Monthly Archives: March 2018

Insidia Founder’s Pack Giveaway

We’ve partnered with Bad Seed to celebrate the launch of Insidia with a giveaway of Insidia Founder’s Packs!

Insidia is a turn-based online strategy game. In fast paced battles, two players confront each other commanding a band of four powerful heroes, engaging in a gameplay that blends together League of Legends with X-COM. The game features a unique combat system based on simultaneous, fast turns and a flexible combo system. With a simple order, given within an handful of seconds, all the heroes of a team can join their forces to achieve spectacular results. Set in a post apocalyptic fantasy world, Insidia offers a roster of steam knights, fierce punks, weird mutants and many other champions of an octane-crazed land.

The game is freely available to download on Steam.


We have 20 Insidia Imperator Packs (worth $24.99US), which offer the following:

  • ALL present and future Champions
  • PERMANENT 100% XP boost
  • 10000 Keres Crystals
  • Four skins: Primal Defender Archaios, Opera Singer Gunther, Thespian Infestus and Officer Angor

Insidia Imperator Pack

To Enter the Raffle:

  • Visit the official entry thread. If you don’t have one, you will need to sign up for a forum account to post.
  • Post a reply to the thread, telling us which Insidia character is your favorite!
  • Winners will be announced on Friday, March 9. Codes will be sent via private message in the forums, so make sure to check in and claim your code!

 

 

Music Review: Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Soundtrack

Where the Water Tastes Like wine Album

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Now, I enjoy Folk Music quite a lot. I don’t really listen to a lot of folk acts, but I do enjoy the ones I listen to immensely. The one that I find the most fascinating is the lead singer of Bad Religion (Greg Graffin)’s folk albums. Going from a hardline punk stance to the building of America and a folk, acoustic sound? It’s marvelous. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine’s soundtrack was also recently released, by Materia Collective, composed by Ryan Ike (a BAFTA-nominated composer), and he tells the history of the United States and its various cultures through this music. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a masterfully-told story, and a wonderful experience, according to our boss, MissyS, and you should totally read her review of it here if you haven’t.  Every teaser and trailer I saw caught my attention more than the last one, from the visuals down to the musical score, so I was very excited to know I had a shot at reviewing this album. This is definitely a game on my to-play list, and this is what Ryan Ike had to say about working on this soundtrack:

“Working on this soundtrack has been a dream come true for a lot of reasons,” notes composer Ryan Ike. “I’ve always been really interested in how music can change and take on a life of its own as people share it, and getting to explore that idea with WTWTLW’s world map theme (which shifts styles and influences depending on where you are in the country) was awesome. I’m also a big fan of how people from different backgrounds can come together to form one musical culture. I think American Folk music is one of the best examples of that, and writing this soundtrack meant I got to work with a ton of amazing performers from all over the country, including many I’ve been wanting an excuse to hire for a long time. Working on this game really crossed a lot of stuff off my musical bucket list!”

I picked a song from each “section” of the album, each part of America, but there are definitely some that are also deserving of notice. Every song on this album is amazing. “Root and Rise” is another fantastic song I didn’t list here, as well as the somber tones of “From This Field I wish to Rise”. “Soulsucker Blues” is such a smooth blues track and 100% worthy of notice. Akenya sang this, and her voice is enchanting in this blues setting. It’s definitely one hell of a way (if you’ll pardon the expression) to get this album going. Shoutouts to her, Joshua Du Chene, Cody Richards, and everyone who took part in this overwhelmingly powerful album. You can get it on Bandcamp here, and if you love the blues, jazz, American folk, or anything remotely resembling them, you need both this game and this album. It’s such a hard thing to pick a “favorite”, but I will say without hyperbole, this is the most soulful album I have listened to in my life. That’s with Graffin’s “Cold as the Clay” on the table. It comes very highly recommended, even if you never play the game. But I think it will make you want to.

Vagrant Song (Deep South) (Track 3): A slow, somber acoustic song, Vagrant Song (Deep South) is the first of four Vagrant Songs taking place in various parts of the country, each with the flavor of the particular area. This one strikes the closest to home though. Though most of my family did not arrive in America until about 1903, and when they did, it was the North, I personally spent almost all of my life in the southern United States, down in North Carolina. Sure, that’s not “deep” south, but this song speaks to me. “Well, I’ve got no companion, cept the wind, and the sea. And when I’m cold and empty, they’re the ones who will bury me” is deep. A little on the dark side, definitely deep, soulful. This is easily one of my favorite songs on the entire soundtrack and it came up mighty early.

Read ’em And Weep (Track 14): Read ’em and weep is an instrumental track that definitely has that 1920s/30s jazz-style sound, made famous by musicians like Louis Armstrong, which makes it all the more interesting that it takes place in the Mid-West section. Though Satchmo was from the Deep South (Louisana), he brought that flavor with him to Chicago and lit the city on fire with his trumpet. This feels like a tribute to the birth of Jazz in the best way possible. Whoever played that trumpet breathed life into it. I could definitely hear this in a gambling establishment with a jazz band roaring in the background. There could be dancing, cheering, but somewhere, someone is getting fleeced out of their savings in a game of cards.

White Rider (Track 18): Now we move the Southwest, the dust, the notion of cowboys, horseback, and the White Rider. This song makes me immediately think of a cowboy trotting through the desert, telling the tale of the White Rider, and how he ain’t “Fixin’ to join their fading line”. The White Rider’s coming to claim him before his time, and he’s not prepared for it. “They were dressed in white from toe to tip, pale horses draw the load. And last among their number, a chilling sight to see, the 13th horse lay empty, with a saddle meant for me.” This is a song of death and the end, a man doing his best to literally and figuratively trying to outrun the end of his days, riding from Tulsa to somewhere in the southwest. But nobody outruns the White Rider. On the fifth day, he pitched into the sand, and the riders inevitably caught up to him. “Son I think the time has come, to saddle up and ride”. This is another of my absolute favorite songs on the album.

Heavy Hands (Track 22): Technically, this is the last song on the album (though there are instrumental/guitar versions of the Vagrant Songs afterwards), but this is the end. Joshua Du Chene and May Claire La Plante duet in this last song, talking about the land where The Water Tastes Like Wine. A pair of amazing fiddles play alongside the guitar of Joshua, and I won’t lie, I teared up a bit as I finally got to the end of this album. “Finally” is the wrong word, perhaps. This was a trip I was not prepared to take, riding across this land of ours, this is such an appropriate way to end the trip. It’s also the longest track on the album, clocking in at 5:16 and is such a serious song. They seem to have no fear of the end, and in fact, welcome it as they come to  The place where Water Tastes Like Wine.

Survarium PVE Giveaway

We’ve partnered with Vostok Games to offer access key’s for Survarium‘s first co-op Team Mission!!

Survarium is a post-apocalyptic online FPS game. If you are looking for a shooter where skills matter, look no further! The opposing players, deadly anomalies and traps will never stop you on the way to victory, right? Then start playing now for free!

About the Story Mission
Story mission tells about a conflict between Black Market and The Renaissance Army, and also unveils the mystery about secret experiments which lead to creation of the Forest.

Specifically for this mission developers created a new map with lots of both open and indoors locations. Developers tried to add an element of exploration into the game, and also let players interact with the world of Survarium.

The mission is designed for a squad of three players, and to successfully finish it players need to complete a set of tasks. At least one of the players must reach each of the checkpoints: then defeated squad members (if there are any) are resurrected and may continue. If all squad members are dead, the mission is failed.

While going through the mission players will learn the storyline, but player can also find stashes containing various trophies which players will receive when the mission is successfully finished.


Your Code Includes:
– 3 Access Keys to play the Team Mission.

To Redeem your Key:

  • Sign up for an account and redeem your key here: https://survarium.com/en.
  • If you prefer to play Survarium via Steam you must enter the code on the game’s website using the Steam browser
  • My account – Add promo code – apply code
  • Your pack rewards will show up in your account between 5 and 30 minutes after redemption depending on current server strain.
  • The codes can be used for old and new accounts.
  • One code per account. If someone has already redeemed this type of code earlier he will not be able to use other code again
  • Codes Expire March 19, 2018

Note: Unfortunately ad blockers may interfere with our site. If you have any issues claiming a key, please disable them and try again.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Review

by Jaime Skelton (MissyS), Editor-in-Chief

Your deepest desires? Your greatest wish? Heaven? Big Rock Candy Mountain, El Dorado, the Promised Land, that place just over the ridge where they all say that the water tastes just like the sweetest wine?

At PAX West, I sat down on a genuine bale of hay with Johnnemann Nordhagen, designer and programmer of Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (henceforth abbreviated WTWTLW). As I questioned him, and learned more about the game – which I knew very little about before I stepped into the campfire-style booth – I found the busy bustle of bodies and constant thrum of voices and electronics fading away. It was here that I found the ambrosia I’d craved: a narrative video game that cut to the oldest part of the soul. I wrote about that experience, but ever since I stepped away from that demo, the ghost of a folk song has hummed quietly in my head, waiting for the day when WTWTLW would launch.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

That day has now passed, and I’ve spent long, dusty hours losing myself in the stories of the game: Hours lost as the distinction between the Vagrant and myself fade and warble in the smoke of campfires. Even as I work, I whistle its familiar tune. I can’t say that I have finished Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, yet; there are too many stories to discover and shape in a single play-through. But this is one game where the journey is the goal; what matters is not how the game ends, but how it plays.

You don’t mention the small feet trampling outside your door, or the dreams of blood seeping from the bedframe. You don’t say that every shadow seemed to contain something vicious and alien, threatening to escape.

WTWTLW is a storytelling game. It’s not quite RPG, as it lacks some traditional progression models, but it’s not simply a walking simulator, either. With an open world, and open choice on how stories progress, the game is more like a vast choose-your-own-adventure visual novel with a deeply interwoven set of over 200 mini-stories and 16 major stories. The player takes the role of the Vagrant, a nameless, faceless (and very quickly into the story, also fleshless) wanderer during the Great Depression era in the United States. Tricked by the Wolf (voiced by the musician Sting), the Vagrant must wander the continental States, looking for and telling stories great and small. It is by interweaving these stories that one pays their debt to the Wolf, though the journey gets heavier with each step.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

The landmass available to explore in Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is vast, and while far from the real world scale, the size of the map is still palpable. The Vagrant has limited means of transportation: Walk at a slow, steady pace, which can be sped up to a moderate trot by playing a mini rhythm game called “Whistling”; hitchhike on the main highways before getting dropped off somewhere along the road; or take a train (legally or stowed away). The closest thing to a Fast Travel option is the train, but even then, each train runs only between two stops and will cost the Vagrant money or health. With plenty of stories to discover and grow across the map, taking a long walk isn’t as terrible as it sounds.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

The map zoomed fully out – about four hours into my journey.

Different types of location events can be found along the map as the Vagrant travels. The most common is the local story. These small events are the seeds of bigger stories that evolve as you travel. Some of these stories are folk tales pulled straight from Americana’s real narrative: the Headless Horseman, Paul Bunyan, The Devil of Leeds, the Leatherman to name a few. Others are full original stories. Almost all of these stories give the player choice in how their narrative plays out, giving some control as to whether stories will become stories of excitement, hope, horror, or tragedy.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

Stories are organized into categories denoted by signs of the Tarot deck – sixteen of the 22 major Arcana. Choices during the story dialogue reflect what Arcana the story is currently leaning to, giving the player some control on how to fill out their “deck” of stories. Each story also progresses through the eye symbol. In its first stage, a story is closed-eye; as the player progresses and evolves the story, the eye opens. When it is fully open, the story has evolved to its final form.

Story evolution takes place naturally throughout the game in a second type of location event, “Hear a Story.” Here the player encounters a random event which will give new details to one of the stories, progressing the “eye” meter of the story. It’s key to note that, just like any other story, once it has begun, the player is out of control on how it develops through the retelling. Despite this, you have the opportunity to watch a story develop from the kernel of truth you found. Only three stories of each Arcana can be active at one time, which becomes important to manage later as you encounter the third – and most important – location event: the Campfire.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

Sixteen characters roam the map and appear at Campfires. These are special events in which you trade stories with the stranger, discovering their true self in the process. A progress bar along the top of the screen showcases both the passing of time (from night to morning) and the current trust of the character (using the familiar eye symbol). During each stage, the character will share some about themselves, and then ask you for a particular type of story. These can generally be categorized as Hope, Horror, Thrill, and Tragedy, though each character will refer to these types of stories differently. You are then presented a wheel of the Arcana, and may choose a story from the three active stories in each to share with the stranger. Stories cannot be retold to the same character, nor can you use the same Arcana twice in one night. These Arcana also serve as a prompt for the character in sharing part of their story. When the night has passed, the character will move on, pointing you in the direction they’re headed (which you will also be able to see on your map).

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

The cast of characters, and the stories told, is as diverse as a modern player should expect from any video game, especially one that aims for some historical accuracy. Among the major characters are a ex-sharecropper, a wandering black preacher, a Diné (Navajo) woman, an elderly curandera, and a veteran of the Great War. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine does not shy from ethnic and cultural diversity, nor does it shy from gender and sexuality – as several stories can be discovered that reveal non-heterosexual relationships, without apology. While the game could not possibly hope to represent the full diversity of the United States and its stories, WTWTLW does a remarkable job of it: more so than I have ever seen in a game so devotedly about “America.”

Each of the major stories has been written by a different author – making for not only a diverse cast of characters, but a truly diverse and representative cast of stories. The narratives encountered aren’t afraid to punch straight to the soul, with words both biting and wise. This is not a soft game. It is mature, not in the sense of “sex and violence,” but in the sense that it handles very difficult themes, including race, genocide, slavery, and grey morality.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is cerebral in the stories it tells, emotionally and psychologically evocative in its presentation with art that focuses on light and contrast and music that changes depending on the region of the United States the Vagrant is in. The voice talent that speaks almost every word of the game is a pleasure to listen to. However, the gameplay itself is less smart, and even after I discovered additional features of the game – like the Vagrant’s ‘survival’ stats of money, health, and rest – I felt less engaged as the hours passed. I wanted – and still want – every morsel of story, every sip of the wine-flavored water promised. The journey to these words, however, becomes – dare I say it – a grind.

There’s no denial that the travel mechanic is slow, and it lends to the scale and discovery of events across the map. However, there remain vast stretches of land that have no events to discover, or stories set so far from the rest of civilization one must walk for several minutes to reach them. It is these less dense areas that also prove the hardest to travel, with no roads or railroads in sight. One can use Whilstling, but it is a rather awkward mechanic on mouse and keyboard, as it requires you to hold down CTRL and use the arrow keys to play, all while using WASD to move and the mouse to change your camera angle. The result is a little too realistic as the Vagrant walks across the great Midwest without an event in sight, despite being surrounded by farmland. This is a problem that could be solved in two ways: add more events in these areas, and add another travel mechanism in the form of a horse that tires after a certain amount of time.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

Additionally, the “Hear a Story” events are too few – not simply in encounters, but in the encounters themselves. It wasn’t long before I found myself seeing the same woman in the soupline, passed by the same cop arguing on the radio, or stopped to chat with the same office workers, all in different towns. The repetition of these base scenarios ruins the immersive storytelling in an otherwise remarkably deep narrative. Likewise, some pieces of dialogue with the characters at campfires can repeat, as if they cannot recall they have already told us of a memory, or only have one way to ask for a ghost story.

There are major cities which have events and shops. As mentioned, the Vagrant has three ‘stats’ – Money, Health, and Rest. All of these can be lost or gained in random events, or restored in the major cities. Money can be used to restore health or rest, and can be used to purchase a legal ticket on the railroad. Beyond this, after hours of play, I never really found any purpose or difference in gameplay if my meters ran low. Nor did they make much sense to me; the Wolf tells the Vagrant that he will strip away the flesh and only leave the ability to feel pain. The Vagrant is a walking skeleton: what need have they of sleep or chille relleno? These elements simply feel tacked on in an attempt to add a semblance of game depth.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshot

Eight hours into the story (not even halfway through the game at this time mark), and I’d started to feel weary. I found myself thinking more like a ‘gamer’: thinking of the shortest way from point A to point B, pointing myself straight toward campfires rather than wandering about. Part of this, I reasoned, was that WTWTLW is not meant for long sessions; it is best enjoyed an hour here or there, rather than devoting larger chunks of time at once. Part of it was simply dreading those long stretches of nothing.

Despite these flaws, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a fantastic game, produced by an amazing team of creative talent. Though it lacks depth in its gameplay features, the narrative is some of the best you’ll find in a video game, and the value of this is far beyond the game’s asking price of $19.99. This is the story of the Great Depression that should be heard, a collection of stories with far more worth and truth to them than The Grapes of Wrath. Imperfect, WTWTLW is still a game well worth playing.

Final Verdict: Great (4/5)

Note: A game key was provided for review purposes.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine Screenshots

 

Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia Reveals King Anaraut

For King Anaraut, the pressures of lineage weigh heavy on the mind. But those pressures of following his father, the respected leader Rhodri the Great, have stirred him to strive for a new kingdom for his people.  A famous new kingdom that will span the entirety of the Welsh peninsula, win the pride of its people and cement his own place in history. King Anaraut has a grand vision for the Welsh faction and the British Isles, seen here. It’s a long road he must walk, but it will be one worth traveling. Players can emulate Anaraut’s vision by achieving the Fame Victory Condition in Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. Which demands a powerful and prestigious Kingdom be built, measured via the metric of ‘Fame’ in the game’s Campaign mode. Fame can be increased through economic development, technological breakthroughs, wars, and a variety of event chains as players progress through their campaign.

More on the Fame mechanic can be found on Jack Lusted’s latest blog post, seen here.

Koei Tecmo Shows Off Dynamic Gameplay Trailers for Attack on Titan 2

Today, Koei Tecmo America released a set of trailers to show off the action coming in Attack on Titan 2, releasing on March 20th, 2018. Dense battle action and excitement await those who tackle the Titans, and the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear promises to be more intense than ever before. One trailer shows off a Custom Scout using the ODMG alongside Eren and Mikasa, doing battle with swarms of Titans to rescue their squadmates, who are in peril. The online multiplayer features were detailed for the first time in our Multiplayer Highlight Trailer. In this video, players will be able to take a first look at the Annihilation Mode; a gripping 4v4 mode where Scouts have to compete for the highest score by defeating Titans and capturing bases. In Story, Co-op players can call upon their friends to aid them as they complete the main storyline’s gripping narrative. This is just the beginning as a captivating new online mode featuring playable Titans will be made available after launch; more information on this new mode will be made available in the coming weeks.

Battlestate Games Announces 2018 Escape from Tarkov Dev Plans

Escape-From-Tarkov-Impressions07

Battlestate Games has already published a map of innovations and updates that are planned for Escape from Tarkov in 2018 (seen here). The studio is finishing preparations for the Open Beta test, with a focus on the technical conditioning of the game. That is to say, solving all known errors that break the gameplay or the game, optimizing the network code for the purposes of reducing the frequency of desynchronization, reducing delays and eliminating disconnects, as well as improving overall game performance. Though the studio will commence adding new features and mechanics, the order of their appearance in game has not been determined, and are subject to change

“We shall continue to go down the hardcore road, with ceaseless improvement of realistic component,” says Nikita Buyanov, the head of the Battlestate Games. “In other words, the game will be becoming more realistic and hard. The desired degree of immersion and realism will be achieved through introduction of various features to complement the current system.”

There are absolutely tons of ideas and mechanics being added to Escape from Tarkov, and it is fascinating to see such a hardcore game build from nothing to where it is now. From Stimulants, adding more animations, vast areas to explore, constructing your own hideout, to having an Arena as a separate game mode, Escape from Tarkov has a ways to go yet, but it could be a breakout star of the hardcore shooter genre in 2018.

Nintendo Switch News – 2/26-3/2

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Payday 2 - Nintendo Switch News

March has quite a few hits coming to the Nintendo Switch, and that’s wonderful. However, the end of February is kind of a dry time. Lots of stuff for the digital store, but as far as physical releases? Only one! But this month has a new Kirby game! I love Kirby! Attack on Titan 2 is also slated for March, which promises to be the bloodiest, most violent game on the Switch unless you count Doom. That could be a fun comparison. However, this week ArcSys proves they can do more than produce amazing fighting games, as they release a fantastic mecha game over on the Switch, and what could be the most released game of this generation is now on the Nintendo console! I’m sincerely surprised it wasn’t on the 3DS already. So, let’s break down the fun stuff for the Switch this week!

– Payday 2 (2/27): Oh come on, don’t act like you didn’t know this was on the way. It’s on every console I can possibly think of. I bet it even runs on my Kindle Fire HD! But the Switch could always use another incredibly fun co-op, and Payday is four players of outrageous crime sprees! Coming with full touch-screen support, it also has an additional local multiplayer mode that I think will be a real hit. CRIME.NET Local Play lets you set up a game and invite friends to play locally. It also features a unique, exclusive character with their own mask and weapons, named Joy. This is a game I have not played enough of. Maybe the Switch will change that!

-Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo (3/1): Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo is a title from ArcSys, a fast-paced RPG featuring customizable mecha (GEARs) and is set after the (depressingly titled) World War IV. The GEAR forces betrayed humanity, and the berserk robots renamed RAGE suits. It’s time to defeat the RAGE suits and save humanity with awesome blades, chainsaws, laser cannons, and all kinds of other insane destructive weapons. This is probably the best eshop release of the week, and I’ve actually been waiting to see it on the Switch. It has a solid, gripping story mode, or you can choose to play against the AI. It also contains all the previous DLC of the original release (such as “Old Hero and “Broken Gears of Time”), along with some new armor, weapons, and missions. Plus, did I mention it has Giant Robots in it? Because it does. And you need to experience it. It’s 14.99 on the eShop.

NEO GEO: Sengoku 2 (3/1): SENGOKU is one of my favorite beat ’em ups from the Neo Geo line of arcade games. Specifically, Sengoku 2, is a side-scrolling action game. Summoned by a shrine princess, you play the role of a warrior crashing through historical periods to defeat the Dark Monarch. Charge attacks and crazy, gorgeous locations designed back in 1993 await! ACA/NEO GEO has released quite a few of their classic games over on the Switch, and though I do not believe it has online co-op, it does faithfully reproduce the original look and feel of the arcade hit right here on the Switch for a reasonable price of 7.99.

Do you have a Nintendo Switch game coming out that you’d like me to feature, as a fan or developer? Feel free to drop a line to jparker@onrpg.com and I’ll see what I can do when it goes live.

Terraria’s Largest Update Ever Comes to Console

Terraria 1.3 Update

The highly-anticipated 1.3 Update to Terraria by 505 Games, has finally come to Xbox One and Playstation 4! Update 1.3 bridges the content gap between PC and console by creating gameplay and visual parity across all versions of the game. This is the largest release in the game’s history, adding new content, features, modes, and so much more the world of Terraria. Xbox One users also have a 70% off sale (down to 6.00) for new adventurers until Monday, March 5th.

New Features that have been added:

· A host of new enemies and events to combat, defeat, and plunder for loot
· Endgame Celestial Invasion Event and the Moonlord final boss encounter
· Brand new underground biomes to explore – Granite, Marble and more!
· New Expert mode designed to provide new challenges for even the most seasoned Terraria veterans – with the promise of greater rewards
· Updated crafting with multiple added item options
· Changes to NPCs, as well as some new friendly faces
· More than 800 new items to discover – bringing the total item count to more than 3500!
· Numerous quality of life upgrades and features that until now were only available on PC

The console version will be far more in-line with the PC version while respecting the gameplay elements that make the console version unique. The full patch notes can be found here.