Aksys Games
Monthly Archives: September 2018
Little Dragons Cafe Trailer
Manage a cafe, raise a dragon, save your mom! Little Dragons Cafe, from Yasuhiro Wada, Father of the Harvest Moon games.
Remnant: From The Ashes PAX West 2018 Impressions
By Jaime Skelton (MissyS)
By all accounts, I’m not a “hardcore” gamer. I’ve never played the Dark Souls series. It’s ironic, in a way, because my favorite type of games are rogue-likes and rogue-lites. Still, just because I don’t play these games doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate them; their attention to skill and pattern learning leans back upon an older video game framework where games were hard because they had to be. Most of these “hardcore” style games are single player experiences, but Remnant: From The Ashes, from Gunfire Games in publishing partnership with Perfect World Entertainment, seeks to change that.
We got a hands-on demo of Remnant at PAX West behind the scenes with game designer Mike Maza, and while many questions couldn’t yet be answered, the game still left a good impression.

Remnant has a strong science fiction tone. In its world, humans are scarce, a handful of survivors in a world ruled by horrors. As one of its survivors, you must scavenge, craft, sneak, fight, and survive across a plethora of areas. Each world you transport to is dynamically generated, meaning that you will constantly be challenged by new environments and arrangements of enemies.
Speaking of enemies – they’re tough. Maybe not Dark Souls tough, at least based on the demo I played, but they definitely take some learning to master. Certain enemies were better off handled at a distance, and some were better handled up close. Another enemy was fond of summoning a ton of allies and needed to be neutralized quickly before we were overwhelmed. The area I was in was also dark and wet – which proves an issue when enemies can detect you through light (keep that flashlight for emergencies only!) and sound (sprint in emergencies only!).
Combat definitely isn’t designed for the spray-and-pray types. If you run in to a pack of enemies guns blazing, you’re going to have a bad time. I picked up on this quickly and started stealthing, using cover, and picking off my targets one by one, aiming for headshots to do critical damage. In ways it reminded me of the Wolfenstein demo I played at last year’s PAX which – while not nearly as punishing – also emphasized being careful about using environment to pluck out enemies instead of just pushing your way into a room.

There were two archetypes available to play at the PAX demo: Hunter and Cultist. Each had their own selection of short range, long range, and melee weapons, along with a special ability. There will be more archetypes, of course, Mike assured me, with hopes to have enough to satisfy every playstyle. That’s good, because the co-op mode supports up to four total players, so a diverse range of characters to choose from will be essential to keep things fresh. And there’s always the possibility of more archetypes being added after release.
While the team compared Remnant to Dark Souls meets The Last of Us and Diablo, I’d like to think the game is a little more like Dark Souls meets Left 4 Dead, with a few other twists like gathering and crafting to beef up your character. Remnant will be arriving on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2019. You can find out more at the official website.
Gift of Parthax Arrives on Steam with Challenging Magical Arena Combat
The latest offering from 1C Company, Gift of Parthax has hit PC and Mac via Steam today for 9.99. There’s an Xbox One version presently in production and will be here at a later date. Gift of Parthax is a 2D top-down arena fighter featuring gothic pixel art where players control Arif – a mage on a quest to save his friend. To do so, he must defeat all enemies in Atixa’s grand arena—and receiving the Gift of Parthax may be his only chance to do so!
“Gift of Parthax invites players to experience a retro-themed world of magic, pixels, and punishing arena combat that will test the skills of even the best RPG wizards,” said Nikolay Baryshnikov, VP of 1C Entertainment. “Prepare your spellbook, sharpen your strategies, and see if you have the magical skills to triumph in the grand arena of Atixa!”
- Sorcery and Survival: Take on five seasons of challenges and unique boss fights
- Master Your Spellbook: Unlock, modify, and customize elemental spells
- Dominate the Arena: Use devastating spell combos to defeat enemies
- Manage Resources Wisely: Use mana regeneration and potions to keep Arif alive
- Choose Your Fate: Determine your character’s direction within the context of a captivating, mature story
- RPG-style Lore: Interact with NPCs to discover more about the world
- Full Controller Support: Play with keyboard/mouse or choose your favorite controller
Young Souls: PAX West 2018 Impressions
By Jaime Skelton (MissyS)
As an introverted gamer, I’ve always preferred games that I can solo or co-op with a friend. Unfortunately for those like me, many co-op games lately have been focused on a ‘party’ experience of 4-8 players. So a game like Young Souls was certain to catch my eye at PAX West.
Young Souls is a side-scrolling RPG beat ’em up from 1P2P and The Arcade Crew, and offers both single player and two-player co-op. The game’s story focuses on the tale of two teenage twins, Jenn and Tristan, and both play a core role in the gameplay. Two players can each control one of these teenagers, or a single player can control one while the other can be swapped to at any time. While I didn’t get a sense of the single-player mode, I did sit down with the game developers to experience what two-player co-op was like.

Each twin is a separate character with their own inventory and equipment that players can choose. There are multiple types of weapon styles, each which have a noticeable impact on the combat, and players are best served by taking two complementary weapons rather than using the same type of gear; for instance, one player can use a sword and shield and draw some attention from enemies while the other uses a two-handed sword to bring in slow but deadly attacks from behind. We made two dungeon runs, once with the same weapons and once with different weapons, and the improvement in teamwork was noticeable once we differentiated our combat skills.
Young Souls is filled with dozens of dungeons, which can be visited in any order, so players are not limited to a linear story path as they are with other action RPGs. Together players will choose a destination and open a portal to the dungeon. Each dungeon takes place across many screens, in which multiple fights spawn in order, including mini-bosses and final bosses. I have to pause here to point out that the entire game is rendered in beautifully stylized graphics that gives me a bit of a Transitor meets Odin’s Sphere: painted in vivid contrasted tones that compliment the atmosphere of the game.

The game’s combat is brawler styled, with movement along a Z-axis like 90’s era arcade beat ’em ups. There are two different attacks which have combos, along with a dodge and a special magic ability. In our case, we had one player set with an ice spell that could freeze enemies in place for a short time; the other had a damaging fire spell. If one player is downed, the other can rush over and revive them; if both fall in combat, they are kicked out of the dungeon and must try again.
Young Souls is still in development, but the game’s team estimates there may be about 20 hours of play when the game releases. You can find out more at the official website.
Sea of Thieves: Forsaken Shores Teaser
The free content update coming to Sea of Thieves opens up a volcanic region of the world. The wrath of The Devil’s Roar and much more await when “Forsaken Shores” hits on September 19th.
Satisfactory – Some Alpha Info
This isn’t all of the information, but the Satisfactory team does have some Alpha info here, and more will be shared hopefully within the next few weeks.
HellSign Stalks onto Steam Early Access in November
Ever want to be a supernatural investigator? HellSign is your chance, when it hits Steam on November 7th, 2018. HellSign offers up hardcore supernatural RPG experience that boasts it will capture the “in-too-deep” feeling of some of your favorite TV shows and novels. The focus is on satisfying gameplay built by years of television paranormal hunting history, where players step into the shoes of a hunter traveling Australia. They’re investigating the unknown and taking down horrific nightmare creatures. After creating your character and choosing from a series of classes with unique abilities, dive into a non-linear narrative, taking on contract jobs as you make money and learn more about the creatures stalking in the night. The player will be responsible for investigating the disturbance, collecting signs, gearing up, and eliminating the threat, before repeating the process again. It definitely has a “Monster of the Week” feel and promises to be very intense.
Soulcalibur VI Reveals Cervantes, the Immortal Pirate
The Immortal Pirate, Cervantes’ story is not over just yet. Wielding his dual swords – Acheron and Nirvana, he is cursed to hunt for Soul Edge for all eternity, constantly drawn to the power of the sword. His life is forever intertwined with the cursed blade, and he’s coming to fight in Soulcalibur VI.
Nefarious – Announcement Trailer
If you’re like us, you’re tired of always being the hero. Nefarious fixes that by letting you play the villain! Play as Crow, an evil genius out to steal princesses for his royalty-powered death ray in hot 2D platforming action!