Starfield has a confirmed release date of 11th November 2022. Also check out the teaser trailer.

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Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.

Launching November 11, 2022 exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Become a member of Constellation at StarfieldGame.com and be among the first to receive Starfield news and updates.

Couchpotato spotted a teaser for The Outer Worlds 2:

The Outer Worlds 2 Announcement Teaser Trailer

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Henriquejr spotted a trailer for the 4X Strategy game Alliance of the Sacred Suns:

 Alliance of the Sacred Suns

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Porcozaur spotted a new trailer for Disciples: Liberation:

Disciples: Liberation

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You know it's summer when this topic is discussed again - Mortismal Gaming:

Will The CRPG Genre Die Again?

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Thanks Redglyph!

Redlyph and Henriquejr spotted patch 1.0.22 for Solasta: Crown of the Magister:

Solasta 1.0.22 Patch Notes & What's Next!

Hi there folks!

We're back with Hotfix 1.0.22 and a little preview of our what's coming up next, as well as some solutions for folks who are having issues!

Known Issues & Work Around
I have a high end GPU (GTX 2070, 3090...) and Solasta keeps overheating my computer!
We found out that the game does not perform properly above 60 FPS :( The solution is to go to the graphic setting and either switch VSync to Double, or if that doesn't work switch VSync to none and to cap your FPS at 60, and to lower your resolution to 1080p

My main quest is stuck even though the patch notes says it's fixed!
Most of the time if you sequence break (aka you manage to bypass a trigger that would make the quest move on), a patch won't fix your save retroactively. This means you will need to load a previous save file and re-do the level - for example, if you're stuck in Dark Castle, you will need to load a save from the start of Dark Castle (or before you arrived at Dark Castle).

I used to be stuck in a weird screen with clouds when I started a new campaign
This was an issue primarily with Windows 7 configs where Microsoft removed a certain codec that prevents Unity videos from working. We should have implemented a work-around without having to delete the movie in your folder, but if you are still stuck please make sure to let us know (at worst, the old work-around still works)

For some merchants, trying to open their shop just doesn't open anything
You simply need to save again and load that save, it should fix the issue.

Patch Notes:

[...]

What's next?
For now we're done with our first round of Hotfixes, and we'll disappear for some times in order to prepare... The Sorcerer Update! As those of you who followed us since Kickstarter already know, we promised the Sorcerer Class as a free post-launch DLC - and we intend to follow up on that promise!

Working on a Sorcerer will take some time, which is why we can't afford as a small team to keep testing and releasing hotfixes while doing so - but worry not, we will still be working on small improvements and fixes while getting the Sorcerer ready. Things such as the Tome of Understanding not working will be properly fixed with the Sorcerer Update as well!

So... the next question is when? We're happy to say that the Sorcerer Update should drop in the upcoming weeks, so keep the game warmed up in your library as you may want to do another run soon!

... Also, know that there will be a little something in that update for our Russian and Brazilian fans :)

PCGamesN asks what if CD Projekt RED remade The Witcher and what would it look like?

There’s also the game world. TW1 is far more like TW2 in that it doesn’t feature a completely open world; instead, we’ve got world zones for each chapter and very little backtracking between them. It’s probably expecting too much to add a full open world, not to mention the restructuring of the story that would be required to support one, and in any case the zonal system works pretty well for the game’s opening and concluding chapters. You don’t need a lot more choice, but what if there were a compromise for TW1’s main chapters?

Vizima, across its different segments, hosts most of the game’s chapters. It’s the capital of Temeria – a fortified city nestled safely in the middle of a lake, and built on the foundations of an ancient elven settlement. This doesn’t really come across in the original because of its small-scale zones, lifeless streets, and unremarkable landscape.

But what if Vizima opened up into one huge world space, with buildings that reflect Temeria’s culture and history, and the opportunity to go dungeon-crawling through those elven ruins? What if we could travel through all of the city’s regions (including Old Vizima and and the swampy areas beyond) without being hamstrung by loading screens or story progress? What if Vizima’s simple streets were replaced by a labyrinthine network of passageways and shortcuts to explore, each packed with people from all walks of life?

[...]

DSOGaming reports on an upcoming action RPG called The Last Oricru which is a blend of medieval and science fiction. Screenshots are at the link.

Prime Matter has shared the first screenshots for its upcoming action RPG, The Last Oricru. The Last Oricru will put a strong emphasis on storytelling and player choice, and will have a sci-fi medieval world.

As the publisher claims, the game will have a massive decision tree in which your decisions can lead to a different outcome, affecting story, characters, game endings but also visuals of levels or the gameplay flow. Moreover, every action, sub-quest or death can affect your reputation with each faction.

[...]

Mortismal Gaming picked his top 5:

Top 5 Upcoming CRPGs Of 2021 & Beyond

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Thanks Redglyph!

Spoiler! the games are, from #5 to #1: Dark Envoy, Colony Ship, Gamedec, Encased and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.

Rising Mist is an upcoming Adventure-RPG:

Rising Mist

The balance between light and darkness in the land of Occoterra is upset and Eshudell’s last rebels are brutally defeated. And where the light perishes, evil intensifies and grows ever so rapidly. The world awaits the rise of a hero who will take the fate of magical forces into his own hands and without hesitation embark on a thorny journey for a brighter future.

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In this fantasy game, you play the role of a heroic rebel. You embark on a journey from city to city in which you search for your allies, gradually revealing the forgotten struggle of the last standing Eshugards and discovering the power of repressed magic that is only mastered by few.

On your journey, you have to deal with gangs of bandits and evil magical creatures. Danger is also posed by intruders who try to infiltrate among the rebels. So choose your allies wisely!

Ensure faster progress in your mission and develop as many skills as possible to finance your trip. Resource management will be key to your progress. Master fishing, farming, cutting down trees, etc. or connect with other artisans and gain knowledge from brewing potions, making curing drops, and crafting magical amulets. Develop trading skills to secure a better status that can help you with allies who are hard of trusting.

Occoterra needs your help, are you ready to take on the challenge?

• 26 different Cities, Towns and places you can visit
• Multiple storyline endings
• Multiple difficulty levels
• Gorgeous hand-painted high-resolution sceneries and characters
• Discover legends, mythical creatures and dragons
• Restore peace in Occoterra and travel the whole land
• Resource management
• Find the Lost Legend of Occoterra
• Discover the secret of Eshudell
• Potion crafting, farming, herbalism, dragon slaying and much more needs to be done

Redglyph spotted a new trailer for Encased:

Encased Summer Game Fest 2021 Gameplay Trailer

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Encased is an old-school sci-fi post-apocalyptic RPG in development.

It's a tactical sci-fi RPG set in an alternative 1970's, where an enormous and inexplicable artifact – the Dome – is discovered in a remote desert. Fight enemies, explore the anomalous wasteland, level up your character and join one of the forces in the ruined world.

A new game studio called Talyon will develop a new game in the Solasta universe:

TACTICAL ADVENTURES ANNOUNCES NEW VIDEOGAME DEVELOPMENT STUDIO TALYON

Talyon Opens its Doors in Lyon, France to Develop a New Game Set in the Solasta: Crown of the Magister Universe

French Independent videogame developer Tactical Adventures is proud to announce studio expansion through the creation of a new subsidiary development team, Talyon, a new studio based in Lyon, France.
 
Lead by Julien Millet, Talyon's first project is to build a team of developers for its first game, a new tactical RPG set in the same universe as Tactical Adventures first game, Solasta: Crown of the Magister.
 
With over 19 years of experience in the videogame industry with renowned studios (Quantic Dream, Eugen Systems, Wizardbox…), Julien Millet fully masters the production process thanks to his artistic, creative, and technical skills.
 
Julien joined forces with the talented and passionate team at Tactical Adventures in 2019 to help develop its first tactical RPG Solasta: Crown of the Magister, where he actively contributed to the game development, specifically working on narrative and level design aspects.
 
The Talyon team currently consists of two additional developers who also worked on Solasta: Crown of the Magister, and are actively recruiting more passionate and talented staff to join their studio based in Lyon, France.  
 
“A beautiful journey lies ahead of us,” said Julien Millet. “This new studio will take the Solasta universe to uncharted territories that we are eager to develop.”
 
 “It has been almost two years since we started working with Julien and his team, and their contribution to the development of Solasta has been crucial,” said Mathieu Girard, Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Tactical Adventures.  “It’s a privilege to be able to create this new studio with them, and to keep expanding the Solasta universe together!”
 
Solasta: Crown of the Magister released Steam version 1.0 on May 27 and has seen positive user reviews on all platforms the game is sold on including, Steam, GOG, Gamesplanet, Humble Store and the Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass for PC catalogue.  
 
Tactical Adventures wishes to expand upon the Solasta universe creating a rich and unforgettable tactical RPG with the new project that Talyon is developing. Talyon will benefit from the technical innovations that helped define the genre and success of Solasta: Crown of the Magister.

[...]

Thanks Redglyph!

The release date for Elden Ring has been confirmed as 21st January 2022. Also check out some gameplay footage.

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From Software's completely new work "ELDEN RING" is an action RPG title that explores overwhelming unknowns and threats in the world of full-scale dark fantasy. 

Release date: January 21, 2022 (Friday) 

Thanks danutz_plusplus!

The strategy title ZEPHON will be released in 2022:

ZEPHON

Grimdark survival strategy from the creators of Warhammer 40,000: Gladius
Humanity emerges, hesitantly, into ruination. Almost nothing is left of the world as we knew it—settlements, forests, seas, mountains - all have been blasted into unfamiliarity. Horribly mutated animals hunt in packs through deformed woodland. Decrepit military robots stumble unknowingly through the ruins, sensors and logic centres blown. Alien soldiers, once impossibly powerful, cower in the wrecks of their ships, praying to heedless gods for rescue.

On the planet Earth, that was once a cradle of life, the extinction of humanity is at hand.

What will you do to survive?

Next-generation survival wargame set on a destroyed world
Choose your past and wage war to ensure humanity’s survival between the abominations of the Voice and the automata of ZEPHON. Select a leader, gather your allies and choose your actions wisely—or suffer the consequences.

Key features:

• Unique tactical battles. Let’s face it, 4X combat is often boring or shallow—not Proxy’s. Our complex, nuanced battle system means victory is a matter of skill, not brute numbers.
• A complete 4X. Diplomacy, research, exploration, city-building—we’ve taken the fundamentals of 4X and shaken them up. Drop the assumptions you have from other games in the genre.
• Post-apocalyptic horror survival. Drag your civilization through a grimdark future—survive unexpected events while eldritch horrors and cyberpunk monstrosities derail your progress. Because that’s the game we wanted to play.

Thanks Henriquejr!

Henriquejr spotted a new patch for King Arthur: Knight's Tale:

Content Update for Knight's Tale - Patch v0.0.4 | June 10

Knight's Tale's newest update is out now, containing numerous changes, new additions and more
Knights, patch v0.0.4 for King Arthur: Knight's Tale is now live! This update is focused on Act 1 of the story, and contains new side mission maps, new playable heroes, all the remaining buildings in Camelot, new character management systems (Loyalty, Traits, an extended Morality Chart), and many various new additions. Some systems and layouts got revamped and further polished, combat and gameplay got further balanced and a lot of bugs got fixed. This is our second and by far the biggest update since King Arthur: Knight's Tale went into Early Access.

Due to the massive amount of changes - like the alteration of the story campaign and many more - your previously saved progress won't be compatible with v0.0.4.

[...]

The Strategy-RPG Mercenaries Blaze has been released:

Mercenaries Blaze

A story about a corrupt kingdom and a fight for equality -
Mercenaries Blaze is the 5th fantasy tactical simulation RPG by Rideon.

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Turn-based battles are carried out on an isometric map. Attack and defense results vary depending on the direction you face, distance and elevation, making gameplay challenging enough to satisfy the even pickiest strategy lovers.
Skillpoints are used to acquire and level up various skills and also to change job classes, allowing character growth customization.

Character design is by Masayoshi Nishimura, a talented dot-art artist and illustrator known for his beautiful artwork. Characters are expressive and diverse, breathing life into a compelling storyline.

Blaze exceed
By filling the gauge at the top corner of the screen, characters will be able to unleash a powerful skill called "Blaze exceed". This skill is unique to each character – it could be a high damage blow or a life-saving party heal strong enough to change the tide of battle.

3D Battle Maps
For the first time in the series, the battle map is in 3D. You can switch your camera viewpoint to each unit and swivel the camera around to view your surroundings – you may even find hidden treasure while using this function!

More freedom
Characters can "Move" after an action during battle. Being able to move either before or after an action increases strategical choices by twofold!

More options
Choose to display or turn off grids, shorten skill animations and speed up "Move" commands.　These options will not only help control the pace of battle, but will also be useful for multiple playthroughs.

PC Invasion has reviewed Edge of Eternity:

Edge of Eternity review — I’m on the edge of glory

Edge of Eternity is an RPG from developer Midgar Studio and publisher Dear Villagers. After being part of Steam’s Early Access program for a couple of years, it’s finally ready to launch. Previously, the game only had six chapters during the Early Access period. Now, the release build completes the story, boosting your adventure to eight chapters.

What follows is a long and arduous journey for your characters. There are a few highs and also some lows. It also bears mentioning that Midgar Studio is only comprised of 10 developers. As such, an indie RPG of this magnitude is bound to be a little rough around the edges.

[...]

An RPG that mixes fantasy and sci-fi themes. It's set in a world threatened by an invading armada and a destructive plague.

Ambitious in size, scale, and scope, Edge of Eternity offers a somewhat enjoyable romp that could last you over 40 hours. Sadly, it's also very rough around the edges, and poor pacing can be detrimental to your experience.

Score: 7.5/10

Blast Away The Game checked out Biomutant:

Biomutant Review – An Odd Duck (or Rodent)

Biomutant is an open-world action RPG developed by experiment 101. This fledgling studio is starting out with a lot of attention and big shoes to fill. The hype train started with Playstation shining a spotlight on a gameplay trailer that was put out and the rest is history. As you begin the game proper you are introduced to an impressive display of texture and design that literally throws the world they designed straight into your face. This sets you up with expectations that you will have your MIND BLOWN! And while this is true in many respects this sets up the player with unrealistic expectations from the get-go. Biomutant is an impressive game that does a lot of great things with exploration and player choice, but those triumphs are marred by a story that needs just a bit more work to keep up with the rest of the game’s mechanics. 

Technically, Biomutant is beautiful! The world is vibrant and uses color to display how the developers wanted you to know things were going to be weird. The use of color puts the creature’s designs on full display from the get-go and these designs are certainly unique. There are few ways to make me raise an eyebrow (I was working on a biology degree so I have seen some odd designs in nature), but the mixture of rat/ dog/raccoon is something that you would think would be terrible, but actually made me go awwww.

[...]

The Conclusion

All in all Biomutant is the definition of a mixed bag. The gameplay is fun  and the world is beautifully designed. The story is not amazing and leaves too much to the player. Open world playgrounds can be great times and are fun to explore and find all of the secrets in (and oh boy are there secrets in this game to find), but that doesnt mean the weak story will not hamper the experience a bit.

Score: 7/10

it is that time of the year again to get rid of some of your keys that you have not used yet, so you can share them with your fellow members at RPGWatch. For this Summer 2021 giveaway (read Winter 2021 giveaway, when you are on the Southern hemisphere) you can send me a PM, as usual. The information I need from those sending in the keys is the following:

• Title of the game
• The actual key, if you want RPGWatch to send the keys to the winners. Otherwise you will send the key to the winner and we don't need to know the key
• What platform the key is from (Steam, GOG, etc.)
• If you want the key returned when there is no winner for it. If not, RPGWatch will publish any remaining key on the forums in a thread only visible for registered members with at least 7 posts, after the giveaway.

We’ll stop accepting keys after Monday the 14th of June.

As usual, the actual key giveaway that follows is closed for everyone who registered after or on this day, the 10th of June 2021.

The Iron Oath got some combat improvements:

Combat Improvements

A list of recent combat improvements and quality of life changes we've made to the game

Hey everyone! As mentioned in our last update, we recently made a bunch of combat improvements and QoL changes that we're excited to share with you today. We're also in the process of adding some new combat environments such as the Tundra that you can see in the video below:

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[...]

Thanks rjshae!

Dungeons Of Aledorn is still in development:

The Road to the First Chapter of Aledorn

Greetings and salutations, it has already been over a year since any last update, apologies for that, I found it more reasonable to focus on game development rather than PR, but at least I tried to find time for smaller updates that I post on our Facebook site. Anyway! Time has come to throw you a bigger bone and this time I have really something proper!

A lot has happened in the past ten month, like for example The Plague that impacted many things across the globe, our progress notwithstanding. Unfortunately I had to change jobs (events & entertainment industry has been uneventful and not much fun recently), which meant less time to do game development. We did not stop, no, but we had to rearrange priorities and even while Aledorn stayed on top of the pyramid, there were delays. Nevertheless, we kept pressing forward, as you will see for yourselves.

Among other things we spent a lot of time discussing possible early access, which could help us in two ways – get feedback from the community and secure additional funding. After much back and forth we decided to follow this path, though in a slightly unusual manner.
Aledorn is a massive game (even after we scratched some ideas), so we will divide it into chapters and early access will cover the first one. In total there will be three or four chapters that will be released over time.

Now let’s get to the first chapter. What will it contain, you ask? At this moment we have about 60 locations ready (exteriors, interiors and dungeons) and all of those will be present in it. It will also include all the core features, up to a point. Let me elaborate – I will use magic and skills as the example: Aledorn Chapter One will contain all the basic skills and spells of Basic and Advanced level. Expert and Master level skills and spells will remain locked and will be part of further chapters. Similar to classes, you will not be able to evolve your class in the first chapter. We still believe that Aledorn will be a good well-rounded experience comparable to many standalone games out there. For those who have been around for a bit: Think of Baldur’s Gate I. – your character progress was hard capped on seventh level and it still was a kickass game.

Now let’s get to the merit – what progress we made in the last 12 months? We will start with the usual – level design, which is about 90 per cent finished, at least as Chapter One goes. As mentioned in one of the earlier updates, the capital city – called Lim – is divided into four quarters, three of which have been revealed earlier. The fourth and final one is the Main Boulevard, where some of the most important landmarks can be found – the Castle, Temple, Library and the Warrior’s Guild to name a few. 

[...]

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Thanks apscp2006!

Learn more about crew combat in Vagrus: The Riven Realms:

Devlog #50 | The Fate of the Foe Post Crew Combat

As we teased in our latest devlog post about Mercenary Tasks, we have extended Crew Combat with a new feature: you can decide how to deal with the enemy from now on following a victorious battle.

The option appears on the Crew Combat UI at the end of the fight opposite your heal options provided that your enemy surrendered (remember, only humanoids can), fled, or retreated but you caught some of them while pursuing them.

Your options are:

Recruit: Depending on their willingness to join, this results in a few fighters, scouts, or workers to be added to your ranks. That, of course, will not sit too well with your existing crew who have fought them just moments ago, and the result is Morale loss. It's also considered to be a 'kind' action and certain companions may like or dislike it for the same reason.

Conscript: Somewhat similar to Recruit, except joining is not voluntary, and so in this case, neither your existing crew nor the newly added members are happy about it, leading to an even more significant Morale drop.

Enslave: Instead of joining as free crew members, all surviving enemies are pushed into slavery. As expected, a massive drop in Obedience accompanies this decision.

Release: Once you stripped the foe of their valuables, you set them free. It may sound kind but in fact, it's a relatively cruel decision given the dangers of the wasteland.

Execute: This is a drastic measure that is considered 'malevolent' and brings no benefits since the valuables of the enemy have been turned over anyway at the time they surrendered or got caught.

Imprison: The last one is an option that players will only see when they have an active Mercenary Task to capture such enemies (be them bandits or other faction rivals). Hence the timing of us implementing this feature alongside Mercenary Tasks.

These expanded options provide further incentive, strategic depth, and even immersion to Crew Combat encounters and we hope you'll like them and provide us with the usual valuable feedback.

Stay tuned, stay safe, and conquer the wasteland!

The Lost Pilgrims Team

Rock Paper Shotgun checked out Wildermyth, which will be released on June 15:

Procedural storytelling RPG Wildermyth emerges from early access

Every adventure creates a new crew

What happens when three farmers go on an adventure together? I've got no clue, because in Wildermyth it's a bit different each time. The tactical combat RPG tells procedural stories, allowing your characters to develop their own histories and relationships in each playthrough. Wildermyth is nearing the end of its own adventure, with a full launch planned for next week to cap off its time in early access. The developers have post launch plans, as so many do these days, but folks seem to have already been having a grand time with it throughout early access.

Wildermyth is sitting my personal shame pile, I'll admit. I thought it sounded neat as heck around its early access launch but time always seems to get away. Fortunately, Sin played it a lot. Like, a lot a lot. As someone who also tends to bang on about games I think are rad, I'll just let her tell you about why its characters are so neat.

[...]

Thanks Pladio!

A recent patch for Biomutant has updated many of the games core systems.

BIOMUTANT Post-release Patch 1.4 01/06/21

Here is the full changelog for the patch that we just launched, the entire patch will roll out on PC first and then Consoles as soon as possible due to the submission process and so on, will ofc give an update when it is launched there.

As always do feel free to come to discuss these changes on the official discord here - Biomutant discord

PC Specific

● Fixed crash with AMD-based CPUs with built-in graphics.
● Fixed crash when device info contains invalid display data on AMD-based CPUs.

Tutorial Area

In order to improve the pacing of the early parts of the game, we’ve edited dialogues to be shorter. We’ve also added more enemies and loot to these areas to better represent the experience later in the game. 

● Added more early enemy encounters.
● Added missing loot in empty trenches outside Jagni Fortress.
● Added Item drop chance for Bunker 101 crates.
● Updated Best-Before memory to decrease the distance between the Nonos and the Pensai tree.
● Removed some parts of Out-of-Date and Best-Before’s dialogues to improve pacing.
● Removed multiple dialogue fragments to shorten tutorial area length.
● Removed some parts of Goop and Gizmo’s dialogues to improve pacing.
● Removed multiple camera presentations to improve pacing. 

Dialogue & Narrator

● Reduced the amount of gibberish spoken before the Narrator starts translating.
● Added dialogue setting toggles for “Gibberish” and “Narrator” allowing players to select if they want to hear the narrator, the gibberish or both when talking to NPCs.
● Fixed narration and gibberish playing silently and producing an awkward pause when each corresponding volume setting is set to 0 instead of skipping the sound entirely.
● Removed the text delay animation when either gibberish or narration is disabled.

Difficulty Settings

● Added "Extreme" difficulty setting, where enemy damage and attack rate is further increased.
● Fixed difficulty settings not being applied for already spawned enemies.

[...]

Thanks Farflame!

Lands of Sorcery has recently been released into Early Access on Steam and is described as a turn based combat RPG set in a time of virile men, ravishing women, creepy sorcerers and disgusting monsters.

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Lands of Sorcery is a turn based RPG focused on combat, storytelling, sexy women, brutish barbarians and overall craziness.

A game inspired by classic sword and sorcery fantasy works, from the writings of Robert E. Howard to 1980's B-movies like Deathstalker II.

Travel to the continent of Akoll, where steel and magic are the law and command a ragtag team of elite fighters to seek your fortune!

Gameplay

Lands of Sorcery focuses on combat, equipment upgrades and character development. As you journey through the dangerous lands of Akoll, a cast of brave (or plain crazy) individuals with diverse skills will join you and serve as a traveling hub to improve your fighters.

• Campaign - Play through the cinematic story driven campaign "The Hunt for Gloomy Whisper" and seek the mysterious artifact that may change the world forever
• Manage a roster of fighters - Select who goes to battle and who can chill out in town
• Upgrade a party of supporting characters. From a masseuse to an alchemist, they will travel with you and upgrade your fighters' capabilities
• 8 unique playable hero classes, with 6 unique skills each
• 26 different enemies
• Intimidation System - If hacking your enemies to death isn't working, you can also win by depleting your enemy's Morale and scare them out of the battle field.
• Battle Rage mechanic - Skill usage increases each character's Battle Rage, which unlocks a special devastating skill.
• Classic character evolution with combat-centric strategy.
• Camping - Use your fighters' skills to replenish your heroes during cozy camping sessions.

Thanks Farflame!

A new trailer for King's Bounty II has appeared.

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King’s Bounty II is finally available to pre-order for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store) across all major physical and digital retailers. Nintendo Switch version will be available at all good retailers and digital pre-orders soon. King's Bounty II will be launching on August 24th, 2021 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

PC Gamer looks at the battle for the definition of a roguelike in the roguelike community.

[...]

"We had a perfectly fine term for this genre for a couple decades and there is a certain loss of identity when a mainstream majority starts using that term to mean something rather different and we can no longer use it to have the same meaning it once had, at least not without considering the audience," says Ge. "That's part of what got us here in the first place, that there is no one clear definition of what a roguelike is, so it's naturally evolving over time based on its use by different parties, and the speed of that evolution has accelerated considerably in the last five years!"

That point is echoed by Darren Grey, another moderator of the r/roguelike subreddit who also hosts the Roguelike Radio podcast. He made a point that forced me to consider how the emerging mainstream interpretation of the genre might be more incongruous with the original text than us normies fully understand. Grey was first drawn to roguelikes because he never had any interest in twitchy, input-heavy games. Not now, and not when he first started gaming. "I'm a conservative in terms of games I like. I have close to zero interest in anything that requires reflexes," he says. "Such games just don't do it for me, except maybe in social settings." With that in mind, consider how someone like Grey would receive Enter The Gungeon—a bullet hell gauntlet that asks for precise dodges, marksmanship, and cover negotiation—when it gets christened as a roguelike. If Grey considers that to be heresy, I'm not going to be the person who tells him he's wrong.

[...]

Henriquejr spotted the upcoming release of the strategy game Old World on the Epic Games Store:

Old World Release Date Trailer

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Mohawk Games presents Old World, a new 4X strategy game from Soren Johnson, the lead designer of Civilization IV and Offworld Trading Company. It will launch July 1st, 2021 on the Epic Games Store.

Backbone - a post-noir roleplaying detective adventure - has been released:

Dear friends,

THE DAY HAS COME - BACKBONE IS OUT ON PC!!!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for waiting so long and supporting us since the very start!!!!!

If you encounter any bugs, please use this form to report them.

THANK YOU!!!

Love,
Eggnut

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Edge Of Eternity has left Early Access:

Here we are!

From the Kickstarter campaign in 2015 until now, we have gone a long way thanks to the continuous support of the community. Your feedback, recommendations, advice or kind words were very important to us to bring Edge of Eternity in an ambitious project.

Initiated by four passionate developers, our team has grown to 14 members in order to provide you the experience you deserved. Today, we’re glad to announce that Edge of Eternity is out of this Early Access state to become a full complete experience. Check out the launch trailer below and start your journey on Heryon with a 15% off during one week.

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Gematsu reports on a new story trailer for Chernobylite.

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In Chernobylite, you play as Igor, a former employee of the Chernobyl Power Plant who returns to the Exclusion Zone to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his fiancee, Tatiana, 30 years prior. In the Zone, time is not a simple, linear matter. You’ll have to make choices that will affect your ultimate fate—even changing the past. Will you make the right decisions? Will they lead you to Tatiana?

Nihon Falcom presents a new trailer for The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki:

The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki (literally "Trails in the Dark") is the eleventh installment in the main Trails series. It will be released in September 30, 2021 on PlayStation 4.

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 Setting

The game marks the second half of the Trails series, set in Calvard. The story is set in S.1208, a year after Hajimari no Kiseki. Thanks to postwar reparations, the multinational state of Calvard experiences unprecedented economic growth while continuously dealing with public unrest caused by immigration and the new president's radical reforms. In a corner of Edith, a young man working as a Spriggan receives a peculiar job that will result into something larger, affecting the entirety of the Republic. 

The tactical RPG Zodiac Legion has been announced:

Zodiac Legion is a turn-based tactical RPG featuring lethal combat, squad management and strategic elements. Lead your heroes through daring raids and forgotten ruins, defend your land in a time of conquest and betrayal, and master the secrets of volatile ancient magic to restore a realm beset by the armies of undying fiendish sorcerers.

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Features

• Lead your knights in turn-based tactical battles.
• Explore ancient ruins and places of power, thwart the plans of enemy lieutenants, forge alliances, and restore the Zodiac Order.
• Smash your way through fully destructible dungeons.
• Expand and strengthen your stronghold, research new spells and craft powerful artifacts.
• Reshape the terrain to your advantage.
• develop Your Warriors into Mighty Champions.

As the Grandmaster of the Zodiac Order, it will be your duty to restore this knightly brotherhood and rally its champions under the banners of the thirteen Zodiac signs. You will manage your domain, take important diplomatic decisions and train your warriors in the arcane arts. Enemy armies will invade your borders, forcing you to dispatch your knights on missions resolved through turn-based, tactical battles. Their superhuman powers will tip the scales in the face of overwhelming odds, but beware: many will not survive the ordeal. Yet exploring the secrets of necromancy may reveal that a Zodiac Knight's duty need not end in death.

The work on Zodiac Legion began because we shared the vision of a game that would combine the tactical combat and strategic campaign of X-COM, with the fantasy aspects and dungeon crawling typical of most roleplaying games.

We decided to use the theme of the Zodiac because of its association with classical mythology, and due to its ties with distinct character archetypes, which served as the foundation of our class system. There are hundreds of distinct features and qualities attributed to the signs by astrology, which lends itself to a robust and interconnected system that has an impact on all the aspects of Zodiac Legion's gameplay and storytelling.