Finally! PS4 and PS4 Pro owners looking for another solid isometric action/RPG can put down Diablo III: Reaper of Souls for a spell and pick up NeoCore Games’ fast-paced, fun and often funny The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Extended Edition on February 28 (March 1 in EU territories) for $14.99. This deal includes the first part of the trilogy and in addition to its single player campaign mode, you’ll get the ability to play co-op and PvP multiplayer modes. This is the second console port for the game, as the hatted monster slayer has previously appeared on the Xbox One. Yes, next week is incredibly busy for Playstation fans. But if you’re not grabbing the big AAA games dropping next week, a little Van Helsing is more than enough to keep you busy.
Veteran developer Omega Force is well into being the reigning champ of turning its share of popular anime and game franchises into variations on its long running Musou/Warriors games and the latest, Berserk and the Band of the Hawk looks as if it might be one of the better conversions to date. We’ll see, of course. But the art is on point, the game isn’t shying away (much) from its mature content and as the trailer shows, it’s a guaranteed to be a hit on PS4, Vita and PC that fans of the manga and anime should check out.
So… this is indeed a thing you can put money towards… and it looks as if it’ll be worth it. Yes, I spit out my coffee when someone sent me this link. But after reading it and soon after, reading the entire Kickstarter page… I guess I’m in, as I’m watching the funding until the final 48-hour push before deciding whether to pledge. It’s NOT a shooter (good!), Coppola in indeed involved (better!) and with a three year production window, the team of industry vets isn’t rushing this to market (best!). granted, the planet still kind of needs to be here so those of us buying that ticket can actually enjoy the fruits of this labor. But we’ll deal with those D20’s as they’re rolled.
Hmmmm. UndeadScout’s upcoming horror game Husk just got a boot upwards on my play list because it seems it’s not going to be just another great-looking fright game in a roiling ocean of them. My eye has been on this one for a while, but I’ve been silent on it until more of what’s going on up in those hills was revealed (+25XP if you got the corny reference). In any event, the game is calling out to those horror fans who want a bit more meat on the bones, so do yourselves a favor and go check out the Steam store page and sure, go sign up on the official site for future updates. Hey, someone’s gotta go look for YOU after you go missing, right? Might as well be me or someone else you think you can trust. Yeah, I said *think*. It might be too scary to go get you if I’m not totally prepared.
Although, I do charge a nominal fee for rescue missions.
Vendela and Kim over at Morgondag have been busy getting their next game up on Steam and if you love quirky puzzle games, Imprint-X will be right up your alley. A few minutes spent with a build of this unique hacker clicker puzzler reveal it’s quite engaging in its wordless presentation that opens gameplay up to anyone. Actually, all you need to know is in the description on the game page:
A robotic virus is raging! Nano Bots called Wardens are enslaving people! You are one of the hacker clones, saving intellects by hacking into infected brains and defeating the mysterious Wardens; figuring out their correct button sequences.
There’s both a smart simplicity and hefty challenge awaiting you puzzle masters as the game goes from simple switch clicking to more advanced patter memorization and faster clicking needed to ‘catch’ moving parts of some puzzles. As with Morgondag’s stellar, strange Rymd Resa, the visual style is clean yet beautifully stylized with an intriguing soundtrack that adds to the atmosphere. I’ve only sunk a solid half hour into this so far, but my brain is getting a workout already. As reviews are embargoed until the 26th anyway (the game’s release date), you’ll all have to hold your collective breath until then. Back in a bit.
Well, the really good news is this Rare-inspired platformer now has a release date and more great-looking screens to go with that trailer above. The sort of bad news is the Wii U version has been sent to the glue factory, but the silver lining is it’s headed to Nintendo Switch at some point. Screens you want, screens you get thanks to my handy YouTube channel you should probably subscribe to now that I’ve figured out how to use the darn thing. I don’t monetize, so fear not – you’ll get no spam or even a slice of stale bread to have that spam on.
Press release perusal? Jump down, watch for spikes.
I’ll just leave this here because I’m busy, but really need to play this at some point because it’s one of the weirder game ideas I’ve seen brought to life:
Yep. That’s… odd. I like odd. And it’s on sale, too. You may never eat corn again. Or you will, but you’ll look at it funny when out at the market.
Horror games are a dime a dozen these days (or less when on sale) and I think I’ve seen every jump scare-packed trailer out there at least three times. So yes, I am a very jaded guy when it comes to the usual broody music and tilted camera angles spelling out coming carnage in paint by numbers visual form. REDRUM! That said, Indiegala s.r.l (yep, the same folks with that great bundle site who also have the promising MMO from Brain in a Box called VOODOO in development and on Kickstarter) is poking at the genre with a sharp stick with Die Young.
As you can see in that trailer below, the build-up is cheery, the sights look lovely and things even kick off with a really a catchy tune… but the payoff at the end is quite the corker. Let me warn you now that the final shot is a bit disturbing (or definitely will be to some folks):
Ouch. I hope that’s not the heroine of the game, as it’s supposed to be a survival game about a gal who wakes up in a hole on an island and has to find her way off before the locals track her down. Deliverance meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or some other chase ‘n chop flick? This might work out well if it’s at least fair to the player and not some relentless gore festival with no escape. Consider it a challenge to stealth game fans, I guess. We shall see.
My, those sunflowers sure are pretty, aren’t they?
Eeek. I made it about ten minutes into the demo for Thailand-based developer YGGGAME’s upcoming horror game Home Sweet Home before tapping out for the first time, too scared out of my skull to move another inch. Of course, I wisely (or not so wisely) went back and restarted, determined to push on through my nearly squeezing my poor mouse to death. Let’s just say you’re all very fortunate I’m not some YouTube streamer with a loyal or any following, as the assorted sounds I was making were often creepier than the demo, which is absolutely nightmarish and so far, very well done.
I’ll let the official site’s version of the story lull you into its spell here:
Tim’s life has drastically changed since his wife disappeared mysteriously. One night, after suffering from sorrow for a long time, he woke up in an unknown place instead of his house. While trying to escape from this place, he was hunted by a rancorous female spirit. Can he survive? Is this place actually his house? Does it relate to the disappearance of his wife? Some dark sinister secret is hidden inside this house, and it won’t be a place of happiness as it used to be any longer.
What actually happens in the demo is you wake up with a hangover in a messy, unfamiliar bedroom you don’t recall (was that your wife’s voice telling you to get up?) and when you open the door, the stack of furniture in front of it is the first fright because it’s unexpected and wait? Was someone trying to keep you IN that room? Fortunately, there’s a flashlight under the table you’re crawling under that comes in very handy. A walk through a few filthy hallways and rooms leads to a simple puzzle where you need to find a key to get out of a suddenly locked room… but after that, it’s a descent into almost peeing yourself.
I kind of wish I had amnesia right about now, but it’s more important to stay frosty an alert out in the real world. That said, I still wish I had Amnesia, but this desire is actually in the form of Amnesia Collection on the PS4. It’s not on the PSN Store as I type this, but trust me, it’s going to be at some point today. If I’m in the mood to camp out under the covers later, perhaps a buy and play will be made. The first game and it’s shorter sequel, Justine, may have aged visually over the last five years, but my money says those old Lovecraftian shivers will still work perfectly.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 