Developer Smallthing Studios and publisher Leonardo Interactive have released a brand-new overview trailer for Simon the Sorcerer Origins. It was premiered as a part of the Future Games Show Spring Showcase. It showcases the new gameplay scenes featuring the original voice actor of the main character, Chris Barrie. As well as the music from the soundtrack composed by Mason Fisher.

Simon the Sorcerer Origins is the prequel to the iconic point-and-click adventure from 1993. The events take place in the Magic World filled with powerful wizards and absurd characters. An ancient prophecy summons Simon away from his turbulent teenage life. This new world that is full of puzzles, alchemical contraptions, powerful spells to learn, and tasty stews to munch on.

The game is an all-Italian project that won the favor of Simon and Mike Woodroffe, the original creators of the game. A team of 80 professionals crafted the game with love and dedication to offer a worthy adventure with 15,000 hand-drawn frames.

Of course, the participation of pop legend Rick Astley with his hit Together Forever also makes the game one of the most anticipated releases of the year. The game will be available this year on all the major platforms. This includes PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and PC (Linux, Windows, Mac). It will also be localized in several languages, allowing more players to experience this epic adventure.

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The video game studio Mini Fun Games is proud to announce the release date for its upcoming title Acorn Cop. The game will be coming out on PC, Linux, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS on 14 March 2024. It is inspired by a real-life incident that took place in Florida this year where a police officer mistook a falling acorn for a gun’s sound.

Moreover, there is a demo available on Steam for everyone to try out before its official launch.

Acorn Cop is a 2D first-person shooter that will test your reflex skills. You will step inside the shoes of a cop taking a shooting test. The main objective is to shoot down all the acorns and avoid any human or living thing in sight. It is like a combination of Fruit Ninja with a gun.

Some of the objects that you shoot can turn out to be very useful when destroyed. There are so many collectible items in the game as well. If you miss more than 2 acorns in the 20-minute duration, you will instantly lose. However, if you manage to accomplish it, you will pass the test.

Key features:

– 20-minute format: Do not miss more than 2 acorns and shoot any wrong target for 20 minutes to pass.

– Support items with unique effects: Such as slowing time, clearing all the acorns on the screen, and refilling ammos.

– Funny collectible items: They are optional items, but if you can destroy them, you will earn Steam achievements.

– Classical music: Shooting stuff up while hearing gunshots mixed with classical background music really “makes violence classy”.

– Boss fight: Because all games need boss fights.

– Full controller support: There is a full controller support in the game.

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The Italian indie video game developer 68k Studios is thrilled to announce the full release of Ludus Mortis. After its launch on Steam Early Access back in October 2023, the game is finally ready to offer the complete RPG experience. It is now available on Windows and Linux via Steam and GOG.com. You can purchase it for just $15.29 with a 15% launch discount.

Ludus Mortis is a grid and party-based first-person dungeon crawler that draws inspiration from classic cRPG from the 80s and 90s. The story takes place in a Dark Fantasy version of Imperial Rome in the 4th Century AD. The Senate has become corrupted and has lost its power and influence over the last few decades. Meanwhile, there seems to be no opposition to Emperor Diocletian and his military force beyond the city walls.

The Senate, yearning to reclaim its former prestige, opts for a drastic measure: necromancy. Thus, they raise an army of undead and demons to challenge the Emperor and his imperial forces. They succeded in defeating the Emperor as well.

However, the undead legions seized control, even exerting dominance over the Senate members themselves. This led to the creation of a rift in the common people and made them live in constant fear. This created a rift among the common people and made them live in fear for their lives.

Amid these tumultuous occurrences, an ancient gladiatorial academy persisted in honing the best soldiers for the arena. Now, its focus has shifted towards combatting the undead onslaught and restoring tranquility to the Roman Empire.

Manage and develop your school, improve the facilities, acquire new gladiators, and craft new equipment. Form your party and explore catacombs and dungeons in a turn-based combat system. There are various loots to discover with thousands of different combinations.

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ToastedSquadStudios is thrilled to announce the release of the latest update for their top-down roguelike game, Spellbound Survivors. There will be multiple language support coming soon as well. The developer also mentioned that the Linux compatibility is also working perfectly. And the team is also making sure the game runs flawlessly on Linux too.

To ensure smoother and more polished gameplay, there will be regular, fixed-hour patches. So, make sure to keep an eye out for these consistent updates.

Patch Update 1.0.6.0 Highlights:

Bug fixes

– Esc and Gamepad B buttons are now associated with going back through the menus and pausing/unpausing
– Full-screen mode is now a borderless window to avoid issues when changing focus
– Keyboard buttons (E/R) can now be used to navigate the legend bar items
– Fixed treasure hitbox
– Fixed loots on level-up reward
– Removed map effects on the final boss fight

Improvements

– Some ultimate attacks are stronger now
– Increased move speed gain from power-up
– Added dash and ultimate power-ups
– Optimized Lightning and Poison evolutions
– Enemies don’t spawn in boss fights
– Bosses are faster, with more attacks and less cooldown
– The first boss on each map now also has an attack
– Replaced coin pickup with 10 coins
– Ronin’s ultimate last slashes have been increased
– Updated loots reward icon
– Power-up rank now appears on the left page of the book
– Updated Rainfall Haven and Ancient Sand to remove obstacles enemies could pass and players couldn’t
– Updated move speed icon and swift icon
– Quit button in pause menu now go to the results screen
– The legend bar is disabled until the ultimate attack is finished
– Exile doesn’t skip level up reward anymore
– Bosses teleport when they are too far from the player

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Today, the award-winning indie game studio Orchid of Redemption has announced exciting news for everyone. Their upcoming first-person platformer Dream of the Star Haven will be available on Steam Early Access for PC, Mac, and Linux on 25 January. The cool part is that it will be free of cost. Players can dive right into it and share their valuable feedback to help shape the development of the game.

“Gaming is in an era of unchecked excess where games keep getting bigger, demanding more of our time, piling on busywork mechanics and often being an assault on the senses,” said Alexander Thumm, Director of Orchid of Redemption.

“Dream of the Star Haven is an antidote to that. It’s just a drop in the ocean, but for the right people at the right time, it can offer a much-needed moment of clarity. Through Steam Early Access, we aim to cultivate that feeling in collaboration with a community who are excited both to play within it and to help guide its growth.”

Dream of the Star Haven is a tranquil first-person platforming adventure game. It will take you on a dreamlike journey through islands in the sky where there are no threats. Your only purpose is simply to travel the ethereal islands in search of stars.

The game features a mesmerizing combination of triple-leap ability and a magical scanner. Both of them are essential tools for navigating the celestial archipelago. You must master the cosmic leap, and explore the breathtaking landscapes.

Bend the gravity at your will with the power to turn the world upside-down. Find the stars scattered across the islands using the magical scanner that will help you locate them. As you progress, you will unravel remnants of a celestial era.

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The Beekeeper’s Picnic is a cozy point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Jabbage. The game is inspired by the stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but it is much more light-hearted and humorous. It will be available for Windows, Mac, and Linux through Itch.io and Steam. Moreover, the game is planned for release in Q3 of 2024.

The game takes place in a sleepy Sussex Village in 1920. Sherlock Holmes, now retired and living as a beekeeper, is planning a surprise picnic for his dear friend Dr. Watson. However, a series of pesky mysteries keep getting in the way.

Holmes must use his detective skills to solve puzzles, interrogate suspects, and gather clues in order to uncover the truth. And finally, complete the picnic preparations. Along the way, he will meet a cast of eccentric characters. This includes his old friend Dr. Watson, as well as a variety of other villagers.

Here are some key features of the game:

• A heartwarming story about friendship and reconciliation
• A charming cast of eccentric characters
• Beautiful hand-drawn visuals
• A variety of puzzles to solve
• A relaxing and immersive gameplay experience

If you are a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories or point-and-click puzzle games with a lot of mysteries. Then you should definitely keep an eye on this one.

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Counter-Strike 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the iconic first-person shooter, was initially announced as a free update to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) in March. The game’s official X account recently posted a cryptic question on social media, asking users what they were doing next Wednesday. This has led to speculation that the official launch of Counter-Strike 2 may finally be happening on September 27. The announcement of Counter-Strike 2 came with three separate videos detailing major upgrades to the game:

• Leveling Up The World: This video focused on map upgrades, suggesting that players can expect new and improved environments to explore.
• Moving Beyond Tick Rate: The second video detailed new movement and shooting mechanics, indicating that players can look forward to enhanced gameplay experiences.
• Responsive Smokes: The third video discussed new “dynamic volumetric” smoke grenades, suggesting that players will have more strategic options when it comes to using smoke for cover.

A limited test of Counter-Strike 2 was offered to current CS:GO players, with invitations to the test sent to users based on parameters like playing time and Steam account status. The latest update for the limited test was posted on the game’s official website on August 31, revealing that a new map called Inferno would be coming in the next update, along with the new CS Rating ranking system. If the September 27 launch date is indeed confirmed, players can expect a new and improved Counter-Strike experience with upgraded maps, movement and shooting mechanics, and dynamic smoke grenades. Additionally, the game will feature a CS Rating ranking system to provide a more competitive and rewarding gameplay experience for players

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Unity, a software development company, recently announced plans to charge developers every time a game that uses its Unity engine is installed, starting in January 2024. The proposed Unity Runtime Fee would apply to games that meet a minimum revenue threshold and have passed a minimum lifetime install count. However, following a huge backlash from game developers, Unity issued an apology and said it planned to make changes to the policy, which it would communicate in the coming days.

According to Bloomberg, Unity staff were informed of tentative changes to the Unity Runtime Fee during an all-hands meeting on Monday. The changes include limiting fees to 4% of a game’s revenue over $1 million, not making installations counted toward reaching the threshold retroactive, and no longer tracking installations by proprietary tools. Instead, Unity will rely on users to self-report the data. During the meeting, Unity CEO John Riccitiello claimed that the proposed fee is a massively transformational change to their business model, and he acknowledged that they could have done a lot of things better. He also mentioned that he doesn’t think there’s any version of this that would have gone down a whole lot differently than what happened. Last week, Unity closed two offices and cancelled a planned town hall meeting following what was apparently a credible death threat. 

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Okay, problem: you’ve got a whole bunch of humans lying around, gathering dust. What do you do with them? You feed them to a procedurally generated dungeon, of course! Despot’s Game: Dystopian Army Builder is the roguelike RTS you’ve been waiting for, assuming your surplus human supply is starting to get stale. Gathering an army of these hapless fools is a great time, although the roguelike element is almost too prevalent.

Rather, the potential for strategy is erased in the face of the mechanics. Access to skills is randomized through shop encounters. You never know which fight will cause a shop to pop up, although they appear pretty frequently. Skill supplies are limited, but you can buy as many recruits as you can afford. All of this sounds extremely deliberate, yes? It’s only once the fight begins that everything falls to chaos. Once you hit go, your army does exactly that.

You can choose where to place your units. But they still more or less do their own thing during battle. Some classes are better on the front line or the back, but that’s kind of it. This, even more than the roguelike element, makes Despot’s Game one of chance. I love watching these little guys go to war! But I hate the helpless feeling of seeing them get crushed. It just feels like it’s beyond my control, you know? Rather than an issue, this represents the central thrust of the game. This is a struggle to perform enough planning to make your victory assured.

Win Before The First Move

The controls work decent on a gamepad, but this is meant for a keyboard and mouse. I tried using an Xbox controller for a while, but there are just certain functions I couldn’t get used to. Switching the game speed, for example. Or, more importantly, applying class items to your fighters. It’s a weird system either way, but it’s much clumsier on the gamepad. Console players will figure it out just fine, but my recommendation is for the PC version, if you can. Beyond the infrequent gamepad hitches, Despot’s Game feels pretty intuitive. Since your army fights automatically, you’re not struggling to balance too many inputs at once, which is nice.

I haven’t mentioned the story until now. There is technically a narrative framework, but it’s extremely barebones. You’re here for the action, after all. If you must know, a malevolent intelligence is using humans as guinea pigs to work out the kinks in their dungeon. We’re not great at surviving, so quite a few humans are needed. The writing is clever, if a little simple, and the text is packed with humor. If you’re paying attention, you’ll catch a few snappy lines. But again, we’re here to fight.

While the action can feel a bit random, it’s also communicated clearly. Your fighters are all distinct, clearly defined characters. Simple things like swords, fridges, boxing gloves, and sailor uniforms mark out each class. The enemies are well-crafted and beautifully animated. Although fighter deaths sometimes come and go in a blink, there are systems that ensure you know what’s happening. The icons for every class don’t immediately make sense, but they’re all unique. So you’ll memorize their functions before long, which I appreciate.

A Rag-Tag Bunch of Brawlers

Though every class can be slotted into a larger section, they still feel unique. The healers all serve different functions, and the brawler types have very little overlap. You even get bonuses for gathering different class types in the same army. It’s a complex, fascinating system. I only wish it didn’t feel so useless after a while. Once you get far enough in Despot’s Game, type matchups become essential. Yet, if the shops didn’t spit out enough of the type you need up till now, you’re just… doomed? I’ve had to watch several armies melt away, simply because some class type was insufficiently represented. You keenly feel the lack of control, and it seems like the choice was made for you ages ago.

This game is a great time, with a couple minor caveats. If you don’t mind the random, roguelike nature of the combat, then you’ll love it. If you’re playing on PC, you’ll love it even more. The writing is snappy, the action is fast-paced, and the character designs are terrific. I had a hard time grappling with the roguelike elements, however. There’s certain patience this sort of system demands of you, and I don’t have enough of it. On the other hand, if running experiments on hapless humans in dank dungeons appeals to you, take heart! Despot’s Game will be right up your alley.

***A Steam Key was provided by the publisher***

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I’m a big fan of city builders. It’s one of those evergreen genres that remains vital thanks to new approaches and especially, new environments in which to build a growing community. That’s a great way to describe The Wandering Village. At its core, it’s a pretty traditional city building sim. But the twist is that you’re growing a thriving village on the back of a lumbering colossus.

The Portable Village

The premise of The Wandering Village is simple but brilliant. The planet is being poisoned by ever-spreading spores. To survive, its people relocate to the backs of immense, six-legged dinosaurs called Onbu. The Onbu are so massive that they have entire biomes on their backs, complete with trees, berries, rocks and sources of water. Being colossal in size, the settlements are high above the poisoned planet, though not entirely immune from the effects of the spores below.

Onbu are slow-moving but mobile and they move through different environments like deserts and deadly fields of spores. To some extent, you can control where the Onbu goes, but we’ll get into that in a moment. I think that building a civilization on the back of a protective but delicate beast that needs care is probably an allegory. You know, for us and the earth.

Build and Grow

If you’ve played city builder/strategy games, you know the basic drill. You need to gather resources to construct the core necessities to support life. It always starts with housing, food sources, storage for materials. As you build and grow, you move up a tech tree, which allows for more advanced, specialized structures. You watch that your tiny people are happy, well-fed, and busy with work. Now and then refugees will approach your village, seeking assimilation.

Every game handles these tasks a little differently, but The Wandering Village has one of the most intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces I’ve ever seen. It’s a model for balancing the need for information and ease of access. It isn’t cluttered with submenus or hidden but important tasks. I wish every developer in the genre would study what Stray Fawn has done with the mechanic.

But back — literally — to the Onbu. Your relationship to the colossal dinosaur adds an entirely new layer to survival. Aside from the basic and universal building tasks, your village’s relationship to Onbu has its own tech tree. Your biggest goal is to win the trust of your protector. So you learn to feed it, pet it and even guide it through the world. Eventually, you can control a wide range of Onbu’s behavior. While the Onbu still has a lot of autonomy and doesn’t necessarily follow your instructions, it’s amazing how quickly you’ll become attached and protective of the giant on which you ride.

Simplicity and Challenge

The Wandering Village nails a stylized visual concept that is colourful and appealing. Everything has enough telling detail and design to make structures and villagers easy to read when zoomed out, but engaging and entertaining zoomed in close. Moving from a villager to a 30,000-foot view is as easy as scrolling the mouse wheel. Both are important in guiding Onbu and getting to know your settlement. The game’s music fits the visuals like a glove. It’s like a world music greatest hits, fusing percussion, tribal-sounding vocals, and ethnic winds.

The Wandering Village has the art direction of a welcoming city builder, but underneath that benign veneer is a plenty challenging game, especially at difficulties beyond the beginner stage. There are myriad ways your population can decrease. As with most city builders, the death of your tiny citizens is almost always your fault. Even when Onbu decides to detour into an inhospitable zone, there are ways to prepare and protect your populace.

I enjoyed just about everything The Wandering Village had to offer, from its concept to its execution. It’s a unique take on an established genre, combining familiar mechanics, a perfect interface and a twist that keeps the player engaged. I look forward to following The Wandering Village wherever it wanders as it moves towards eventual release.

***The Wandering Village preview code provided by the publisher.***

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Psychonauts 2 physical versions have been spotted on Amazon. Eagle-eyed fans found out through Amazon Germany’s listings that Psychonauts 2: Motherlobe is releasing physically for Xbox consoles and PS4 on September 27th.

This is very good news for Psychonauts 2 fans. After all, there has been no physical retail launch for the game. The game also took its sweet time before being available in the market. Devs eventually released the game digitally to the gaming public last August. At the time, the game was optimized for Xbox Series X/S. The Mac and Linux versions followed just this May.

Developer Double Fine is now hard at work at multiple new projects. In fact, they have the studio split up on different assignments. “The studio is already splitting up into various teams and starting different projects that we think you will enjoy,” devs sad last December. “We like experimentation here at Double Fine.”

“There was a period at the end of Psychonauts 2 where we had all hands on deck to finish the game,” Schafer continued. “But we are definitely going back to multiple projects afterward.”

At the moment, it remains unclear what these new projects are going to be. However, Double Fine boss Tim Schafer did previously reveal that the studio is planning to come up with something original and “completely surprising.” “Every game is a chance to explore new ideas, new visual styles or gameplay, emotions, and more,” devs added.

Microsoft acquired the studio in 2019. Since then, Double Fine has “been trusted to handle the creative side completely.” “We have been given so much creative freedom now,” Schafer said. “Nobody has probed Psychonauts to second-guess our decisions or anything like that.”

They had access to the resources but were pretty much left to their own devices. “That has been great,” he continued. “Microsoft has lived up to their word as far as what they said before the acquisition.”

Are you playing the game? Let us know in the comments below.

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Nostalgia is a powerful weapon these days. Huge companies are wielding it like a hammer, pounding the past into our skulls from every angle. That said, I am absolutely not immune to this tactic. You want to exploit my memories of a mediocre children’s cartoon? It totally works! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a shotgun blast of days gone by, and I love it. If you’re rife with fond feelings for the Turtles and their adventures, buckle up. You’re in for a shell of a ride.

Every frame of this game is crammed with references. Some are subtle, like the level design. Others are more direct, like every single character. If you ever played with any of these toys as a kid, expect it all to come rushing back. The van? The blimp? Bebop and Rocksteady? All of it triggered some deep, deep memories. I even found myself casually flipping through listings for the old toys on eBay. On the other hand, what if you’re too young to remember this wild time in commercialized storytelling? Will any of this uncut nostalgia hit the same? If nothing else, the animation is excellent.

Pixel art is an evolving form of expression. The sprites of old are nothing compared to what we’ve got now. Case in point, Shredder’s Revenge is incredibly fluid. Things like attacks, effects, death animations, and taunts all feel expressive and potent. Not only your characters, but all of the enemies move with polished grace. This makes the simplest actions a joy to watch and perform. Like the old cartoons, tangible objects and static backgrounds have two distinct looks. Thankfully, both are crisp, clean, and colorful. This isn’t quite the bright yet bleary world of the ’87 children’s show. It’s a drastic improvement, an HD extravaganza replacing muddy VHS captures.

The Cartoons Come To Life

Not only do the fights look great, they feel good too. Combat is a surprisingly deliberate affair for a side-scrolling beat ’em up. Story mode gives you lots of room to experiment, teaching you the correct path forward with every defeat. There are also a lot more moves to play around with than I assumed at first. Jumps, strikes, dodges, and supers all roll together with ease. Before long you’ll be pulling off simple yet effective combos, smashing through even the toughest opponents. Oddly enough, the stage bosses are much easier to overcome than the grunts.

Yes, the game can be tough. But there are ways to mitigate this. I played through the story mode on Medium difficulty, and I did struggle for a bit. But once you find your groove and/or character of choice, Shredder’s Revenge really opens up. Everyone’s speed, range, and power are different enough that you need to at least try every fighter. You can also team up with a friend or five to try and even the odds. Honestly, local co-op is the way games like this are meant to be played. However you choose to tackle this game, you’ll find the difficulty curve nuanced and approachable.

A Lot Of Excellent Songs Here

Right from the opening, Shredder’s Revenge has a terrific soundtrack. The songs are a mix of hip hop and Saturday morning rock tunes. Apparently one of them is by the Wu-Tang clan??? The theme song is still perfect all these years later, and even the non-vocal tracks are punchy fun. The voice acting is… sort of weird? The devs rounded up a bunch of the original actors. It’s awesome hearing the Turtles sound so familiar, but it’s also super disorienting. Donatello and Leonardo sound like old men, full stop. But maybe they always did. It’s wild that we didn’t notice this when we were kids, is what I’m saying.

Shredder’s Revenge has a pretty specific target audience. But if you fall within that narrow strike zone, this game is amazing. The animation is incredible, the action is well-crafted, and that Turtles attitude is on full display. If you aren’t an old-school TMNT fan with a penchant for beat ’em ups, maybe you can appreciate the pixel art. The actual game design is excellent, as well. It’s just hard to imagine what this game looks like without nostalgia goggles on. Even if you’ve never seen a single episode of that extremely dated cartoon, check this game out. I promise TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge is a blast either way.

***A Steam key was provided by the publisher***

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Summer Game Fest is an opportunity for the indie community to showcase their creative projects. Indie games are often delightful experiments with new and unique concepts, designed to get us thinking and feeling. The games on display this year covered the full range of the scary, the adventurous, the puzzling, and more. We are here to focus on five games highlighted during Summer Game Fest – more specifically, Day of the Devs – that offer something heartwarming. These are games that are quirky and wholesome, the kind you want to sit down and play on a rainy afternoon. Here are our picks for the five most heartwarming indie games of Summer Game Fest.

5. A Little to the Left

Developed by Max Inferno, A Little to the Left is a relaxing and engaging puzzle-solving game about organization. Using everyday objects as inspiration, players will need to figure out how best to keep things neat and tidy. Many puzzles in the game will have multiple solutions, and the developers have stated that the more puzzles you complete, the more surreal the solutions become. They can start out as simple as arranging things from largest to smallest but will soon spiral to abstract answers about the nature of the objects in question.

As an added feature, from time to time the developer’s cat will make its presence known on-screen. While you are trying to keep things need and tidy, the cat will of course find a way to mess things up just to keep you on your toes – like a real cat! This can include batting objects across the table, or a random tail swish pushing things aside. It’s not meant to be a hindrance to your progress, only a touch of slice-of-life realism. At Summer Game Fest the developers also mentioned a daily organizational challenge. Each day a new puzzle will be made available and completing a certain amount rewards you with badges.

A Little to the Left is due out later this year and will be available on Mac, PC, and Nintendo Switch. For more information, check out the game’s official website.

4. Bear and Breakfast

Sim, management, and farming games are all the rage. They offer a relaxing chance to – much like the previous entry – keep things nice and organized just as you like them. Bear and Breakfast rolls these mechanics together with an adorable art style and clever premise like a fun twist on Goldilocks. You play as Hank, an entrepreneurial bear who has noticed that humans are coming back to the forest. What problem does this pose? They have nowhere to stay! Hank takes it upon himself to start building a lovely Bed and Breakfast for the humans to make them feel welcome. The art style alone is one you can’t help but smile at and the idea of people casually staying at a B&B run by a bear is outlandish in the best way.

You’ll forage (of course you will) for the materials needed to build rooms and furniture. You’ll answer customer requests to make sure everybody is clean, comfortable, and happy. You’ll even learn to cook for them so they can be well fed. There is an overarching narrative to the game as Hank progresses in building a better and better B&B but there is something so charming about the concept and presentation of the game. It offers so much heart just by looking at it. This was a game I was delighted to see at Summer Game Fest, and the team at Armor Games hasn’t put any time constraints or worrisome restrictions either, so you can just play at your own pace and enjoy the weirdness of it all.

Bear and Breakfast is also due out July 28th, 2022, and will be available on PC and Nintendo Switch. For more information, check out the game’s official website.

3. Planet of Lana

This is a personal story of love and adventure that takes place behind a much larger story. In Planet of Lana, your home planet has been invaded by machines. The world is at war, but your only concern is the well-being of your missing sister. Helping you along the way is a mysterious, imp-like creature called Mui. Mui is able to manipulate the environment to help you overcome obstacles, but it also has a strange connection to the odd creatures of the land.

This is a beautiful, brightly colored side-scrolling platformer that tells the story of your journey to rescue your sister. The finer details that go into Mui and the other creatures are fluid and tell so much about the characters entirely on their mannerisms. It’s a tale of love against the backdrop of war. It’s an adventure to save the person you care for the most, and most importantly, it reminds us that not all problems need aggression as a solution.

Planet of Lana is set to release later this year and will be available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. For more information, check out the game’s official website.

2. NAIAD

You are a water nymph, guardian of the water and all who reside within it. In this minimalist title, you’ll swim through fountains, lakes, rivers, and springs to encounter precious wildlife. You’ll help fish get out of dangerous situations, and be part of the balance of nature. You’ll even learn from the creatures you encounter, like how ducks can dive. NAIAD is a game about the beauty and peace of nature and life.

Told from a top-down perspective, you can customize the color of Naiad’s hair and the flower which sits within it. It’s a serene, almost meditative experience to get lost in and enjoy. Much like the other entries on this list, its art style is simple but colorful. It’s inspiring to look at and encourages you to stop and smell the roses along the way.

NAIAD is set for release in Q3 of 2022 and will be available on Mac, PC, and other platforms. For more information, check out the game’s official website.

1. SCHiM

SCHiM is a remarkable game in which players take on the role of, well, a schim. A schim is the spirit found within everything in the world, alive and inanimate. In this case, you play a schim who has been separated from their human and you must find your way back. Schims can only move through the shadows, hoping like a frog from one point of darkness to the next on their quest to be reunited with their human.

Using single colors for each stage allows for the shadows to pop on-screen, helping you plan your next move. The camera can be rotated to find new paths and tricks previously unavailable to you. You’ll even be able to encounter other schim’s and help them on their way home too. It’s another example of the finer details adding so much personality and character to what is otherwise a small black blob. It’s a game of exploration and puzzle-solving, observing the environment as you plan your next move to get home. It’s almost like an interactive Pixar film.

SCHiM does not yet have a release date, but it is slated to be available on PC, Mac, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. For more information, check out the game’s official website.

Which indies did you think were the most heartwarming at Summer Game Fest this year? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or the Comment section below.

The post Summer Game Fest 5 Most Heartwarming Indie Games appeared first on COGconnected.

For those who want to crash into a mix between Alien: Isolation and Dead Space, and were not able to do so before: now is the time!

Syndrome, which came out originally on PC and Xbox One in 2016, and PlayStation 4 in 2017, can now be found on the Nintendo Switch. Currently, the game can be found in the e-Nintendo Store. Though it has not been said if there are any physical copies of the game that can be bought for the Switch, currently there is a deal going in the Nintendo store. The game itself is 60% off! Not a bad deal!

As for what the game is about, well. As previously covered, Syndrome (previously called Sleepers before having the game changed to avoid copyright issues) is a first-person combination of shooter and survival horror game.

After waking from a cryosleep, players find themselves seemingly alone in the most advanced space station. A voice on the comms says that something in space is kidnapping and hunting others on the ship. The best way to survive is to run and hide. But still- there may be tricks going on in the player’s mind, meaning that all of the running and hiding may be for naught- that this could all be in their mind.

RedDeerGames, who is publishing the Switch Version of the game, also released a new announcement trailer for the game. While it does look brutal, in watching the game, there are some reminders of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and Soma- albeit with the brutality of Dead Space or Alien: Isolation, as stated by the press release.

For those who are interested in the Nintendo Switch version of the game, as stated before, the game itself is 60% off, making it currently $9.99 in the Nintendo digital store. For those who do not have the Switch, the game can still be found on PC, Xbox One, and  PlayStation 4.

Source: Press Release

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A new collaboration has been released onto Minecraft. It’s not a doggy daycare, nor is it a full DLC, but it is an exciting development for people who miss the old-school fighting games.

Called the Warrior Skin Pack, 57Digital and Capcom have brought together a new pack for Minecrafters to enjoy. For those who are familiar with the Street Fighter series (or as they’re also known World Warrior), they have released 35 skins for players to choose from. These include the classic street fighter characters such as Ryu, Luke, Ken, and Chun-Li.

As part of the celebration for the release, Minecraft is gifting one free Character Creator item for players to claim plus twelve paid character creator items.

While this is not a free DLC, like Crafty Costumes, Timeless Toy Skins, and other DLCs by Minecraft, the price isn’t outrageous either. On the Minecraft Marketplace, the Warrior Skins Pack is currently 490, making the conversation rate at a little over 2.00 to 3.00 USD.  For those who are a fan of the Street Fighter franchise, or simply would like to go with the idea of punching creepers while exploring the world in survival mode, this could be a lot of fun for long-time fans of Minecraft fans or Street Fighter lovers.

Whether this means other future collaborations between Capcom and Minecraft in the future- with perhaps, being able to fight Creepers or other monsters in the next Street Fighter game- has yet to be seen.

For those that are interested, the Warrior Pack is currently available now, for any Minecraft using device- on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Would you want to have the Street Fighter skins for your Minecraft experience? What sort of Minecraft collaborations do you want to see in the future? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

SOURCE

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Rust is a survival sandbox game, known for running around, grabbing rocks, and running into players that may or may not kill you. While it seems a rather simple concept, apparently that’s part of Rust’s appeal- at least to a few people. Just a few.

According to Rust’s developer’s Facepunch studios, they have sold 12,481,079 copies of the game and sold 1,111, 846 DLCs for Rust. According to the studio, they believe that their efforts in the past year have contributed to the rise in sales.

“2021 was an exceptional year for Rust in almost all regards, after 8 years of continuous development Rust has gone from strength to strength. In 2021 Rust blew up on Twitch, we saw record-high player counts, released Voice Props DLC Pack, World revamp, missions, freight trains, underwater labs, gestures, submarines, MLRS and so much more.”

All of this was part of their recap of the 2021 announcement, as they celebrated having eight years of continuously developing Rust. They also mentioned that their Voice Props DLC Pack was the best-selling DLC. That particular DLC contained a cassette recorder, mic stand, chunky old school mobile phone, disco floors, a megaphone to shout at other players, and various other items that came under the same audio theme.

(Which in a way makes practical sense, as the game is known for using voice chat to beg other players not to kill you).

While Facepunch is celebrating Rust’s success, they are not sitting idle in the least. After the holiday event, which has since packed up, Facepunch has promised monthly patches and updates on the first Thursday of every month.

Moreover, there has been a promise too that during this year “you can expect to see new weapons, deployables, events, vehicles, animals and so much more“.

This may have to do with the promised big update in February, where  Rust will see a “heap load of quality of life changes” or the promise of a very soon-to-be-released arctic monument. Either way, it looks like Rust is still going strong.

SOURCE

The post Survival Sandbox Rust Has Sold Over 12 Million appeared first on COGconnected.

War Thunder is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online military game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac and Linux. The game offers over 1,700 playable aircraft, vehicles and ships from the 1930s to the 2000s. War Thunder boasts historical accuracy and regular updates for their franchise.

Winged Lions, this month’s update, focuses on the Israeli Air Force which was formed after World War II. Therefore, their aircraft will start at rank IV as players research these machines and decide how they want to use them. The Israeli fleet consists of imported aircraft that have been adapted to fit in their locale perfectly. They include rockets with shape-charge warheads, new calibres of bombs, air-to-air missiles and guided bombs.

Gaijin Entertainment has released a teaser trailer to give players an idea of what to expect later this month. Players with early access packs will have access to closed testing of the Israeli aviation as soon as the Winged Lions update goes live.

Also featured in the trailer is another key update coming in Winged Lions: ship-launched reconnaissance aircraft. Many WW II warships had this capability, and War Thunder is finally making it available to players. This update will allow players to scout their enemies and attack them directly from the sea. While these planes are small, tactically they can make a big difference in any large-scale battle.

In addition, Winged Lions will add several modern tanks to the game. This includes the Challenger 2 TES, Leclerc SXXI and the Japanese MBT Type 10. The Type 10 may be the most popular amongst players as it features an automatic loader in its rear, increasing the rate of fire.

While there is no official date yet, Gaijin Entertainment says Winged Lions will come out later this month. Which new vehicle are you most excited for?

SOURCE

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Computer programming can be incredibly daunting to get into in this day and age. Impossibly complex programs have become standard in the industry, and learning can be a frustrating, time-consuming and expensive commitment. Fortunately, there are alternative options.

Starting in 2013, Twilio released their gamified tutor TwilioQuest. Now releasing version 3.2, it’s easier than ever to learn programming in a fun but not dumbed-down way. TwilioQuest begins with an intro cinematic that explains the adventure you are yet to embark on and starts off teaching you JavaScript and Python. Each of these real-life languages features a fantastical premise behind them, such as the Pythonic Temple which is supposed to be the last surviving structure of the “Ancient City of Python.” Adding this mystical and playful element to programming undoubtedly increases motivation to learn to program. It’s the same as playing any other game, and the skills you pick up directly translate into a skill you can use for work or play.

The gameplay consists of Zelda-like RPG elements and simple yet charming graphics. The environments are pretty simple tile-based isometric locations but are all distinct. My favourite is the JavaScript Test Lab, which is a space station similar to that of 2017’s Prey. Every action in the game is carried out by a line of code. For example, you might encounter a door that is locked because of a code malfunction. To open the door, you have to write a line of code that allows the door to complete a mathematical operation. The problems get harder to solve as the game progresses, and you have to actually solve problems logically and combine all the programming knowledge you gained.

TwilioQuest is a brilliant idea that more people need to be exposed to. Learning to code in a fun and rewarding manner makes that information so much more meaningful. If you’re more interested in seeing what other people code, check this out! What do you think about TwilioQuest? Do you think it would be an effective way to learn? Have you heard of it before? Let us know in the comments below!

SOURCE

The post SNES Style Game Teaches You to Code appeared first on COGconnected.

When you think of the words bird and skating, you may picture The Birdman himself, Tony Hawk, hitting the 900 at the X-Games. However, this is not the case for talented folk at Glass Bottom Games. They have stuck the two together, creating the charmingly comical SkateBird, but does hit the landing or bail?

The skateboarding genre is in the midst of a resurgence. Where Session and Skater XL aim to faithfully replicate the experience, others such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater focus on arcade fun. SkateBIRD is something else entirely. With its odd premise, you clumsily wander environments completing the range of objectives that lie within. Fun? Silly? Frustrating? The game will take you through a half-pipe of emotions. Want to find out more? Check out our full review below.

SkateBIRD is available now on Xbox, Switch, PC and Mac, and you can read our full review here. Are you excited to kickflip as a graceful bird? Is this odd combination exactly what you’ve looking for? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter, and don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more great video game content.

Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.

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The post SkateBIRD Video Review – Birds and Boards appeared first on COGconnected.

Skateboarding is cool. But what if it was also incredibly cute? SkateBIRD is here to bring this brilliant idea to life. Truthfully, I came to this game with a single hope in mind: to be a bird on a board, at peace with the world. For the most part, it delivers. This is still a skateboarding game, however. Some frustration, some elation, and a lot of practice are baked into the DNA, so to speak. My fluttering hopes aside, SkateBIRD easily achieves its core goals. I’m less certain that it goes beyond them, nor do I know if it even needs to.

Your owner, ‘Big Friend,’ is feeling pretty miserable at their job. It’s up to you and all the other birds to do something about it. And that’s the whole story! It’s simple but effective. The dialogue is cute, clever, and fun. Every corner of this game is packed with bird jokes both great and small. From the ‘Thrusher’ magazine covers to the cameos from familiar birds, SkateBIRD truly commits to the bit. But while I loved the writing, I wrestled a bit with the gameplay.

Just A Super Weird Jump Arc

To be clear, I was absolutely expecting this. My love for skateboarding games is almost inverse to my skill at them. Every entry in the genre is a slog for me, but it doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm even slightly. That said, this is still a solid departure from your usual skate sim. Your bird has a built-in double jump, but it comes with a long, weird arc. Doing tricks is simple enough, but they also truly do not matter. Every major mission is centered around getting this tiny, clumsy creature into impossible places at breakneck speeds. It’s never impossible, but it always feels that way for a while.

Here’s where the mission structure shines, in spite of my grievances. You’re given free access to the whole level. Each mission is just hanging around, waiting to be fired up. This means you can always practice a tough part of any mission without the clock nipping at your heels. I used this feature constantly, slowly turning mountains into molehills with patient repetition. It’s an essential feature, especially while you’re learning to steer these birds around.

Steering is somehow both the simplest and the most frustrating part of the overall mechanics. You build up speed gradually, through quick dips onto half-pipes and ramps. Your turn radius is crazy wide, which means narrow passages are a nightmare to navigate. Plus, the crash animation feels just a little too long. When combined, all these tiny problems make certain mistakes feel quite costly. A shocking amount of my time was spent zipping off of ledges after botching a hairpin turn. Again, I’m fully prepared to chalk some of this up to my habitual ineptitude. It’s possible that no one else will have this problem with SkateBIRD. For now, I have to assume that very small birds are just bad at steering with their feet and wings.

Skate For Your Soundtrack

Another perk to these wide open stages is the ability to patiently explore every part of a level, finding things like soundtrack expansions and new outfit pieces. The soundtracks should be your number one priority. It turns out the song list is pretty short at the start. I loved every song I heard, the first dozen times I heard them. On the other hand, you start out with an aggressive amount of bird customization available. From feather patterns to tiny hats to jaunty scarves, you’ve got a ton of options. I’d love to see a wider variety of bird sizes, but I understand why they’re not available. If nothing else, tiny birds are cute as heck.

Admittedly, my expectations for this game were somewhat low. So long as there were birds on boards, what else could I ask for? And yet, SkateBIRD manages to capture a little of that pure boarding mana, scuffs and all. The controls may skew wide and weird at times, but isn’t it only appropriate? How else would it feel to make a tiny bird steer a skateboard around its owner’s room? I don’t love the initially limited music selection, but I do appreciate going on the hunt for more tracks. Beyond the controls, the customization, and the music, there’s a solid core of skating here. You can easily fall into a calming loop of practice and progress. While it’s not perfect, SkateBIRD’s cute premise and its reliable mechanics make for a pretty fun ride.

***A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher***

The post SkateBIRD Review – Birds And Boards appeared first on COGconnected.

This has been the year for fans of 4x. We’ve recently seen the release of both Humankind and Old World, each attempting to bring something slightly new to the genre without actually straying very far from the template that the Civilization franchise has dominated for so long. And while each of the newcomers has found an audience, no one is claiming that either game comes close to replacing Civilization VI for accessibility, polish, and most especially, breadth of content. Want proof? Just dive into the Civilization VI Anthology.

Available now for consoles and PC, the Anthology is one of a potentially confusing array of DLC collections but forget about the rest, Anthology is the one that is most inclusive. In addition to the base game, it bundles together everything that is found in the Nubia Civilization & Scenario Pack, the Khmer and Indonesia Civilization & Scenario Pack, the Maya & Gran Colombia Pack, the Ethiopia Pack, and the Bzyantium & Gaul Packs. And when you’re done with those, you can dive into the Babylon Pack the Vietnam Pack,  the Portugal Pack, the Teddy Roosevelt Persona Pack and the Catherine de Medici Persona Pack. Lastly, Anthology includes the major New Frontier and Gathering Storm expansions. It’s no exaggeration to suggest that there are many hundreds of hours of content available.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI was first released in 2016, continuing the series along the path that had started with the fifth entry, featuring a new graphical style and a console/controller friendly interface. Especially in its later chapters, the Civ series has tried to balance depth with ease of use and especially offer a wide variety of options, victory conditions, and interesting new additions to a traditional game formula. In particular, Civ VI was designed to shake gameplay out of the linear progression through a traditional victory path and both the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm expansions included significant new elements and victory conditions. Gathering Storm was notable for including natural disasters and the impact of climate change, something that Humankind only addresses very superficially. The series has not been afraid to stray into sometimes fanciful new territory, such as including vampires, or the “Red Death” add-on, which brings elements of battle royale games into a competitive multiplayer mode.

Easy to Approach, Endless Options

For several installments now, the Civilization series has felt at home on consoles and even mobile devices, and of course, that continues with current-gen consoles. Its art design, from the map to the portraits of world leaders, is colorful and inviting as always and the game features outstanding sound design. Especially notable is the theme song composed by Christopher Tin (who penned the still-beloved “Baba Yetu” from Civ IV), but the overall soundtrack is exceptional as well.

Diving into Civilization VI Anthology can be a little overwhelming when one realizes the amount of content, options, scenarios, civilizations, victory conditions, and modes that are included. But that remains the beauty of the game. It has the best and most welcoming interface, tutorials, and gradual on-ramping of any 4x game of its complexity and really allows the player to craft the experience very specifically. It’s no wonder that the latest competitors, no matter how competent, still feel a bit like a shadow of Civ VI.

The only question to really debate is who should buy Civilization VI Anthology. For anyone new to the game on any platform, the answer is easy. Anthology is the most complete and full-featured portal to Civilization available, probably for the rest of the game’s life. It’s an exceptional value, entertaining and richly rewarding to play. For players who already own Gathering Storm and several other add-on packs, the answer is less clear and probably depends on how much more Civilization VI they want. Nothing is perfect, but Civilization VI and its wealth of additional content still represents the pinnacle of accessible yet immensely deep strategy gameplay.

***PS5 code supplied by the publisher for review***

The post Civilization VI Anthology Review – All the Civ VI You’ll Ever Need, Ever appeared first on COGconnected.

My wife has heard me complain about my laptop since the pandemic started, which seems like forever now. She’s getting sick of hearing me gripe about my old crappy Lenovo laptop that can’t run any decent games, consistently slows down, and is sometimes possessed by a demon when I am doing something absolutely critical to COGconnected. I need to retire it, but I am cheap and picky, so inevitably I will likely keep driving this old beater into the ground.

When the opportunity surfaced (see what I did there?) to take a look at Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go, I was all over it. On the surface (okay, I’ll stop now) this seems like a perfect fit for me. It’s a small laptop with a touch screen that I can take anywhere, can stream anything and it can do pretty much everything most affordable laptops can do. It’s certainly an upgrade from my current clunker and maybe, just maybe, this could become my permanent day-to-day lappy. Yet after a couple of weeks of use, I have determined the Surface Go isn’t quite for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad laptop. It just doesn’t do everything I need it to do and that is okay, it might be perfect for you.

In any event, here are some things I love (and hate) about the Surface Laptop Go:

The Love List

Thin & Light

Simply put, the Surface Laptop Go is perfect for students or adults who are looking for a basic starter laptop that is small, can stream all their shows, surf the internet, and draft reports. The size of it is truly the star of the show. It’s got a 12.4” screen that makes it perfect for taking on a plane or in a classroom. So if you are looking for a laptop that is cute and does all the basic things you need it to do, the Surface Go is perfect.

It weighs much less than I anticipated too. It’s easy to carry around the house and super light which is fantastic. It weighs just over 1100g and its ultra-thin design makes it perfect for throwing into any backpack or large handbag. I love how light it is and certainly does weigh me down like this cruddy Lenovo.

Looks Sharp

It really is a sharp-looking laptop that feels and looks much more expensive than it is. It doesn’t look cheap and its mostly metallic finish makes it comparable to some of those older mac notebooks. While the bottom of the laptop is plastic (which apparently keeps the weight down), the top and monitor have a metal casing which makes the Go look like a premium product. To a certain extent it is, but regardless, the Go is a great-looking laptop that you won’t be embarrassed hauling around.

Decent Processor And Battery Power

The unit I looked at has an Intel Core i5, 8GB ram, and 256 GB SSD, which is the most expensive model. It can run some basic games with no issues, run any streaming service, and have numerous tabs open while working away. I pushed this sucker to its limits and it still performed great. It managed to keep up with everything I was doing. Once you start downloading several apps and playing some bigger games, you do notice a bit of a slowdown, so I’d recommend playing games at the lowest settings. So if you are looking at picking this up for gaming, I’d recommend you don’t.

The battery power is excellent and lasted just over 12 hours during my time with it. I really have no complaints about its battery life and am quite happy with its performance in this regard.

Head over to PAGE 2 for the hate list…

The post 3 Things I Love (and 3 Things I Hate) About the Laptop Surface Go appeared first on COGconnected.

Do you play a lot of dating games? The answer is of surprising relevance when it comes to Boyfriend Dungeon. If you don’t, then this game will have some serious twists in store. They might even be too much, if the initial content warning gives you pause. If you’re an old hand at this simulated dating biz, you might find the whole thing a bit provincial. From a distance, BD sits in a sort of Goldilocks zone. Too much for some, not enough for others, maybe just right for you.

You play the newest arrival to Verona Beach, a seaside town focused on romance and also dungeons. Your pronouns and appearance are pretty fluid, giving you more freedom to play the game from ‘your’ perspective. This is slightly deceptive, as you’re still a version of you that’s been dragged into a bizarre world where nothing is more important than dating. Like Karate Kid, Roadhouse, or Over The Top, Verona Beach spins on a slightly different axis. Every meeting is a date, and every single holiday is a romantic one. Rather than a criticism, this is an observation meant to manage your expectations. Said expectations will likely differ depending on your experience with dating games.

Love Is In The Air

For example, dating games can get pretty intense. This medium is an opportunity to live out your fantasies, after all. Conversely, sometimes dating is uncomfortable – even scary. The content warning tries to give you a heads up (it’s even been modified since release day), but still! I’ve little experience in the wilder incarnations of these games, but cursory research suggests they can get pretty dark. So much so that some people would consider Boyfriend Dungeon sort of tame. Pardon the coy language, narrative games like this are just so spoiler sensitive. Beyond the mild content warnings, the stories of BD are better experienced than explained.

As I’m more well-versed in dungeon crawling, let’s dig into that. You’ve got nine different weapons to discover, which come with a wide variety of fighting styles. Sort of. Every sword slashes in a similar manner, but they each come with different bonuses and effects. The weapons do get stronger, but only as your relationship with them deepens. Thankfully, your own strength increases no matter who you hit the dunj with. Moreover, there’s no serious consequences for falling in battle. So you can just smash your head against a given problem until it’s solved. The story advances with your progress through the dungeons, so you always know what to do next. If you’re truly stuck, there’s a goddess shield option in the settings that boosts your defense by 50%. It’s super handy if you just want to focus on kissing swords.

On the kissing front, you’ve got a lot of options available. Some are nice, some are nasty, and all of them are beautiful. My playthrough was mostly focused on a single dagger, but apparently some of the weapons are poly? You can go on dates with everyone, but it eventually gets serious enough that dual wielding feels weird. I want to follow every path eventually, however. There’s so many sordid pasts to dig up, hands to hold, and blades to sharpen. This is the summer of love, after all.

Guys, Gals, and Nonbinary Pals

Any game that mixes genres like this has to make cuts somewhere. In this case, a little depth is traded for accessibility. While this isn’t the most complex dungeon crawler or dating sim, the final result is still quite satisfying. You’re given ample space to explore your violent and romantic impulses. The dating pool is both expansive and inclusive, with excellent writing to match. Though the combat gameplay loop is simple, it offers an engaging challenge with narrative relevance. On the other hand, each half of the gameplay can feel like a distraction from the other half. Maybe this is the price required when smashing two disparate systems together. Even if you end up missing the absent depth, the laid-back pace is a rewarding compensation. If only one-half of this mashup premise appeals to you, what you’re looking for may lie elsewhere. But if you’re looking to blend hacking, slashing, and smooching, Boyfriend Dungeon will be a perfect match.

***A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher***

The post Boyfriend Dungeon Review – Dates With Dashing Blades appeared first on COGconnected.

The upcoming metroidvania Crowsworn has raised over 880k CAD, or roughly 700k USD, on its Kickstarter page, and in doing so, has hit all its gameplay stretch goals. Crowsworn is a dark and gritty hand-drawn metroidvania that takes inspiration from Hollow Knight, Bloodborne, and Devil May Cry. It will focus on “explorative platforming, immersive combat, and compelling storytelling.”

Crowsworn shows its clear Hollow Knight inspirations as shown through its non-linear world and gorgeous hand-drawn art style while making gameplay and combat innovations akin to Devil May Cry and Bloodborne. The player, a plague doctor, has three weapons at his disposal: a short-ranged scythe, long-ranged pistols, and powerful Corvian magic. At its core, the combat of the game is described as a smooth and responsive system, with typical moves such as dashing, dodge rolls, and jumps. However, the combat quickly grows into a stylized complex system when combos are factored in. For example, the player can perform a simple move of throwing their scythe in a boomerang-like fashion. When combined with shooting their dual pistols into their returning scythe, the player can redirect the scythe back into the enemy multiple times in a ping-pong like manner.

As of today, Crowsworn has hit its 850k CAD goal, which means a free DLC “Isles of Vladar” will be released after launch to add in a new region and story. Although the original Crowsworn goal was only set at 125k CAD, the additional funding will provide for a boss rush mode, voice acting, and more. With just 3 days left, Crowsworn has yet to hit its final 1M CAD goal of animated cinematic cutscenes.

Crowsworn is planned to be released on all major platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac) as well as all major consoles (Nintendo Switch, Playstation, Xbox) in December of 2023.

What do you think of Crowsworn? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.

SOURCE: Press Release

The post Hollow Knight and DmC Inspired Crowsworn Hits 850k Kickstarter Goal appeared first on COGconnected.

Double Fine Productions is back in action with a sequel to the loveable 2005 title Psychonauts. That’s right, Psychonauts 2 is going to be released next month! And if you’re wondering how it is we recently got a chance to jump into the preview build of the game which means we can show (and tell) you all about it.

So what is Psychonauts 2? According to the official game page on Xbox it’s “[A] platform-adventure game with cinematic style and tons of customizable psychic powers.” And of course it wouldn’t be entirely complete without its combination of interesting missions and mysterious conspiracies. According to the developers it’s a game that was inspired by A Nightmare Before Christmas and if that doesn’t make you even more curious, especially if you’re a Burton fan, then maybe all that’s left is to show you some gameplay. You can check out our chapter 1 playthrough below complete with a few quick impressions as we played.

Yes, the level design is fantastic and yes, you should be prepared to die a few times along your journey because we certainly did. So what do you think about Psychonauts 2? Will you be scooping this one up at release? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Youtube. And if you want to know more about Psychonauts 2 be sure to check out our preview right here.

The post Psychonauts 2 -Chapter 1 Playthrough & Quick Impressions Video appeared first on COGconnected.