Stellaris devs have released a brief overview of the upcoming Synthetic Dawn story pack
- By Ash
- in News
After the success of the Leviathans story pack Paradox has opted to create another one, this time around focusing on the rather enigmatic robotic factions. What this means in gameplay terms is that you will have unique mechanics and event chains that allow you to expand your AI dominion across the stars, oppressed synths can rebel against their masters and form new empires, and there is even an ancient robotic civilization hidden in the depths of space, simply waiting to be discovered!
That would be the short version, but if you're interested in all of the details you'll find what you seek in the recently posted "Feature Breakdown" video. Its only three minutes long, so if you have even a tiny bit of curiosity about the upcoming Synthetic Dawn story pack I would suggest you give it a look. Here's the video:
Guild Wars 2 devs have released a video detailing Path of Fire's rather interesting mount system
- By Ash
- in News
Guild Wars 2's Path of Fire expansion is set to arrive later this month, bringing with it a whole bunch of new content to mess around with. We'll be able to explore the Crystal Desert and the adjoining kingdom of Elona, fight against the Human god of war Balthazar and his metallic minions, test out nine new elite specializations, and perhaps most importantly of all, ride a variety of mounts that each come with their own unique abilities and effects.
If you're wondering what exactly the mounts are all about, and what ArenaNet has planned for them, I would recommend you check out the most recent Developer Dairy detailing just that. Its about four minutes long, but its definitely worth the time as it also tells the tale of mounts that never came to fruition, mounts such as the giant Corgi! With that adorable image now stuck in your mind, here's the video:
Elderborn is an upcoming first person hack & slash most similar to Dark Messiah
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Despite the massive popularity of The Elder Scrolls series, and the somewhat cult following behind Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, there are basically no first person hack & slash games out there. It is exactly this little 'problem' that the developer Hyperstrange has decided to solve with the upcoming Elderborn - a first person hack & slash entirely focused on challenging melee combat.
Elderborn is still early in development, but if you would like a sneak peek at how its shaping up to be you'll find the recently posted demo video right below. Its a bit rough around the edges, and the FOV definitely needs work, but I must admit it does look quite interesting. Have a gander:
The Warhammer 40,000 themed action-RPG Inquisitor - Martyr has landed on Steam Early Access
- By Ash
- in News
Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor - Martyr is an action-RPG that aims to combine the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40k universe with the open-ended gameplay of the Diablo series. What this means in gameplay terms is that Inquisitor - Marty features randomizes levels, a massive focus on replayability with a whole bunch of different weapons and abilities to toy around with, and naturally, hordes upon hordes of enemies to mow down.
While the recently posted cinematic trailer won't exactly give you a good look at what the gameplay is all about, it should at least show you what sort of style Inquisitor Martyr is aiming for. But enough babble from me, here's the video:
Mirage: Arcane Warfare will be free to grab later today, though the offer will only last for 24 hours
- By Ash
- in News
Mirage: Arcane Warfare is the spiritual successor to Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, though with the highly armored and constantly screaming knights replaced with magic-wielding madmen. It released on Steam a little while ago to some fairly mixed reviews, after which it slowly but surely started losing most of its active playerbase. Not exactly ideal for a multiplayer focused game.
Thankfully, it does appear that the developers are not giving up on Mirage just yet. In an effort to boost the dwindling population they have announced that Mirage will be completely free to grab later today, though only for 24 hours, after which the price will drop to $10 permanently. The offer will become available on September 6th at 10am PT, after which all you will need to do is simply click the "Play Game" button - you don't even need to install it right away in order to 'lock in' your copy.
Overwatch devs have released a behind-the-sceens look at the recent "Rise and Shine" animated short
- By Ash
- in News
During the recent gamescom 2017 convention Blizzard finally unveiled the first of many cinematic shorts planned for the relatively near future. Unlike the previous cinematics that focused primarily on action, the recent Rise and Shine short was more about exploring Mei as a character and giving everyone a good look at what exactly keeps her going despite the odds being stacked against her.
If you're wondering how exactly that story was created, and why the Overwatch developers felt it was even worthy of attention, you'll find the answers you seek in the latest "The Making of" developer diary. Have a look, its well worth the six minutes:
CD Projekt Red is celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Witcher series
- By Ash
- in News
[Update]: CD Projekt Red has announced that The Witcher 4 is currently being made in Unreal Engine 5!
If you asked me what I thought about The Witcher when it first launched I would've probably answered with a series of expletives. It might sound like an overreaction now, but on its release date it was a completely buggy and nigh unplayable mess. I remember picking it up on a whim, struggling for over an hour to get it to actually run, and then getting stuck on a set of stairs the moment I started playing... not exactly the best first impression.
However, despite critics and users alike panning The Witcher, CDPR did not stop patching and adding content to it. If I remember correctly it took them over a year to finally get it into a polished state, after which I finally caved in and gave it a second try, only to realize that its actually pretty damn good!
The combat was still a bit on the boring side, but the storytelling was expertly done, the characters all likable and interesting, and the whole "mature" angle used for more than a constant barrage of swear words. As such, I really have to give credit to CDPR here. Instead of backing down and quietly working on a new game, they chose to slowly but surely address just about every flaw, all of it purely because they wanted to make a quality game people would love to dive into.