Here is your oppotunity to vote for the game of the year in 2020 and the most anticpiated game of 2021. As usual you can vote for first, second and third place. The voting will last until next week Monday the 25th of January.
At that time I collect the results, do some stuff with them, even I don't understand and then somehow I end up with some winners that look reasonable.

This is our Game of the Year contest for 2020. In this contest we ask you to vote for the RPGs you felt were the best in 2020(we ask you for the best, runner up and third best RPG).

In addition we also would like to know which three RPGs you are looking forward to most in 2021.

Note that these lists are based on games that in one way or the other got covered at RPGWatch. The resulting list is derived from a much longer list, which has been reduced in length somewhat in cooperation with our forum members. In addition we have removed the games that are add-ons or DLCs as much as possible. You might feel that some games should not be on these lists for some reason. If you feel heart-broken over our decisions, don't vote for those games or don't vote at all and discuss it on our forums if you like. More information on how we got to this shorter list can be found here and here.

In total our GOTY consists of making 6 choices. If you feel you do not have anything to select you can select no game. Note that if you select the same game multiple times, your entire vote will be invalidated.

As always, voting is restricted to registered users only and those with at least 10 posts.

Grinding Gear Games announced that Path of Exile: Echoes of the Atlas has already become its most successful expansion to date:

Path of Exile: Echoes of the Atlas Becomes Most Successful Expansion in Grinding Gear Games’ History

With 265K+ simultaneous players at launch and becoming the #4 most popular game on Steam, The Maven is pleased… for now

"Echoes of the Atlas has been Path of Exile's most successful expansion so far," Chris Wilson, co-founder of Grinding Gear Games said. "We are so pleased to still be setting new player number records after over 30 quarterly league releases since 2013. It shows us that our development methodologies are evolving in the right direction as we work towards completing Path of Exile 2."

Interest in Path of Exile has not dwindled in the least as nearly 300,000 fans were viewing the Echoes of the Atlas expansion debut livestream simultaneously while a total of 782,000 unique viewers tuned in. When the highly-anticipated expansion launched, it reached 265,250 simultaneous players, becoming the #4 most popular game on Steam at the time. Since launch, player numbers have been 11% higher than Path of Exile’s previous highest launch, which was Delirium in March 2020 during the peak of the first global lockdown. 

JRPG Jungle reviewed Yakuza: Like a Dragon:

Review: Yakuza: Like a Dragon

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RPG wolf level up reviewed Ultima I (with spoilers):

Ultima 1 The First Age of Darkness

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Henriquejr spotted the January Kickstarter update for System Shock:

January Update

Welcome back, Hackers!

We at Nightdive hope you had a great holiday season! Now for some news.

PC pre-orders will open near the end of February on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Game Store. This will be accompanied by the release of our final demo which will include the medical level, cyberspace level, full dismemberment, all newly recorded voice lines, and a ton of additional features and polish. We will still improve on the experience as we get closer to launch so please check it out and share your feedback with us on Discord. The feedback we’ve received for the previous demos has been invaluable to us and we greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. Console versions of the demo will come later.

We’d also like to announce that anyone who pre-orders System Shock remake will receive System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition for free and ALL Kickstarter/Backerkit backers who backed at the $30 level or higher will also be receiving SS2:EE for free. It’s our intention to release both System Shock remake and SS2:EE around the same time. SS2:EE has evolved into more than what we were intending. This will be a complete source port to our KEX engine. All the character and weapons models are being remade, and we’ve received permission from the Shock community to include many of the mods that have become standard for many Shock 2 veterans. 

These include:

• Vurt's Space Textures, Flora, Hi-res Water, Organics/Goo
• ACC's Four Hundred (400) Hi-res Terrain Textures
• Eldron's Psi Amp
• Olfred's Fixed Objects
• Grosnus' Hi-Res Spinning Marine/Navy/OSA logos
• SCP
• SHTUP
• ZylonBane's New Quest Notifier
• Vaxquis Vintage Song Remake v1.0 Mod
• Mercurius' Tacticool Weapon Replacements

[...]

Eurogamer reports that the spiritual successor of Jade Empire has been cancelled:

Cancelled BioWare project Revolver shown in concept art

A near-future successor to Jade Empire.

Previously-unseen concept art from cancelled BioWare project Revolver has been posted online by artist Matt Rhodes.

Revolver, a spiritual successor to Jade Empire, was never officially announced. Bits and pieces about it surfaced over the years, before BioWare finally went into detail on the game in its recent 25th anniversary book.

Set in the near-future, the project was designed to spread BioWare's trademark narrative and character-driven efforts across a more open-world and action-heavy setting. Huh, sounds familiar.

Let's take a look - and click through each gallery for more:

[...]

Thanks henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted some news about the Oblivion remaster Skyblivion:

Oblivions Quests and Environments Remastered + PREVIEW | SKYBLIVION Development Diary Ep 2

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Remastering Oblivion is no easy feat, Today we are showcasing the work that goes into remastering environments and quests for the Skyblivion project. Thank you all for your support and sharing our work. It means the world to us.

You get new content and a free four star character in Genshin Impact 1.3 - here's the trailer:

Version 1.3 "All That Glitters" Trailer | Genshin Impact

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Thanks henriquejr!

IGN India checked out the Early Access title Everspace 2:

Everspace 2 - Review

Space to grow.

Roguelikes might be enjoying their moment in the sun in recent years (just ask Hades, our Game of the Year for 2020), but Everspace 2 shows that procedural generation isn’t the only way forward. The original Everspace is a cool space fighter roguelike, but the sequel has changed course toward a more traditional action-RPG style, and its series of missions across an open region of space feel a lot more in the vein of Freelancer or Rebel Galaxy Outlaw as a result. But it holds onto its free movement system, which makes its combat stand out from other space shooters in style. There’s already a fair amount of it to explore at its early access launch, and it keeps things interesting by mixing in some puzzle-solving to break up the flashy dogfights.

[...]

The Scarlet Seeker checked out the adventure RPG Ocean's Heart:

Ocean's Heart | Overview, Impressions and Gameplay

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The first game of the Utawarerumono series - Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen - is finally available for the PC:

Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen

Wake up, Hakuowlo. It's time to face the world again.

You come to in bed, gravely injured, attended by a girl with twitching furry ears and a lush, bushy tail. In time you come to lead the villagers, to whom you owe your name and your life. When the local nobles threaten them, you threaten the nobility right back...

Are you a farmer? A scholar? A traitor? A beast? You've forgotten your past, but has it forgotten you? Command your comrades and fight to defend your family, and discover the secrets of this world—and your own lost history!

The first game in the hit Japanese tactics-RPG visual novel series Utawarerumono joins its sequels back on PC!

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Features

• 30+ hours of story and gameplay
• Thoughtful, slick, and active tactics-RPG combat
• Dynamic Chain Attacks and flashy Co-op Chains
• All-new Auto-Save functionality
• Customizable keyboard and mouse controls
• An unforgettable, evocative soundtrack
• A touching narrative with a moving ending

The action RPG Ocean's Heart has been released today:

Review TechRaptor: Score 7/10

Review Softpedia: Score 8.5/10

Ocean’s Heart

Ocean’s Heart is an action RPG featuring detailed pixel art with a heavy focus on exploration. In a lively world teeming with secrets and mysteries, Tilia sets out in search of her missing father. Follow the trail through the ruins of a flooded kingdom, shape the future of the current world, or keep your head down and focus on your own mission in this epic retro-inspired adventure!

Explore a detailed and beautiful world, brimming with secrets hidden in misty forests, isolated mountain peaks, or saltwater marshes. Every area is filled with unique and meaningful sidequests, ancient mysteries, and dangers.

Battle fearsome monsters and wield various weapons and ancient magic to defeat or outmaneuver them. Search for special materials to upgrade your weapons until you're demolishing monsters who once put up a fierce fight.

Gather various items throughout the world to craft potions, upgrade weapons, and expand your ever-growing arsenal.

Game Features

• Retro-inspired action RPG with modern trimmings.
• A lively and gorgeously pixeled world full of secrets free to explore at your own pace.
• Menacing enemies and tense boss fights that’ll keep you on your toes.
• An exciting array of weapons, spells, and abilities. Experiment to find your favorites for every situation and foe.
• Unique, character-driven sidequests with heartwarming or twisted stories that expand upon the world’s lore.
• Foraging and crafting elements to increase your chances of survival in a nasty fight.
• Quirky charm and humor to keep you smiling on your extraordinary adventure!

Henriquejr spotted a new dev-blog entry for the 4x game Alliance of the Sacred Suns:

Development Blog - 1.19.21: Scouting System and what's new for 2021!

Hello everyone! Hope everyone had a good holiday season, a happy New Year, and that 2021 is off to a better foot than 2020 for you! We have certainly kicked off the new year running, and that’s what we want to talk about today!

We wanted to touch on our timelines for the year, and our plans for the next few open alphas, as what we’re working on now. I want to have a new development diary go out about every 2 weeks, as those are the lengths of the development sprints we are working on in the studio.

First off, with the funding provided by HH, we’ll be able to add another programmer to the staff to work on things like UI scripting and data conversion, which will free me up to do a lot more with the AI, optimization, and game mechanics. We hope to announce their addition in early Feburary. Also, AotSS will now have a custom music score, done by Cody Still, who has composed for Hollywood trailers and movies for years and has already composed some amazing music for the game, including the main theme. If you’re on our Discord (and if you’re not, why not?!) I have posted a preview of the main theme there.

Now for our timelines. We’d like to do our next Closed Alpha II sometime in April, and our Closed Beta in late July. We haven’t finalized an EA release yet, but it would be at the earliest in August or September. Of course we’ll let you know when that happens!

Next, I wanted to talk about a concept of the game that is getting a polish - Scouting. Specifically, scouting systems and planets. Currently, you can either send a probe to the system that you want more information on as a Project, or a scout Force, and a scout probe will increase the intel level of the system by 25%, while a Force will increase the intel level by the Scouting value of the Force every turn. While it’s not a bad system, it had room for improvement. So this is how it’s going to work going forward:

[...]

Rock Paper Shotgun reports that after patch 1.10 for Horizon Zero Dawn the devs will focus on the sequel Horizon Forbidden West:

Horizon Zero Dawn devs shift focus to sequel after latest PC patch

Horizon Zero Dawn was pretty darn buggy when it came out on PC last year. It was a shame considering it was the first bug PlayStation exclusive to make the jump to PC. But Guerrilla Games have been steadily updating it to fix all sorts of problems, and yesterday the game received its 1.10 patch, adding in a couple more crash fixes and performance improvements.

Notably, this patch marks the start of Guerrilla slowing down on their HZD updates, so they can shift focus to work on the game’s sequel, Horizon Forbidden West.

“As our team continues development on our upcoming title Horizon Forbidden West, we are shifting to less frequent updates for Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition for PC after this patch. Please note that we will continue to monitor our community spaces as always!” they said.

“We want to thank you all for your continued support and for sending in your crash reports over the past months. The information we received through your reports was invaluable to further investigate and help fix some of the trickier issues that we fixed in Patch 1.10.”

[...]

Thanks henriquejr!

AnsharStudios is talking about the origins of Gamedec:

 The origins of Gamedec, the video game @ PyrkONline 2020 [Part 1]

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Pyrkon is one of the most anticipated fantasy events in Poland. Last year, due to the pandemic, it went full-online as lectures and presentations on various topics. We talked about the origins and the design of Gamedec and if it is hard to transfer the ideas from books to a virtual environment, and how to do it properly.

Thanks henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted lore update #6 for Alaloth:

Lore Update #6 - The Dragons of Bane and Flame

By Poison or By Fire

Dragons are competitive creatures. It is because of this that the four dragons remaining on the continent each claimed a kingdom for themselves. Having branched out and settled in their own kingdoms, the dragons are able to hold dominion over all the lives in a territory untouched by the other dragons. They use their environments almost to exhaustion, corrupting the land against its inhabitants.

Last week we spoke of the Dragons of Black and Gold. They were introduced as the dragons of the realm of humans and the realm of dwarves. The remaining two dragons that we’ll discuss today sought other prey...

[...]

PC Gamer is looking forward for these mods:

The most ambitious mods we're looking forward to

New worlds for Fallout, old worlds given new life in The Elder Scrolls, and more. These are the mods we can't wait to play.

As we look forward at the upcoming games of 2021 and 2022, we're also keeping in our eye on some of the most ambitious mods coming our way. Created by teams of volunteers, who often spend years working on sprawling projects out of pure passion, mods can transform the games we know and love to give us hundreds more hours of enjoyment. We're dying to get our hands on these expansive and exciting mods.

• Fallout Miami
• Skyblivion
• Skywind
• Realms in Exile
• Fallout 4: New Vegas
• Destroyed Aperture

[...]

Thanks henriquejr!

A new Kickstarter announcement for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night discusses what to expect from the now released classic mode and kingdom crossover.

Hello, Army of the Night!

Classic Mode and a new area and boss based on the hit game Kingdom: Two Crowns launched on January 14th. (Our apologies for not getting this update to you sooner). The updates are live across all platforms! Play Bloodstained in a whole new (old) way!

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Classic Mode

Miriam must once again enter the castle to confront Gebel and survive five harrowing stages and five sub-bosses that stand in her way. Armed only with a sword and whip, can she survive her journey through the demonic castle?

Classic Mode brings retro action to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night with levels and gameplay inspired by the classic games of yesteryear.

In addition to your main weapon, you will be able to pick up special, limited-use abilities throughout the mode, but you can only have one at a time. When you pick up a new ability, the previous one will disappear.

As you advance though the castle, you will have to defeat the sub-bosses to advance to the next stage. Defeat them all and you will face off against Gebel himself!

When you finish Classic Mode, you’ll be graded on time, score and number of deaths across three difficulty modes – be sure to efficiently use Miriam’s special moves including slide, backstep and backflip.

To play it, choose “Extra Mode” from the main menu and then select “Classic Mode.” The mode is available to all Ritual of the Night owners—you do not need to have completed the core game to play Classic Mode.

Kingdom Crossover

Last year we partnered with our friends atRaw Fury to transport Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s beloved characters – Miriam, Zangetsu, Gebel and Alfred – to Kingdom: Two Crowns.

Now it’s time to pay it forward as both publishers team up once again to merge the worlds of Kingdom: Two Crowns and Bloodstained. The Kingdom Crossover includes a new area that captures the beautiful, modern pixel art aesthetic of Kingdom.

Within the Kingdom area, you will encounter a new boss that, once defeated, will grant the new Archer Familiar Shard. This familiar will follow you throughout your adventures and attack enemies from a ranged distance. Level up the shard to get more powerful attacks!

The Kingdom Crossover will become available after you have defeated Bathin on your current save, or load an old save where you have previously defeated him. From there you will need to acquire the Crown of Creation before you will be able to locate the hidden area (it’s not shown on the map).

The Crown of Creation is equipped into the head slot and is your key to the Kingdom Crossover area. It also reduces damage at the cost of gold when worn.

We're excited for you to play the new Classic Mode and to experience the Kingdom Crossover. Thank you for playing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night AND for playing Kingdom: Two Crowns!

GiN checked out the Early Access title Solasta: Crown of the Magister:

An RPG Gem Shines in Solasta Crown of the Magister

Back in November, I took a look at Baldur’s Gate 3, which for me was one of the most anticipated games of the year. Having played through the entire classic series and all of the DLCs, I was really excited to see what the new game could offer. Developer Larian Studios released the game into Steam’s Early Access program, giving everyone a good look at the first chapter of the new title.

About the same time, I became aware of another game that used the Dungeon and Dragons fifth edition ruleset called Solasta: Crown of the Magister. Developed by Tactical Adventures, it promised a true to life conversion of a real D&D pen and paper type of game, at a time when meeting in person around the table was ill-advised. So they had good timing, but because they didn’t have the Baldur’s Gate name, it kind of languished in my to-do pile for a while.

[...]

Even though Solasta: Crown of the Magister is still in early access, it’s worth playing. Especially if you are really craving an authentic round-the-table type of D&D adventure, but one that can be played by yourself, you won’t get any closer than what Solasta offers. I’m sure it will get even better as it develops, but am pretty happy with how it plays right now, and look forward to many long caffeine-fueled dungeon delving adventures with the game into the wee hours of the night.

Valve and five publishers have been fined for geo-blocking in Europe:

Antitrust: Commission fines Valve and five publishers of PC video games € 7.8 million for "geo-blocking" practices

The European Commission has fined Valve, owner of the online PC gaming platform “Steam”, and the five publishers Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax € 7.8 million for breaching EU antitrust rules.

Valve and the publishers restricted cross-border sales of certain PC video games on the basis of the geographical location of users within the European Economic Area (‘EEA'), entering into, the so called “geo-blocking” practices. The fines for the publishers, totalling over €6 million, were reduced due to the companies' cooperation with the Commission. Valve chose not to cooperate with the Commission and was fined over €1.6 million.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “More than 50% of all Europeans play video games. The videogame industry in Europe is thriving and it is now worth over € 17 billion. Today's sanctions against the “geo-blocking” practices of Valve and five PC video game publishers serve as a reminder that under EU competition law, companies are prohibited from contractually restricting cross-border sales. Such practices deprive European consumers of the benefits of the EU Digital Single Market and of the opportunity to shop around for the most suitable offer in the EU”.

Steam is one of the world's largest online PC video gaming platforms offering more than 35 000 games worldwide. It allows users, upon authentication, to directly download or stream PC video games. It also allows users who buy PC video games outside Steam, such as in brick-and-mortar shops (e.g. on DVDs) or digitally through downloads from third-party websites, to activate and play video games on Steam.

Valve provides to video game publishers the technical means to activate and play games on Steam, including those games bought outside Steam, through the so-called, “Steam activation keys”. Publishers include those keys in their PC video games for user authentication/activation. The PC video games are then sold by third party distributors across the EEA. Valve also offers to the publishers a territory control function, which enables the setting up of geographical restrictions upon activation. The combination of Steam activation keys with the territory control function enables the “geo-blocking” of PC video games based on the geographical location of the user.

[...]

Once Again the Turn Based Lovers found some nice upcoming RPGs:

5 Upcoming Indie Turn-Based RPGs | KAEOI #9

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• Titankin: Prologue
• Wildemist Isle
• Glitched
• Together in Battle
• Saturated Outer Space

After several years of development Tortured Hearts will be released on March 1st:

Tortured Hearts - Or How I Saved The Universe. Again.

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Tortured Hearts - Or How I Saved The Universe. Again. was created by 1 person with the occasional help of a few others, in 12.5 years. It's a quasi sequel of 2 NWN-1 mods by the title of Tortured Hearts I & II.
This is an old fashioned, hard-core CRPG featuring turn-based combat and an estimated 200 hours play time, minimum. TH is supposed to be speed-run proof. The story of the game is about a Seasoned Adventurer who merely was out for a little loot and glory, but finds him/herself getting to the bottom of who actually runs the universe.
The story is conversation driven and spans 185 areas in a multiverse, with a potential 8 major henchmen plus a few lesser ones available. Hundreds of NPCs and many meaningful conversations await you. Your behavior and answers in conversation will result in lasting consequences through the game, influencing the henchmen available to you and your relationships with them, the quests available, and the outcomes of quests and the final outcome.
There is a very versatile, non-class based character development system. By using different character builds and choosing different actions, there is great re-playability. 

Thanks SubBassman!

Forgottenlor checked out Microsoft Game Pass, spent some time playing games and came back to tell us about his experience.

I have tried all sorts of game platforms. Paradox’s Gamersgate was my first digital platform, which I tried out because I was disenchanted with the AAA roleplaying games on the PC in 2011 and was looking for something different. In 2013 I bought my first Steam game, a rather mediocre rpg called Aarklash: Legacy, which I couldn’t get anywhere else. Since then, I’ve bought games on GOG, Origin, Uplay, and the Epic store, resenting each additional launcher I had to install, but not enough to pass up a good deal on a game I really wanted to play. One thing I had been considering awhile was the Microsoft Game Pass. The primary game I wanted to play was The Outer Words. In November, I looked at the platform and saw they had a lot of other games on my Steam Wishlist, including A Plague Tale: Innocence, Mutant Year Zero, Age of Wonders: Planetfall, Bloodstained:Ritual of the Night, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, and No Man’s Sky. Buying all those titles would have cost me a small fortune. So, I took the plunge in November and gave the Game Pass a try.

The Turn Based Lovers checked out ATOM RPG: Trudograd:

ATOM RPG: Trudograd – Hands On!

In the past years I tried a lot of Fallout flavored indie games. There were so many of them it was almost impossible to distinguish one from another. Some of them were just a waste of time, while some others were, at best, a momentary lapse of “nostalgic pleasure”.
In no order of importance I can remember Krai Mira, Skyshine’s BEDLAM, Fallen: A2P Protocol and many more. Needless to say that none of them was able to represent a real alternative to the original Fallout.

Many times I wondered about the reason of this strange phenomenon. I mean, if between 2015 and 2019 so many developers tried to create a Fallout clone, there had to be a cause.
Now, I know that many of you may disagree with me, but I think that the “culprit” of this damned trend was Bethesda with its Fallout 4. I mean, after the release of that game (back in 2015), there were so many people disappointed by that sort of “sci-fi Skyrim”, that probably many indie developers felt compelled to fill that gap.
Mind you, I’m not saying that Fallout 4 was a bad or even an ugly game, but, at least for me, it failed to deliver what many fans of the original game asked for years. Maybe this is the reason why we’re still looking for a real heir of Fallout 2…

[...]

The action RPG Faye/Sleepwalker will be released soon:

"When you are flying in the sky of a vast world, swimming in the sea, defeating enemies, or searching for your roots, what do you really know...?"

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Faye/Sleepwalker is a vast world of exploration and hectic battles.
Enjoy a high speed action game and the development of an interesting story in an open world.

Battles are divided into two modes, a normal mode with easy control of actions, and the sleepwalk mode with high-speed actions and warp attacks, allowing you to experience new sensations of actions.

The dungeon crawler Guilty Guardians will be released in August:

Guilty Guardians is a modern dungeon crawler RPG in the pixel-art style of games of the 90s. You control a group of mercenaries who are ready for money to go in search of ancient artifacts in creepy dungeons, closed laboratories, ice stations and other dangerous places of the split worlds of the United Universe.

History
The world was plunged into chaos when the huge mechanical robot Guardian created to protect the United Universe and endowed with magical abilities was broken due to a mistake by a group of mechanics carrying out his regular repairs. Evil sensed the moment when the Guardian was disabled and rushed to attack each of the existing worlds. A huge group of demons attacked the Guardian's repair base, exterminated all its personnel, dismantled the disabled Guardian and stole important parts of him. Now, to return the world to the United Universe, you need to find these parts, restore the Guardian and activate him again. For this the campaign to attract volunteers willing to risk their lives for the future of the entire United Universe was organized on the planet Promethium-VI.

Features

• explore different worlds of the United Universe to find important artifacts which are necessary for the restoration of the Guardian
• solve riddles and look for secret passages in the dungeons — pay attention even to the cracks on the walls
• control, develop and take care of volunteers — if they die, you will have to look for new ones (well, almost)
• improve your weapons and armor — the cooler they are, the longer you will live
• move around grid-based locations — just like in the good old days!
• create your own scenarios with your own worlds and share them with other players — all this is available in a very simple in-game editor

The tactical RPG Kingsblood will be released in Q4 2021:

Kingsblood

In a medieval world full of political intrigues and mysteries the player joins in on the dark fate of three siblings of extraordinary descent. Within this story-driven RPG, the player will assemble many followers, build them a customizable home, send them on missions and individually improve their combat abilities. A skillfull composition of party members unlocks their true potential in the battles and dungeons ahead. 

The tactical RPG Fate of WINDSHIFT will be released as Early Access on February 11. A demo is available now:

 Fate of WINDSHIFT Gameplay (PC Game)

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Graywalkers: Purgatory will get new content this February.

Content Update #2 Coming in February 2021

Belated Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope you had a great time with your friends and family during your thanksgiving dinners.

We have some good news for everybody. I wanted to take this opportunity to announce that the next major update, Content Update #2, will release in early February 2021. This update will feature primarily the preview release of the Single-Player Campaign. Originally, we were thinking of releasing this feature upon full release but we've decided to release it and add on content with regular updates instead until the full release is ready. This means you will now be able to create your own character avatar in the game and you will be able to explore the world of Graywalkers Purgatory.

• Single Player Campaign Access - this will not yet be the full campaign but it will contain a significant part of it. From the point we release this, we will update it with small updates every month.

• Quest / Mission Tracking - as you go through the game, there will be a system in place to help you manage and track all the different missions you'll be finding in the game.

• 15 Recruitable Characters - there will be at least 15 playable characters that will be readily available to be found to be recruited in the campaign. More will be added as more locations will be added to the world. Many of these are those revealed in the Missions Mode while some have not yet been shown. Take note though that the characters from the Missions may differ slightly to their counterparts in the campaign. They may have different stats, levels and abilities in the campaign.

• Character Portraits & Game Avatar - you will be able to choose from over a score of character portraits and in-game avatars. Your choice of portrait will determine which avatar you will have in-game. Take note that this is the initial version of the character creator. As we go along, we intend you to be able to customize the look of the in-game avatar to a certain degree but this will probably be available closer to the full release.

• New Creatures - New creatures will be released with the next update. All the ones you've seen in the game thus far will be there but we will also be adding a large number of new creatures to populate the world. This includes new types of vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons, monsters and supernatural creatures.

• Graywalker Gifts - with the release of the campaign, your character and the other recruitable Graywalkers will have what we call their Graywalker Gifts. These are special abilities that make each one unique as well as marking them as true Graywalkers. For your in-game character/avatar, you will get to choose from many different kinds of abilities that will be your signature ability. The other recruitable Graywalkers will have their Gifts chosen already for them but you will still have the option to improve it (or not) the way you want it to be. These gifts that the characters have can be upgraded as you level up if you so chose to make them even more powerful or versatile.

• New Abilities - new abilities will also be made available in the campaign, Some abilities may also be removed or streamlined to balance it out. These abilities will be available for you to customize your character as you level up from experience.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

Hero-U will arrive on Nintendo Switch February 9th 2021.

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Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is a humorous fantasy role-playing adventure game by Lori and Corey Cole, creators of the acclaimed Quest for Glory series.

Feature list:
- Story and Character-Driven Adventure Game
- Role-Playing Game Featuring Skills, Equipment, and Tactical Combat
- Replayable with thousands of player choices and story variations
- Turn-Based, Non-Twitch, Avoidable Combat
- Seamless Blend of Dramatic Story and Comedy
- Immersive Mini-Games and Challenging Stealth Gameplay
- First of a Series of Games Set at the Hero University

About this game:
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is an epic - and humorous - fantasy adventure and role-playing game in which you take on the role of Shawn O'Conner, a young man striving to become a hero as well as a rogue.

During the day, Shawn attends classes at the University, practices his skills, and tries to make friends with other students. At night, it's time to pull out weapons, armor, and traps to explore the abandoned wine cellars, stunning sea caves, creepy catacombs, and deadly dungeon beneath Hero-U. Most combat is optional for those who prefer a pure adventure game, but there are ample rewards for those who choose to valorously fight the creatures that threaten the school and all of Sardonia.

Shawn can become the Rogue of the Year while exploring a mysterious castle, making friends and enemies, fighting deadly foes, and uncovering the secrets of his own hidden past. Meanwhile players will enjoy the rich and humorous dialogue and descriptions as they guide Shawn through his adventures.

Thanks Couchpotato!