- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Start practicing your swiping as Among Us is getting its very own VR version.
While it may have taken a fair bit of time to get here, I'm happy to say that Among Us has just received a chunky new map. The Airship is not only the biggest map released so far, and by a large margin, but it also brings with it a couple of nifty new features like the ability to choose where you spawn, mobility options such as ladders and moving platforms, as well as a whole bunch of new mini-games to mess around with after you get unceremoniously murdered.
Rather than babble on, allow me to share with you the latest trailer. It'll give you a pretty good impression of what the Airship looks like and just how large it truly is. Have a peek:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Frictional Games's next horror game will be a non-linear sandbox set in a desolate WW1 bunker.
In a little experiment with their previous sci-fi horror game SOMA, Frictional Games introduced a Safe Mode that tweaked some of the horror elements and made the monsters non-threatening. While it did somewhat diminish the overall impact of the story, the Safe Mode was still a massive success as it allowed a whole host of new players to explore the world and soak in the atmosphere.
As such, I'm pleased to say that Frictional Games have now done the same for the recently released Amnesia: Rebirth. When playing the new Adventure Mode many of the horror audio and visual elements are noticeably toned down, the environments are slightly more bright in order to allow for easier exploration, while any sort of life-threatening monster encounters are entirely gone.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: The Binding of Isaac's Update 1.7.5 has improved Tainted characters and added even more room layouts.
Given how many times we've gone through the "this is definitely the last Isaac expansion" routine I won't blame you for doubting the title, but according to Edmund McMillen the freshly released Repentance is indeed the "FINAL FINAL FINAL mega expansion!" That latter part is not a joke either as Repentance has brought in 130 new items to toy around with, over 100 new enemies and enemy variations, and even fully fleshed out alternate path that leads to new chapters and a unique final bosses.
Repentance has also added 2 new playable characters, 25 new bosses, 5 new challenges, as well as over 100 new achievements to hunt down. And just to make the already insanely replayable roguelike even more time-devouring, there are now around 5000 new room designs to explore. Needless to say, Repentance really is a mega expansion!
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
It may have taken a little while to get here, but the latest Fall Guys' season has now brought in a whole bunch of new content to mess around with. First and foremost, there is now a Squad Mode that allow you to team up with either friends or random players in order to share progress and score across the various challenges, thus ensuring none of you get randomly knocked out just because you got unlucky that one time. That said, this does also mean that a particularly clumsy team can drag you down with them, though at least you'll be able to have a good laugh about it afterwards.
As for the maps, Season 4 has brought in seven highly futuristic ones to explore, many of which offer a combination of new and old elements to keep things fresh and interesting. Speaking of which, victories with your squad and Daily Challenges will now yield a bunch of Crown Shards - a resource that you can eventually combine into a proper Crown and thus unlock some of the numerous cosmetics at a nice and steady pace.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
If you're in the mood for an oldschool action-adventure with some Metroidvania elements thrown in for good measure, you might want to check out the newly launched Narita Boy. As you might expect from that brief description alone, Narita Boy is all about slicing and dicing your way through hordes of enemies, collecting upgrades and unearthing secrets as you explore the world, and naturally, beating up an assortment of bosses along the way.
What all of this looks like in actual gameplay, however, that you can find out through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander, it's a fairly long one:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
After a rather productive year in Steam Early Access, the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night inspired Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth has now been released in full. The launch version brings with it two brand new Stages with their own bosses, secrets and items to collect, as well as a whole bunch of quality-of-life improvements based on recent feedback.
What that looks like in actual gameplay, however, you can find out through the freshly posted launch trailer. Have a gander as the Castlevania comparison will make a whole lot more sense afterwards:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: Among Us VR has now been unleashed onto Steam VR, Meta Quest and Rift/Rift S.
[Update]: The Airship has now arrived, and it really is a massive map!
It may have taken a little while for the Innersloth team to get used to their new circumstances and the immense popularity of Among Us, but it seems that the difficulties have now been sorted out and new content will flow more regularly. In other words, we'll be getting a brand new map this March 31, 2021 - the Airship!
The Airship will not only be the biggest map in Among Us, but it will also be the very first one to allow you to pick which room you start in. Combine this with new navigation options like ladders and mobile platforms, both of which are perfect for a bit of sneaky-stabby action, and I have a feeling the Airship will be quite an action-packed map, especially once people get familiar with it.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth has now been released from Steam Early Access and, unsurprisingly, it's pretty fun.
After spending about a year in Steam Early Access, the Symphony of the Night inspired Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is now nearly ready for its full release. So if you're in the mood for some good ol' fashioned Metroidvania action, you might want to mark March 27th on your calendar.
Much like the last major update, the full release will bring with it two fairly chunky new stages to explore. The first of these will be the Hall of Knights and will follow directly after the end of Stage 4, while the finale is still shrouded in mystery, for obvious reasons.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Amnesia: Rebirth's new Adventure Mode replaces otherworldly horror with puzzles.
Over the past few years Apple has made it increasingly more challenging to port games over to macOS. Even long-standing series that once had simultaneous launches across all three PC platforms started having trouble with their macOS versions, with the end result usually being lengthy delays or outright cancellations. Unfortunately, due to insurmountable technical problems, Amnesia: Rebirth and SOMA have now been forced to go with the rather unappealing second option.
"We’ve always prided ourselves with being able to supply our games on PC, Linux and Mac, but we have now encountered some serious problems with the latest versions of MacOS," reads the brief update. "Even though we’ve put in tons of effort trying to fix the issues – so that SOMA and Rebirth supports MacOS – we have finally had to give up. We simply cannot manage it."
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Even though Factorio is now technically finished and quite enjoyable as it is, the developers have already started looking towards expanding the concept even further. However, instead of focusing on a bunch of smaller updates or even DLC packs, the Wube Software team has chosen to go with the oldschool 'big expansion pack' plan.
That plan, as you might expect, will be to introduce a whole bunch of new mechanics that will greatly shake up the usual gameplay formula and make Factorio feel completely fresh again. I would love to give you some actual details or examples, but the expansion is still in early development and as such everything is currently in a state of flux.