- By Ash
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[Update]: Darkest Dungeon 2 will be leaving Early Access and launching onto Steam and Epic on May 8, 2023.
If you're in the mood for watching scores of noble heroes slowly get reduced to gibbering madmen, rejoice as Darkest Dungeon 2 is nearly upon us! Well, sort of. According to the latest announcement, the unfinished version of Darkest Dungeon 2 will be heading into Early Access on October 26, 2021 via the Epic Games Store.
The exact details are still few and far between, but you can expect to see a variety of improvements to the first game's themes and ideas, as well as a completely different progression system. Perhaps most interestingly of all, Darkest Dungeon 2 will be ditching the stylish 2D visuals that made the original so popular, and instead try its hand at recreating that same sort of magic in 3D!
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- in Indie Games
[Update]: The Isle of Bigsnax expansion has now arrived, and with it Bugsnax has officially made its way to Steam as well!
Bugsnax is one of those games that defies all expectations, and I mean that in a good way. While Bugsnax starts off lighthearted and looking downright adorable, things eventually devolve into pure madness, and it only ends up getting weirder from there. Combine that with some surprisingly compelling characters and you've got yourself an indie action-adventure that's well worth experiencing.
With that in mind, it's also worth mentioning that you'll soon have another choice when it comes to which platforms you can play Bugsnax on. The exact release date hasn't been posted just yet, but Bugsnax will be finally making its way to Steam in 2022, most likely very early on.
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- in Indie Games
[Update]: After a year of exclusivity, Axiom Verge 2 will be coming to Steam on August 11, 2022.
Much like the original, the newly launched Axiom Verge 2 is a 2D metroidvania action-adventure. What this means in gameplay terms is that you will spend most of your time exploring a massive world, collecting an assortment of powerups and weaponry, and then using said items to carve a path through hordes of enemies or simply unlock previously inaccessible pathways.
Naturally, there are some new ideas here as well, with the most intriguing one being hacking. The ability allows you to take control of just about anything, with each unique object having a different reaction. Some can be used as makeshift platforms, others can be swayed to fight for you, while a few will simply explode into colorful fireworks!
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- in Indie Games
While I greatly enjoyed my time with Frostpunk, it's one of those games that I find really difficult to return to. This is mostly because each challenge Frostpunk presents you with is so daunting that by the time you solve it you've become an expert in your field, which as you might imagine kind of takes the edge off any subsequent playthroughs.
With all of that in mind, I am delighted to say that 11 bit studios have just announced a solution to my little problem - a fancy new sequel! Frostpunk 2 will take place 30 years after the apocalyptic blizzard and will have you tackle the problems of an increasingly divided society, all the while trying to keep everyone from freezing to death through the newly introduced oil extraction industry.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
While this might not come as a massive surprise given that it was accidentally leaked a while ago, the time-bending exploration game Outer Wilds is finally getting an expansion - Echoes of the Eye! You can expect to see it arrive on September 28, 2021 for PC and consoles, and judging by the brief synopsis it also looks like it'll be Outer Wilds' first and only expansion.
The exact details on what Echoes of the Eye will bring to the table are still few and far between, but the developers are planning to weave the expansion into the existing world and its story. As such I think we can expect to see a couple of new environments to explore, updates to some of the original ones, as well as a whole new set of mysteries to uncover!
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: Kena: Bridge of Spirits has now also landed onto Steam alongside very positive player reviews.
[Update]: After multiple delays, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is now fully ready to launch.
The remarkably charming action-adventure Kena: Bridge of Spirits was supposed to release this August, but according to the newly posted announcement that is sadly no longer going to be the case. Instead you can expect Kena: Bridge of Spirits to arrive on September 21, 2021 for PC and PlayStation.
As for the reason behind the delay, it's thankfully nothing too concerning. The Ember Lab team has simply reevaluated the whole project and figured they could use an extra month in order to get everything polished up and ready to go.
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- in Indie Games
Now that its one-year exclusivity period with Google Stadia is over, Orcs Must Die! 3 has finally made its way to Steam, Xbox One and X|S, PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as GeForce Now. Much like its predecessors Orcs Must Die! 3 is firmly focused on the combination of third-person action and tower defense elements, all in an effort to shock, fry, explode or otherwise mangle hordes of dastardly Orcs.
As for what this looks like in actual gameplay, that you can find out through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander, it'll clue you in quite quickly on what to expect:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: RimWorld's Biotech expansion is adding children, player-controlled mechanoids and gene editing.
After being suddenly announced and going through a brief round of public testing, RimWorld's second expansion Ideology has now been unleashed. As the name would suggest Ideology allows you to create your very own belief systems and then enforce them upon your colony, with this covering everything from nudist hippies to technology obsessed cannibals. There's also brand new roguelike-styled quests to spice things up, alongside new creatures, improvements, and perhaps most excitingly, a brand new ending to uncover!
You can get a pretty good idea of how all of this translates into actual gameplay, as well as how insane the whole thing can get, through the freshly posted launch trailer. Have a peek:
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- in Indie Games
Just like many of the JRPGs from which it draws a great deal of inspiration, Cris Tales is all about wondering across the world in search of adventure, befriending and recruiting a variety of over-the-top characters, and then teaming up with them to face off against a whole host of enemies in turn-based combat. That said, things don't stay that simple for very long as Cris Tales heavily focuses on time-traveling and allows you to visit individual locations in the past, present and future!
You can get a little bit of an idea of what this looks like in actual gameplay, as well as what Cris Tales looks like in general, through the rather handy overview trailer. Have a peek:
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- in Indie Games
A full year has gone by since Streets of Rage 4 first arrived, so if you're looking for some sort of excuse to give it another whirl, you'll be happy to hear the very first DLC has now arrived. The aptly titled Mr. X Nightmare will have you enter a simulation created from the remnants of Mr. X's brain, in which you will encounter three new playable characters, a brand new Survival mode, a new character customization system, as well as new arenas, traps and enemies to toy around with.
You can get a pretty good idea of what all of this nonsense looks like in action through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander, it's a rather straightforward one: