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[Update]: Black Mesa is finally being released! You can expect to see it arrive on March 5, 2020.
For those of you that might not know, Black Mesa is a fan re-imagining of the original Half-Life. It features improved visuals and sound design, new dialogue and voice acting, a variety of updates to some of the more annoying gameplay encounters, performance tweaks, and the list goes on for a while.
In short, Black Mesa is a very ambitious project, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that the developers have now delayed the long-awaited release of Xen - the alien 'world' you visit in the later portions of Half-Life. According to the developers Xen has proven to be an enormous undertaking, and despite their best intentions things are taking a lot longer than expected. On the positive side, while Xen may have been pushed back, there will still be a significant update this December!
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It has been a mere few months since Path of Exile's ridiculously massive The Fall of Oriath expansion arrived, and already the developers are planning another large batch of content. The upcoming War for the Atlas expansion will bring with it a variety of new bosses and enemies, 10 new spells to play around with, 32 new maps to explore, a completely reworked end-game progression system, numerous new unique items and modifiers, and the list goes on for quite a while.
If you're interested in seeing what all of this might look like in-game, you'll find the recently posted teaser trailer down below. Its a little bit on the lengthy side, but I'd still recommend you give it a look as its quite a fascination video:
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In the most basic terms, Door Kickers is a real time strategy game where you take control of a SWAT team during a raid against overwhelming numbers of armed and heavily entrenched opponents. The success of your operation depends entirely on your planning, timing, and perhaps most importantly of all, the ability to kick down doors! Its a fairly simple concept, but as you'll notice by the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam, its one that has been executed pretty damn well.
With that in mind, I am very glad to say that the developers have now added cooperative multiplayer... three years after Door Kickers' original launch! The co-op multiplayer is currently only available on the Steam version, and it unfortunately doesn't support local co-op, but it is still well worth a shot if you have a friend that might be interested.
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After the success of the Fall of the Dark Brotherhood story expansion, the developers behind The Elder Scrolls: Online will soon be unleashing yet another adventure. The Return to Clockwork City expansion will bring with it 55 new collectible cards, 35 different missions spread across three chapters, two new mechanics to toy around with, and naturally, a brand new storyline to explore.
You can expect to see plenty of lost treasure throughout the campaign, as well as a variety of steam-powered machinery that you will need to assemble and upgrade in order to deal with the numerous threats that lie in the long-abandoned Clockwork City. As expected, the details are still in short supply, but if you would like to learn a little bit more about the lore and mechanics behind the Clockwork City expansion, you should head on over to the official website.
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Bandai Namco has just recently launched a countdown website for a brand new game. The website currently only features a microwave, which when clicked opens its door and drops an egg. When the website first launched the egg was completely intact, while currently it features some major cracks, though don't get too excited as the countdown is expected to run for another 9 days.
That said, there is a pretty damn good chance this countdown is for a My Hero Academia game. First of all, the URL of the website contains the text "mhaoj", which I can only imagine is going to be the full title of the game. The second, and unfortunately final, piece of evidence pointing towards this being a My Hero Academia game is that an egg in a microwave might be a reference to a very similar scene from Episode 5 in the first season.
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As you might guess from the title alone, SpellForce 3 is a bit of an interesting hybrid between an RTS and an RPG. What this means in gameplay terms is that you have to create and develop your own hero, as well as a recruit and manage a fairly massive army. Its an ambitious concept, there's no doubt about that, but its also one that can be very easy to mess up.
With that in mind, I am very glad to say that the developers are currently holding a free weekend, so if SpellForce 3 sounds like something you would like to try out, you now have a chance to do just that without springing €50 for the full copy. Simply head on over to GOG, go through the 'purchasing' process, and you'll be playing in no time. And speaking of time, it is important to mention that this promotion will only last until 11pm UTC on November 27th, so you might want to start playing as soon as possible.
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Continuing the usual tradition of releasing multiple expansions at the same time, Paradox has just recently added a decently sized DLC to both Europa Universalis IV and Crusader Kings 2. Europa Universalis IV's Cradle of Civilization DLC has brought with it a variety of improvements to the Middle East, including new mechanics and features related to government, trade policies and religion, as well as the ability to essentially exploit a region for short-term gain.
Crusader Kings 2's Jade Dragon expansion has taken things even further east by focusing primarily on China. It features a variety of new units and fancy pieces of artwork, a tributary system that basically lets you suck up to the Emperor for political favors and riches, numerous new artifacts to collect and trade with, and the list goes on.
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an upcoming medieval RPG that aims to be as realistic and immersive as it can possibly be. What this means in gameplay terms is that you won't be throwing fireballs at dragons or beating down scores of bandits with your own bare hands. Instead, if you're smart, you'll get some backup before tackling groups of enemies, avoid them through a bit of trickery, or at the very least attempt to isolate your foes so that you can defeat them one-on-one through sheer martial prowess.
While the recently posted video does not feature much combat, it will give you a pretty damn good idea of the type of decisions you will have to make over the course of a single quest, as well as the consequences that come with such decisions. Have a look, its quite an interesting video:
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Total War: Arena is a free-to-play offshoot of the main Total War series. It features 10vs10 RTS battles where each player controls only three units, rather than an entire army as you would expect from pretty much any Total War game. However, while you cannot control more units, you can customize the armor, weapons and skillset of your soldiers, thus giving you plenty of ways to have an actual impact on the overall battle.
If this sounds like the type of game you would like to at least try out, you might be interested to hear that the developers are now holding an Open Beta event. Simply head on over to the Total War: Arena website, download the installer, and you'll be playing in no time. And speaking of time, it is worth mentioning that this Open Beta event will last until 9am UTC on December 4th, so you should have plenty of chances to give it a try.
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Sanctum 2 is a bit of an interesting take on the Tower Defense genre. You still have to place down turrets and utility towers in order to corral and annihilate your enemies, but instead of being completely helpless when your defenses fail you also have a variety of guns to shoot the enemies with yourself! Its a small addition, but it really goes a long way towards easing some of the frustrations present in pretty much all Tower Defense games.
If this sort of gameplay theme sounds like something you would love to try out, you're in luck as Sanctum 2 is currently free to grab on the Humble Store. The offer will only last for another day and a half (or 37 hours to be specific), so make sure to grab yourself a copy as soon as possible. You don't even need to install it in order to own it forever, simply redeem the key on Steam and you'll be in the clear.