press release

The Binding of Isaac’s final DLC “Repentance” announced

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The Binding of Isaac's final DLC "Repentance" announced 1

The Binding of Isaac is getting its final DLC pack. Creator Edmund McMillen announced it over Twitter as the “FINAL (for real this time) DLC for Isaac.” It’ll be called The Binding of Isaac: Repentance and includes the popular fan-made Antibirth mod which adds a number of new rooms, enemies, and treasures to discover and a hidden end … Read more

Subnautica: Below Zero officially annouced

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Subnautica: Below Zero officially annouced 2

The standalone expansion to Unkown Worlds Entertainment’s Subnautica has been officially announced. It’s called Subnautica: Below Zero and the news comes from a post on their official page.

It’s the highly-anticipated expansion game that takes place in a similar setup to the original game. By concept, I mean it’s the same style of survival. It’s not DLC. It’s standalone. Let’s get that straight.

If you’ve never played the original game, it’s a survival game where you need to survive the depths of the ocean by collecting resources, exploring, and building a fully-functioning base. There are tons of fish, species, and creatures you’ll encounter in the ocean. The further and deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets.

Subnautica itself is a complete experience with survival mechanisms and a complete storyline. The game was in Early Access on Steam for a few years before becoming a full release.

The expansion has been in development for quite some time and has been discussed among fans of the game. It takes place on Planet 4546B and your character has been sent on a mission to study alien technology on the frozen arctic biome. The character is completely different than the previous one in the original game. It’s a different protagonist who’s been sent by Alterra.

The game already has some concept art floating around out there and even a dedicated Trello board which shows the plot (and spoiler).

The game will be released on Steam Early Acess before becoming a full game just like the previous game. You can get some more information on their official page and check out the progress of it.

Square Enix’s game lineup for PAX West 2018 revealed

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Square Enix's game lineup for PAX West 2018 revealed 3

Square Enix has announced its lineup for PAX West 2018. The publisher has an exciting list of games it’ll showcase at the event with plenty of panels for fans seeking more information.

The following titles will be playable at PAX coming straight from Square Enix’s official page:

  • Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
  • Kingdom Hearts 3
  • The Quiet Man
  • Life is Strange 2
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider

There will also be plenty of panels fans can attend as well to get more information regarding their games. This was confirmed via press release:

“EXPANDING THE LIFE IS STRANGE UNIVERSE
Friday, August 31, 12:00 PM, Wyvern Theater
Join writer Christian Divine and key figures from the LIFE IS STRANGE 2development team as they take you behind the scenes of their most ambitious game in the series to date. Discover how they apply the core concepts of the LIFE IS STRANGE franchise to bring the relatable characters and realistic environments in the LIFE IS STRANGE Universe to life. Learn how they tackle the challenges of telling a branching story of education and brotherhood within an evolving episodic narrative adventure.

LIFE IS STRANGE 2 FAN MEET UP PARTY with What’s Good Games
Friday, August 31 from 6:00 – 9:00 PM at  Unicorn 1118 E. Pike Street
Relax at PAX with the team from What’s Good Games and developers from DONTNOD Entertainment to celebrate the upcoming launch of the first episode of LIFE IS STRANGE 2. Share your favorite moments from the series, enjoy refreshments and a chance to win games, SQUARE ENIX prizes and custom What’s Good Games items.  For additional information about the event visit: https://www.facebook.com/WhatsGoodGames/.

JUST CAUSE 4 SHOWCASE
Saturday, September 1, 11:30 AM, Hydra Theater
Join key members of the JUST CAUSE 4™ development team – Avalanche Studios – as they talk exclusively about the next game in the hugely popular, multi-million selling JUST CAUSE series. Set in the fictional South American world of Solis, JUST CAUSE 4 takes the incredible destruction and unique physics the series is known for to a whole new level with the introduction of fully simulated tornadoes and other Extreme Weather events. Rico Rodriguez returns in JUST CAUSE 4 with his trademark parachute, wingsuit and, of course his grappling hook, now enhanced with new functionality and fully customisable, making it the most powerful and creative tool the player has ever had.

SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER – Uncovering the Hidden City of Paititi
Saturday, September 1, 4;30 PM, Wyvern Theater
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is filled with many surprises and secrets. Perhaps the biggest discovery Lara Croft® will make is the hidden city of Paititi, a civilization untouched by modern culture and the largest hub ever created in a Tomb Raider® game. Moderated by Andrea Rene, join the team behind Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. The panel will feature Dan Chayer-Bisson (Game Director), Mario Chabtini (Senior Producer), and Rich Briggs (Senior Brand Director).”

Grandia I and II remastered are coming to Switch as a packaged game

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Grandia I and II remastered are coming to Switch as a packaged game 4

Grandia I and II are coming to the Nintendo Switch as a remastered game. GungHo Online Entertainment America announced that the titles will be coming to the Switch fully remastered. This is the first time the game has had an easy release since 1999 when it was launched for the original PlayStation in North America. Grandia II hasn’t been available since early 2000 when it was available on the PlayStation 2 and Sega Dreamcast. But now it’ll be coming out for the holiday season in 2018.

Developed by Game Arts, who may be known for their work in Sliphead and the Lunar series, Grandia games have only seen four main releases- plus an MMO, special disc, and a spinoff game. Other than that, there hasn’t been much action for this series over here in the West. Similar to the Lunar games, the Grandia games are known for their insane combat mechanics and awesome sprite art.

It was very well-received and highly-rated overseas and at home in the US. It released around the same time that FFVII came out and both of the games were compared against each other. Gamespot said that Grandia is superior to “FF7 in all of the ways that matter.”

Grandia was released for the Japanese Sega Saturn originally, then found its home on the PlayStation shortly thereafter. Then it migrated to the PS3 in Japan on the PS Network. PC and Switch owners will now get a piece of the action later in 2018. Switch players will also get Grandia II, which aims for a more grown-up storyline compared to the original game. It tells the tale of Ryudo, a blade mercenary who’s tasked with protecting a songstress from the church which has been leading humanity to prosperity and peace for many centuries.

Steam players will get a remaster of the Dreamcast version with upgraded visuals and audio.

Grandia II was originally released on the Dreamcast to which then was ported poorly onto the PS2 and PC. Similar to the original game, it got some pretty positive reviews. The game expands on the positional-based battle mechanics and had a more difficult gameplay style.

The game will be available for demo at PAX West and also packaged for the Switch later this year.

Super Neptunia RPG delayed until 2019 for Westerners

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Super Neptunia RPG delayed until 2019 for Westerners 5

Super Neptunia RPG is now planned for a Spring 2019 release, according to a post by Idea Factory. The game was previously scheduled for 2018, but has been delayed since then. Idea Factory and Canadian developer Artisan Studios are still bringing Neptune to the 2D perspective for the first time ever. Super Neptunia RPG will be the first 2D Neptunia game and will also be released by a Western Studio- again for the first time.

The Japan launch is scheduled for September 27th while Westerners will have to wait until 2019.

The game takes the classic self-referential humor in a 2D sidescroller with RPG elements. Artisan Studios is well-aware that this is a challenge to build. In an interview with Digitally Downloaded, Mario Rizzo, head at Artisan, talks about the difficulties in adapting a Japanese title in a Western Studio. Staff at Artisan re no longer developing with Japnese developers and doing Neptune their own way with detailed artwork and splendid backgrounds.

The game has Neptune finding herself transported to a world without any memory. An organization called Bombyx Mori enslaves citizens and makes them develop game after game as a tribute. Anyone who tries to use tech beyond their means or makes a game tp subpar standards will risk imprisonment in the Trial Grounds. Neptune has an immense power and sets out to explore and save the world.

DOOM Eternal: No SnapMap. No mods. Better multiplayer.

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DOOM Eternal: No SnapMap. No mods. Better multiplayer. 6

At QuakeCon, id Software revealed that DOOM Eternal won’t have SnapMap, which is the map editor that was used in their previous title, DOOM. Instead, it’ll have single-player DLC.

In a Q/A interview, director Marty Stratton explained their reasoning for getting rid of the previous feature. He says:

“Right now we don’t plan on bringing SnapMap back into Doom Eternal,” he said. “We’re really focusing those resources on doing some of the things that players wanted more from us post-launch.”

DOOM’s fans were pretty disappointed when the campaign mode didn’t get any DLC post-release. The SnapMap mode was basically a successor to mods made by the community. SnapMap was an editor that allowed modders to customize maps in fairly advanced ways.

It could do a lot more than typical editors but wasn’t a full-blown code-required map editor. WIth the omission of this feature, id is not working on improving their tech to offer mod support again.

“One of the big criticisms – and even if I could go back and do it again – I think we’d do campaign DLC after launch. People really wanted that. They wanted stuff created by us. SnapMap was really cool. I loved it. But it didn’t really scratch that itch for people. But we know we can.”

Stratton was clear about DOOM Eternal mods and how they’re not guaranteed to be in the game.

“We had made some technical decisions way back that just pushed us in a different direction than mods. We have spent the last several years making technical decisions that get us back towards being able to do mods.

He went on to talk about how they’re shifting focus based on the previous title. He also talked about the multiplayer aspect of DOOM Eternal as another example of their plans for expansion after the game is released.

The multiplayer part will be developed with the same team rather than outsourced to another studio like in DOOM– where it was criticized for being sub-par compared to the campaign. The game will also have an invasion mode, where players can play as a baddie and invade other player’s campaigns to take the place of an AI.

He also briefly talks about a new-fangled PvP component, which is something completely new to the series:

“But we’re not really going deep into that. We are working on a PvP component. It is new. It’s not an extension of what we did last time. So it’s new. It is something we’re developing internally, which we didn’t do last time. I think players are gonna really enjoy it.”

Steam copies Discord’s chat system; Discord copies Steam’s store

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Steam copies Discord's chat system; Discord copies Steam's store 7

A few weeks ago, Steam rebuilt their chat system and added some features that looked like they were ripped right out of Discord. Now, the VoIP giant for gamers is retaliating by releasing a game distribution platform. That’s right, Discord now sells games.

The Discord Store is an experience that’s built by curated content that’ll automatically suggest games based on player interests. It’s like the Steam front page, but more personalized and catered for each individual player instead of the general population’s tastes. Discord staff curates the content that appears in the store in order to prevent Steam’s issue with game saturation and competition for virtual sell space.

Right now, players can buy a variety of games like Hollow Knight, Moonlighter, Starbound, This is the Police 2, The Banner Saga 3, and more.

Discord is making a bold move by competing directly with Steam, but they probably would’ve done so regardless of whether or not Steam copied their chat system’s layout and design.

The most interesting news is the First on Discord section. They plan to show off indie games they’ve helped support and develop and launch them exclusively only on Discord fora limited period of time. This is typically a period of 90 days before the game devs can sell it anywhere else, like Steam. Discord also takes 30% of sales just like the DRM giant. So far, the only game that’s premiering on this program is Bad North, an indie real-time roguelike. The post states:

“To be very clear, First on Discord games are temporarily exclusive. They’re literally first on Discord — usually 90 days and then the developers can sell anywhere else they want. This beta won’t have any First on Discord titles, but we’ll be showing off some soon.”

Discord Nitro is also getting revamped. Subs will see a curated list of popular titles picked by the staff, such as Super Meat Boy and System Shock Enhanced Edition. And the new Discord also has a Universal Library tab that scans your computer for games on all platforms like Steam, UPlay, and Discord itself. It then links them to this singular tab so you can play directly from Discord no matter where the game is housed. It’ll just launch the other launcher and then continue the game automatically.

Discord Store is currently in beta and will roll out worldwide slowly over time. It’s currently available to Canadian users only at a cap of 50K players. US players should soon be able to try out the full version.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Child of Light coming to Switch

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Valiant Hearts: The Great War and Child of Light coming to Switch 8

Child of Light and Valiant Hearts: The Great War are both coming to the Nintendo Switch this Fall. They were confirmed for the Switch in a news post on the official Ubisoft site. Child of Light will release on October 11th and Valiant Hearts will release on November 8th.

Child of Light features amazing artwork and players must save their kingdom from evil forces. The game is a turn-based RPG in a fantasy world where players must take the role of a hero named Aurora who happens to reside in the kingdom of Lemuria. The game has a skill-tree progression system for all characters and allows the freedom to tailor each character to suit different roles or playstyles.

The isn’t the first game in this series on a Nintendo console, as it was also available for the Wii U back in 2014. This game won’t have any new Switch exclusives, but a second player can join in with a Joy-Con to control Aurora’s companion Igniculus to allow players to play in co-op. However, this feature is available in other releases of the game.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War will ship with integrated touch controls just like the iOS, Android, and Windows versions. Switch owners will have Valiant Hearts: Dogs of War which is an interactive comic that was previously available on mobile platforms.

This is a point-and-click adventure game which focuses on multiple strangers during WWI. You’ll guide a character through many puzzles with a trusty dog as your companion to infiltrate enemy bases, investigate different events, and discover WWI history. Valiant Hearts for the Switch is the first time it’s ever been on a Nintendo console.

Stay tuned for more news upon release.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Nintendo Direct: New characters, amiibos, and a special edition

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at Nintendo Direct: New characters, amiibos, and a special edition 9

Nintendo has announced five new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo characters and a special limited edition amiibo and GameCube controller/adapter combo.

SSBU Nintendo Direct announced the news on August 8th where the new characters were revealed for the upcoming and much-anticipated crossover fighter. The characters and their respective amiibo figures will be available for purchase “in the future” according to a Tweet by Nintendo.

The characters announced were Simon Belmont, Richter Belmont, King K. Rool, Chrom and Dark Samus. SSBU is the newest entry in Nintendo’s flagship title Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighters. The game will be released on Nintendo Switch in the holiday season. Today’s Nintendo Direct event confirmed the new characters’ addition to the game.

As for when these will ship, there’s no confirmation yet. Nintendo is still being vague about the actual launch, but it’s safe to assume that they’ll be around during the game’s launch or shortly thereafter.

Nintendo’s special limited edition version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released with the regular edition both on the same day, which is scheduled to be on December 7th, 2018.

T he special edition will contain a physical copy of the game, a GameCube controller themed with SSB designs, and an adapter so you can use it with the Switch. This adapter also works with any existing GameCube controllers you may already have.

Pricing for the limited edition version is still TBA, so expect more information to roll out as we approach the holidays. The GameCube controller for the limited edition isn’t exclusive by any means, as anyone can purchase the one that’s already on sale. It’ll be the same one that exists on the market today but bundled differently.

Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch

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Salt and Sanctuary released for Nintendo Switch 10

Salt and Sanctuary, a 2D hack-and-slash platformer released on the Nintendo Switch yesterday, the 2nd.

The game is also available on PS4, PC, and PS Vita and will also be released in digital and physical form. There will also be a collector’s edition called Salt and Sanctuary: Drowned Tome Edition which will launch sometime this “holiday” according to the developer Ska Studios. The game is being ported by BlitWorks, a Spanish developer who’s previously worked on Bastion, Spelunky, and Don’t Starve.

Ska Studios uploaded a new trailer for the game. It features some very nice artwork with plenty of hacking and slashing indeed:

It looks similar to Dark Souls with a lot of punishing combat and a few character classes. It uses a checkpoint system as you explore the world and typical boss encounters which you’ll struggle with unless you know the weak points and attack patterns. The player can also upgrade their abilities in order to unlock the world’s various zones.

The game follows a protagonist who’s been player-created. This character sails across the ocean to stop a war between two kingdoms. You’re then shipwrecked on an island and you must solve the puzzles behind an evil mastermind and survive the attacks by the hostile enemies on the island along with the traps and tricks.

Salt and Sanctuary is available now for the Switch. It has no exclusive content for this port, but if you’re looking for an awesome and distinctive platformer, you should consider this game.

 

Super Indie Karts “Ultra Update” races onto Steam Early Access

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Super Indie Karts "Ultra Update" races onto Steam Early Access 11

Super Indie Karts is a 16-bit kart racer that features drivers and tracks from a variety of games like Duck Game, Runbow, and Freedom Planet. The game is heavily inspired by the original Super Mario Kart with flat tracks and sharp, hairpin turns. 90s kids will remember that the original and Mario Kart 64 were the best of the bunch. And only 90s kids will be able to drown in the nostalgia of the VHS trailer for the Super Indie Karts’ Ultra Update. The update includes a whole slew of new features to the game which turns it into a more modern, yet retro classic.

Just jump around in this promo vid and you’ll see the similarity between the two games:

The “Ultra” release rolls out on July 19th and includes a whole new est of tracks that feature more obstacles, modern layouts, and an N64 design with polygonal shapes but keeps the original theme of the game. Super Indie Karts is obviously the type of indie mashup game you’d expect from a crowdfunded indie dev.

The game’s characters look the same with their original sprites but they’re on newly redesigned tracks. It sports various sets of tracks based on SNES graphics and another group of tracks in a futuristic VR-like setting. These are the main game modes.

For those who want some multiplayer action (some people only played Mario Kart for BlockFortresss, believe it or not), the game will also have a battle mode. The total number of tracks is about 50, which is more than any Mario Kart game on the planet to my knowledge (not including mirror tracks)!

Development of Super Indie Karts started in May of 2015 and has been slowly racing towards the finish. One Legged Seagull started a Kickstarter campaign. He wanted to include all the content he could before releasing the game to avoid another future sequel. Players will get the full feature upon release date, which is currently scheduled for 2018 on Steam and is currently available in Early Access.

Confirmed: Rend leaving beta and entering early access July 31

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Confirmed: Rend leaving beta and entering early access July 31 12

Rend’s is set to launch on Steam’s Early Access program on July 31st. The game will cost $29.99 and will instantly allow access to all the content available. The closed alpha is now over and the game is entering the next step in its lifecycle.

Developer Frostkeep Studios laid out the roadmap for the game back in May. The jotted down the major milestones of the alpha and feedback that was taken into account. Now the game is set to launch after being developed and built based on meeting those goals and feedback reports.

The community feedback was a huge portion in shaping how the game was developed. Co-Founder and CEO of Frostkeep Jeremy Wood states that early access “marks a pivotal moment” for the studio. They actually use the program for the way its intended t be used- to garner feedback from the players and develop the game according to how the players want it to be built. Now, it’s about to be released to the masses and even more player feedback will be available for Frostkeep to analyze and build Rend around.

“Our standard for Early Access is simple: the game must be in a state such that if we were to never touch its code ever again, Rend would be considered a finished, complete game worth its buy-to-play-only price. We believe this was the original vision for Early Access and we will hold ourselves and our games to that standard. You should too.”

You can see more updates on Rend’ here. They recently posted about their new UI system and the new creatures and biomes you’ll encounter.

Here’s a developer interview conducted by TechRaptor:

Fantom’s new hard drives for Xbox One require no cables, no power

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Fantom's new hard drives for Xbox One require no cables, no power 13

Fantom Drives has announced a huge new external hard drive for the Xbox One. It’s a colossal drive that holds up to 5TB of storage, and it’s called the “Fantom Drives Xbox One Storage Drive and Hub.” The name is almost as much as the capacity for your games it can provide.

Large EHDs are nothing new. You can easily buy an 8TB to a 16TB external just as you would buy a 1TB. But the cool part is that it’s built for use with the Xbox One. If you’re going to buy a huge drive, chances are that it’s not made just for console use. The drive provides “massive game storage capacity and gamer mobility” so you get a huge drive that’s also portable. It’ll be able to hold over 120 50GB games on any Xbox- without any wires or cables.

That means it’s completely integrated. It uses a USB connector built right into the device, which means you don’t need any USB cables. There’s also no need for an external power supply. It sucks juice from the power the Xbox One outputs. You can take this thing anywhere where there’s an Xbox and bring your data with you. It’s like a huge memory card. No power needed. No cables needed.

CEO of Fantom, Hamid Khorsandi, says they’re trying to provide a “highly mobile storage drive” while maintaining a similar design to the gaming system. The Storage Drive and Hub series is a new line of products which include 2TB and 4TB variants of this drive. Ther are also high-performance SSDs that come in 1TB and 2TB flavors. All drives come with triple USB ports and house a Seagate HDD inside. They’re all compatible with every Xbox One model on the market right now.

The 5TB flagship model retails for just around $250, 2TB at $120, 1TB at $110. There’s no point in buying the 1TB when you can double the storage for just a mere $10 extra. You can check out the drives on Fantom.

Unavowed: A new horror point-and-click coming to PC and Mac August 8th

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Unavowed: A new horror point-and-click coming to PC and Mac August 8th 14

Unavowed, a point-and-click semi-horror adventure game, is coming out for PC and Mac on August 8th, 2018.

The game was in development since 2017 and has been shown off at the Play NYC convention. The game is being made by the same guys behind Blackwell and Gemini Rue. They’re based in New York and called Wadjet Eye Games and are known for their point-and-click titles. A trailer was released by Wadjet Eye Games which shows off the horrific and kinda scary environment and dark tone of the game:

We can see the world’s distinctive artwork and the simple point-and-click gameplay mechanics. It’s all pre-rendered so far with no actual in-game gameplay, but we can expect to see more before the launch. The game has you playing as an unknown protagonist who basically gets possessed and goes crazy. You’re then forced to join an ancient society dedicated to stopping evil. They’re call the Unavowed.

You play through the game’s puzzles and unfold the backstory behind the clan and the society dedicated to fight the oncoming darkness. The game looks pretty crazy with the art and design of the environment and world with a retro pixel art-style look. The Steam page is already up and promises some features like multiple origin stories, branching paths, and companions to choose from. The game is also fully voiced and includes an OST with twice the resolution of a typical Wadjet Eye game.

Nioh 2 will feature character creation and will be more “ideal” to the series

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Koei Tecmo revealed some info about their Nioh 2 game during the PS Live coverage at E3. It looks like it’ll improve upon its previous game with some nice RPG elements and also a character creation mode.

Game director Fumihiko Yasuda outlined the overall goal for the game stating that creating a “proper, natural evolution” from the first game was a necessary step in development. The outcome didn’t result in huge changes but rather improved upon weak areas in the original game. The team was happy over the lukewarm success of Nioh, but this time, they want to fix all the original problems and make this game a more solid version of what they had originally planned.

Team Ninja is well-known for their reaction games but Nioh was more of an RPG. It was a change of pace from what they’re good at making so the game wasn’t perfected the first time around.

The latest addition to the series will have a story that ties in the with the previous game and made in a way where new players will still be able to understand it without playing the original. A character creation option will be available as it was most requested from fans of the game. Players will now be able to modify the race, gender, and looks of their awesome ninja. The experience Team Ninja gained through Nioh will allow them to make an even better game this time around- perhaps to what they had originally planned and we’ll get to experience the world of Nioh in all its glory.

From the trailer, we can’t really see any major differences other than some eye-candy for the time being. We’ll just have to sit tight and take their word for it.

There’s no release date as of now. It’s likely to be initially released on PS4 just like the original game.

Build your own prehistoric civilization in Madruga Works’ next game – Dawn of Man

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Build your own prehistoric civilization in Madruga Works' next game - Dawn of Man 15

Madruga Works is announcing a new game called Dawn of Man.

They’re the devs behind the space colony game Planetbase, which allowed players to explore space and colonize a wide variety of planets- each with their own pros and cons. The game had a few minor issues and wasn’t perfect, but that still didn’t make it a huge flop. It was released on PC and later ported to Xbox One in May 2017.

Madruga Works now is working on Dawn of Man, which is another colonial-type game except it takes place on a smaller, yet more detailed, scale. This time you build out and village tens of thousands of years ago back in the caveman era, or at least it appears so. Humanity is still on the brink of survival and is struggling to make it past the days with basic tools and no electricity. Players will create their own prehistoric village and guide its development and evolution over a period of 10,000 years. It’s like Spore but stuck in the prehistoric era.

Like many other games in this genre, you’ll have to gather basic supplies in order to the proposer. You can farm animals, hunt them, craft stuff, and breed out your population. Gathering materials like wood, stone, flint, berries, meat, skin, clothing, and food are all necessary to mankind.

The Steam store page shows that you can build up your village in preparation for conflict. There will likely be some PvE elements or possibly even PvP as well. The trailer shows off some raiding between players, so PvE is likely confirmed. Wild animals, humans, and other savage beasts lurk around your village and it’s up you to defend it.

The title will be available sometime in late 2018. Sit tight for updates. This time around, it may just be a hit.

Source: TechRaptor.

Sega confirms Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 getting remasters – 60FPS and HD resolutions

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Sega confirms Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 getting remasters - 60FPS and HD resolutions 16

Sega will be releasing a remaster of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5.

Yakuza 3 will be released on 8/9/18 in Japan, as reported by Dengeki PlayStation and Weekly Famitsu. The remasters will update the entire Yakuza library in order to make it playable on the PS4, but not in English. They’ll all run at a smooth 60FPS as well, and also have support for 1080p resolution. There’s no report on when the English version will release as of now.

The game will retail in Japan for 4000 yen. Yakuza 3 is the first of the trilogy to get the remaster. The other titles will come following afterward, as expected.

Yakuza 3 continues the story of Kazuma Kiryu and Haruka Sawamura as they try to forge a new life in Okinawa. Kazuma returns to the Morning Glory orphanage where they plan to hide and wait for the events of Yakuza 1 and 2 settles. Kazuma then has an encounter with Goro Majima and other characters from his past and then finds himself sucked back into the world of crime once again.

Producer Daisuke Saito believes there’s a market for remasters in Japan. Especially with the reception of Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2, remastering older games is a good idea. Several reviews stated that a number of minigames and additional content was implemented for the NA release of the game. Fans should sit tight for the announcement.

SteamVR Input allows control scheme support for pretty much any controller

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SteamVR Input will allow players to use any controller and use custom schemes.

Value has just announced the beta for SteamVR Input.

It’s a new input system that allows players to make bind configs for controllers in the game. This works whether or not the controller is in production when the game is released. This lets Valve’s homegrown JoyToKey or XPadder to work within SteamVR. Players can make any input system and any other player can choose to use it if they want in the Steam Community.

Support for SteamVR Input is built-in to the system and anyone with the application can access the new input system. Developers can also customize default bindings for every controller type and create new control all the schemes without having to go back and change them for each controller type. SteamVR Input is currently in beta, but you can try it out by going to Properties > SteamVR > Beta and select your build.

There’s basic documentation in the announcement post for software and hardware development information that’s worth checking out.

SteamVR Input comes from the announcement that Nintendo Switch Pro Controller will be supported by Steam. The support for this controller and the new input system allows Valve to make a new effort to expand controller support across other builds.

 

Airport security sim TSA Frisky taking flight on May 17, 2018

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Airport security sim TSA Frisky taking flight on May 17, 2018 17

Out There Entertainment’s new TSA Frisky got a release date.

It’s coming out on May 17, 2018 for PC. It’s a VR title that comes with a single-player campaign where you play as a TSA agent and you need to keep everything in order at the airport. You need to make sure all passengers aren’t carrying prohibited items by rummaging their luggage. You’ll have to frisk, watch, ID, scan, and search passengers to find drugs, illegal goods, food, weapons, and even prohibited liquids. It’s a difficult job and it ain’t easy being the TSA guy.

One thing you’ll have to watch out for is your stress meter. If it maxes out, it’s game over. You need to get all passengers through check-in while keeping your stress low- ’cause you know, stress is bad.

TSA Friskyalso has a nice upgrade system where objectives and goals are both available to players looking to improve their skill as a virtual TSA agent. Each shift unlocks new equipment and getter tech as well.

Remy Bustani, a founder of Out There Entertainment, states:

[The team] liked the idea of taking the dreaded security check at the airport and use VR to really exploit the fun in that, VR is a unique platform and gives us as developers the tools to take something out of real life and make something fun out of it.

The game will come out for PC and supports VR systems like Windows Mixed Reality, Occulous Rift, and HTC Vive. You can try a demo of the game on Steam.

Retro action platformer Fox N Forests releases on May 17th

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Fox N Forests is an SNES-era inspired retro platformer.

Fox N Forests will be coming out to PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PS4 on May 17, 2018.

It’s a retro action platformer made by Bonus Level Entertainment and published by EuroVideo. The game was originally funded in 2016 on Kickstarter where it successfully brought in enough capital to build the game. It’s inspired by classic games like Super Ghouls N Ghosts and other similar 16-bit platformers.

The game is described as being “inspired by the classic SNES era” by Bonus Level Entertainment. It takes gameplay elements from Zelda and Castlevania, amongst others. You play as a fox with a crossbow which allows him to switch between two seasons instantly. It also allows you to change the level based on the season you’re currently in which can alter the platform such as freezing water paths or jumping across leaves in winter or autumn. The game also has a nice soundtrack that’s rather catchy and has old-school artwork like you’d expect from the same era.

It’ll be their first project and it’ll be released under EuroVideo’s label Wild River.

They released a video that highlights one of the game’s levels called “Fungus Forest” which you can check out:

Source: TechRaptor.

Surviving Mars set to release on March 15, 2018

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Surviving Mars is set to release on Steam on 3/15.

Surviving Mars, the planetary colony builder developed by Haemimont Games is coming out on March 15, 2018.

If you’ve never heard about this game, it’s a pretty awesome concept. You’re in command of a new colony on Mars and your goal is to expand civilization. It’s a combination of not just humans, but some robotics as well. I’d assume the game takes place sometime in the near future as we’re building the space colony on Mars in real life eventually.

You start the game with a small group of explorers who need to establish basic necessities in order to propagate life on this newfound planet. It’s a game that’ll progress into some very futuristic and awesome tech. You’ll be able to build some giant domes, buildings, automatic structures, and pretty much everything else. It’s like a modern version of SimCity-excepti it takes places on Mars. And it’s in the future. So somethign like SimCity 3000.

the game is similar to other city builders, except that each colonist is an independent AI computer-ccontrolled unit. It has the abilty to affect other units as well. For example, if one uni goes crazy and rebeles, this may affect your expansion rate, research, and even your entire colony’s structure as well- espciaily if that unit aws important.

The game also has an element of surpise as well judiging from the game’s trailer. This adds some random element to the plot I assume.

Surviving Mars seems like a pretty awesome game so far. It’ll be avaialble on 3/15/18 with a price tag of $39.99 on PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, and Xbox One as well. You can check it out on Steam. It’ll be publishedby Paradox Interactive.

Image via Steam page.