- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: I've now reviewed World of Horror's version 1.0 and I'm happy to say that, despite some issues, it's a highly enjoyable roguelike!
[Update]: After nearly three years in Early Access, the full version of World of Horror will be launching for PC, PlayStation and Switch in Summer 2023.
If you're in the mood for a horror game that's a little bit out of the ordinary, you might want to check out World of Horror that has just landed onto Steam Early Access. To put it simply, it's a roguelite horror-adventure heavily inspired by the works of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft, all wrapped up in a rather lovely retro 1-bit art style.
As for the actual gameplay, it's mostly about trying to figure out just what in the world is happening throughout each of the randomized storylines, as well as doing whatever you can to prevent the old gods from returning once more. In order to succeed you'll need to solve puzzles, keep an eye out for suspicious allies and potential threats, carefully manage your resources, and if it comes to that, smack otherworldly horrors over the head with a baseball bat.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: The long wait is now finally over - Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord has now arrived onto Steam Early Access!
After what feels like an actual eternity of waiting, the day has finally come! Developer TaleWorlds Entertainment has now officially confirmed that Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord will be coming to Steam Early Access on March 31st!
The initial version will be somewhat limited in scope, so expect to see reused maps for different towns, limited number of quests and voice-overs, as well as a lack of some supportive features. Thankfully, most of the core gameplay will be fully present from the start, so you should still be able to have a good bit of fun with Bannerlord.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Bonelab, Boneworks' highly ambitious successor, is launching on September 29th.
While Boneworks is one of the better VR games currently available, its launch version had a rather major flaw - no manual saves. That wouldn't be too big of a deal if the levels were fairly short, but some of the later ones could take upwards of an hour to complete on your first attempt, which is just way too much time to go without any sort of checkpoint.
As such, I'm pleased to say that Boneworks has now finally added save spots throughout the levels. They will save any items you have on your person, as well as any items you chucked into the handy savespot bins, so you'll always be able to continue right from where you left off. A simple feature, but a highly welcome one regardless!
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
If you're in the mood for a good ol' fashioned mystery, you might want to keep an eye on the freshly announced Westmark Manor. To put it simply, it is an upcoming Lovecraftian adventure game with a heavy focus on storytelling and atmosphere, as well as plenty of tricky puzzles to keep you on your toes throughout the journey.
You can get a bit of an idea of what this includes, as well as what the overall story might be about, through the recently posted reveal trailer. Have a gander:
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: RimWorld's very first expansion Royalty has now suddenly been released alongside Update 1.1!
If you're like me and you've already had RimWorld consume a frankly embarrassing amount of your free time over the past few years, I'm afraid I bring some bittersweet news. With almost no warning, Ludeon Studios have now released a whole bunch of new content and improvements as a part of the Update 1.1 beta!
In terms of weaponry and armor, the update has added EMP and smoke launcher weapons, barricades to protect yourself from foolish raiders, as well as a lighter variant of marine armor - recon armor. There's also a bunch of new animals like donkeys, horses, sheep, goats, and most importantly of all, geese. As for the characters themselves, they have received a couple of new traits, reworked versions of previous ones, as well as some new tribal backstories to spice things up even further.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: Operencia has now made its way to Steam, GOG, PS4 and Switch alongside generally positive reception.
While it has mostly disappeared as a genre these days, I must admit I have a bit of a soft spot for the first-person, dungeon-crawling RPGs of old. If you share my passion for them, you might be interested to hear that Operencia: The Stolen Sun will be breaking its Xbox One and Epic Game Store exclusivity and hopping over to Steam, GOG, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch this March 31st.
Much like its oldschool predecessors, Operencia will have you control a variety of unique characters, each one with their own special abilities and skills to use and synergize with. Naturally, you'll need all of these abilities to defeat the hordes of enemies you'll encounter throughout the levels, as well as to help solve puzzles and search for the secrets that are likely to be littered throughout each of the thirteen map.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update]: If you're craving for even more destruction, Sea of Craft is a Besiege inspired physics-based sandbox where you get to build a variety of wacky ships.
After spending around five years in Steam Early Access, the somewhat medieval, physics-based sandbox game Besiege has now been released in full. So if you're in the mood for creating truly terrifying weapons of mass destruction, only to have them inevitably fail and collapse in on themselves, Besiege is well worth checking out!
Besides an assortment of bug fixes and general quality-of-life changes, the launch version has also brought with it the final chapter of Besiege's singleplayer campaign. As you would expect, this final island is littered with nasty fortresses, a variety of new enemies to mow down, as well as "secret magics to unravel" on your journey to the final battle.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
[Update #2]: I've now reviewed World of Horror's version 1.0 and I'm happy to say that, despite some issues, it's a highly enjoyable roguelike!
[Update]: After nearly three years in Early Access, the full version of World of Horror will be launching for PC, PlayStation and Switch in Summer 2023.
When games go retro, they usually opt to go for either 8-bit or 16-bit graphics, primarily inspired by the old Nintendo consoles. However, the upcoming World of Horror has decided to take things even further back by utilizing a rather striking 1-bit art style. An unusual choice, but I have to admit, it works really well with the whole horror aesthetic!
As for the actual gameplay, World of Horror is a roguelite adventure game that will have you investigate a variety of unusual and often super-natural occurrences, all in an effort to prevent one of the Old Gods from rising and devouring all of humanity in the process. You'll need to figure out who you can trust, which places to visit and which places to avoid, manage your resources including health and sanity, as well as figure out how to deal with cultists using kitchen utensils when you run out of places to hide.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
It has only been a short amount of time since Mutant Year Zero's expansion Seed of Evil arrived, and already the developers have released a brand new strategy game. However, instead of a fantasy world brimming with bizarre and unique characters, the freshly launched Corruption 2029 is set in a near-future dystopia that's about as bleak as it possibly gets.
In terms of actual gameplay, Corruption 2029 is fairly similar to its predecessor. It's a challenging, XCOM inspired turn-based strategy with a bit of stealth combat thrown in for good measure. In order to succeed you'll need to first sneak in, take out a few of the outlying guards, and only go guns-blazing once you've secured a serious advantage over your enemies. Needless to say, expect your team to die a fair few times before the whole ordeal is over.
- By Ash
- in Indie Games
Audiosurf released all the way back in 2008, and to my knowledge, was one of the first highly popular rhythm-racing games. It was a fairly simple concept, just racing along tracks created from your own music, but sometimes simplicity is all you really need to have a thoroughly engaging experience.
However, the reason I'm bringing up Audisurf in 2020 isn't to simply reminisce about how fun it is, but rather because it has suddenly received a brand new update! First and foremost, widescreen scaling has been greatly improved across the board. This will be the most noticeable on ultrawide monitors, though even 16:9 screens will see some minor positive changes. And if you're in the mood for something completely different, you can now also play in 'narrowscreen' as well.