Bugsnax will be getting a free expansion in early 2022 - The Isle of BIGsnax
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: The Isle of Bigsnax expansion has now arrived, and while it's not exactly lengthy, it's still a pretty fun ride.
According to a recent announcement, the adorable (and occasionally adorably horrifying) Bugsnax will be heading over to Steam in early 2022. It will not be doing so empty-handed, however, but rather alongside a free expansion - The Isle of BIGsnax.
As the name would imply, The Isle of BIGsnax will have you wonder across the newly risen island of Snaktooth in search of ancient, massive species of Bugsnax, as well as the secrets of their existence. Along the way you'll be able to complete around 30 quests and 100 challenges, toy around with 200 decorations to help make yourself feel at home, and most importantly of all, give your Bugsnax friends fancy little hats to wear!
Satisfactory's chunky Update 5 has arrived with major vehicle and build system improvements
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Satisfactory Update 6 has reworked the Spire Coast, added ammo types and even an explosive boom box.
After spending a fair bit of time in testing, Satisfactory's rather chunky Update 5 has now finally arrived. First and foremost, Update 5 brings with it massive improvements to the build system so you'll now be able to construct things closer together, build in batches by using the new "zoop!" mode, and even switch between the various build modes with ease.
Continuing on with the theme of making things more convenient, vehicle pathing has also underwent major changes and so vehicles will now be both more reliable and more likely to avoid obstacles without going completely off course. Trains on the other hand have received two nifty new additions - a signaling system that lets you block or reserve paths, as well as an improved timetable system so you can now even further dictate how each train should behave.
PC version of Monster Hunter Rise will launch with seemingly all of the Switch's post-launch content
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: My review of Monster Hunter Rise (PC) has now been released, and I'm very happy to say that it's a great port for a compelling yet somewhat unambitious Monster Hunter game.
While the PC version of Monster Hunter: World ended up being amazing, it was still quite obvious that the team was rather inexperienced when it came to PC development. Nowhere was this more apparent than with the post-launch updates, and this includes the Iceborne expansion, given that they usually took many months to make the transition from consoles to PC.
With all of that in mind, I'm extremely happy to say that the same will not be happening with the upcoming Monster Hunter Rise! Once it arrives onto PC this January 12, 2022 Monster Hunter Rise will bring with it all of the post-launch content from the Switch version up to Patch 3.6.1, while the two versions will achieve complete synchronization by the end of February 2022.
Epic Games has just acquired Harmonix, the creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band
- By Ash
- in News
In an announcement that I must admit comes as quite a surprise, Epic Games has now acquired Harmonix - the studio behind musical games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Given their expertise, I'm sure it'll come as a massive surprise to hear that Harmonix will be tasked with developing music-focused gameplay experiences for Fortnite and the whole Metaverse Epic is currently in the process of building.
“Music is already bringing millions of people together in Fortnite, from our emotes to global concerts and events,” explained Alain Tascan, Vice President of Game Development at Epic Games. “Together with the Harmonix team we will transform how players experience music, going from passive listeners to active participants.”
Steam's massive Autumn sale has now arrived alongside the Steam Awards nominations
- By Ash
- in News
[Update #2]: The Steam Awards 2021 winners have now been revealed, and I'm happy to say the Steam community has voted for a quality batch of games!
[Update]: Steam's Winter Sale is landing on December 22nd alongside the Steam Awards voting process.
I hope your will is strong, because Steam's massive Autumn sale has now arrived! While there are once again no fun gimmicks to mess around with, the good news is that Autumn sale has brought with it a truly immense number of games at equally immense discounts.
If you're not exactly sure which games to go for, however, allow me to share with you some of the ones I've enjoyed over the past few years. Here they are, in no particular order:
Fall Guys' party themed Season 6 is launching on November 30th alongside cross-platform progression
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: I hope you're ready for a party, because the Season 6 update has now arrived!
If you're looking for an excuse to dive back into Fall Guys, you'll be pleased to hear that the Season 6 update is now nearly upon us. Fall Guys Season 6: Party Spectacular will bring with it a variety of colorful obstacles to tackle, everything from water balloon cannons to vacuum tubes, as well as an assortment of over-the-top costumes so you can look your best while you fall off the map.
You can get a pretty good idea of what all of this looks like in action through two of the recently posted trailers. The first is the cinematic one setting up the whole theme, while the second one is all about showing off the new traps and toys in action. Have a gander:
The Sims 4 is adding The Sims 3 inspired story progression for neighborhood Sims
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: The base version of The Sims 4 is now entirely free-to-play on both PC and consoles.
In an effort to make the Sims world a more interesting place, The Sims 4 will be adding Neighborhood Stories as a part of the upcoming November 30th update. To put it quite simply, the goal behind Neighborhood Stories is to breathe life into non-active Sims by giving them the ability to change, attempt new things, have a baby, and so forth.
The initial implementation of Neighborhood Stories will be quite simple, though the team is already looking to expand the idea by taking pointers from The Sims 3's well-received Story Progression system. For now, however, neighboring Sims will independently consider changing their current career, having a baby with their partner, as well as hanging out with other Sims and perhaps even forming deeper friendships.