Monthly Archives: January 2019

Yakuza Kiwami Launches on PC in February

SEGA is proud to announce that Yakuza saga comes back to PC after the launch of Yakuza 0 on Steam. Yakuza Kiwami has officially been announced for PC via Steam on February 19th, 2019. Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of Dojima’s story begins here, and now PC players won’t be left out of the loop. Fully optimized for PC, it will arrive next month, bringing the unique, enjoyable experience to life once again. It’s available for digital pre-order on Steam here for 19.99, including a 10% discount, and exclusive bonus content (avatars, wallpapers, and a digital manga).

Yakuza Kiwami, the franchise’s very first original title, tells the tale of Kazuma Kiryu, an up-and-coming yakuza who takes the fall for the murder of a crime boss, only to emerge from prison ten years later to a changed world. Take a trip through the twisted world of Japan’s criminal underground, where alliances will be tested, and blood will be shed.   Players will encounter “extreme” battles, a wide range of minigames, refined side missions and lots of other fun distractions.

Override: Mech City Brawl – Mech DLC #2 – Maestro

The second Mech to join the Override: Mech City Brawl cast as DLC arrives today: It’s the majestic Maestro! Available for 3.99 on his own, or free as a part of the Override “Super Charged Mega Edition”, he summons musical notes that dance around him and unleash a variety of effects. These can overheat other mechs, as an example. His ultimate also calls in the symphony, so it’s not to be missed out on.

At Sundown: Shots in the Dark Launches on PC and Consoles

Originally a “First on Discord” title, this top-down twin-stick multiplayer title is now on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Steam for PC as of today. At Sundown: Shots in the Dark is a top-down stealth-based arena shooter where four players compete in online and local deathmatches. Those who are under the cover of darkness can only see themselves, and be seen by their opponents when they shoot, dash, or walk into/trigger a light source. There are 17 weapons and powerups for players, from pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns and bladed weapons across 18 maps. Each of those maps features different light mechanics, and there are also nine game modes to explore.

At Sundown: Shots In The Dark is sure to test even the closest of friendships, the four player party aspect and tense dynamic of using darkness to your advantage really cranks up the fun factor, it’s a testament to a great formula of game design from Mild Beast Games and a great fit for console. It’s definitely one of those rare titles where ‘just one more game’, will be a frequent occurrence.” Said Steve Escalante, Versus Evil General Manager.

DiRT Rally 2.0 – The Announcement Trailer

DiRT Rally 2.0 dares their players to tackle the most intense off-road action ever made, where the smallest mistake could end the stage for you. DiRT Rally 2.0 also boasts an authentic new handling mode, tire choice, and surface deformation. Races held in New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Poland, Australia, and the USA await, where it’s just you and your co-driver to guide you to victory.

Outward Reveals New Dev Diary Ahead of March 2019 Release

Deep Silver and Nine Dots have released a new Developer’s Diary today for the upcoming hardcore fantasy adventure game, Outward. Scheduled for a March 2019 release date, this video shows off the game’s depth and variety of the environment, but also a very special mechanic: the backpack. The player must do battle with brigands, monsters, as well as real-world elements such as hunger and disease. The larger your backpack, the more prepared you can be, but this game does not offer unlimited, unreasonable backpack space. Carrying too much will encumber, but not carrying enough will spell disaster, as now you’re unprepared. This creates a very interesting dichotomy and challenge.

Additionally, the player’s map-reading skills will be put to the test. Exploring the corners of Aurai with nothing but a backpack provides a thrilling experience that can be described as the peak of adventuring! You decide if you want to travel light or not, but you will have to make sure you are able to adapt to your environment. Aurai has four distinct regions that you will need to navigate with the help of your trusty compass, your map, and your ability to locate landmarks.

Cultist Simulator’s Demanding New Content Launches

Cultist Simulator Major Update

Cultist Simulator is here to put the cult back into difficult with their latest update, which launches today at 11 am PDT / 7 pm GDT. Another 20,000 words, and a terribly unfair end-game mode arrives, which pits the player against one of four busy demi-gods. This brings Cultist Simulator’s size/content to double what it was at launch. Achieving any standard victory will unlock the three new Apostle Legacies, but you don’t need to tackle New Game+. I mean, nobody’s going to mock you for it. They also released a 15-track OST, for 9.99 on STeam/Humble/GOG/iTunes/Google Play/Spotify/Bandcamp. The update itself is free for Cultist Simulator owners.

Cultist Simulator Update Features:

★ MAJOR VICTORIES: You achieved immortality? Well done. Now, the hard bit. Play as your own Apostle, executing a doomsday plan to make your immortal character something like a god. Pursue the path of Grail, Lantern or Forge. Assemble the Great Feast; open a door into light; or Bring the Dawn.
★ MOAR LORE: Delve even further into the rich lore of the Cultist Simulator world. What is the Dawnbreaker Device? Where is the flaw in the world to be found? What is the Third Mode of the Tricuspid Gate? Who are the avid, ancient, brilliant women who call themselves the Ligeians… and why are they helping you?
★ IMMORTAL ENEMIES: They’re here to prevent your greater ascension, and add challenge and replay value while they’re at it. These powerful NPCs make Detectives and Rivals look like playground bullies. See your loved ones kidnapped; your finances shredded; your affairs exposed to the public; your dreams become a battleground. Confront them in person, if you dare.

 

Project Genesis Announces Closed Playtest Date

Project Genesis closed playtest

Project Genesis is an upcoming title from 8 Circuit Studios, that will combine the FPS and Space Combat genres. Yesterday, they announced the date for their upcoming closed playtest session, which will begin on February 1st, at 3 pm PST. During this test, players will give feedback that will be analyzed by their development team, to help inform decisions on the direction of the game. Players interested can signup at this link to get involved with this upcoming game. The players will be referred to as Test Pilots, and Test Pilots will be hosted by the development team in small groups. This will be capped based on a limited number of Steam Keys, and the needs of the developers. Further dates will be announced as development goes on.

Terry Hammer, Producer of Project Genesis, explains “We’re looking for those who love first person shooter games and space combat with an interest in helping shape the direction of a new genre. If you care about game quality and want to experience a unique take on frenetic space combat, apply to be a Project Genesis Test Pilot today.”

Valnir Rok Early Access Impressions

By Terris Harned (NWOrpheus)

Early Access titles are a double edged sword. When used correctly, they can give developers a boost of funding in order to finish production of a title. They can also open a dialogue between developers and gamers regarding what gamers would like to see out of a game. When the blade swings the other way, however, Early Access titles can give players access to a game that is far from completion, or what might be considered a ‘playable state’. Words like alpha and beta and pre-alpha and B.E.T.A. get thrown around so freely that they’ve lost any real definition or meaning in the gaming world. All of this leads to a level of confusion that means that people buying an Early Access title have no idea what they’re getting into.

I have a feeling that a lot of people have had similar issues when buying Valnir Rok. The Steam page for the title sells the image of a game that is about being a viking warrior, surviving by the strength of your blade, foraging for food and creating a meadhall. Of viking gods and frightful enemies. Yes, it tells you the game is in Early Access, but heck… 7 Days to Die has been in Early Access for 5 years now. Maybe this game is actually playable, regardless?

Valnir Rok Server List

Sprechen sie Deutsch?

The fact that the largest number of people you see on the servers at any given time of day is 15-20 immediately made me wary. That’s across all the servers, globally. Any individual server might have as many as 6-7 people total during peak times (Servers are broken up into regions, such as NA, EU etc, and by PvE or PvP). That’s a pretty good indication that this game has a ways to go before it’s really playable, especially given the sheer number of people on the game’s official Discord channel. There’s a ton of people interested enough to join there and to perhaps buy the game, but very very few people actually playing it. This is a very sad fact, because the game has some really intriguing features, both implemented and planned, but in its current state? Well, yeah, no.

At its core, Valnir Rok is a survival game with a viking-ish theme. I say viking-ish because it does pretty good with an overall aesthetic of viking warriors (both male and female) running around with swords, axes, and round shields. You see crashed longships that look fairly authentic, and etc. What sort of put me off was the fact that the god system the game uses doesn’t have anything to do with actual viking lore. I did a little Google searching of the names of the gods, and really they appear to be original, which is okay and all, but a lot of the time if people hear anything about vikings, and have “The Gods” mentioned, they’re probably going to think of Thor and Loki and Odin and all that stuff. Again, I totally get why they moved away from it, but I also wanted to make sure people were abundantly aware that those aspects are not in, and if you’re looking for it, look elsewhere.

Boob sliders. Very important.

If you’ve played a survival game before, then you know that most of the game revolves around finding and eating food, carrying water, managing inventory, and building a sanctuary of some sort. All of these are true of Valnir Rok as well. You’ll swing tools at trees and rocks, pick flowers in fields, and build mighty structures to protect you from the elements and your enemies. Something that Valnir Rok includes that many other survival games lack, however, is quests. You find them as soon as you enter the game, and continue finding them in various places. This is cool, if you’re one of those types of people that need direction and help making your way around the world. There are definitely times that I can be that way. It seems that ignoring the quests and simply playing the game is also an option though if that’s what suits you, but in doing so you might not have as much ready access to deity influence. What deity influence does, I’m not sure. I couldn’t even really tell if it’s implemented yet. Also, some of the quests are bugged. Being as it’s a game in alpha, it’s hard to know if this is bad design, bad development, something that is known but is going to get fixed, or some mixture of the three.

The crafting system in Valnir Rok isn’t exactly what I would call unique, but it is enjoyable enough. You unlock recipes by placing an item in the craft window. Doing so shows all the things that can be crafted from your inventory using that item, as well as how many other items are needed. As far as I can tell, the most any given item needs is three ingredients. Some items, especially better quality tools, weapons, and armor, require that you be at a workbench in order to craft them. There are a LOT of recipes to try to figure out. Thankfully, someone made a nice little cheat sheet here that you can check out, if you’re so inclined.

This is what harvesting looks like in Valnir Rok. Get used to seeing yourself do a lot of this.

One thing I like about crafting is that if you’re making a large batch of something, such as arrows, you don’t necessarily need to keep your crafting window open while working on the full queue. This is especially good, since if you happen to have a weapon or tool equipped while working in the inventory window, you will attack with that weapon any time you click. Hopefully this is something that gets fixed before launch.

One good thing we know about Valnir Rok, as of this time, is that it’s definitely not abandonware. Just recently, in fact, they put out a sizeable patch that included a complete combat overhaul, as well as some netcode fixes that they had hoped would fix all of their lag issues. This seems to have been a pipe dream, though, as I still hit quite a few latency spikes during my play. Back to the drawing board on that part!

Guard, turn, parry, dodge, spin, ha, THRUST!

As far as the combat part it… also still needs some work. The primary thing that was done with the recent patch was to create four classes of moves. There is the basic left click tap attack. This will cause your character to swing their weapon in a combination of swings that quickly depletes stamina, especially if you’re over-encumbered. In fact, my character was getting ‘winded’ after just one trio of swings. The next attack you do is by holding the right button. This power attack does heavy damage against a foe, but can be guarded against by using your shield. This maneuver is actually the third move, and is defensive. You hold your shield aloft, stopping attacks against you, but also stopping your stamina from regenerating. The fourth and final maneuver is meant, it seems, to counter the shield block, and is a shield bash. Doing this will knock your opponent’s shield out of the way, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from your weapon.

I’m not sure what the fighting was like before the update, but I wasn’t all that impressed with it after. The hitboxes seem really horrible, especially when using ranged weapons (but melee combat was not exempted from this). It’s hard to tell if this is an actual design issue, or just a server latency issue. I do know that ranged combat is in an abysmal state. Not only can you shoot yourself with an arrow if you fire while running forward, or falling, but arrows seem to need a lot of adjustment in regards to damage. It takes 2 arrows to kill a rabbit, or even a domestic chicken. Goats seem to take 5-6 arrows, and larger game, such as boars, seem to soak ammunition like coeds soak beads at Mardi Gras. This puts you into an exhaustive cycle of collect stone and wood, craft arrows, and hunt animals for food, then repeat. At least crafting does grant you experience, and allows you to gain levels.

The axe doesn’t actually do that much damage. Health bars are just one of the many many.. Many…. MANY… bugs.

And level gaining is fairly important and useful. Doing so grants you ability points which can be spent in a variety of trees. There are six profession trees, such as blacksmith, carpenter, and hunter, as well as 3 trees devoted to the gods. I’m not sure if there’s any maximum level, but it seems that crafting is the way to ‘cheese’ your level. In fact, on one post on Steam (I lost it, so I don’t have the source, sorry!) I saw a developer recommend to a player that chopping wood, crafting wood sticks and then sharpened wood sticks, ad nauseum, was the best way to gain levels. To me, this just seems like endless grinding for the sake of grinding. You can’t even use the sticks for firewood after it’s been sharpened, so it’s a complete waste of time, in practical sense. You gain only xp for doing it. If such a maneuver is needed to advance, it seems like maybe some things should be balanced a bit better.

I really wish I could give Valnir Rok a better score, but at this point in time it gets 2 out of 5 stars. I was going to give it a 2.5, but that was before I discovered the bugged newbie quest. I feel like the new player experience is just really important to players, and that if I find a bugged quest within the first ten minutes of gameplay, the first thing I’m likely to do is quit and ask for a refund.

This is at one of the newbie starting locations. Finding bugs in the first 30 seconds of gameplay doesn’t make me enthusiastic.

I said earlier that Early Access was a double edged sword. The same thing goes for pre-orders. I think in some cases, both of those things have been beneficial to the game industry, but I am beginning to think that time has passed. I for one am simply not pre-ordering games at all anymore, especially after Bethesda and their unmitigated disaster that was the Fallout 76 launch (the launch itself, I stand by the game). I also really think that games need to move away from Early Access models and rely more on Kickstarters. If you release games that are in the state that Valnir Rok is in, it’s going to drive your players away before you can even establish a playerbase, and this is going to do you a lot more harm than good in the long run. This is especially true in genres in which the market is saturated, such as survival titles. With so many other options out there that aren’t bug riddled messes, and are in a much more playable state, releasing too soon to the playerbase is like falling on your sword before you can even swing it.