Polygon has checked out the upcoming underwater adventure game Diluvion:

Diluvion is a Dark Souls-inspired underwater adventure

Also inspired by classics like Freelancer and steampunk science fiction

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At this year’s PAX West, the setup for my first experience with Diluvion was perfect. Publisher Gambitious had set up a dark room, muffled by heavy cloth. There was a big computer screen, like a porthole, set in the back wall. They had a keyboard from a steampunk joint out in California and a heavy, solid brass mouse made from two old telegraph keys. Before the game even booted up, I knew I was in for a treat.

Diluvion is an adventure exploration game set in a retro-futuristic world where humans are trapped underwater. Centuries after the great floods, humanity lives inside cobbled-together structures clinging to the bottom of massive glaciers and the remains of sunken high-rises. The most intrepid citizens are the submarine captains, who gather together a crew and seek their fortune among the ancient remains deep below.

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From Steam:

Forced into the deep oceans by a Great Flood that occurred countless centuries ago, humanity now lives trapped under a thick layer of unbreakable ice and their survival hangs by a tenuous thread. However, their penchant for perseverance is strong, and a new civilization has emerged with distinct kingdoms, religions and cultures. By a twist of fate you, an aspiring submarine captain, have been given the honor of commanding your first sub. With a brave crew at your command, you now venture into the unknown on a quest to discover humanity’s greatest secret.

Explore the dangers of the depths in this beautifully realized flooded world, and unearth untold riches and glory. Discover the remnants of civilization in numerous unique towns and learn their local lore, trade stories and treasure, and hire crew new members.

Continuously improve each of the game’s 9 unique pilotable submarines using a deep upgrade system, and gain access to new areas and loot. Discover numerous types of cannons and torpedoes to help you overcome the dangers of the deep, and assemble your own unique crew to brave it alongside you. Whether you wish to play as a silent hunter or a guns blazing dreadnought, arrange your crew members and weapons to fit your playstyle.

Game Features:

• A Beautiful Underwater World to Explore: Three massive and beautifully realized open sea zones to explore, each with their own factions, local stories and more
• Innovative Combination of 2D & 3D Graphics: Experience the mysteries of the deep in beautifully rendered 3D graphics as you navigate your submarine, and seamlessly switch to meticulously hand-painted 2D graphics when exploring towns and cities
• Thrilling Real-Time Submarine Combat: Utilize an arsenal of underwater weapons to engage in life-or-death firefights with other submarines and deadly terrifying creatures
• Crew Recruitment: Assemble your own unique crew to fight alongside you by recruiting different Helmsmen, Gunners and Sonar Technicians. Utilize each of their special skills and personalities to change the flow of combat and exploration.
• Upgradable Submarines: Continuously improve your vessel by acquiring new weapons that can dramatically change the tide of battle, and gain access to new areas by increasing its dive depth by collecting hull armour plates
• 9 Pilotable Submarines: Explore the world to uncover 9 unique pilotable submarines, each with their own feel, strengths and weaknesses
• Resource Management: This world is not for the faint of heart, as resources are limited and survival is a constant battle. You’ll have to actively manage your food supplies and oxygen levels should you wish to keep your crew alive and overcome the perils of the sea
• Upgradeable Home Base: Build- and grow your own base of operations under the sea to house all your stand-by crew members and submarines. Upgrade your base to increase your notoriety and wealth, as upgraded bases can also house valuable opportunities, such as rare item merchants and bars with notorious sailors as patrons.
• Loot System: The world is filled with rare loot and hidden quests to discover…. Especially for those who dare to venture off the beaten path
• Terrifying Underwater Foes: Explore the world and test your bravery against giant sea creatures and mysteries undersea anomalies!

The Strategy/Management/RPG-Mix Battles of Norghan from 2005 will be launched on Steam on September 27:

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Battles of Norghan is a unique gladiatorial management and strategy game where you not only must recruit, train, and equip fantasy gladiators, but also control them on a tactical grid in turn-based combat. This game has a lot of depth and replayability.

Imagine a football manager game with fantasy world creatures such as orcs, drakes and minotaurs and turn-based strategy battles instead of football matches.

Recruit mercenaries from 22 different fantasy races and classes and manage dozens of fighters as they battle in a variety of different terrains against easy to highly intelligent AI or other player-controlled clans.
Train and hone each fighter’s skill through monthly training as well as directly in combat. Build secondary skills such as dodging, shield blocking and dual wielding as well as attributes such as strength, intelligence, hit points, and magic points. There are 200 items and 42 spells available to equip your gladiators, including armors, bows, weapons, magical staves, and more! As each combatant grows with your clan they will age as well and eventually retire. Careful planning and management of your clan can ensure you never have an off season.

Original release dates outside Steam: V.1.0 in August 2005. Version 1.11 in July 26 2016.

Failbetter Games announced a sequel for the exploration and survival game Sunless Sea called Sunless Skies:

7 facts about Sunless Skies

1. As with Sunless Sea, it’ll be rich with stories. The Victorian Empire in space – the High Wilderness – a “blistering, wonderful night” among the thrones and domains of the stars. The Empress has abandoned London and led an exodus to the High Wilderness, to carve out a new British Empire. With the Empire being increasingly authoritarian, bohemians, revolutionaries and outcasts – like you – are trying to make a life for themselves on its fringes.
2. It will elaborate on Sunless Sea. We’re enhancing the stuff we liked, and refining the experience. It will be a punishing game, but respectful of your time.
3. At full release, it will be available on the same platforms at launch which Sunless Sea is available on now: Windows, Mac and Linux.
4. We will use Early Access again, taking on board all of the lessons we learned from Sunless Sea.
5. Why the name? The stars are dying. The stars are the Judgements: the inventors, arbiters and enforcers of the universe’s laws – but a revolution has begun, and the stars are being murdered.
6. Our influences include: the science fiction of H G Wells and C S Lewis, the planetary romances of Leigh Brackett, Art Nouveau, Event Horizon, trains.
7. We are running a Kickstarter for it in February! Stop the clocks, mark your diaries, save your pennies!

@Techraptor Valve has told developers about upcoming changes to the Steam store. Expect these changes to arrive in the next few weeks.

"When we launched the Steam Discovery Update, we introduced a new and smarter Steam store built around personalization and recommendations. In the time since the Discovery Update, we've iterated on the features and made improvements to support the goal of helping each customer find the titles they are most likely to enjoy playing. We think our progress in this direction has been really valuable in supporting a broader variety of gaming experiences big and small, while better serving individual customer tastes. "

In the coming update, we can expect:

• Home Page Visual Refresh: Mixing up how the front page appears, removing some visual clutter.
• Additional Left Column Navigation: The left navigational column will be getting new direct links to main features of the Steam Store, such as New Releases, Top Sellars, Upcoming Titles, etc.
• Friends Activity: A new section to the right of the front page will be dedicated to showing what your friends have been playing lately.
• Top Selling New Releases: A brand new section will be added for when a new release becomes a top selling game.
• Global Customer Preferences: A new feature that will allow customers to customize their Steam Store experience. Allowing them to opt to exclude certain products from being displayed, such as Videos, Early Access titles, Software, VR, etc.
• Targeted Visibility For New Releases: New changes will be made to how new releases will be targeted to the appropriate customers. The goal is to show the specific customer new releases that will most likely appeal to them.
• Targeted Visibility For Game Updates: Changes to how Update rounds will be made to be more direct to the customers who would want to see them. Customers who own the game or have it on their wishlist will be prioritized in showing the update.
• New Steam Curator Options: Noticing that people are using Steam Curator to give information on a title, without necessarily recommending it, there will be new tools that will allow a curator to make a distinction about whether or not they are recommending, not recommending or just giving information about a title. This will also allow Valve to better understand what curated posts should be highlighted on the front page.
• Curators In Main Capsule: The Main Capsule banner will be updated to include curators that the customer personally follows.
• Improved Steam Curator Presence: There will be a new section on the Steam Home Page that is dedicated to recommendations from curators. This space will be for recommending more anything from popular releases to more "niche" titles. Additionally, there will be a new landing page to display many recommended titles from a curator.

Stewart Wieck launched a Kickstarter campaign for a story driven RPG placed in the 7th Sea tabletop world Théah. The RPG is called Voyage of Fortune's Star:

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Voyage of Fortune's Star is our single-player, 3D, story-driven, computer roleplaying game based in the rich world of Théah as presented in John Wick’s tabletop roleplaying game, 7th Sea. We have a team of experienced storytellers, programmers and designers to bring you 10+ hours of incredible experience.

Here are some key elements of Voyage of Fortune's Star:

• You primarily experience the story first-person as the captain of Fortune’s Star, Anzolo Zorzi.
• We hope to add the overlapping storyline of the Fate Witch, Magdalena Salvaza, so that for sequences of the game she becomes the primary character under your control.
• You have a large crew of pirates and will be able to direct their actions as well.
• Whether you experience it only from Anzolo’s point-of-view or if we can also add Magdalena’s narrative, the story is our priority. Experienced, award-winning writers will craft a rich, dialogue-based narrative.
• The game is built in Unreal Engine 4 and features action RPG gameplay.
• The game is available as a digital release, as well as in standard and collector’s boxed editions loaded with extras.
• We’re initially developing versions for PC, Mac and Linux.
• Digital release is to backers via Steam and also DRM-free.
• We have many language options planned, including English, Italian, French, German and Spanish.

MMORPG likes the Early Access version of Divinity: Original Sin II already:

The RPG Files: Divinity: Original Sin 2 is Off to a Promising Start

The first time I met the Red Prince, I tried to shove him into the ocean. Even though I had guessed he was to be my first companion, I wanted to test the system. Would Divinity: Original Sin 2 really let me go off the rails so quickly? The Prince threw me to the ground and cut my face. As I lay bleeding, I was given the option: do I make nice and admit I was wrong or do I demand blood for blood? Of course, I chose blood.

If this were another other video game, the Prince would balked and made some excuse to avoid fighting me. But Divinity is not any other video game. With a surprising amount of ease, the Red Prince became a smear of meat and gore on his rock over the ocean, already changing the course of the game. After taking his meager possessions as my own, I reloaded and went the opposite route, using humor to defuse the situation, and adopting him as my very own bright red lizard-tank.

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PCGamesN takes a look at Outcast: Second Contact - a remake of the cult-classic Outcast from 1999:

Outcast: Second Contact feels archaic, but perhaps it's just what fans need

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Time has not been kind to 3D games of the ‘90s, and Outcast is no exception. Coming to the original fresh almost twenty years late, it’s not hard to be instantly put off by its clumsy mechanics and muddy, smeared world. It’s hideous, it’s impossible to play… and  it’s easy to see why it has an adoring fan base. Back in 1999, that open world must have been mind-blowing. 

Outcast is a cult classic in the most traditional of ways. It’s not a widely-loved game that’s a bit niche; it genuinely is only loved by a small faction of gamers who recall its impact. As such, a previous attempt to bring the game back fell flat on its face. The 2014 Kickstarter never even made it to the half-funded point of its $600,000 ask. Appeal were undeterred though, and so raised the money themselves through the sale of an Outcast re-release. 

And now we have Outcast: Second Contact, a complete remake that feels very much made for the fans. And that may be both its best feature and demise.

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Twinfinite has reviewed the upcoming rogue-like Rogue Wizards:

Rogue Wizards Review

Rogue Wizards on PC

There’s always been a certain something about the “roguelike” genre that’s appealed to me. Rogue Wizards, a turn-based RPG packed with elements of this often-used approach, is no different. A colorful, lively world and plenty of randomly-generated dungeons and loot to comb through, Rogue Wizards presents a somewhat lighter take on the formula. Of course, a lighter take doesn’t mean that the task of saving the world is going to be easy.

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While its story and approach play it safe, the smooth gameplay and optional “perma-death” Hard Mode still bring plenty to enjoy. With a wide variety of weapons and spells to choose from and a unique experience behind each randomly-generated door, it keeps things fresh without stepping too far outside of established comfort zones.

Score: 4/5 – Great

Pros:

• Great variety of weapons and spells.
• Randomly-generated dungeons.
• Bright, vibrant aesthetic.

Cons:

• Story lacks originality.

The old-school dungeon crawler Lord of the Seal has been released:

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Lord of the Seal is a grid based first person RPG, dungeon crawler game with 12 playable characters:

• Warrior: A knight trusting in their body.
• Crusader: A knight shielding others.
• Fencer: A swordsman possessing strength and skill.
• Chaser: A ranger who reads the path ahead.
• Dark Knight: Those who have sworn themselves to darkness.
• Enchanter: A knight wielding macigal powers.
• Hunter: A nimble hunter.
• Felpurr: Those without a care in the world.
• Magician: A researcher of the magical arts.
• Cleric: A priest healing the wounded.
• Druid: One who mutters curses.
• Mystic: An eccentric wizard.

Old classic style game.

Petr Luchko launched a Kickstarter campaign for his RPG Lion and Snake. The game features turn based combat and can be played in single player and co-op mode.

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Lion and Snake is a new RPG with turn-based combat elements, and a memorable story. Explore and interact with everything in this world.

The dungeon crawler Dungeons & Darkness, a love letter to the King's Field and Ultima Underworld series, will be released on September 30:

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Explore various dungeons, making use of various weapons and magic! Challenge the most deadly locations, make your name as an adventurer! Clear the corridors of monsters, collecting tools and weapons as you go. Watch out for booby traps!

Iron Tower Studios released an FAQ for their upcoming dungeon crawler Dungeon Rats:

FAQ

What kind of game is it?
Dungeon Rats is a turn-based, party-based RPG focused almost exclusively on combat for players who like turn-based combat in general and AoD combat in particular. So if you like challenging turn-based combat built around trade-offs and featuring different attack types, alchemy, and tons of stats and modifiers, this game might be for you. If not...

Price & length?
$8.99; 50 fights in total; about 10 hours if you know what you’re doing, much longer if you don’t (i.e. a new player).

Release date?
Anywhere from late Oct to mid Nov.  The game is almost ready: fully playable from start to finish, all the content is in, we need 5-6 weeks for polishing and extra art assets (missing portraits, ending slides art, etc).

Why this game? Why not another game like AoD?
Our next full scale RPG is the “colony ship game”, currently in pre-production, which means designing the systems, fleshing out the setting and locations, and defining these locations visually. Basically, we can’t start working on it until we have the “blueprints” to follow.

This gave us a year (10 months development cycle, 2 months of post release support) to put together a combat game using the AoD engine, systems, and assets. Doing anything else (new engine, different systems, non-combat aspects, etc) would have easily doubled or tripled the development time. Considering that party-based combat was the most requested feature, we built a game around it, giving you something different instead of going for more of the same.

Difficulty levels?
At lower difficulty levels your enemies get a THC (to-hit chance) penalty (30% on Easy, 15% on Normal, no penalty on Hard), which makes it harder to hit you and greatly increases your party’s life expectancy. THC also affects the combat AI, so your enemies won’t be using fancier attacks against you.

Party mechanics?
Your Charisma will determine how many people you can recruit: min 1, max 3, so your party size will range from 2 to 4. Not everyone will be eager to join you; some NPCs will require convincing (Charisma checks). You will have full control over your party members once they join your party. All skill points you earn will be divided between the party members, so a bigger party will level up more slowly.

Can I make my own party?
No. You will create your own character and recruit other convicts.  Party members are a resource much like gear and skill points. You acquire it slowly, swapping one party member for another or replacing fallen brethren when an opportunity comes up. This approach fits both the prison setting and Charisma-driven setup. Keep in mind that losing party members is normal on Hard.

Solo Mode? Ironman?
You can select Ironman and/or Solo mode when you start a new game. If you choose the Solo mode your CHA will be lowered to 2 to give you two extra and much needed stat points.  You won’t be able to recruit any companions.

Do I need to buy or play AoD first?
No. It’s a stand-alone game that takes place before the events in AoD. However, some comments and stories will make more sense to those who played AoD a couple of times.

Is there a story?
There is the story of your escape and the prison’s hierarchy. There is also a background story that began long before you were imprisoned. That story and its conclusion will expand the lore of the gameworld.

Dialogues? Text adventures?
There are many talkative characters; each fight has a text intro, so you aren’t just moving from one fight to the next;  there is quite a bit of exploration with text-adventure elements and stat-checks.

Whom are we fighting?
Various prisoners (unaffiliated convicts, gang members – we have three gangs running the prison and their overlord who calls himself the Emperor), prison guards, legionaries sent to clean up the mess, which started long before you arrived, mechanical constructs, and various oversized local flora and fauna.

New loot?
20 new items (weapons, armor, misc).

Any questions, ask.

Here's the roadmap for the Strategy/RPG Mix Battle Brothers:

Dev Blog #82: Roadmap to the Finish Line

Battle Brothers has come a long way since it entered Early Access over a year ago, in April of 2015. Every update has brought it a step closer towards being a finished game – and there’s still a few more steps to take. Read on to learn what changes and additions are yet to come!

What’s still to come?

With the perk & injury update live and stable, we’ll now start working on the last big update to the game before it leaves Early Access. This is going to be the second-biggest update after the big worldmap update earlier this year and will take us several months to complete.

Here’s the list of major points we’ll be working on:

• Three different ‘Greater Evil’ end game crises for you to get involved in – a war between noble houses, a greenskin invasion and an undead invasion. Each will come with its own set of contracts, events and changes to the world.
• An overarching goal to work towards throughout your campaign, and the ability to retire at any point to receive an illustrated ending screen telling of your accomplishments.
• A more lively and dynamic world, with more opportunities for you to shape it, and more relation between what is going on in the world and contracts on offer.
• A memorial wall screen where your fallen Battle Brothers are listed with their deeds.
• An overhaul of the mood and desertion mechanics on the worldmap.
• An overhaul of the undead faction with new visuals and lore, unique lootable weapons and armor, and the introduction of new enemy types with their own fighting style.
• An overhaul of ghouls as independent beasts that are more interesting and challenging to fight.
• More contracts and events to change things up.
• Various improvements to usability in both combat and on the worldmap.
• Steam achievements.

Not included in that list are the countless smaller additions and improvements we’ll be doing along the way. As usual, all the major points and most of the minor ones will be explained in detail in future dev blogs as we go along, so you’ll always know what we’re working on and why.

This big update, once published, will then be followed by a couple of smaller updates for balancing, bug fixing and further improvements based on your feedback until the game is ready to be released.

So does that mean…?

It means that Battle Brothers will not be released in 2016. We’re looking at a release in early 2017 and you’ll be the first to know once we have a set date – most likely to happen when the last big update is live. It’s important to us that the finished game feels complete, polished and well worth its price, so we’ll take the time necessary to ensure just that and won’t rush anything.

It also means that some features that were considered at one point in development or another have been cut and will not make it into the game for now. While some concepts simply won’t fit anymore with how the game has evolved, others would still be cool to have but also require a lot of time to do right. Time that we then couldn’t spend working on other things. Game development is often about hard choices and setting priorities – what feature best to spend our limited time on? What feature will benefit the game the most? Our choices on what’s most important are reflected in the list above. If ever there is an expansion to Battle Brothers, we may revisit some of the concepts that didn’t make it into the game at first.

Also, the game has been updated

That’s right. The game has just been updated to version 0.7.0.10 with a new contract, balancing changes, a multitude of AI improvements and a couple of bug fixes. Find the changelog below.

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PCWorld has reviewed Sorcery! Part 4:

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! review: A sprawling adventure of mind-boggling scale

With the release of Sorcery's fourth episode, this thrilling adventure comes to a close.

On the road again

For the most part, yes.

It’s odd to think that 2016’s most epic—in the traditional sense of the word—game might end up being conveyed completely through text, and yet here we are. Sorcery is a sprawling adventure, a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure of almost mind-boggling scale, spread out across four installments roughly matching the original four adventure gamebooks from the 1980s.

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Bottom line

Sorcery is something special though. I went back and replayed the first two episodes prior to jumping into the latter half, and was amazed how many encounters I’d missed, how many important items I’d blithely walked past. There are so many nooks and crannies to pop your head into—and hope that said nook or cranny isn’t occupied by an invisible Snattacat or a ten-foot-tall Skunk Bear.

It has its weak moments—especially in the convoluted third episode—but it’s worth struggling through in order to get to the end of this very, very long adventure. The Crown of Kings awaits.

Score: 8/10

On year after release developer Toby Fox reflects on the success with his RPG Undertale:

Retrospective on UNDERTALE’s Popularity

Though it was released almost a year ago, I have the same opinion of it.

It’s about an 8/10, niche RPG game.

If you like the characters and the humor, you’ll probably like it, and forgive it for its flaws.

If you don’t, you’ll probably hate it.

Surprisingly, there are many people who like this type of game. Though I did work hard, there’s definitely a lot of luck involved in having a game become this popular. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if I never made a game as successful again. That’s fine with me though.

Not only did I not expect this level of popularity, but initially, I was afraid of it. I didn’t want UNDERTALE to become tiring for people, or become spoiled before anyone even got a chance to play it. Early on (this was probably excessive) I even tried to contact certain Let’s Players to tell them not to make any content about it.

But, the game became very popular. Unavoidable, even. At the height of its popularity, “not liking the game” felt like a cardinal sin to many fans online. In reaction to these circumstances, others began actively hate the game, creating an endless whirlwind of discourse…

Like a thunderclap to a small dog, all of this attention stressed me out. And every time it seemed to die down, something revived it, such as the GameFAQs contest, the award shows, bizarre theory videos, and so on. At times, I wished I had a way to quell the attention. I felt a strange powerlessness. (And guilt, for feeling stressed when the success of the game SHOULD be something I’m nothing but ecstatic about.)

At the same time, countless wonderful things were happening. People told me the game helped them through a difficult part of their life. Others told me that the game had made them laugh, or cry, or say “I want to be kinder.” Many young kids told me they wanted to create games or music because of it. And, on a personal level, because of its popularity, I have been able to help myself and many people in my life. (And, hopefully, in the future, I can help many other people because of it, too.)

So, ultimately, it’s a good thing that the game reached so many people, and I’m very, very, very, very, very, very, thankful to everyone that supported it, and everyone that helped me make it.

Thank you.

And thank you to anyone who has created fanworks for this game over the past year. I’ve been in fandoms my whole life. I drew Cave Story characters in the margins of my 7th grade history class notes. So it’s amazing to see something I created incite a similar passion in other people.

Someday, UNDERTALE will fade from people’s minds. But, I’m sure in 10 years, some kid who played UNDERTALE will create a game that surpasses it…

I look forward to playing that.

Tomorrow, on UNDERTALE’s anniversary, let’s have a fun time. I am thinking I will open the askbox, and…

@DSOGaming Obsidian have released part two of a three part series of their developer diaries. This part focuses on the artists and designers behind the world of Tyranny who do the animation, music and character design.

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FextraLife has checked out the Action RPG The Surge:

The Surge Gameplay Impressions: Visceral Combat, Weapons, Armor, Implants & More

Last month at Gamescom, we were given the opportunity to play Deck 13’s upcoming mechanized Action RPG, The Surge. Upon seeing the game at E3, we were blown away by the beautiful graphics and fast-paced combat and we couldn’t wait to get a chance to dismember some enemies and find out how the game plays. Having sat down with the game, we have a ton of impressions on what we experienced.

Design

Immediately after picking up the controller and beginning the first stage, you will notice that the game world looks vibrant, moderately futuristic and very industrial. You begin the game as the protagonist, Warren (there is no custom charcters), who has just awoken from a blackout to find that things in his work environment have gone extremely wrong. The area is littered with broken machinery and your coworkers have similarly devolved into violent, zombie-like husks.

You work uniform is a mechanized suit that can be customized and upgraded throughout the game to transform it into a suit of destruction. Each limb, chest and head can be switched out, modified and enhanced. Players will collect parts to do this by dismembering enemies, using Deck 13’s new targeting system that works a lot like Bloodborne’s, only here, you can target various parts of the enemy while you remain locked on.

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You can now try the Space RPG Stellar Tactics:

Stellar Tactics

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Stellar Tactics - Bringing back the nostalgia, excitement and wonder of classic RPG's, Stellar Tactics will thrill you with a compelling narrative, deep strategic turn based ground combat system and rewarding open world space exploration. Build your team, equip your ship, explore the universe!

It's about that time!

Well, it's finally that time. After lots of testing, late nights, early mornings and over six years of obsessive attention to detail, Stellar Tactics is ready for Early Access. Stellar Tactics is a complicated game with many of the core role playing systems you would expect in a classic RPG. It's more though. It combines traditional space exploration, trading, space ships and progression with deep party based RPG mechanics.

Many of you supported me earlier this year by Greenlighting Stellar Tactics. Since then I've been working hard to make certain the story, combat and core game play elements were as polished as they could be. That doesn't meant there aren't a few rough edges, because there are. I am at a point, however, where I need to gather feedback. Being a small developer (just me) your feedback is going to be critical for the success of the game.

I'm excited to hear what you think. Please, post your suggestions and comments in the forums. I read every post if I can and I usually respond if I have time. I'm looking for your thoughts on combat, interface, progression, balance, weapons, armor, loot, itemization...generally everything. I won't promise that I'll take immediate action on every suggestion, but I will be listening. If I see a good idea or suggestion, I'll consider it and let the community know if I'm planning to move forward with a change. If you find a crash bug, exploit or something that is generally making the game unplayable for you, please, post a note in the bug forums. I'll be working quickly to fix any game stopping bugs and annoyances.

What's next? I expect I'll be fixing bugs for the next few weeks. I'll be fixing things that I missed and issues that different play styles bring to the surface. After that it's all about Alpha. I'll be working hard to finalize space combat, generating content for exploration missions and following the road-map posted on the forums.

I'd like to thank each and everyone one of you for your interest in Stellar Tactics. I know you have many games to choose from. I'm going to work hard to make this game the best it can be.

If you want to help support Stellar Tactics, tell, your friends, family and people you don't even know.

-Don Wilkins

We were provided with access to Avadon 3, prior to it being launched and gave it to Forgottenlor, who dived into the game to come back with a detailed analysis of the game.

The Avadon games are story driven. While they allow a decent amount of exploration and character building, it's clear that they aren't as open as, for example, the Avernum series, but make up for this with their main stories and companions. Obviously if you don't like story driven RPGs (such as most RPGs by Bioware, Obsidian, or the Shadowrun games), then Avadon probably won't be your cup of tea. If, like me, you can get really caught up in a story, provided you're given a decent combat system, character building, and exploration, then you'll probably like the Avadon series. As far as The Warborn is concerned, the story is great, and probably my favourite of the Avadon series. It gradually builds tension and sucks you in. In fact I much preferred the way the narrative was built up in this game compared to the two previous games. The one thing that has to be said about The Warborn is that it is a true sequel. If you don't have prior knowledge of some of the NPCs from previous games, the events that occur and choices you'll have to make won't have quite the same impact as they do if you have played the earlier games. The price of peace and loyalty, as well as the worth of personal sacrifice drive the story forward, and you're often put between a rock and a hard place. You can die from making story based decisions (as I found out the beginning of the third chapter, though I decided to reload, decide differently and continue.) Also you'll have to like to read if you want to play these games. There is nothing voiced, and while you're never confronted with huge blocks of text, there is a significant amount of dialogue and environment description, and it's all pretty well written.

The final part of the gamebook adaption Sorcery! Part 4 has been released today:

An open-world narrative adventure into a cursed Citadel of monsters, traps and magic. Fight weird creatures, cast powerful spells that shape the story, cheat death, and explore everywhere. Begin your journey here, or conclude your adventure from Part 3.

• Explore freely - go where you want through a hand-drawn, 3D world, creating your own unique story
• Totally dynamic storytelling - the story adapts itself around everything you do
• Thousands of choices - all are remembered, from the big to the small, and all will shape your adventure
• Disguise yourself - adopt different disguises as you infiltrate the Citadel. Characters react differently depending on how you are dressed
• Uncover the secrets of magic - secret spells to discover, and new forms of magic to master
• Multiple endings, and hundreds of secrets - the game is stuffed with secrets and hidden content. Can you enter the vaults? Will you find the grave of the invisible girl?
• Cheat, swindle, deceive, or play with honour - how will you win the trust of the citizens of Mampang? Remember, every choice matters...
• New enemies, including mutants, guards, merchants and the undead - each with their own strengths and weaknesses
• Adapted from the best-selling gamebook series by legendary game designer Steve Jackson
• Swindlestones is back! The game of bluff and deceit is back, with the toughest opponents yet - the Gambling Monks of Effe
• Seven Gods, all with different quirks and powers
• Start your adventure here, or load your character and all your choices from Part 3
• New music from "80 Days" composer Laurence Chapman
• New 3D hand-drawn maps to explore by Mike Schley

The dungeon crawler Heroes of the Monkey Tavern will be released today:

After countless days and nights celebrating within the infamous Monkey Tavern, our team of adventurers have spent every last penny... Their fates, however are about to change...

Like a gift from the gods, in walks a mysterious stranger who points them towards a high tower full of invaluable treasures .

It doesn't take much more to rouse their thirst for adventure.

You will enjoy exploring a dungeon full of riddles, dangerous enemies and vicious traps. And if luck favours... you will discover secret passages sheltering legendary weapons and armours.

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Key Features :

• Dungeon exploration in grid-base movement
• 8 classes
• 3 difficulty levels
• 2 hours of intense music
• Real time fights
• 22 different enemies, including 6 bosses
• Full keyboard and gamepad support
• Numerous traps and secrets
• More than 100 unique items

A new gameplay video for Dishonored 2:

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From the gritty streets of Dunwall to the shimmering opulence of Karnaca, every level in Dishonored 2 is a puzzle waiting for you to solve. Watch as both Emily Kaldwin and Corvo Attano showcase a few of the seemingly limitless creative combinations of their supernatural abilities, weapons and gadgets to dispatch their enemies. If you plan on facing your foes head-on, you may find some inspiration here.

The Early Access version of Realms of Arkania II: Startrail HD will be available in Q4 2016. Farflame spotted some pictures of a dwarfen mine called 'Finsterkoppenbinge' -
take a look here.

Destructoid and Zam have reviewed Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander:

Destructoid:

Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is September's sleeper hit

Space pirates and pixel art

[...]

A simple glance at the galactic map is enough to encourage continued play sessions. Halcyon 6 is the kind of game that you can lose hours to. The game’s constant push and pull of new missions and management requirements is aided by great art and quirky humor. Space has never looked prettier in a pixelated format, nor has the silliness of attempting to interact with alien races been quite as charming. On a minute-to-minute scale, it balances challenge and humor to make for a game that feels like a well-realized version of some long forgotten sci-fi TV show.

Zam:

Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander review impressions

It's like Xcom, but in spacier Faster Than Light space.

[...]

At the most straightforward level, success and failure aren’t clear enough in Halcyon 6. You can, for example, lose officers and ships in combat, but it feels like a total disaster that should call for a reload -- in large part because it’s incredibly difficult to have happen in the first ten-plus hours of gameplay. You can be short of resources for what you want to built, but this never seems to be life-threatening. On the other hand, it’s also possible to be faced with a seemingly overwhelming number of distress calls that indicates that things are going badly -- but it rarely appears to be an existential threat.

This has the net result of making it feel like Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is nearly-great, but just missing the one thing to put it over the top, in the way that Darkest Dungeon’s stress system tied everything together with that similar game. This doesn’t make it bad in the slightest, but it does mean that Halcyon 6 isn’t quite as exciting as its first impression makes it appear.

In today's Kickstarter update for Unsung Story, Playdek announces that they have a new design partner, as yet unspecified, working with them to produce new content. More details are coming, apparently.

So, essentially, it's an announcement to say that an announcement is coming.  Hmm.

Though it took a little longer than anticipated, we are happy to tell you that we have entered into a strategic agreement with a major company, who will be providing design work for the tactics game, as well as other Unsung branded games in the future. We have begun the collaboration process with them, and will start to see the fruits of those efforts over the next few months. 

We will coordinate with them and make a formal announcement in the near future, but want you to know that this is in place and will have a positive impact on the gameplay, mechanics and overall delivery timeline for the beta and full release. We had hoped to have some design and art progress to show by this month, but we are just now getting the time we need to spend with our partner on the core mechanics and the game world and need to do this before providing updates with visual content progress. Rather than making estimates as to when we think content updates will be ready, we will stick to updating on the design progress more regularly, and then update you when we have a good step forward with some content progress, whether it be concept art or screenshots of in-game progress.  

Again, look to get a formal announcement on our partner as soon as we can all coordinate on public messaging for that. Hopefully, it won’t take longer than a few months, but announced or not, it is happening and is a huge plus for Unsung Story development.

In the latest dev blog for No Truce With The Furies the developer Fortress Occident talks about why they have prioritised non-combat systems and how they have made them a focus with this game. The focus of this development is a more immersive conversation system than what is standard.

In the 15 year build up to No Truce With The Furies, one of our main gripes with RPG-s has always been non-combat skill use. In RPGs - even the story-heavy ones - combat is lavished with tactical tension, skill use produces cool chunky animations, you get pulse-raising rewards and punishments, the logos are colourful. Sound effects go "Tring-trang!" and "Pow!", there are intricate beautiful systems for you to delve into.

Most of this is missing from non-combat skill use. Talking and exploring gets a simplified, non-competitive version of the combat rules. Usually this comes in the form of passive dialogue options: have this much of that required skill and you'll be able to say this thing. Even the games we truly admire - Planescape: Torment, Mask of the Betrayer, Fallout - have little going on in the rules department when it comes to dialogue. Ditto for most tabletop pen-and-paper role playing systems. The tactical depth of using arguments, employing logic, original thinking, empathy - the skill use that covers 95% of our actual lives - makes up 5% of the rule system. Yet my experience tells me thinking is the ultimate game. It's nerve-wrecking, conversations are filled with hidden doubts; we struggle to trust each other, manipulate each other, stay sane. There is great strategic depth and tactical tension that goes into talking that games haven't really - for me - begun to represent yet.

So that's the first thing we set out to create: a truly in depth non-combat skill system. We have four stats and under each stat there are 6 skills. That gives us 24 skills - all 24 have critical non-combat use. In fact, No Truce With The Furies (the first implementation of our role playing system) will cover their non-combat use almost exclusively. (In the future we want every skill to be a two-faced Janus with somewhat unsymmetrical and unexpected uses in combat and outside it).

I'll show off the individual skills in a future post. But first I want to talk about how the skills are used in No Truce With The Furies. That is - about skill checks.

The Morrowind Rebirth mod has reached version 3.8:

[...]

Morrowind Rebirth Changes

• You can now get a full set of Morag Tong armor by visiting Morag Tong Guild Halls. These pieces are not given for free until you've reached the rank "Brother", unless you find a set somewhere in the gameworld that is...
• Travel costs for using boats/silt strider/mages guild travel-services have been raised somewhat.
• Fatigue returned per second while walking changed from 0.0200 to 0.0300.
• Minimal runspeed from 115 to 120 (initial starting speed).
• Low level Dark Brotherhood assassins are now somewhat stronger.
• Regular rats are no longer hostile.

Morrowind Rebirth Additions

• Bernadette's Import, Vivec Entrance, has recived a shipment of rare goods. Be sure to check it out.
• Overhauled Seyda Neen somewhat to make it feel less cramped (more fps as a bonus!).
• Molag Amur overhaul [ALPHA] with new content featuring:
  • Improved landscape with less floating objects, texture seams, bleeding meshes etc.
  • A new fort, Fort Ashmoth, haunted by the undead [ALPHA - no interior atm].
• Added a connecting road to Vivec's east entrance.
• Added more clutter in Ald Velothi.
• Misc additions here and there.
• New unique items:
  • Ring of Blind Faith
  • Nightbane [Sword]
• New creature:
  • Earth Atronach

[...]

TechRaptor has reviewed Sorcery! Part 4 - which will be released tomorrow:

Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! Part Four Review – Showdown

It’s been a long journey. You’ve found your way through the Shamutanti Hills, navigated the treacherous “Cityport of Traps”, and survived the time-twisted, apocalyptic Baklands, avoiding or defeating the assassins of the Seven Serpents along the way. Now, in the third installment of Steve Jackson’s legendary Sorcery! series (the first included Parts 1 & 2), your mission to stop an ancient Archmage from subjugating your homeland with the magical Crown of Kings will reach its dramatic conclusion.

[...]

Summary

Sorcery! pushes and exploits both genre tropes and limitations, not as mere parody but in order to provide a better role-playing experience.
A masterful work.

Score: 9.0

The J-RPG Light Fairytale Episode 1 is now on Kickstarter:

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Introduction

Light Fairytale is a turn-based Japanese-style RPG set in a dying underground world ruled by a fierce empire. Inspired by classics such as Final Fantasy 7 and Breath of Fire 5.

The first episode is coming in 2017 on PC and Consoles. In English and Japanese.

Vision

The goal of this project is to bring back the immersion and emotion of 90's JRPGs, but with modern graphics and gameplay systems.

I think the reason why most recent games in the genre have failed to impress is their overly complicated stories and the realistic direction they are taking. This does not leave much to the imagination and just doesn't feel like the naive drama stories we used to love.

Most game-systems in those games are also too complex and require lots of time and dedication to start to be fun. I personally believe in quick and easy to understand, but hard to master gameplay mechanics.

This is exactly what I'm trying to achieve with Light Fairytale: A light yet touching story, with a simple but addictive gameplay!

[...]

RPGFan has reviewed the gamebook adaption of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain:

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

Tin Man Games has carved a niche for itself in the digital gamebook market, with their original 2000 AD's Judge Dredd series and the popular Fighting Fantasy series by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (WFM) is no stranger to the list as a 1982 paperback by the two aforementioned legends. After a successful Kickstarter that almost quadrupled their $15,000 goal for better artwork for environments and characters, WFM is now available on Steam and coming soon for smart phones and tablets. While I've never played the original paperback on tabletop, it's clear WFM aims to be more than a nostalgia trip.

[...]

Overall, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain certainly has its unique charm—I was captivated for a good amount of time until things started to crash and burn near the end. I have no doubt a demographic exists for those who enjoy exploring and don't mind repeating paths to eke out the best way, but I can't help but feel that the game could be so much better if it had chosen to focus more on one thing rather than both. Perhaps I'm a little too spoiled by Sorcery!, but if WFM had a rewind feature, or even just more save points, I would have stuck around for much longer.

Score: 72%

FilmGamesEtc has reviewed the Anniversary Edition of the Action RPG Titan Quest:

Titan Quest was an action RPG that was showered with positive reviews when it was first released back in 2006. However, a rough launch ensured that the game wouldn’t catch on with a wide audience like other genre staples, such as Blizzard’s Diablo series. Iron Lore, the developer behind Titan Quest, went under shortly after releasing Immortal Throne—the game’s first expansion. While Iron Lore’s financial failure put an end to further developments in the Titan Quest series, the bright minds at Iron Lore did go on to play a pivotal role in the creation of Grim Dawn—arguably the best ARPG since Diablo II.

The spirit of Titan Quest lives on in Grim Dawn, but what about Titan Quest itself? When the game was released it had so much promise, but financial and technical hurdles stunted its growth and kept it to cult classic status. Well, fast forward to 2016. Austrian developer and publisher THQ Nordic, who has the rights to the Titan Quest IP, has released a 10-year anniversary version of the game on Steam, which includes the Immortal Throne expansion and full support for modders.

[...]

Summary

If this is your first time hearing about Titan Quest, or if you never played it when it came out back in 2006, now is your chance to experience this gem. Titan Quest is a must-own for any fans of the ARPG genre, and for those who are looking to delve into the genre for the first time. For those who fell in love with this game back in 2006, why not rekindle that love affair? Sure, there are lots of great ARPGs on the market right now, but the zestful spirit of Titan Quest has yet to be recaptured by another title like it. Besides, if you still have your digital copy on hand, it’s free! My experience with this game has been eye-opening.
Sure, Titan Quest has its warts, but these are very easy to look past. The epic journey from Greece to the Far East has a habit of sweeping you off your feet and carrying you along in a captivated trance—at least that was the case for myself. Players who are looking for an ARPG with a deep character customization system, challenging and stimulating gameplay, and a beguiling setting should look no further. Titan Quest is back with a vengeance.

Score: 8.4/10

Remember the Neverwinter Nights modding days? Stardock does as Sorcerer King: Rivals will let players create their own RPGs according to Gameranx, all thanks to Steamworks. The game is due for release September 22nd.

Neverwinter Nights had some incredibly versatile campaign-creation tools. Remember those? Well, Stardock's upcoming 4X strategy game Sorcerer King: Rivals will include all the tools you need to create your own RPGs and share them with everyone else-minus any of the hassle players had to put up with in NWN and other games thanks to Steamworks.

This fantasy 4X game allows players to design their own classic RPG by stripping out the factions and city/unit building and focus entirely on characters and storybuilding.

[...]

In Rivals, the tables are turned and players now take on the role of a wizard who aspires to godhood. The rival wizards must try to stop you before you ascend, and the Sorcerer King's (he's still around) own ambitions will get in the way of yours.

The tools available in Sorcerer King: Rivals include a quest editor, a map editor, and various other tools to create items, units, tiles, and more.

Stardock describes the game as "Populous meets Master of Magic." It's set for release on September 22.