The recent Overwatch update has greatly reduced the effect win/loss streaks have on your rating
- By Ash
- in News
If you've ever played competitive Overwatch I'm sure you'll agree that there is nothing more disheartening than entering a losing streak. Not only does it affect your morale and make you play slightly worse, but it also means that each subsequent loss will be chopping an ever-greater part of your precious rating. If you're particularly tilted and continue playing well past your prime you can even lose 1000 rating in a single sitting, purely due to how fast the losses (and gains) ramp up.
Thankfully, this is no longer the case. As a part of the recent Uprising Update the Overwatch devs have greatly reduced the gains and losses for streaks, essentially making sure that you climb or fall down the ladder at a steady pace without any sort of luck elements to potentially mess you up. There is still going to be a streak bonus as the system has to separate smurfs somehow, but it will kick in much later and be much less severe.
If you're interested in all of the details here's Principal Designer Scott Mercer's post explaining what exactly they changed and why:
Bayonetta has suddenly appeared on Steam, and apparently the port is pretty damn good
- By Ash
- in News
On April 1st SEGA decided to be a bit cheeky and release a teaser website for the PC version of Bayonetta. There was no announcement, no information, and no explanation on whether this is all an elaborate April Fools' joke or something serious. The only thing SEGA showed was a countdown timer with nine days remaining, something I assumed would herald an announcement for the PC port's release date.
Well, there sure was an announcement, but I can't say I expected SEGA to just straight up release Bayonetta on Steam without so much as a peep. But the good news doesn't end there, however, as apparently the PC port of Bayonetta is pretty damn good, as evident by its currently overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam.
Planet Coaster's Spring Update 1.2 has arrived with a rather sizable list of new features
- By Ash
- in News
Planet Coaster may have been officially released back in November, but the developers sure don't seem to taking that as a sign to stop putting out rather sizable updates. Back in December it was the Winter Update which brought with it a new location alongside customized rides, as well as a ridiculous amount of festive props, and this time around it is the much more grounded, yet still equally as interesting Spring Update.
The Spring Update brings with it a bunch of new rides to mess around with (including go-carts!), criminals and vandals, security guards and CCTV cameras, a variety of quality of life improvements, numerous bug fixes, and the list goes on for quite a while. If you're interested in all of the details you can find the full patch notes over at the official website, but before you do I would recommend grabbing a cup of coffee as you're going to be stuck in there for a while.
The Banjo-Kazooie inspired 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee has now arrived
- By Ash
- in News
After raising well over 2 million pounds through its 2015 Kickstarter Yooka-Laylee has now finally arrived. I can only hope its massive success will herald a resurgence of 3D platformers, a genre that is incredibly dear to my heart, yet almost completely ignored by the gaming industry in general.
As for Yooka-Laylee, here's the recently posted launch trailer showcasing most of the gameplay elements. If you've ever played Banjo-Kazooie chances are you already know what to expect, but even still you should probably give the video a look. Here it is:
The Overwatch Uprising Update is now live with a new PvE event and a whole bunch of a-mei-zing skins
- By Ash
- in News
After being leaked yesterday the Overwatch Uprising Update has now finally arrived to the live servers. It brings with it some massive balance changes for Lucio and the 2CP maps (Hanamura, Volskaya, Anubis), a variety of skins and other cosmetics, and even a PvE mode to mess around in!
If you're interested in seeing what the Uprising Update is all about, here are two of the recently posted teaser trailers. The first one showcases the PvE mode and some of the skins you can collect, while the second one mostly relates to the story behind the events you'll be playing through. Have a look:
Don't Starve Together has been updated with new enemies and content to explore
- By Ash
- in News
Don't Starve released four years ago, and even though Don't Starve Together is its own thing its still impressive to see Klei continuously tinker and improve upon their creation. Their latest effort, the rather aptly named A New Reign update, has now arrived to Steam after a brief beta phase. It brings with it new giants to slay, new and enhanced biomes to explore, a bunch of new mysteries to uncover in the Ruins, and the list goes.
If you're interested in a few brief glimpses at all of this content you'll find the recently posted teaser video down below. It won't really give you a good overview of what the update brings to the table, but it should at least get you into the proper mood. Have a look:
Legend of Grimrock devs have announced their next game - a turn-based CRPG called Druidstone
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Ctrl Alt Ninja, a group of designers, programmers, and artists who previously worked on the surprisingly awesome Legend of Grimrock games, have now come out to announce their next project - Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest. From what information is available so far it appears that Druidstone is going to be a turn-based CRPG with some roguelike elements mixed in.
Given the combination of genres it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that Druidstone will use procedural generation to populate its world and dungeons. Sometimes you'll have extra paths available, other times you'll have to deal with more combat encounters than usual, but you also might just get lucky and only meet friendly people on your trek through the forest. Its all pretty basic stuff, but it has been proven to work time and time again, so you won't see me complaining.