam of Journey, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and the Team Ico games and set on a strange Myst-like island.  The story is of a boy needing to find a way off the island and away from its terrible curse.

     What has me most excited is that it sounds like the game has a few procedurally generated elements, or it may change depending on how you play it.  In an interview with Polygon, the game's creator, Raúl Rubio Munárriz, said, "-"Every time you explore this island or islands you are going to experience it differently."  So not only might there be more than just one island, but it changes.
     Going on he says:

     "The island is a paradise, but that does not mean that what you see at the start is the same as what you see at the end. This is not a game about black and white. It is not about good and evil. We are trying to play with what the player takes for granted. This is a puzzle adventure game but that doesn't mean that you are going to enter houses and start gathering stuff. I see this environment, it is beautiful, but something is wrong. Who built this?"

     RiME will arrive on PC, PS4, and XBox One on May 26th, and at a later date for the Nintendo Switch.

     I also wonder if odd capitalization on the name probably has ties to the tower featured in the game.

     For related posts [ Rime ]

Streets of Rogue: Short Review

     I've had my eye on developer tinyBuild's gem of a game called Streets of Rogue since last September, and this weekend I finally got to it.  Taking a top down rogue-like approach to stealth shooters, the game is a procedurally-generated sandbox world game tasking players with completing a series of missions in each level on a quest as a member of a resistance.

     How you complete those missions is completely up to you.  Need to steal a tooth from a safe? You can set off the alarms, poison the air supply, bribe guards, or just smash your way through the walls.  What amazes me is the sheer absurdity of what you can do in the game.  Considering there's 40 characters (not all unlocked initially) there's a lot of opportunity.
     So a hacker can hack computers to open doors and not rudely read peoples' emails, doctors may tranquilize someone, and soldiers can blast their way through mobs of people, where a scientist might use a shrink ray or a growth serum to get the job done.
     Though each character also suffers a deficit in some area so they aren't all powerful.  As the gorilla, I was really tough and strong, but couldn't speak English and it eliminated the possibility of  talking to any other characters (other gorillas would follow me however).

Nobody expects a gorilla with a hard hat and a wrench to be the bad guy.

     The only negative I've found with Streets of Rogue is the multiplayer is all messed up.  I couldn't get either local co-op, nor the online to work.  Granted it's still in the early release stage so I'd give it time to really get the bugs worked out for the full co-op experience.

     There's a brilliance in the way tinyBuild has somehow reduced a game to basics, but expanded it's depth of experience that is kind of staggering.  I highly recommend giving Streets of Rogue a chance, it's worth every cent.  It's got great gameplay, great music and sound effects, and what I like best is how brief the experience can be.  Once you understand the fundamentals, you can dive in play a few levels, and quit.  Then jump in again at a later time without an issue.  Trying out new characters just to see how the world reacts to your silly antics is a sublime kind of enjoyment.  Streets of Rogue is just loaded with silly humor and crammed with fun gameplay.  I honestly haven't had this much fun with a rogue-like game for a long time.

     Streets of Rogue on STEAM for $14.99 (get 10% until March 17th- $13.39)

STYX: Shards of Darkness Launch Trailer!

    The highly anticipated follow up to the tremendous Styx: Master of Shadows, Shards of Darkness, is finally arriving next week and we get an all new launch trailer to whet our appetites!

     Cyanide Studios' stealthy goblin assassin returns with a new mission- steal the scepter of an ambassador for a mysterious new human named Helledryn.  The reward for this dangerous task?  An absurd amount of Amber- the highly addictive source of his strange powers.

     Armed with his trusty blade, creative new ways to kill people, some reliable old supernatural skills, and even some new co-op play- Styx will need all the stealth and snark he can muster to achieve his goal to make it through a web of deadly intrigue in this world of dark fantasy cloak-and-dagger.

     Styx: Shards of Darkness launches Tues. Mar. 14th.

     Related posts [ STYX ]

Boor: A Tremendous Indie Sci Fi Puzzle-Platformer

     I've been impressed lately with publisher Badland Games, from their kids game Ginger: Beyond the Crystal to the hilarious and very under-rated action-RPG Zenith, and their most recent title Boor is no exception.

     Boor is the story of a girl in the future that awoken from a sleep chamber by a computer malfunction to find that the planet Eden settlement has been taken over by a rogue Artificial Intelligence.  The machine Boor was created to aide the colonists on Eden, but as with all great sci fi AIs, it turns on those it should've helped.  Boor's reign has left very few survivors, and it's up to this unique little girl to put an end to the corrupt machine's tyranny.
     The girl has a very special ability that allows her to create disposable clones.  They can pass certain walls and access areas that you may not be able to yourself.  They are vital to solving the puzzles throughout the game.  Because it doesn't matter if they die or they run out of their limited life time, you can use them to do a little exploring and scope out parts of what is to come.

     The puzzles themselves begin quite nicely, none too difficult, and gradually progresses to much more complex and tough ones, which does lead to some trial and error moments to see what is working and what isn't later in the game.  That being said, I only found the last couple puzzle-rooms to be of particular frustration, because even after figuring out what to do, the jumping mechanic is a timed one.  A tap on the button gives a short hop, and holding the button results in longer, floating jumps that can be moved around directionally with the thumb stick- which in itself isn't an issue, it's having to make numerous jumps across multiple moving platforms while also attempting to avoid getting hit by the rockets being shot at you.
     If the rockets we're just a touch slower, it'd be much less of an annoyance of having to continually die and replay the puzzle.  It's really not too awful, just something that stuck out as being just a little too difficult for the more casual feel of the rest of the game.  (Heck, there's even a small arcade about 70% through the game that offers 3 distinctly retro mini-games.)

     Boor's visual aesthetic is outstanding with the black, white, and grays comprising the main palette with some things accentuated with splashes of red are phenomenal.  It highlights what's important, and gives it a bit extra pop on the screen.  The design work is minimalistic, but it works very well for the futuristic setting.  Rounding out the experience as a whole is the original soundtrack by Paltian.  The music was good enough that I found myself pausing the game a few times just to listen to it.

     Developer Dazlog Studio has created an amazing 2D puzzle platforming experience loaded with a a downright sublime story to tie it all together.  Boor is one of those indie game gems that I'd recommend to pretty much everyone, it plays well, it looks even better, and it has captivating story that will sit in mind for some time afterwards.

Boor can be found on Steam for $4.99  It'll be 20%  ($3.99) until Feb. 21st

*Review copy of Boor was provided

Dark Souls 3: Descend into the Depths of The Ringed City DLC: NEW Gameplay Footage Trailer & Thoughts

     The last portion of the Dark Souls era is coming to a close, and the end of the Age of Fire is upon us.  This new gameplay trailer gives us a ton of little clues about what we can expect from The Ringed City DLC.

!!!TRAILER MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!

     I'm strangely intrigued by the notion of the fading flames.  With all the Londor story making huge leaps forward, and the fires receding we get nice bits like the last witness of Izalith, the Old Demon King, dying, and then the last of the Demons of the Choas Flame, it makes me wonder if the new game From Software is working on will be a series in the Age of Water- being spiritual successors to this series.

     There's a bunch of things hidden in the trailer, but I won't go over them all- just note that there's probably a good reason they hide the health bars and stuff- maybe enemies using poison or curse or something.  I'm also really hoping they've been hiding whole areas of the game from the video.  Bandai-Namco doesn't want From Soft's series to go out with something small, they'll want a lucrative DLC like Bloodborne's Old Hunters, which was, to me, a bit too small and short, but on the other hand completely perfect at the same time.  Seriously, in Old Hunters, you travel backwards in time through the zones from the time period you begin the main game in- something they never actually say, but you have to realize on your own.  Absolutely brilliant.

     With The Ringed City, I'm thinking with all the rings forming an amalgamation of time and space, that you are descending through this "City of Pygmies" to help Gael find the original Dark Soul- and maybe we'll find the Furtive Pygmy along the way.

     In addition they've announced there will be more multiplayer maps coming, so we won't be stuck in just the bland Hollow Arena.  I wouldn't mind an arena that was more vertical and labyrinthine.  Perhaps even a kind of procedurally generated arena even to keep things interesting.
     Although, still no word on whether they'll finally bring back Cracked Blue Eye Orbs to help out all the Darkmoon Blades.  It would add a whole new layer to the multiplayer base.  They should also bring back the Covenant reward auras as a neat little badge of honor (that would also need to be able to be turned on or off if you didn't always want the visual effect on).

     Still hoping for Velka as well, hell, she could even be the Furtive Pygmy...

     Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City will be available March 28th.

STYX: Shards of Darkness: 2nd Gameplay Trailer

     Cyanide Studios' curmudgeonly amber-addicted goblin assassin Styx has gotten a whole new gameplay trailer for the highly anticipated sequel to Master of Shadows called Shards of Darkness.
     After the fall of the tower of Akenash, rumor of an impregnable diplomatic summit has lured Styx out of hiding.  Infiltrating the Dark Elf city of Korrangar, he sneaks his way in to find the event is just a deception...

     In Shards of Darkness, Styx's arsenal has been expanded greatly.  New weapons, such as a crossbow that can kill, tranquilize, and set off traps, and skills like a teleport to clone are fully at his disposal.  He's got new moves such as more fluid climbing abilities like zip-lining and rope-swinging.  There is also an awesome and useful new craftable item called the Acid Trap that can help dissolve armored enemies and eliminate those pesky hard-to-hide dead bodies.
     New bestiary, new enemies, and new side-missions to complete have also been included.  Probably the most notable new addition to the sequel is a co-operative mode, allowing players to join friend's games and play together.  And of course a lot of new story with actually animated cinematics.

     This looks to be a case of taking an awesome game and making a sequel better in every way possible.

     Styx: Shards of Darkness sneaks onto PS4, Xbox One, and PC in March 2017.

     For related posts click [ STYX ]

Stranger Things: Netflix's Series Now a Playable Point-N-Click Game

     What started as a nice little fan-fare has become a full fan-made point-and-click adventure game based on the tremendous Netflix series Stranger Things, by the Duffer Brothers.  It's a sci-fi horror show that is completely saturated in the 1980's aesthetic, and this gem follows suit.

"99 out of a hundred times, the missing kid is with a parent or relative. This is about that one other time." 

The disappearance of Will Byers has the town of Hawkins, Indiana - and Chief Jim Hopper - on edge. 

     The Stranger Things game takes place over primarily the first episode of the series, so there shouldn't be any spoilers for those of you that haven't seen the phenomenal show yet.  Fans of games such as the LucasArts Monkey Island series will be at home among the simple puzzles and textual dialogue options.

     Infamous Quests' Steven Alexander, Jon Taylor, and James Mulvale created this one-room point-and-click game as a "tribute to the series."  The game takes the same approach as the show in making players feel invested- it's short and sweet, nailing the atmosphere in both sound and visuals, and it definitely shows their appreciation.  While it doesn't offer anything new to add to the series, as it is just a fan made game, it does give us fans a little more Stranger Things to experience while we await the arrival of season two in 2017.

     Go to [ Infamous Quests on Itch.io ] to Download and Play

Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today: PS4 Review

     Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today is a great post-apocalyptic point-and-click adventure blending post-apocalyptic science fiction peppered with religious elements to tell a harrowing story.  This is the tale of Michael, an amnesiac man waking in a dystopian future after a cataclysm called the "Great Wave" has destroyed much of the populace of the world and left a scar across the sky.  What remains is a ruined society plagued by a sickness of a dying world.  With many of its inhabitants coming down with a disease that causes people to dissolve and those with power (such as guns or fuel) use it for dark intent.

THE BAD

     The puzzles of the game can be a bit frustrating at times, but for the most part they are decently balanced and the game has a kind of dual hint system.  One is by holding L2/R2 and anything interactable becomes marked, and the second is Michael will make a remark that assists players as to where they should go.  When I said some puzzles can be frustrating it's because they don't follow a logical pattern or the challenge is so absurd you'll rely on pure trial-and-error of using items on anything you can.  In one notable case you need to fix a machine with a piece of a tooth.  Of all the possible things you could fix it with, why a tooth?  Or another requires you shred a cloth for a bandage instead of just using the cloth.  No reason other than adding an additional step in the process.
     Though, this is a problem with many point-and-click games.  Often confusion takes first place in attempting to figure out what you are supposed to be doing.  Finding a good balance between difficulty and creativity is extremely difficult to manage and is really an issue of the genre and not the game.

THE GOOD

     What the game gets right, though, is the atmosphere.  They got it very right.  The sound design and score are extremely effective in evoking the dark tones of a gritty decaying world.  They compliment the distinctly comic-bookish art style perfectly and together act as a large redeeming factor for playing this game.  The visual art designs work hand in hand with the sound and music to create a suspenseful and grim ambiance.

     This world they've built is intriguing in that it gives you no happy endings.  Many characters in the game are given disturbing or unsettling story arcs.  There's a family torn apart by a sick child, a young woman forced into service, and an entire park overflowing with corpses.  Your choices and decisions don't alter the endings at all, each leads to the same bleak despair laden conclusions regardless of what you say or do.  The main thread itself comes to a very sudden end, which feels very rushed and out of nowhere- like there might be something extra, but there wasn't.  It is foreshadowed, but the way it's done could've been worked towards and not just dumped on us all at once.  The game could've used a bit more work on the end to make the journey really pack an emotional punch at the end.

THE VERDICT 

     Overall, Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today on Playstation 4 is a game that is both really good in many ways and has some serious flaws.  It has a very fitting and unique art style with fantastic world building, but that is offset by some of the confoundingly strange puzzle designs.  That being said, if you are a fan of point-and-click games, or of psychological post-apocalyptic horror stories, this is worth playing because despite its problems there's still a lot to appreciate.

*Review copy provided, thank you!

STYX: Shards of Darkness: Delayed Until Q1 2017

     Cyanide Studios' sequel to the 2014 stealth hit STYX: Master of Shadows is getting a delay.  The titular Amber-addicted goblin Styx will now be returning in the first quarter of 2017 in STYX: Shards of Darkness.

     This new gameplay trailer softens the blow just a little.  It does sound like a good idea to delay the game.  The move to a new engine and larger budget poses a few issues of adapting.

"With this new episode of Styx we updated our engine from Unreal 3 to Unreal 4. This update has brought so much to the Styx series, from graphical enhancements to new gameplay mechanics and features. The engine transition has required some time for our team to adapt to. We're dedicated to providing the best stealth experience possible for players, so in agreement with our publisher Focus, we are delaying the game until the first quarter of 2017."  

-Patrick Pligersdorffer, CEO Cyanide Studios

     Master of Shadows was really good despite a few flaws.  This delay will hopefully remedy some of the clunky stealth mechanics and make the game much smoother overall.  It'll be fun to return to our little green friend to see what he's been up to since the destruction of the Tower of Akenash, and how he handles his new adventure into the Dark Elven city of Korangar.

     STYX: Shards of Darkness will arrive in Q1 2017 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Moonlighter: 3 Days Left for the Zelda-Like Rogue-lite Kickstarter Game

     It isn't often I toss money towards Kickstarter projects, an even less often for crowd funded games that are tied to larger companies like the Square-Enix Collective, but today I spotted Moonlighter and was genuinely intrigued.  Sure, it already has well over twice the budget goal it initially asked for, but I threw some money their way anyhow, as this project looks amazing.

     As many might be able to tell, Digital Sun has drawn inspiration from the likes of Rogue Legacy, The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and the tremendous works of Studio Ghibli to create this game.  It's got some beautiful top-down adventuring and wonderful art, alongside what appears to be some great worldbuilding.

Moonlighter is an action RPG game with rogue-lite elements about Will, an adventurous shopkeeper, that secretly dreams of becoming a hero. 

To earn the daily bread, he needs to venture into the dungeons near his town, defeat strange enemies, and obtain loot to be sold at his shop. 

Wisely managing the gold from those sales is the only way he’ll get strong enough to risk into deeper gates and, maybe, open the sealed one. 

Moonlighter has endless randomly generated dungeons, a myriad of cool and expensive items, many weapons, dozens of weird enemies, five incredibly tough bosses, and gold... tons of gold! 

You start with 100 gold coins. 

Some cheap equipment. 

And a shop.

     I like the idea that Moonlighter presents and it answers the question that's always bothered me in RPG's through time, where do the shopkeepers get all their wares?  I have a feeling I won't feel so bad about spending so much gold on a sword after learning the shopkeep had to defeat a boss to obtain it.

     Moonlighter has an estimated delivery of March 2017.

     [ Digital Sun Games on Twitter ]

     Source [ Moonlighter on Kickstarter ]

Ghost of a Tale: Early Access Play Might be Available Soon-ish

     Ghost of a Tale creator Lionel "Seith" Gallat has posted an update today on the official website that if the closed beta goes well, we might be able to play an early access version of the game in "not too long" a time in the future.  It's been a long three years of development, and you can tell the game has come much farther than expected because it looks absolutely stunning.

     Ghost of a Tale is about a small minstrel mouse named Tilo on Periclave Island.  Rumors are that the island is haunted and there is a tower that holds some wonderous treasure, but there is great danger surrounding the path Tilo looks to travel.  It's up to the player to piece together what has happened on the island and find why there are undead rats roaming the land on the way to obtaining the treasure.

     I had first come across Ghost of a Tale from a Gamasutra article, and shortly thereafter from an Analog Addiction article [ EDIT: It was actually this AA Article ], and decided to periodically keep checking in on it.  With each new tidbit of information the game looks better and better.  What else would I expect from a game that takes it's inspiration from 3 of my favorite games ever- The Legend of Zelda, ICO, and Dark Souls.

     Plus, it takes an anthropomorphic approach, bringing up memories of a childhood favorite book of mine, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  The film version was also amazing and called The Secret of NIMH.  Regardless, this is a game I'd highly recommend looking into supporting.  Seriously, it has come so, so far from the Alpha trailer 3 years ago, and the Gamescom trailer from 2 years ago.

     Official site [ Ghost of a Tale ]

Death Road to Canada: Arrives July 22nd!

     One of my favorite developers, Rocketcat Games, has finally given us a release date for their new game Death Road to Canada.  I've been hyped for this for quite a while, and especially after their ridiculous live action trailer, it's great news that in just under a month we will be slaying zombies on a trek to the great northern wilderness.

Death Road to Canada is out July 22nd! Recruit people and dogs in a procedural road trip: https://t.co/icscqjFcH3 pic.twitter.com/Ltz4Imz3EZ

— Rocketcat Games (@rocketcatgames) May 14, 2016

    Death Road to Canada will cut swathes through the undead on July 22nd.

     It will be available on Steam, PC, MAC, and Linux.
     And at a later date on iOS and "possibly other platforms."

Huntdown: Dystopian E3 2016 Trailer

     The pixelized, side-scrolling platformer, and old-school shoot-em-up Huntdown has a second trailer out, and it is every bit as wonderful as the first teaser.  In the future crime has overrun a city and it's up to the player to hunt down these villainous gangs.  The future is going to be full of bloody justice.

In the future, crime is king. Mighty gangs rule the streets while the police desperately lose control. The authorities put their trust in hired guns to do their dirty work. A price is set on all the gang leader´s heads. 

It´s time for the Bounty Hunters. 

It´s time to hunt ´em down.

     Creators Tommy Gustafsson and Andreas Rehnberg have been heavily influenced by action movies of the 80's, with films like John Carpenter's Escape from New York and Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon and it definitely shows.  This game looks to be a perfect homage to the action games of that time

     As I wrote back in early March, the creators say they're sick of IAPs and microtransactions for health and weapons and so on creating barriers in mobile gaming.  They wanted to make an old school game that had some challenge, but more importantly- was the type of game they wanted to play- with fun gameplay.

     Huntdown looks to be a glorious homage to classic arcade shooters made by people that actually grew up playing these type of games.  Games like Contra, Rush'n Attack, and the ever-persistent Metal Slug series.  Honestly, this trailer brings me back to the days of playing Blackthorne, Robocop vs Terminator, and Alien 3.  Frankly, it looks like simple and amazing fun.

     Huntdown is expected to release in 2016 for iOS and Android devices.

          In addition, the creators have announced it will now also arrive on PC and consoles!

     Source [ Huntdown ]