TechRaptor has reviewed Masquerada Songs and Shadows:

Masquerada Songs and Shadows Review

Sometimes through public professionalism, we grin and bear annoyance, or put on a brave face in times of extreme stress. Sometimes, we steel ourselves to from personal embarrassment or for selfish goals. That façade is like a mask in some ways; we wear them daily but often subconsciously; hiding our true feelings or ideals from the world. This isn’t because of malicious intent but rather self-preservation of our image. Our failings or annoyances, whatever they may be, can be easily sheltered to others if we decide to not let them in.

In a way, that mask is an important part of our growth as well. Eventually, we shed those facades, becoming more honest with ourselves and those around us. This is often a testament to the growth of personal character. While we don such masks on occasion, they don’t become us, a lesson that many learn in the long run of our lives. I bring this up mostly through the self-reflection of a new game, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, a new indie RPG by Singaporean developer Witching Hour Studios. It is a game that, while flawed, has some things to offer to role-playing enthusiasts and casual RPG players alike.

[...]

Summary

For a freshman effort by an indie developer, there is just enough to really get your attention in Masquerada, and I look forward to seeing what Witching Hour Studios does next. For behind the mask of this game is a studio with a lot of heart behind it, and while their first outing is ultimately flawed, their heart is sometimes all you need to make your mark in the gaming world.

Score: 6.5/10 - Good

Pros

• Excellent Narrative...
• Strong Voiceover and Themes...

Cons

• ...with Some Minor Narrative Flaws.
• ...Extremely Simple, Linear Gameplay.
• Limited Combat Mechanics.

An Indigigogo campaign for the Action RPG Sole Descendant has been started:

Sole Descendant

Fast paced action RPG, with an emphasis on medieval combat mechanics and visually rich storytelling.

loading...

Awake and master sword fight in brutal, fast-paced melee combat across an engaging story campaign as the last cursed guardian of humankind. Use all necessary means: devastating sword combos paired with powerful spells. Find answers fighting unique bosses and learn the story of the realm by directly participating and driving in-game story events.

Co-op can be fun in Divinity: Original Sin II:

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Co-op Spotlight

loading...

There are many ways to tackle situations in Divinity: Original Sin 2 and working together in co-op is just one of them. You don’t have to be like Apostol. But you can, if you want.

Forbidden Unit is an isometric, science fiction, tactical, turn based RPG focused on four main characters. It is on Kickstarter asking for 65K and has 27 days to go.

loading...

Hi, everybody! We are very excited to present to you our latest game FORBIDDEN UNIT. Above you can find the footage from the game. It´s a 3D isometric RPG with the turn-based combat system. If you played the original Fallout, XCOM, Shadowrun or Syndicate, you know exactly where our inspiration, core game principles and our passion for games come from.

@Gematsu BioMutant gameplay was on show at Gamescom.

loading...

http://gematsu.com/tag/biomutant
http://gematsu.com/gallery/biomutant

The Good Life was announced at Gamescom with this debut trailer. The game features cats and will be a daily life RPG set in a happy town where strange things happen at night. The game will launch on Fig September 2nd.

loading...

The Good Life first trailer for Backstage Pass Only.
A completely new mystery launched by creator of Deadly Premonition...
(c) 2017 White Owls Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[...]

GAME DESCRIPTION

At night, the town's residents turn into cats. Why does this happen? Is this why everyone in town is so happy? No one seems to remember what they do at night. Naomi is here to find out what's going on in Rainy Woods. The townspeople aren't the only ones who get to roam around at night as a cat - Naomi does too! Once the sun sets, you'll get to explore Rainy Woods and collect clues and important items connected to the events of the story. The town becomes a very different place at night, as certain secret paths, rooftops, and attics can only be accessed by cats.

Swen Vincke presented at Gamescom Divinity: Original Sin 2 and showed never seen before gameplay.

loading...

Thatvideogameblog checked out West of Loathing:

West of Loathing Review

Right … well I’m not sure where to even begin with this one. I’ve either been doing this for to long and I’m hallucinating again or I’ve just spent an exceptionally large amount of time around lethal cows, bandits and immensely silly humor. Wait … no it’s just West of Loathing and boy am I going to have fun telling you about this game.

The first thing I really need you to note here it that this is an RPG. With this in mind, this review is based on more of a this-is-the-story-so-far-type thing. I’m still playing West of Loathing and I’m still thoroughly enjoying it but with tons of side quests and basically all the trappings you’d expect from an epic game I can only base this on what I’ve seen and done so far. If I try and give you a blow by blow you’ll still be reading this review when the sequel comes out.

[...]

All in all, for me at least, West of Loathing is a really refreshing change from other games in it’s genre. I could go into way more detail about the items you’ll find and the combat system but these are things you’ll pick up as you play. I think that this title is well worth a few hours of anybodies time. At the very least you’ll get a chuckle out of it but if you’re anything like me I’ve a feeling that you’ll be as hooked as I am and very pleased that you’re time hasn’t been wasted. This is definitely one that’s staying in my Steam library and may well find a comfortable home in yours.

Score: 8.5/10

Destructoid has reviewed the exploration survival game The Long Dark:

Review: The Long Dark

Winter is here

loading...

The Long Dark is out of Early Access, and there have been some changes since it was initially released in 2014. Its world has grown bigger, its animal AI has grown smarter, and its story mode has remained a promising yet barely distinguishable figure on the edge of the horizon. Until now.

This review covers both the survival sandbox mode and the first two episodes of the story mode. I'll be back to cover more of it as I keep charting its chilly terrain and as more episodes are released.
[...]
I have to say, one of the best parts of The Long Dark is the feeling of discovery. Being unsure where I'm going as I venture off partially snow-covered roads, and then suddenly coming upon a lighthouse or a whale harvesting plant, is exciting. Since the maps are always the same, that excitement will fade once I've discovered and memorized everything each area has to offer. I have conflicting feelings about that because I want both the excitement of discovery and the comfort of knowing the world I inhabit.

New maps can always be added, and there are challenges within the sandbox mode that you can choose to partake in if you want to shake things up a bit. One of the challenges asks you to spend three days at different locations scattered across all the maps, forcing you to chart the entire world of the game. And there's enough content there that it should keep you busy exploring every nook and cranny for a while.

While the story mode leaves something to be desired, the survival mechanics of The Long Dark's sandbox make it worthwhile. We have three more episodes of Will's journey to weave a wider story throughout the alternately unforgiving and inviting Canadian terrain. In the meantime, I'll be sitting back with my coffee mug, reflecting on my own small stories within The Long Dark.

Gamebanshee looks at the features of Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates and finds some explanations in some forum posts.

A series of official forum posts shed some light on the combat, the setting, and the music of Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates, an upcoming Neo-Victorian isometric RPG. Here's the gist of it: the combat will be of the real time with pause variety with a bit of a phase-based twist, the setting is Neo-Victorian as opposed to simple steampunk because the developers are pedantic when it comes to subgenres, and, finally, Empyre's soundtrack will feature 1970s Funk influences because of some thematic similarities between the game's setting and that particular era.
[...]

PCGamesN report on Phantom Doctrine, an alternate history thriller that sees you lead the Cabal. There are some screenshots at the link.

loading...

Features

• A rich alternate history plot anchored by historical events and characters, bringing the chillingly relevant Cold War reality to life from a unique point of view.
• Next-generation turn-based combat: Unprecedented flexibility of movement and actions, variable overwatch modes and assault-oriented Breaching ability
• Expanded battlefield: position assets around the world and call for assistance in the middle of battle when you need it most. Just remember, the enemy can bring their own reinforcements, heavy weapons or even air support and their toy box is much bigger than yours.
• Knowing is half the battle: scout mission locations ahead of time, infiltrate with undercover operatives and improve your odds. Elite enemy agents with their own agenda are always ready to spring their own ambushes.
• Go loud or go home (stealthily): fully-fledged stealth gameplay with silenced weapons, silent takedowns and cutting-edge Cold War era security technology. All this makes completing entire operations clandestinely a viable option.
• Run your own counterintelligence organization: recruit subjects of top secret government experiments, operatives of the world's secret services, KGB & CIA included, or even criminals. Manage a global operation, securing weapons, resources and contacts. Command from a distance or go hands-on to fight for the real stakes.
• Actively pursue the truth: research cases, locations and individuals in Investigation Board gameplay mechanics to uncover new missions, resources and technologies.
• Employ technology ruthlessly to your advantage: learn from the enemy or research your own methods for brainwashing, interrogation, body engineering and chemical enhancement.
• Customize your operatives and then do it again once they need a new identity: forge documents, change appearance, retrain them for lethal effect and send them back into the fray.
• Replayable, modular campaign with an array of mechanics to ensure unique and markedly different playthroughs: generated character names and backgrounds, modular and algorithmically populated maps, randomized intelligence snippets.
• A highly replayable, story-driven campaign with meticulously designed and adaptable maps.
• Two stories to choose from: a KGB counterintelligence operative or a CIA wet work commando who have to come to grips with the truth and challenge the conspiracy, with an additional New Game Plus protagonist.
• No mission too big, no mission too small: enter a bustling government facility undercover to assassinate a target with surgical precision or mount a heavy frontal assault on an enemy staging base. With optional objectives closely linked to a mission's complexity and opportunities like loot and intelligence to collect, there are decisions to be made at each step.

Captain Mode for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlords puts you in charge of a detachment of troops in multiplayer battles of 5 vs 5.

loading...

This Shenmue 3 teaser shows off the world of Shenmue.

loading...

The first teaser of Shenmue III is built from a small slice of an in-development build of the game, and it delivers small peeks in new look of main characters, new characters, and feels of Shenmue world.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...

Clare Lunawolf checked out Conan Exiles:

Conan Exiles – First Impressions

Conan Exiles is a survival game that allows you to play alone or co-op without being forced into the multiplayer servers. Players take control of a person who was exiled and left for dead after being crucified for various crimes. They are then saved by Conan who mysteriously vanishes and leaves the player alone in the harsh Exiled Lands.

Character creation is significantly more detailed than most survival games and falls more in line with a MMO. Which matches the MMO style multiplayer portion of the game. Players have a range of different options to select from when customizing their character. While it doesn’t provide a huge amount of choices, there’s a nice variety here to keep players occupied for quite some time as they create their own person.

[...]

The weakest point of Conan Exiles seems to be the combat system. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with it but it is very stale. It has players hacking at enemies with the same motion and if you’re the sort who likes to dodge and weave around enemies then you could just be flailing at the air. It lacks that special something which would make it entertaining and worthwhile. Right now it just feels like it was added so players would have something else to do in the world as opposed to a mechanic in-grained into the gameplay.

The first few hours of Conan Exiles have been an entertaining struggle. Building is definitely the highlight of this game and it’s easy to lose a lot of time constructing a house thanks to all the little decorative objects in the game. It’s clear that there’s a lot to learn about Conan Exiles and that the game has a lot to offer players. There are plenty of things in the game we haven’t seen yet such as the Thrall system and the new Frozen North content so we’ll report back later about these.

Thanks Farflame!

World of ELEX reports that ELEX 2 is confirmed:

ELEX 2 confirmed

The german website Gameswirtschaft reports that the EU will support four german game productions this year with 500,000€ in total via the "Creative Europe Media" programme. One of the projects that gets supported with 150,000€ is ELEX 2. The company "AWins 2011 GmbH" which is named as the studio has the same address and the same managing director as the Pluto13 GmbH/Piranha Bytes. Thus, it's safe to assume Piranha Bytes will developed a successor to ELEX next.

Thanks Farflame!

BioMutant has been officially announced with a trailer.

loading...

Meet BioMutant, the new open-world action RPG from ex-Just Cause and Mad Max developers that lets you mutate your hero on the fly.

• Real-Time combat: Mix, Melee, guns and Abilites
• Hugely Customizeable Character: Bionics offer powerful prosthetics, while Mutations offer physical changes as well as powers
• Automation sidekick: customizable living robotic toys
• Pilotable Vehicles: Customizable Mech, Jetski & UFO
• Creative crafting system: open creation of weapons & Gear

Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond has launched on Kickstarter seeking 15K. It is the sequel to Celestian Tales: Old North.

loading...

The Game

Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond is a role-playing game that combines turn-based tactical combat with a story of questionable morals seen through multiple points of view. You play as the Companions of House Levant, six knights sworn to serve and protect the heir of the noble house, in their journey to survive a world where one's real enemies are often their closest.

If you have played Celestian Tales: Old North, the game will read your end save and make those decisions based on the choices you've made. 

If you have not played CTON and do not wish to, you're not missing out: Realms Beyond is designed to accommodate new players into the setting. At the beginning you will be asked about what happened in the past, which defines how the world of Realms Beyond is shaped.

Gameplay

At its core Celestian Tales: Realms Beyond serves as a vessel for its immersive story. Discover a living, breathing world rich with lore and history, populated with hundreds of NPCs and dialogues. Enter a world where nothing is ever black and white, and failure to know which one to side with means losing everything you hold dear.

If you have played Celestian Tales: Old North, Realms Beyond offers not just brand new sights to explore but also the rediscovery of older places and the continuation of previous character bonds, now evolved as years have gone by between the two points in time. 

Combat in Celestian Tales is done in classic turn-based style, allowing you to read the flow of combat and think a few steps ahead. Strategy is crucial as carelessness are heavily punished even against the most common of enemies. Boss fights take this to another level, pushing your tactics, team composition, and character customization to the limit, each fight demanding deeper mastery of the battlefield than the last. Harder difficulty levels are also available, turning boss encounters into intricate deadly puzzles for you to solve.
[...]

Thanks daveyd!

PCGamesN report that Jordan Weisman wants to work on the Crimson Skies IP and turn it into a tactical strategy game.

...
Weisman has two plans for the series if he could get his hands on it again and says that "in an ideal world we'd be able to do both." He was lead designer on the original PC game and creative director of Microsoft Games when the Xbox game was made, so naturally the third person flight sim-style of Crimson Skies is close to his heart - "Our goal with the PC game was that we wanted it to feel more like a plane, I think the Xbox took that one step further and more arcade-y. I'd love to do another flight sim," he says.

However, before it was on PC, Crimson Skies was a board game. And, like Weisman is doing with BattleTech, he can see Crimson Skies coming back as a turn-based strategy game. "I'd also love to do a step back to the strategy a little bit," Weisman says, "where now you've got a fleet of planes and a zep and do more of a strategy tactical game. Where you're a pirate doing the Zeppelin combat in a larger fashion. I'd love to do that game, too, one day.

"I may not be able to do either but we can dream."

Eurogamer reports that Final Fantasy XV will release for PC early 2018. The announcement was made during Nvidia's press event at Gamescom.

loading...

The PC version of Final Fantasy 15 includes all of the content from the console versions originally available through the Season Pass and free updates, as well as several new features, including:

• 4K high-resolution textures
• Dolby Atmos
• Realistic grass simulation
• Advanced hair simulation
• Combustible fire, smoke and fluid simulation
• Advanced shadow algorithms
• High quality ambient occlusion
• Versatile screenshot captures
• First-person camera mode

PCGamesN reports on a change to the Evasion mechanic for Battletech.

Player feedback made Harebrained redesign Battletech's 35-year-old evasion mechanic

An update to BattleTech has dramatically changed the way evasion works in the game. Alongside several other changes to the single-player Skirmish beta, the Evasion, Sensor Lock, and Evasive Move mechanics have "all received major revisions."

In a forum post, social media and community manager Robin Gitelman details some highlights of the update. The largest of these is to the the way evasion works in the game, which has been substantially changed. This is something that Jordan Weisman, the CEO of developers Harebrained Schemes, talked about in a recent interview we did with him.

Weisman tells us that due to the tabletop version of BattleTech being such a complex game, his team are attempting to make the digital version more accessible, especially as it's reaching a new audience. Evasion, however, is an example of "where we actually made it a little more complicated than the tabletop," Weisman says.

[...]

Who is Billie Lurk? Harvey Smith explains in this video about Dishonored: Death of the Outsider.

loading...

Learn more about Billie Lurk – including her background, her motivations and her new powers – in our latest video, featuring new gameplay and insights from Arkane Studios Creative Director Harvey Smith.

With Arkane Studios’ signature style, you can once again be as bloodthirsty – or as merciful – as you like, as you take on your final mission: eliminating the supernatural, god-like figure who’s been at the center of the events that have roiled the Empire of the Isles.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider releases on September 15, 2017, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

ZetaPlays shows off a mod that adds many custom models for Daggerfall Unity.

loading...

The main quest's beginning parts are available for playtesting now, but that's not what we're here to see.
GET THE COOL MOD HERE: http://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopi...
Keep an eye on that forum post for updates too, I'm sure more will come with time!

Shoutout to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHAVQ... this guy, who knows as well as me how amazing this looks and how excited one should feel, and also is why I found this mod at all.

-- Like what you see? Consider showing your support on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/zetaplays

Thanks Luj1!

@Eurogamer THQ Nordics Post-Apocalyptic Kung Fu suprise has been revealed as Biomutant by a German magazine.

A German magazine has spoiled a THQ Nordic Gamescom surprise: a post-apocalyptic open-world kung-fu action role-playing game called Biomutant, which is a bit of a mouthful.

In a tweet of the magazine advert, via Reddit, a kind of scruffy cat/fox/something stands on two legs with a large sword slung over its shoulder. It is armoured and wearing a bullet belt, and there is a large cricket - of course there is - on its shoulder.

The ad says "Anfang 2018", which translates to "beginning 2018". Does that mean it will be released at the beginning of next year?
[...]

Goblinz Studio released an alpha preview video of their upcoming tactical RPG Robothorium:

Robothorium - alpha preview

loading...

Robothorium is a futuristic tactical RPG combining rogue like gameplay and turn-based combat. Lead a robotic uprising by playing the AI, choose your allies by taking decisions and manage your team of robots to free them from the Human domination. Get the best items for your characters and specialize them through their talent trees to succeed in an advanced combat system!

GoHa has interviewed Vault Dweller aubout The New World - A Generation Ship RPG:

Original Russian version / English version from the RPGCodex:

1 One of the things I liked the most about AoD was the way you introduced the player to the game lore and history. Hints were scattered all around the game, sometimes requiring a couple of playthroughs to learn about a single history moment, while still questioning the sources.

Are you planning to introduce the Ship’s history and past event the same way? Or use a narrator?

The overall setup is different, which calls for a different approach. In AoD the past was long forgotten yet still relevant to the main quest. As one of the reviews said, “it plays out like noir in that you are the detective, piecing together what really happened from differing accounts...”.

In The New World the past is neither forgotten nor relevant. If I have to draw a parallel, it would be the American Civil War. Everyone knows what happened (at least the big picture) and nobody really cares (except for the historians and reenactors) because they have bigger things to worry about: jobs, bills to pay, and things that are happening today.

So we won’t dwell on the past either and will focus on “today’s problems”. As for introducing the setting, we’ll do it in steps to ease people into it.

Step 1 – the old school questionnaire when you create your character:

The Ship was launched by a neo-Christian Conglomerate dedicated to establishing a Christian colony on a distant world. Fifty thousand volunteers had boarded the ship, becoming the First Generation, the foundation of the future colony. True believers in the Mission who sacrificed much, they demanded the same obedience to the laws of the Mission and God from their children.

Unfortunately, the generations that followed didn’t have the same burning need to sacrifice and suffer for the good of the future colony. Dissatisfaction led to mutiny, mutiny to an open revolt against the perceived tyranny, the revolt to a civil war. While the mutineers succeeded in striking down the old order, they failed to eradicate it completely. The Ship had suffered extensive damage but remained operational.

Three main factions emerged from the ashes of the old order: the Protectors of the Mission, The Brotherhood of Liberty, and the Church of the Elect. They offer different answers and different salvations to those who’d join their cause.

You’ve always thoughts that:

1.Rebelling against an established order was a mistake. It may not have been perfect but it was better than chaos that followed.
2.The mutineers did the right thing. Why should entire generations be chained to the beliefs of their ancestors?
3.It was God’s will for the old order to fall. The mutineers were his unwitting agents who thought they acted on their own, but it was His Plan all along.
4.The more things change the more they stay the same, so why worry about it?

The questionnaire will define your character’s beliefs and introduce the setting’s key aspects and events that your character should know.

Step 2 – in-game conversations, introducing lesser but still important aspects:

/gun store

“Well,” says the man, scratching his stubble, “the Mutiny drained the ammunition depots pretty fast and that was what, a hundred years ago? The Ship was provisioned with weapons to secure the future colony, not to fight a civil war.”

“So there are no energy cells left?”

“I’m sure there are a few cells left here and there, but they’re worth a lot of money, so only a fool would use them to charge a gun. Fortunately, there are less fancy but still effective alternatives.”

/medical bay

“Your organs are a product of evolution; their performance is limited by your body’s natural needs. The implants don’t have such limitations and the only restricting factor is how many implants you can handle.”

“What do you mean?”

“The implants tax your body and once you hit that natural limit, your body will reject all further attempts. Few people are tough enough to handle more than five implants so choose carefully. Once an implant is in, it can’t be removed without killing you.”

“Why?”

“Suppose you get your hands on Exo-Spine. It reinforces your vertebral column and taps into your spinal cord. The machine does its work and now you’re stronger and capable of feats you couldn’t even dream of before. A few months later you decide that you’re better off without it but the implant is connected to every vertebrae and spinal nerve. If we remove it, at best you’ll be paralyzed. At worst…”

Step 3 – key characters’ intro, same as in AoD:

Rumor has it that Captain Braxton once served a higher power, that in the days before his crisis of faith and the subsequent falling out with the Church of the Elect he was known as Faithful Gunner Jeremiah Braxton. Speculation about why he left is abundant, but as is often the case no story is more compelling than the others.

Backed up by a few like-minded men and picking up more willing recruits along the way, Braxton left the Church behind and ended up in the Pit, a place where reliable fighting men are always in demand. Around the time of his arrival, the Brotherhood had started showing a keen interest in the Pit, eager to establish a foothold there. Braxton and his newly christened Regulators offered the good people of the Pit their services and after much debate they were hired to drive the Brotherhood’s men out, which was accomplished with brutal efficiency.

[...]

Thanks Infinitron for posting the English version!

Bioware cancels the support for the single player part of Mass Effect Andromeda:

Mass Effect: Andromeda

Update from the Studio

Since the release of Mass Effect™: Andromeda, we’ve worked hard to address feedback from our community. From improving animations to expanding customization options, we looked to respond to your concerns, and build on what you loved.

With each patch, you let us know we were heading in the right direction, and we're grateful to everyone who joined us on this journey. We're proud of what we created, and we hope you enjoyed it as well.

Early in development, we decided to focus Mass Effect: Andromeda’s story on the Pathfinder, the exploration of the Andromeda galaxy, and the conflict with the Archon. The game was designed to further expand on the Pathfinder’s journey through this new galaxy with story-based APEX multiplayer missions and we will continue to tell stories in the Andromeda Galaxy through our upcoming comics and novels, including the fate of the quarian ark.

Our last update, 1.10, was the final update for Mass Effect: Andromeda. There are no planned future patches for single-player or in-game story content.

In the coming weeks, our multiplayer team will provide details of their ongoing support and upcoming content, including new multiplayer missions, character kits, and what’s in store for N7 Day.

We appreciate all the millions of people who came with us to the Andromeda galaxy. We hope to see you again in the Mass Effect universe.

The Mass Effect Andromeda Team

Thank RPGFool!

PC Gamer thinks the 'Souls-like' label needs to die:

The 'Souls-like' label needs to die

 

Dark Souls is one of the most influential games of the last decade, but it shouldn't be treated as a template.

Why is every difficult action game a ‘Souls-like’ now? Dark Souls is an excellent game that many games since have been inspired by, I’m glad we agree, but this is out of control. Especially in the past few months, the Souls-like label has been bandied about so erratically that it’s now meaningless at best and counterintuitive at worst.

[...]

A meaningless label  

These examples also illustrate how unspecific Souls-like has become. Which is what always happens when we invent labels instead of simply describing games using established, straightforward terms. Labels like Metroidvania and rogue-like are also misnomers for games inspired in some part by Castlevania, Metroid, and Rouge, and like Souls-like, their definitions are muddy. They’re treated like genres when they’re really just confused, insular sets of characteristics that conflate design sensibilities in place of accurate, detailed descriptions.

[...]

Thanks henriquejr!

Games Revolution posted some combat from Assassins Creed Origins.

loading...