#PS4 Games With Choices that Matter

[satoshi-mochida]

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC

From Gematsu

Publisher THQ Nordic and developer Purple Lamp Studios have announced Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC (Steam). It will launch in 2024.

“I’ve received more heartfelt fan mail from players of all ages about Disney Epic Mickey than any other project I’ve worked on—a true indicator of the timelessness of this game,” said Warren Spector, director of the original Disney Epic Mickey, in a press release. “That my team and I contributed to that legacy is truly an honor and I’m delighted that old fans and new will get to enjoy the adventures of Mickey and Oswald in Wasteland once again.”

Disney, Pixar, and 20th Century Games vice president Luigi Priore added, “Having been part of this from the earliest beginnings of the creative idea, all those years ago, I can’t wait to see new players discover this enduring classic on modern consoles. We are excited that fans of the original will also get to relive their own experiences wielding the paintbrush and thinner once again.”

Here is an overview of the game, via THQ Nordic:

About

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed brings the magic of Disney to life in a vibrant 3D platformer. This beautiful remake sends Mickey Mouse on an epic journey through Wasteland, a realm of forgotten Disney characters. As Mickey, you will dive into a fantastical world and, armed with paint and thinner, shape your adventure and the fate of this alternate world. Every stroke of your magic brush matters! Use paint to restore beauty and harmony or thinner to alter your environment and uncover hidden secrets. Your choices influence Mickey’s destiny and change the outcome of this artistic odyssey. Will you become the epic hero Wasteland needs? Encounter various iconic characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first creation, as you travel between lands in Wasteland. Collect virtual Disney pins, tackle creative challenges, and uncover secrets, all while exploring classic platforming levels inspired by animated films and shorts. Originally envisioned by Warren Spector, reimagined by Purple Lamp, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed employs state-of-the-art visuals and improved controls to breathe new life into a beloved classic. Experience new movement skills for Mickey, such as dash, ground pound and sprinting. The game’s compelling story makes it an unforgettable adventure for long-time fans and newcomers alike. Join Mickey Mouse and unravel the mysteries of Wasteland in this

Key Features

Explore a reimagined Wasteland, full of Disney’s timeless characters and stories.

Wield the magic brush: Paint to create, thinner to alter. Every choice shapes your story.

Meet Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney’s original star, in a rich, narrative-driven world.

Enjoy advanced gameplay with new abilities and enhanced visuals in a classic setting.

Mickey has new moves such as dash, ground pound and sprinting.

High replayability with multiple endings based on your unique playstyle and decisions.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

[allstartrekgames]

Star Trek: Resurgence

Original Release: 2023

Developer: Dramatic Labs

Publisher: Burner House

Platform: Xbox One/Series, PS4/PS5, PC

Star Trek: Resurgence is a story-based “choose your own adventure” type game from Dramatic Labs, a developer made out of some ex-Telltale staff, who have been doing this kind of game for a while.

While a few known characters do show up, this game is focused on a unique cast of characters on the science ship, the USS Resolute. You play as two members of the crew: Jara Rydek, the ships new first officer, and Carter Diaz, a lower decks engineering crewman. They’re both very likable, and the dialogue options let you have some sway over their personalities – for example, Jara can choose to fully trust her captain, or can fight to do what she thinks is right.

The rest of the crew range from likable to immediate dislike but grows on you (or you end up feeling sorry for them). Most of them are well written (the only exception is the the tactical officer, who goes psycho later on), with their characters flaws serving the story and your choices in some manner. the ship suffered a disaster before Jara was brought back on board, so you have to deal with the comradery that came out of that experience.

Due to an intense ion storm, the Resolute was picked to transport an Ambassador to the Hotari system, where previously peaceful races, the brutish Hotari and the militaristic Alydians, both species with great designs that look like something that could still be achieved in live action. The Alydians have provided technology to the Hotari, while also using them as a labour face to mine the dilithium rich moon of Hotari Prime. However, this is interrupted by the emergence of an ancient and powerful civilization. I’ll leave it there for details of the story, but it was one that I loved the entire way through the game, with lots of stunning locations that you get to visit.

As for the gameplay, it changes a lot throughout the course of the game to meet the scene’s requirements. Most of it is spent on foot, walking around then pressing dialogue options and quick time events when prompted. Sometimes you’ll have to use your tricorder to scan, swapping between different modes to further analyse components, or a phaser, which is used for non-combat reasons during the walking sections.

There are some shooting sections, but in those you’re behind cover (and can occasionally swap cover), popping out to take shots. Other action sequences include piloting a shuttle and stealth sections. Some parts I absolutely loved was interacting with consoles, including a brilliant segment where you get to use the transporter, having to counter interference. It’s a really great depiction of what a transporter chief actually does during difficult transports.

While the gameplay itself is simple, it all helps the game feel immersive and works really well with the world. I’ve always disliked Telltale’s story games due to a “stiffness” about them that Resurgence manages to avoid. It’s a joy to experience the Star Trek Universe in this way and there are some meaningful references to a few episodes – even using a very disliked episode of The Next Generation in a great way.

I absolutely loved my first playthrough of Resurgence. The characters and story are extremely enjoyable, with lots of great different moments. The characters definitely make the game and I think it helps that this isn’t the “best” ship in the fleet – it gives a wonderful insight into Starfleet. You’ll also be given insight into how each character reacts to your choices, showing approval, disapproval or indifference, and I do like that it mentions that the character is a bit confused if you do flip-flop.

I did play again immediately after and the flaws of the game do show up – although it’s more the flaws of the genre. As the main story beats have to be consistent, some of the choices don’t matter. Plenty of them make smaller changes, including which characters you interact with, some character deaths or injuries and how some of them treat the main two. If you did your second playthrough after a break, it would be a better experience. Although I do think that the game should be better at punishing you – some of the actions you take can be pretty bad, but the consequences are very mild.

Resurgence is a brilliant game that captures Star Trek extremely well. It has engaging story and characters, and the gameplay, while simple, helps to compliment it all. It’s a wonderful way to experience a slice of the Star Trek universe.

[tides-of-clarity]

10 Mun fun facts

I won't be on much tomorrow so gonna do a mun monday thing early. Is that still a thing????

Mun is 29 going on 30 this dec. I am an old fart. Literally been here for a super long time on and off. Ah the good old days where it was more active. Don't get me wrong I love how things are now but it was a fresh time back then

Mun is Mexican mix. As you can see my most recent muses are Hispanic like me. My family comes from Nayarit, but I am second generation here in the terrible USA. This is all on my mom side of my family since I don't have a clue of my father's. We know he was part Hispanic too but not the other half since he did not know who his own bio day is.

Spanish was my first language when I was a kid. Loooong ago baby me was bilingual, but since my mom wanted to Americanize me as much as possible by the time I was five it was all lost and only English was spoken in my house. As an adult I know some but not fully.

Mun is pansexual if that matters so it influences my muses as well. Most are the same as me since I firmly feel like gender and pronouns should not matter when it comes to loving someone. Love who you want as long as it no kids!!!

I do a lot of painting when the time is right. Mostly nerdy stuff since I am immature at heart sometimes. Though once in a while my inner Bob Ross comes out and I paint a bomb happy tree.

Ambidextrous, not by choice either. When I was a kid I use to play soccer and was a goalie. In a game the other team decided to kick the shit out my hand and broke three fingers. Since it broke my right I still had to do school work. So I used my left and was able to get good at it. Kept up with it so I can keep this skill.

Use to be in choir and plays, if I have the money and it a play I like I go for it but it a hobby that dying for me. I sing average so I never get main rolls. I am good enough to be in the background but that it. So I have grown tired of it.

I don't consider myself strong but not weak either. Due to work being hard labor and sometimes hitting the gym I have grown a good strength. Bench press is 180lbs and dumbbells is 45 lbs on a good day. I am lazy and chucky though so it not like I go a lot.

Stress baker and I am stress a lot. Not to brag but my stuff is good. I have been told I need to sell goodies but I hate working in the food industry.

I am a gamer. If not here writing, with friends which is rare cause I am an introverted hermit, and painting I am gaming. Most the time it on the switch cause it easy to lay back and game. But I also use my ps4, hacked 3ds, hacked wii, and psvita.

[eight-freakin-gids]

A review of Another Crab's Treasure where I also talk about Slay the Princess  

I've finished* playing two very different games recently, and my experiences with them are such that I feel compelled to share my thoughts on them. This is a long post, so here's a Read More.

      The first of these games is Another Crab's Treasure, the indie Souls-like action RPG. I want to preface this by saying I'm not really a negative person by a lot of standards. My friends and family will occasionally joke that I think everything is "fine," and there's some truth in that. I tend not to hold anything to an exceptionally high standard. I am not overly critical of anything that doesn't meet my standards.

      With that in mind, I did not like this game, and I feel bad about that.

      For some background, I got into the Dark Souls series sometime between the releases of Bloodborne and Dark Souls III. I started with Dark Souls II, and had a hard time getting into it (but later revisited and finished it). Contrasted with that, I got really into Bloodborne, and still consider it one of my favorite games of all time. I played Dark Souls III when it came out, and played the Painted World DLC when it came out. However, I didn't play the Ringed City, and I have yet to play any other souls-like after that point. No Sekiro, no Nioh 2, and not even Eldin Ring (despite literally everyone and their dog playing it). I think a big part of this is due to life circumstances. I don't own my own PS4 or PS5, nor do I own a gaming PC. I could only play Bloodborne and Dark Souls III because I lived with my siblings and could conveniently borrow theirs.

      But I also tell you this because there's a chance I'm just not a SoulsBorne guy. I haven't really had the motivation to seek out these titles I've missed. This could explain why I feel the way I do about A.C.T. But at least, I want to be clear I don't need to git gud either.

      So anyway, we get this new Crab Souls on the Switch, and I think that I might as well try it out. 

      Credit where it's due, Another Crab's Treasure crafts a nice world. It's colorful, it's funny, it's charming, and it brings attention to the real-world problem of polluted oceans. But subjectively, I can't say I enjoyed the game very much. To sum up my biggest issue in one word, it's options. I am a player who values decision making in games. I want to express myself through the choices I make, be it narrative decisions or choice of strategy. Another Crab's Treasure didn't make me feel like I had many choices, and those choices I did have didn't feel like they mattered.

      The game invites us to compare it to its inspirations, so I'm going to compare it to Dark Souls III. I like Bloodborne more, but I want to do Crab Game the favor of trying to create a more direct comparison. 

      In Dark Souls III, you immediately begin with the option to choose between one of a few base character options. Each one offers different tools in order to tackle the incoming challenges. After navigating the opening area and defeating the first boss, you are immediately given access to the game's central hub. In addition to anything you find in the opening area, you can buy more weapons, ammo, and consumable items to help you on your way. The options available to you only increase as you continue to play the game. So many weapons, spells, and armor sets at your disposal, free to mix and match to your heart's content.

      When I played Another Crab's Treasure, I felt stifled. You don't get any starting options. You have one weapon. It has two attacks: light and heavy (compared to Dark Souls games, where you usually have light, heavy, fully-charged heavy, dodge attack, roll attack, running attack, and plunging attack at least. None of that even considering the game-specific movesets like Trick Weapons, Weapon Arts, dual wielding, or Power Stancing). Oh, Crab Game has plunging attacks and running attacks, but you have to unlock them in a skill tree after beating the first boss! Yay! Isn't that awesome?

      I think Crab Game's first boss is really when my opinion on it began to sour. They introduce the Shell mechanic to you, and I do not care for it. What little choice for customization the game would have in this system is offset by the inconsistent nature of it. You can never guarantee access to a specific shell, because you're limited to what you can find in the environment. Even something as simple as a preference between Small, Medium, and Heavy is not something you can guarantee. This lack of consistency only gets worse with the introduction of the Umami system. I hoped that acquiring this game's magic system would help ease my pain, but no. Your "spell" (singular) is tied to what shell you're using. Did you like that spell? Too bad, you weren't perfect, and now you have to manage with something else. Why bother even learning what all of the spells do? It's not like you'll have any of them for long.

      But I'm getting ahead of myself. The fact that Shells have durability also bothers me. Blocking feels like a complete waste of time. You move so much slower while blocking (regardless of what your shell's weight is), and you lose effective health even when you successfully guard against an attack. So. Why. Even. Bother? Also, they throw this entire shell system at you immediately before you have to fight the game's first boss. Better figure it out quickly, fucker!

      It took me an appropriate amount of time to beat Crab Game's first boss. I didn't hate the game, but I was having less fun. Progressing from there, you unlock the game's skill tree system before reaching the second boss. But before that, I want to talk about this game's performance issues. I probably didn't do myself any favors by choosing to play the Switch version. The frame rate drops considerably during certain scenes. And I normally don't give two hoots about performance in a game— I love Bloodborne in all of its 30 FPS glory. So when I bring it up here, know that it means I thought it was considerably distracting. 

      So I'm making my way through the corrupted Fort Slacktide en route to boss #2. At this point, the game's map choices became a mixed bag for me. The implementation of the Grappling Hook was intriguing, but ultimately made it feel like a Legend of Zelda item in the worst possible way. Rather than using it as a generalized tool to navigate any obstacle, you only ever use it to overcome a Grappling Hook Obstacle(tm). I have a few other nitpicks with the Fort Slacktide experience, but I'll spare you some of those. This review is long enough as is. I reached the first shortcut for the area, died, and then never figured out how to use that shortcut. This was also the first and only time I lost all of my Microplastics. So after giving up on finding the shortcut, I try to make my way back up through the same path. And then, I get hit and clip through a wall directly to the fort's second shortcut. I'm not going to hold a bug against this game too much, but know that it happened. With that, my time at Fort Slacktide came to a premature and unsatisfying end. I fought the boss and beat it on the first try. Why is this significant? Because I stopped caring. I just mashed dodge and light attack until I won.

      I have yet to make my way to the alluded-to Big City area. Judging by my collection of Corruption Crystals, The Shallows is likely one area out of fourteen. I'll admit I've played a comically small amount of this game. If you argue that I haven't played enough, I don't think I'll disagree with you. Maybe all of my problems will be solved if only I go a little further, but I don't feel like rolling the dice on that. That doesn't change what I've experienced.

      More than anything, this game has solidified a rule for me: any time a game makes me say aloud "This game is fucking stupid," my enthusiasm for that game is cut in half. 

      Sorry, Another Crab's Treasure. I sincerely hope that I'm in the minority here. I hope your game is the delightful souls-like romp that it looks to be. I hope to give it another chance some other time, but I won't be finishing it now.

      I've written a lot, so I'd like to summarize my points for anyone who doesn't want to read all my hogwash.

Another Crab's Treasure offers considerably less meaningful decisions compared to its contemporaries, and that is in direct conflict with one of my core desires for playing games.

The choices that the game does offer are shallow and come at a slow trickle.

The Switch version has performance issues bad enough that it bothers me, the guy who never cares about game performance so long as the experience is fun.

The systems that set this game apart from its contemporaries (namely, the Shell system) do not serve to improve the game experience for me.

I feel like the game has rewarded me for not engaging with its mechanics. I just did whatever was simplest, and it was the most effective.

I haven't been given any reason to believe that these problems will meaningfully improve if I keep playing.

      Now, I don't intend to talk for long about the other game I played. Partly this is to avoid spoilers, but it's also because I've already written a lot. Above all, I want to leave off on a positive note, so I want to talk about Slay the Princess.

      Slay the Princess is a visual novel. It's a horror story. It's a love story. It's a monochromatic game that features time loops, so how could I, an In Stars and Time enjoyer, not like it?

      I think the biggest reason that I wanted to talk about this game alongside Another Crab's Treasure is to contrast the decision making between the two.

      Slay the Princess, like many other visual novels, features choice of dialog as the primary "game" mechanic. Normally, I enjoy games with complex systems that I can really sink my teeth into. And yet, visual novels are also a favorite of mine. In spite of their simplicity, the impact of your choices is a central pillar to the genre, and that appeals to me greatly.

      This game takes that a step further. It does a thing I love: it makes your decisions matter even when you think that they won't matter. In any given scene, you roughly have two choices: select an "Explore" dialog option, or choose an option that advances the scene. Generally, an Explore option will provide you with new information. Sometimes, it also adds even more dialog options.

      But sometimes, the Explore options will secretly be the options to advance, for better or for worse. Sometimes you can back out, and sometimes you have to live with your decision. I could see that element of the game frustrating some players, but that's the reason why I love it so much. Adding stakes to all dialog invites the player deeper into the role play. You're not just here to mash through all of the text until you reach your next signpost decision. Every line of dialog has consequences, so you need to think carefully. What do you want to say? What do you want to do? Choose carefully. Sometimes, the game will remember your choices even when those choices don't seem like they would have mattered.

      There are a number of other things about this game I adore. It offers an intriguing narrative that had me speculating like a madman, so needless to say I think the story is good. The artwork is gorgeous and haunting at the same time. And, it features the voice talents of Jonathan Sims of The Magnus Archives fame.

      I played this game alongside my younger siblings, and I loved it enough that I will happily revisit it in my own time. 

      If anything I've said here encourages you to try out a new game, than that's a win for me. Maybe you disagree with me about Crab Game. Maybe my reservations about Crab Game give you enough heads-up to better work through it's problems. Or maybe my vague praises of Slay the Princess have piqued your interest. In any case, I hope I can contribute a positive experience to your life.

[suzuran777]

Ever Maiden ~Daraku no Sono no Otome-tachi~ Review & Guide

This time I’m reviewing something a little bit different than usual, Liar-soft's horror mystery yuri game, Ever Maiden. It recently got ported to the PS4 and Nintendo Switch, but I decided to play the PC version first. I’m going to avoid mentioning big spoilers, but I will summarize some things that happen in the first chapter!

The plot of the game focuses on the Puellarium, a school isolated from the outside world, protected by a dense fog and a forest of thorns. Many girls who study here have only one goal in mind, to become the ‘Ever Maiden’. What exactly the Ever Maiden is only gets explained later in the game, but it's known that the girl with the highest grades will eventually obtain this title. One day, one of the students find a mysterious girl sleeping in front of the school's gate who doesn’t remember where she came from. This girl is our protagonist, Alouette. Nobody from the outside world is supposed to know the exact location of the school. Who is this mysterious student?

To become a student here, one must possess the 'maiden aptitude', which at first seems to be the power to make flowers grow and bloom. Later in the game you learn that the students can create many other things with this power too and not just flowers (for example mannequins, clothes and even mechanical tools). The Puellarium is a very strict place and students can only create things that are within the school’s guidelines. Whenever something is created that doesn’t belong there, they don’t get punished but it needs to be destroyed immediately. There's also many other rules, like not touching each other, not going outside at night etc.

Alouette quickly gets used to these rules, but her curiousity sometimes causes trouble. After a series of strange dreams she accidentally breaks the curfew and discovers that the Puellarium's appearance changes at night. Crystals are scattered everywhere and the moment she touches them, she starts experiencing strange flashbacks, as if she has been to this school before. At night she also meets a mysterious student who calls herself Olor, who tells her about the school’s mysteries. Soon after Alouette starts going outside at night, she finds out that students can get ‘corrupted’ when their mental health declines. Once this corruption reaches a certain point, they transform and it’s not possible to return to their original form. Whenever this happens, Rook shows up to fight them. During daytime, Rook always pretends that anything that happens at night is just a dream, but Alouette knows the truth already. Corrupted students who they defeated are always found dead the next day. Other mysterious incidents also occur, like students suddenly losing their memories and strange shared dreams. Throughout the story, the main characters slowly discover the mysteries of the Puellarium.

This game is almost entirely linear and you only get some choices near the very end of the game. Occasionally, you’ll be able to select locations on a map, but the selected order doesn’t matter and you can access the next scene by visiting all locations. The pairings are also pre-determined, similar to the BL visual novel Uuultra C which I’ve also reviewed here. The only difference is that each pairing doesn’t have their own route, but most of them do have their own chapter in the main story. For example, after the introduction the first chapter mainly focuses on Macaw and Pavone, after that you learn about Robin and Canary and finally, Alouette and Rook. It's also possible for Alouette to end up with Averla if you pick the alternative ending, although it feels more like a ‘bad’ ending. 

I couldn't really find a guide, but it was not difficult to obtain the endings because there’s only a few of them. You can see the choices/endings below, though beware of some vague spoilers!

Guide/choices Choice 1: 彼女のために死ねるか否か (Die for her or don't) 頷く Nod > Averla ending 首を横に振る Shake your head > Continues Rook's ending

Choice 2: 最期の一言は (Your last words) あなたを愛している I love you > Bad end 私は死んでいない I'm not dead yet > Continues Rook's ending

After that you can explore the locations on the map, but you only get a few turns. Make sure to visit the prayer hall (礼讚祈堂) first, which is where you'll find the next choice.

Choice 3: どこを調べるべきか (Where should I investigate?) アドラーを調べる Examine Adler > Continues Rook's ending.

After that visit the sitting room (座学室) to unlock the prayer hall basement (礼讚祈堂地下). Make sure that you don't visit the clock tower (時計塔) without doing all of these things first, or you'll get a bad end. Running out of turns also gives you a bad ending because it forces you to go to the clock tower.

Impressions I was surprised to see the whole game was just one linear story, but I thought it was a super interesting experience. This is actually the first yuri/girl’s love visual novel I’ve played, until now I never saw many people talk about them. This game’s only available in Japanese right now, but it also showed up in MangaGamer’s licensing survey (16th place), so I’m hoping it will get an English translation some day! I’m also a big fan of horror and tragic stories, so I really wanted to try it. Most of the romance in this game is a bit tragic because touching each other is not something the school allows, but the game does have a good ending, so don’t worry if tragic stories aren’t your thing. Ever Maiden is also advertised as a horror game, but I think it’s not necessarily a ‘scary’ game, it just gives you a feeling of uneasiness. At all times I felt like something was not right and that the school was hiding a big secret.

Every character is really unique and and they all have their own interesting personality. I personally liked the relationship between Robin and Canary. Robin spends a lot of her time in the library, so she knows quite some secrets about the school and wishes to escape some day. Canary seems like the type who obeys all the rules and is even instructed to tell Alouette of all of the school’s rules, but I really liked that she didn’t care about the rules if it meant helping Robin. By the way, I think it’s interesting that all of the characters are named after birds, maybe because they’re all like birds trapped in a cage (the school).

The art is something I can’t forget to mention either. The main artist is Ooishi Ryuuko, who's well known for some other visual novels like Shingakkou. Similar to Shingakkou, I think the art is very expressive and perfectly suits the theme of the game. The characters all wear the same school uniform, yet the colors and designs still make them look very unique. The flower motifs can also be found everywhere in the game, for example the main menu screen, the text box, background, clothes, CGs.... and so on. I also found it really interesting that whenever one of the characters was corrupted by the ‘evil’ seeds and transformed, they were usually surrounded by the flowers them or their partner loved the most. I think there’s a lot of symbolism I still have to look into, but for now I’m just going to look at the CGs once more and enjoy the art!

I do wish the ending was a little bit longer, because it mostly focuses on Rook and Alouette. It does answer all of the big questions, but I really want to learn more about the outside world... At some point most characters mentioned their hometown and family-dynamic and I just really want to know more...! The music is also really good, though there’s only a few tracks. I think some more variety would have been good, but that’s just a minor complaint.

[gaymer-hag-stan]

PS4 / PS5 Era Fighting Games Ranked By How Many Female Fighters Are Playable

If you're like me, and I know I am, you always pick the cunty bitchy girlies in fighting games over the gross sweaty guys so I decided to make a tier ranking of all the (decent) modern fighting games that actually matters!

No Boys Allowed - No games in this tier because our world is imperfect

Almost... - Skullgirls gets pretty close to nailing things but they went and added TWO whole MEN and ruined things!

Let's Just Meet In the Middle - Melty Blood, Dead or Alive 5 and Cross Tag Battle feature a pretty healthy amount of female characters with Granblue, Central Fiction, Under Night, Persona 4 Arena and Chronophantasma following cloaw behind.

This Is Practically a Sausagefest - To be fair, the situation in SoulCalibur VI, Street Fighter 6, KOFXV, Samurai Shodown, KOFXIV and Guilty Gear Xrd is salvageable, but the situation gets progressively worse from SFV onwards. MK11 only has 12 girls, Strive has 8, Tekken 7 has 16... In a cast of 50 and so on...

...Boys Are Gross! - By far the worst offender though is Dragon Ball FighterZ where only FIVE female characters are playable, and one is just a different version of Android 21!

In all seriousness though, I'm just joking here, all of these games are great so if you haven't already go pick any of them and play!

Although more female fighters is obviously always a good choice. Tell me who is your favourite!

[cinnamonest]

Spooky Season Game Recs 🎃

Since it is That Day, I put together a quick recommendation list for games that I thought might be appreciated for fun and for anyone who might want to use it.

Here is a generalized list of games you should play! I'm including some horror-themed, some that just have gratuitous violence, some just have creepy vibes, some that are mild but have Halloween themes, etc. A lot of these are very popular, and likely some of you will have already played/heard of them all, but this is just for anyone who hasn't. Feel free to add to this!

Quick note: unfortunately, I am in the small percentage of people who get severe migraines and nausea from playing first-person perspective games (but not third-person perspective ones). As such, there's a lot of horror games that I can't really play, and there's only one first person game I've played here. I'll include a section for some renowned games that I haven't played, but are well-received.

I’m giving one link, but for some of these it’s available on multiple platforms, I’m just linking steam if available since it’s what most people might have. I played most of these on PS4.

Also warnings for all of these. Some have heavy violence, a few have references to sexual assault, in one you murder a toddler. Etc. Be warned.

Happy Halloween 😊

Console/Professional/3D Games:

Until Dawn

This is one of my favorites, it is a choices-matter game with multiple endings, the endings being determined based on who lives and who dies. It's very suspenseful, they did a great job at crafting the right atmosphere for the game. Although in my opinion (and apparently the popular opinion) several characters were not very likeable. I did really like Josh, though. Best boy.

It's really neat in that your choices don't just effect the ending, but your choices can branch you off into a different path entirely, changing future events themselves, working more like a flowchart than a "Choice one gets ending A, choice two gets ending B" sort of thing.

It is a PS4 exclusive. 

(Link)

Inside

An eerie game with no dialogue and a really creepy atmosphere. I finished it in one Saturday. It's one of those games that's more of an "experience" than a game (kind of like Journey). This was one of those games where I kept seeing it for years and thinking like "huh, I should play that one day," then one day it was on sale on the PS Store so I finally did and I'm very very glad I did.

(Link)

Friday the 13th

Basically you play in locations across the movie franchise. You can play as a victim and try to hide, or as Jason Voorhees and try to hunt down victims. There’s multiplayer and single player. It’s basically a hide and seek with someone trying to kill you.

(Link)

Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan/Little Hope

These are made by the same developers as Until Dawn. They're not sequels, as they have different stories and a new cast of characters (save for the overarching narrator-esque figure, think Igor from the Persona series).

Personally (and according to most reviews/professional critics), I think these fell a bit short of Until Dawn's legacy, but they're still pretty neat. They utilize the same mechanics, just with a new story. Also that intro rendition of O Death is a banger.

There’s also 2 more after these but I haven’t played them.

Unlike it’s predecessor, this one is available on multiple platforms. (Link)

Resident Evil Series

This is a horror game staple and I'm sure most people are familiar with it, but I'd like to note that it's extra appreciated for other people who have motion sickness/migraines, as several games are in third person (7 isn’t I think?)! There's a pretty expansive list to choose from, but (here is a comprehensive ranking list).

Silent Hill Series

Another staple for the horror genre and the origin of the iconic Pyramid Head, unfortunately if you don't have a gaming PC or a PS2 to dust off or pay for PS Now, right now it is unavailable -- however, that is set to change, as just recently a PS5 remake was announced, although unfortunately it looks like it might be PS5 only and not PS4. The first three games are generally regarded as the best, but I would not recommend Downpour, it feels very slow and kind of dull by comparison in my experience. 

(Announcement)

Zero Escape Series

This is iffy to include here, but it has a lot of very dark themes and atmosphere so I think it fits. It's basically "escape rooms: the game," wherein you have to solve a lot of puzzles to progress. This series was an inspiration for Danganronpa, but the critical difference is that while DR has a brightly-colored punkish aesthetic and over-the-top quirky, eccentric, often lighthearted elements/characters to offset the dark depressing nature of a game about murder, Zero Escape doesn't have that, so it's a lot more bleak and heavy.

 (Steam page for ZTD)

The Wolf Among Us

A Telltale game with a really nice art style and memorable characters. It's a murder mystery and a "choices matter" type of game. I'm including it here because it's very gritty and violent at times, and kind of has like film noir vibes. Also if you like older men you'll probably like the main character.

(Link)

Bendy and the Ink Machine

I have no doubt you're all probably already aware of this one, but I tolerated feeling like someone was hammering my head with a marble chisel for this game (I played it in 10-minute intervals and took breaks between but nonetheless) so I'm mentioning it so my suffering is not in vain.

The stylized nature of the graphics gives it a very quirky, unique vibe. It's somewhat exploration-ish with a plot. The main monster is also a really unique choice.

(Link)

RPG Maker Games 

Unless otherwise noted, you can find these (here on VGPerson). The ones on VGPerson and most of the ones on this list in general are free.

Ib

A classic of the genre. You are a little girl at an art museum who falls into one of the paintings and enters another realm. You meet two friends (one is a "friend") who try to help you get back home (or not). 

The Witch's House

Also a classic of the genre. You are a girl looking to reach the top of the witch's mansion for... reasons. There's a really well-executed plot twist. A cat is there. What more can you want.

Yume Nikki

The final entry here of the iconic genre-defining trio. There is no real plot, I don't think there's even any dialogue if I recall correctly. It's largely just a matter of exploring the world around you. It's very trippy and relies on aesthetic, it's not everyone's thing, but I found it pretty calming actually. If you collect all the effects, you reach an ending. 

(Free on steam)

Pocket Mirror

This is one of those games where you play it and then are really surprised to learn it's not more popular than it is. I highly recommend it. It's somewhat Alice in Wonderland-esque, in the sense that you are a young girl traveling through an odd land trying to go home, and meet interesting (and sometimes dangerous) characters along the way. One of the biggest selling points for this is the music, which is (except for a few) original and not borrowed from free use websites. The art and game as a whole is GORGEOUS visually. Developer is Astral Shift.

(Link)

End Roll

You are a 14-year-old boy who also happens to be a murderer. You are being put through a rehabilitation project that will cause you to have vivid dreams, which are very pleasant and welcoming... at first. The dreams are intended to eventually induce remorse in the subject, which, in this boy's case, means he has to relive some of the things he has done.

Corpse Party

Technically, the original was 1996, but pretty much any version you can get now is a remake with improved graphics. That being said, there are several different versions with different graphics.

Synopsis is a group of students become trapped in their school by supernatural means and have to find a way out. Gratuitous death and vengeful ghost hijinks ensues. This one is paid. You can purchase an old PSP copy as well. There's an anime based on the game that is significantly more graphic. There's also a lot of games after the original, but I've only played the original (or at least the remake of the original) so I can only speak for that.

I played (this version) a few years back, but to my knowledge (this version) is the most recent remake.

OFF

This is a personal favorite. You are a man on a mission to purify your (very bizarre) world, and defeat an evil queen. This is one of the best RPGMaker games in my opinion. The music is great, the characters are memorable, and the plot twist is very well-executed. It does a really good job of slowly becoming more and more unnerving to the point that by the time you reach the end, you know something isn't right regarding your understanding of things, but need to progress to find out exactly what. The way it utilizes unreliable narrator/limited perspective is very well-done. Also obligatory Zacharie my beloved.

(Free official download)

Hello Charlotte

This is a series of several games about a girl named Charlotte. Some are paid and some are free. The art style is really neat, and it has that constantly mildly unnerving vibe that I really like. I believe the first one is free and the rest are paid.

(Link)

Omori

Also really well-known already but I wanted to include it, this is more of a tear-jerker than a horror game, but there are some unsettling moments/imagery. The art style is really cute, and the characters are very lovable. It does a great job of setting up an atmosphere/story that leaves you just perfectly in the middle of your understanding, where you sort of know what's going on but makes you desperate to know more and fully understand what's happening.

(Link)

Pre-2000 

Don't expect much from these in terms of graphics/mechanics, but they're fun nonetheless. 

Monster Party

This is a 1989 game. It's Halloween themed (ish?) and really cute. Unless you have an NES on hand, you'll need an NES emulator and ROM to play it. Retroarch is a well-known emulator for all sorts of vintage games.

(Retroarch)

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

This is a point-and-click from 1994. Personally I have to include this as it's one of my absolute favorite games/stories of all time. It is based on a renowned short story. Personally its selling point for me is that it has one of my favorite fictional antagonists of all time. The author of the original story voices AM in the game, too! I could ramble on about how much I love this work for literal hours but I'll spare you all that. I recommend reading the original story as well.

Synopsis: A supercomputer hellbent on satisfying his hatred for humanity has destroyed the world, leaving behind five humans who he spends eternity torturing. The five humans, each desperate to die and finally be rid of their tormentor, must go through stages designed to be personal hells for each of them to hope to achieve that.

(Steam page) 

Short Indie Games 

These are basically short interactives meant to be unnerving and unsettling, which they do well. Time consumption ranges from anywhere from two minutes to maybe half an hour.  A lot of them are made by independent creators so it's good to support them! All of these can be found on itch.io’s  horror tag. In general, this whole page is full of good ones, so I’m just listing a few I found particularly neat.

Next Door

A short browser game based on a Junji Ito story. 

(Link)

(Don't) Open Your Eyes

A short Renpy game. It has voice acting, which is like 99% of what makes it so unnerving. Basically, the title is the summary.

(Link)

Please Answer Carefully

I LOVED this one, it's stalker-themed. Basically a short survey from someone who misses you and wants you to forgive them :)

(Link)

Discover My Body + Water Womb World

Body horror based, point and click narrative. Both are made by the same person. The graphics style is really unique. I like this creator's portrayal of the characters, there's a common theme of a sort of religious fervor that blinds them to reason and drives them to insanity. 

(Discover my Body)

(Water Womb World)

Assessment Examination

Very short, the images can be unnerving/uncanny if that bothers you.

(Link)

Honorable mentions: 

First-person gamesI haven't played these; they're pretty well-renowned, though, and while unfortunately I am not able to enjoy them, you very well may, so they are worth checking out if you can! 

Outlast

Layers of Fear

SOMA

Alien: Isolation

Amnesia: the Dark Descent

Blair Witch

[askagamedev]

American Mcgee is trying to get his new game greenlit. I know that his games are profitable and well received. However, it's taking aver 4 years for a response, and I'm puzzled to why it is so. What exactly causes a company to consider greenleting a game? Does it require more than the creators reputation?

There are many reasons one would pass on a game pitch, many of which have nothing to do with the pitch itself. Finding a publisher is very much like dating - the game being pitched must meet a bunch of the publisher's needs in order for them to run with it. Imagine you're the one in charge of green lighting new external projects. Here is a non-exhaustive list of potential reasons you might say no that have very little to do with the pitched game.

Your company doesn't have the budget available. You're strapped for cash and just don't have the money currently available. Maybe you just bought a studio. Maybe your games from the last year didn't sell well. Maybe you'll have some room in the budget after the current game launches during the holiday season and starts earning some money, but you just don't have the money available right now - it's going to all of the other projects you're already funding. Regardless, you just don't have the money available to fund another game, no matter how good it sounds.

You're already working on a similar game. You probably don't want to cannibalize the sales of the game you're already paying to develop, and you don't want to split the audience. You've already got one African Mythology-inspired Action RPG with card mechanics in development, you really don't need a second slightly-different one.

You've already got another major release planned for that release window. Cannibalizing sales is a thing if two games are released too closely to each other, especially if there's some general overlap in the kind of game they are. You can't really control other publishers, but doing it to yourself is kind of shooting yourself in the foot.

Your company and the pitched game are going in different directions. Maybe the pitch is for a short form linear single player narrative experience and your company has decided to grow its catalogue of multiplayer lifestyle games. Maybe it's for a dialogue-driven narrative story, but your expertise is in competitive esports titles.

The pitched game is for a platform you're scaling back on (or not supporting altogether). Maybe you decided that VR isn't working or mobile marketing costs too much, or that there just aren't enough sales on the Nintendo consoles to justify it. Maybe you're sunsetting all of your last-gen development and the pitch is for the PS4/Xbone. If your company just isn't supporting that platform anymore, you're probably not going to green light a new game for it.

These reasons don't take any of the details of the pitch itself into account either - the budget, the marketing, the licensing, the business plan, the game design, the development team, the project leadership, and so on are all incredibly important to whether you would say yes. Remember, as the one in charge of green lighting new projects, you need to be judicious. You only have so much funding and so many release slots per year you can fill. Even if the game sounds great, it might not be the best fit for your company and its needs right now. You absolutely must make the best choices you can for the good of the company and its shareholders, and there's a hundred more pitches after this one that are all hoping for your attention and funding.

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[everygame]

Until Dawn (PS4)

Developed/Published by: Supermassive Games Released: 25/08/2015 Completed: 04/10/2023 Completion: Everyone survived. Trophies / Achievements: 80%

It’s spooky season, so I thought I’d play some scary games and for whatever reason Until Dawn happened to be the one that bubbled to the top first.

I think when I was a kid who loved graphic adventures, I think this is what I thought video games would be. Cinematic experiences where you’re constantly making choices that have a meaningful (or not) effect on how the story goes forward. With Until Dawn, the tropes of horror are a perfect setting to ensure this kind of design doesn’t get out of hand: you can limit things almost to: who lives? Who dies? 

Of course, there are still, simply, limitations to the form that I don’t think I was thinking about when I was 8 or whatever. Even if you stick close to the traditions of horror and make your cast an interchangeable group of arseholes who the player will be happy to see get offed, there’s only so much branching you can do, and then you also have to put in some stuff the player actually… plays. Which usually means… quick time events.

Isn’t it weird how they’re a thing? They’ve essentially existed since Dragon’s Lair in 1983, where you had to make a (barely) educated guess about which direction to push or which button to hit, and the main (only?) innovation in the last 40 years is that you know get told exactly what to do. And that happened literally about a year after Dragon’s Lair!

Does anyone like them? For me, they’re just an annoying bit where I have to remember which button is where on the controller. In an action game where succeeding at them matters, they are legitimately the worst way to engage me with the action–I’m not watching the cut-scene, I’m waiting for a horrible pop-up–and in a game like this, I think… why not just replace them with more choices? Choose if character A manages to perform the task or not because you want to see the story go one way or the other.

(And while you’re at it, only offer me the choices that are interesting. There’s a hilarious amount of climbing involving QTEs here to stretch things out.)

When I think about QTEs, I think it's telling that this was originally more focused on motion controls; I can imagine QTEs being more successful by actually going back to being more like Dragon’s Lair when played with (say) modern VR controllers. A character leaps to grab something, you throw your hand up and grab. Like Dragon’s Lair, though, that becomes complicated when there’s more than one option (do I do the motion to unsheath his sword, or run away? etc.) and here you just get stuck with Heavy Rain-style “Push R2 to open this door” and then you watch your hero awkwardly move their hand towards the door until you slip off R2 and they stop, creating the world’s most unconvincing human behavior.

Anyway, outside of QTEs, the play here largely features you… walking about slowly, usually following another character, and optionally picking up lore items (if you find them). Also something that feels like it could be almost entirely excised!

The thing about Until Dawn is, though, that the junky plot of “teens go to a cabin in the woods where a tragedy had previously occurred” is easily understandable and, dare I say it, enjoyable. The archetypes and tropes are all on show, and it’s actually fun to try and maneuver through the plot which is never really that surprising, but you don’t really need it to be. In fact, if if wasn’t for all the bits where you actually have to play it rather than making choices it’d be such a breezy wee experience; unfortunately, rather than going for a nice movie length it’s somewhat over-extended into ten episodic chapters, and I was disappointed when I finished it to have absolutely no hunger to play it again to see different things happen.

I suppose also, probably, because seams of the branching become a little too apparent towards the end. There’s a couple of characters who seem destined to die simply because the plot doesn’t do anything with them, and in the final sequences there’s only one character that really matters.

This is still pretty fun for a single run through though, and I imagine it’s much more so if you play it with a group and just see what happens. There’s a lot of jump scares, comedy gore and even a few moments of actual tension. 

Will I ever play it again? I won’t, but I’m already considering running through The Quarry, which isn’t supposed to be as good, but there’s something enjoyable sometimes about playing games which are so “low effort” (well apart from the bloody QTEs.)

Final Thought: I wrote about Supermassive Games’ Hidden Agenda six years ago and gave it an absolute kicking–a game which I did play with a group. Should have played Until Dawn back then instead…

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[sublime-beyond-loss]

A Long, Interminable Ramble About The Act Of Continuing To Run These Keeping The Narrator Company Livestreams

Something I've been trying to address within myself and finally puzzle out why I feel the exact way that I do is the question of why I feel so foolish for doing these streams, despite enjoying it, and despite being told multiple times by more than one person that they find the act of me doing this inspiring.

I think I might have finally managed to pinpoint the cause and put it into words. I typed all of this up in chat not too long ago, but I wanted to put it out in a slightly more permanent form that won't get so easily lost in the shuffle of the chat.

If it wasn't painfully obvious by now, I deeply admire TSP, but I'm also terrified of it. It sparks the imagination in me like no other and yet I also view it as a deeply cynical, deeply depressing game, and I always feel like I'm just waiting for that cynical shoe to drop and rob me of this joyful spark that's inspired me to create all of these amateur works of mine.

To me, Ultra Deluxe feels like a far more subtle and insidious escalation of the player VS dev violence of the OG game. You are forced to put the narrator through something far worse than the zending and real person ending combined. Something that I consider to be easily the most profound act of cruelty a game has ever forced me to commit, to the point that the only answer I could come up with to the moral dilemma it may or may not pose is to sit in the skip button room forever, refusing to press it even though the game wasn't programmed to acknowledge that choice.

There is inevitably a lot of embarrassment within myself for doing this, because at the end of the day literally all I'm doing is running down the lifespan of my PS4 for no in-game benefit. I've become less insecure about the act of doing this, but that lingering feeling of foolishness is inevitable. Still, I came to realize something over the course of doing this. I could watch a million movies or read a million books about a character meeting a fate worse than death, but only through the interactive medium of video games could someone like me go 'oh, hell naw!' to being forced to put a character through a fate worse than death and decide that I'd rather try to live that experience out with him, even if the outcome cannot be changed. No book or movie could allow me to turn that into a communal activity like the act of streaming this has become.

To continue with my point about player VS dev violence, what follows after is the bucket, and while I personally find the wacky antics of the bucket endings fun and fulfilling in their own right, especially in what they may or may not imply about the narrator as a character, they are seemingly meant to feel like an unfulfilling FU to those who wanted more OG TSP out of UD and thus the discontent from a lot of people who played it.

This all accumulates in the epilogue. While the figurine ending at least seems to give a nice end point to the narrator as a character and for the player to call it quits, the epilogue throws something entirely different in your face and comes off as a final sort of FU as seemingly an end point to the player VS dev violence where you both have ripped yourself to pieces until literally nothing is left. It seemingly ends on a point where the devs have reached total creative destruction and the player themselves is left with nothing but to keep making more soulless content in their place. Thus why it all feels so hopeless and cynical.

And that's probably why I feel so deeply insecure about engaging with this game on this level. I feel as if I've willfully allowed myself to become the butt of some secret joke, and despite the fun and creative joy I get out of it, it feels as if it is only a matter of time before the cynical shoe drops because there was never any hope. I only project hope onto this game.

Depending on how the person viewing the stream themselves view TSP, they can see it as an act of hope and defiance, or they see all of the stuff TSP says about getting too caught up in it and that the best action is to not play it at all and they see someone making an absolute fool of themselves and 'fail' at playing TSP in a profoundly embarrassing long-form content sort of way. Can ya tell why that might make me feel a bit insecure and embarrassed?

Knowing that there are no objective answers to TSP, only questions, mystery, and nonsense, I have been working on trying to let 'MY' truth stand without letting anyone else and their interpretations dictate my own or destroy it, but that can be hard by the mere nature of what I'm doing.

Ironically, you can kind of see the evolution of my thought process about the player/dev relationship through my work, or more like the audience/storyteller relationship. For the longest time I though that the ultimate goal should be for Stanley and the narrator to find freedom away from each other because they seem so inherently toxic to each other, with there maybe being the hope that they can come together again someday in a more healthy way. That was what my first two TSP fics dealt with.

These days I see them more as two halves of the same whole, and for them to try and get away from each other is to deny a fundamental part of themselves. They fall apart not because their butting heads rips each other apart, but because they view it as an act of trying to escape the other, which only leads to a creatively dead land of utter isolation. I see their push and pull not as inherently toxic, but the creative process of being inspired by one another. Thus my newest TSP fic, On The Nature Of Infinity.

And ironically, despite my views shifting over time, that does not necessarily make the two Fate Of The Narrator fics of mine no longer 'canonical' to my current view of TSP. The whole point of those two stories was a reparation of the relationship between audience and author by the author functionally becoming the protagonist of the story for a little while. It ended with the narrator heading off to find Stanley again so that they hopefully can come together again in a far more kinder manner.

And what is the act of these streams if not exactly that? A willingness to be playful with this game in a completely unexpected way the devs didn't even account for. Being inspired and hopefully generating more creative inspiration through the act of doing something so absurd. The problem is, as always, I don't know the true authorial intent behind any of this, and the game is so deeply cynical at its core that where I view it as creatively butting heads with this game and what it presents, I can also see the devs silently watching all of this from the shadows and having a good laugh at this idiot. Thus that feeling like the shoe could drop at any moment, and in that very TSP way, instead of it being a creative butting of heads, it is in actuality still a destruction of creativity where something will happen and all of this creative energy of mine is destroyed just as violently as the epilogue seems to imply that is the case for the devs.

Thus why I keep saying I cannot imagine the game having any response to any of this but a mocking one. Regardless, I'm glad for the non-TSP related inspiration and encouragement these streams have generated. It means the time I've shaved off of my PS4's lifespan has not been in vain lol.

I guess it is a very narrator-like thing to be paralyzed by the choices you can make, but unlike him, I made the choice to do this thing despite the conflicting feelings it causes for me in not knowing if I'm doing something of value or just making myself look like an idiot.

And I should note that I do not view running these streams as a burden. I would not be doing this at all if I did not enjoy doing it. The act of doing this keeps me in a creative headspace. Thus you get things like the skip button room cat cam lmao.

And since the topic occasionally comes up, I really don't want anyone bothering the devs about these streams. It sounds like they want to move on from TSP and these streams could very easily come off as a subtle badgering of them to keep making more new TSP. Would I love for them to go back and add something for waiting in the skip button room? Of course. But I also respect their artistic intent and the fact that I don't know the actual thought process that went into any of this. I mean no disrespect in doing this nor am I trying to bulldoze over the actual artistic intent of this thing with my own.

Thus, I really don't want anyone badgering them to take note of this stream or change the skip button ending merely because I'm doing this stream. These are the people that have literal real world callout posts in their game in the form of stuff like the Raphael trailer and motherfucking Cookie9, so I would very much enjoy it if I did not to end up in that pantheon because the act of doing these streams caused people to annoy them so much they, I dunno, drop a patch personally calling me an idiot or something lol. I'm a literal nobody and I'd like to stay that way than end up acknowledged in such a way that feeds into the deep cynicism that runs through the game.

[satoshi-mochida]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak coming west in summer 2024 for PS5, PS4, Switch, and PC

Gematsu Source

NIS America will release The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam in summer 2024 in the west, the publisher announced. It will feature English and Japanese audio options, and English text.

Known as The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki in Japan, The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak first launched for PlayStation 4 on September 30, 2021 in Japan and Asia, followed by PlayStation 5 on July 28, 2022. A PC version was released via Steam on the same date in Asia.

Pre-orders for the Collector’s Edition are available now via NIS America Online Store for $99.99, which includes a copy of the game, mini art book, digital soundtrack, hardcover art book, one-disc digipak soundtrack, business card case, movie poster art card set, and a collector’s with “Oct-Genesis” outer sleeve.

Here is an overview of the game, via NIS America:

About

In the aftermath of a brief war, Calvard is enjoying unprecedented economic prosperity. However, the public grows uncertain as the number of immigrants increases and questionable political reform runs rampant. Follow the spriggan Van Arkride on a unique request that will prove more than he bargained for. Will the nation fall into chaos?

The Story So Far…

The spriggan’s life is but one of many professions that has emerged from the Calvard Republic. Be it playing detective, negotiator, or bounty hunter, Van Arkride takes on the kind of work that legitimate sources can’t accept. Whether it’s best left out of the public eye or rooted in the dark corners of the underworld, almost any job is open for consideration. The year is S.1208. A prim-and-proper young lady dressed in the uniform of an esteemed academy visits a rundown multi-tenant building in the Old Town district of Edith, the nation’s capital. With a most dignified gaze, she looks upon the plaque of the door before her. It reads: ‘ARKRIDE Solutions Office: Complicated Matters Only.’ Steeling herself, she knocks on the door three times. “First thing in the morning…?” a relaxed yet surprisingly young voice grumbles with a yawn. From the moment he opens the door to greet her, a new tale begins.

Key Features

A Case in Calvard – Follow the spriggan known as Van Arkride as he takes on a case that will change the nation’s fate…as well as his own. Explore the reaches of the Calvard Republic while immersing yourself in a rich story filled with action and intrigue.

Spriggan to Action – Transition seamlessly between action field battles and turn-based combat with the revamped AT (Action Time) Battle system, and expand your arsenal with new Shard Skills, courtesy of the sixth-generation combat orbment, Xipha.

Between Law and Chaos – Under the Alignment system, your choices and actions affect how your story unfolds. Your propensity towards Law, Chaos, and the shades in-between can influence your status in the city, who will ally with or oppose you, and even what jobs and dialogue options are available to you.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

Top underrated/underappreciated videogames?

This is an AWESOME ask, and even though I'm a terrible judge of what's considered underrated; let me SEE.

IN no particular order:

1. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords for PS2.

Developer: DS3 Publisher

Release: 13th November 2007 (I was 16, fun fact!)

Wikipedia Summary:

Nate's Play:

 I played the game a lot in high school. It's far more addictive than it initially appears. While I forget who my character was, if I find the right save space and memory card, I'll take some photos and add them to the post. I remember more than one insomnia night filled with my tiny CRT tv and PS2 with the lowest volume possible while playing this for hours. Granted, I only had like, 4 games as it was, but I'm pretty sure I purchased this game at Future Shop myself. Which does not even exist anymore.

Rest in Peace, Future Shop. (1982-2015). You might've merged with Best Buy, but you were to good for them.

As a result, this game was one of those things associated with incredibly specific memories and long nights accompanying my lonely teenage self.

Life happened, and then maybe just over a decade later, I booted it back up, found my character and completed the game entirely. As if years of not playing it hadn't mattered at all.

Maybe you're not underrated, Puzzle Quest. But you're special to me.

Although it seems the UK got the cooler cover!

Version I got.

UK Version.

And look! My real copy!

I post this on 'Rate My Set Up' and get roasted into oblivion.

And look more! My characters! I have 2 more but Tumblr is being ridiculous.

Achroma here is who I beat the game with, be nice to him <3

2. Choice of Games and Hosted Games

Developer: Various Independent Developers

Platform: Mobile

Release: On-going, continual.

Nate’s Play:

Yes, I’m talking about *gasp* mobile games here. But they are I’m told also available on Steam.

These two platforms are host to text-based choose your own adventure games that I am very fond of. Some I have more fun with than others, some I was disappointed by, and some I don’t like at all. But they’re from a variety of creators, engaging and entertaining. Some also include art now.

My Library in Choice of Games

My Library in Hosted Games

If you enjoy reading, character creation and something without a lot of hassle, I highly recommend these. While most are free to play (with ads) I tend to purchase the ones I like. Not one of them has ever been pricier than 12 dollars. Well worth it, in my opinion.

3.  Yakuza: Dead Souls (Ryu ga Gotoku of the End)

Developer: RGG Studios. Sega

Platform: PS3

Release:  9th June, 2011 (Japan, 2012 in NA and EU)

Fandom Wiki Summary:

Nate’s Play

Look, it’s not underrated in the fandom, and the controls are a hot mess. But the game gives you so much GREATNESS that it’s so hard not to just have fun with.

Ryuji is back with a GATLING GUN ARM AND A TAKOYAKI STAND.

Majima reacts to the Zombie apocalypse by having the time of his life.

AKIYAMA LOOKS LIKE THIS

credit: @essence-of-armbarring

and LAUNCHES THE BAD GUY INTO THE ZOMBIE PIT FROM A HELICOPTER

Haruka is cute and sweet, the game has it’s own unique cast members never seen in the main series and is just a wild ride the whole time.

THE GAME BROUGHT HANA CHAN BACK (Links to gifset)

KIRYU GETS A GUN THAT FUCKIN LOOKS LIKE AN ANTI MATERIAL RIFLE

DAIGO at, pretty much all times let’s be honest here.

Does a zombie apocalypse in my crime game make sense? No? Do I care? Not a lick. It’s a fun, wild ride. And it brought Ryuji back, I need to do a replay.

The only Yakuza game where the characters adopt Daigo’s idea of ‘fuck it, we all get guns’ ideology (Kiryu does take an entire third of the game before deciding ‘kill the zombies’ is acceptable tho, so that’s in character) and shoot.

4. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Developer: Frogwares Ireland Ltd

Platform: PS4

Release: 2014

PS Store Summary:

Nate’s Play:

I downloaded and bought this on a deep seated craving need for a mystery game (I love those so much guys pls rec mystery games). Might not be a master class in development and it did end up with the occasional glitch from time to time but I had a good time playing it.

It’s not the most perfect game, but it wasn’t taxing, the puzzles were varied and engaging and I had a good time with it.

Could’ve run a bit smoother over all, but it never ruined the games for me and I enjoyed my time playing.

5. I can’t think of anything now so I’m going to flip this and go on a random rant about Vampire the Masquerades single player games.

I am aware that the series began as a TTRPG and maybe it’s better when played that way, but I’ve played a few of the single player versions in the app I mentioned above (Choice of Games) and I purchased *but disliked* the PS4 versions. Not ‘disiked’ as in ‘the worst games ever’ but in the ‘after each one of these I am largely disappointed and Swansong was so full of glitches it became unplayable and whydidIspend70bucksonthis ANYWAY

It’s odd to me that a series so about embracing the fun of being a vampire just..does not enjoy doing that? I understand the Camarilla and how you’re meant to be discrete and the entire concept being fly under the radar, or question the corrupt overarching power house but I every one of the VtM games I’ve payed through hasn’t really made that..engaging?

You have some *limited* choices, and you feel actively punished for being a vampire even if you never choose to do anything ‘exciting’ and obey your cloaked overlords. I’ve tried versions of playing as the outcast or rogue groups, but the games never seem to allow for me getting as..idk, vampiric or brutal as I might want? I’m a creature of the night. I don’t want to attend bureaucratic nonsense I want to have fun being a morally questionable blood sucker.

ANYWHO, I thank you for this awesome ask and I am (ok not really) sorry it got so long and rambling!

[connorinabeanie]

Are there more games like Heavy Rain and Detroit Become Human that you can recommend? I'm not much of a gamer, just got myself a PS4 for distraction, but I really enjoyed those two games.

Hi! Also sorry for the delay on this one too omg I never get asks and then I get two at a time when I wasn't doing fandom stuff for a bit pffff ♥

BUT YES, I do have at least one major recommendation: Until Dawn. It's a PS4 exclusive so it's perfect that you're looking for PS4 games. UD was the first of the big choice-based story games that I played (before DBH, and definitely before Heavy Rain) but it's in a similar style, where it's mainly wandering around, making choices, and then doing QTEs in action scene. Supermassive handles their QTEs and choices slightly differently from Quantic Dream, but they're similar enough that you shouldn't have much trouble getting used to them if you've tried DBH and/or HR.

Without being spoilery, I do have to say that UD is a horror game, so it's much more violent and there's graphic blood, gore, etc. It's set up to play with horror tropes, so knowing that going in is helpful in terms of understanding why the characters might be acting like idiots (but they're a lot deeper than they seem and develop in interesting ways.) Choices don't matter quite as much as DBH and HR, but they do have an impact and you're in real danger of characters dying, so there's high stakes.

If you do like UD, Supermassive has several more games and I think a lot of them are available on PS4 (House of Ashes is my favorite of their other games, and leans more toward action than horror if you're not big on horror, but opinions vary person to person on which games from Supermassive' catalog are better than others.)

Outside of Supermassive and Quantic Dream I haven't played too many story games and I'm not totally sure what's available on what platforms. However, I've heard really good things about Life is Strange, I know people like Telltale's games even though the choices aspect is generally considered to not be that strong, and I've heard Oxenfree is fantastic and I really need to play it.

I hope this helps!

[dgcatanisiri]

I do wish that the Keep as it exists online were something they were importing into Veilguard, though. Like I do understand that there are limitations and I approve of trying to keep as offline as possible, but it does kinda feel like isolating Veilguard from the consequences of the choices we've made before.

I also do understand that, by having Veilguard happen in Tevinter, we are seeing these characters separated from the world of Thedas we've interacted with before, and that the next game or even DLC may have a different way of handling this as well, since the Keep was supposed to have been how we were "carrying forward the story of prior games" when the 360/PS3 generation switched to Xbox1/PS4, and now it's been sidelined - I mean, I fully expect that any DLC might easily add a few more consequential decisions into matters, so we're not gonna be totally disconnected or anything.

Still, I think this is all just a consequence FOR BIOWARE around things for the franchise. The more variables that they enabled for the players to choose from in each game, the more they as writers were having to keep track - I mean, part of the reason that we haven't spent so much on dwarven matters HAS to be that Harrowmont and Bhelen are such different rulers, that to address anything involved in Orzrammar means MANY different characters would be in different positions. It's like how Ashley and Kaidan are confined in ME3 as a result of the Virmire decision, where in ME1, they were narrative reflections of Paragon and Renegade stances, but, with one of them no longer around come ME3, they're just kinda THERE in narrative terms, since their storylines basically end once they rejoin the Normandy crew. It's the same thing with much in Thedas.

As much as we WANT to change the world in Dragon Age, we're constrained by the fact that only so much variation can even happen in the games to keep things going - We don't get the real consequences of the mage-templar war because WHOEVER was the 'winner' of that conflict leads to major changes between each variation. Same with the variable identities of Divine Victoria. Thedas is really hard to write for when more and more of these choices and variations pile on top of one another. So I GET the issue BioWare was facing in this choice, and honestly why they chose to limit things down to the small number they did for Veilguard.

It's still disappointing, considering how much we want to see our choices reflected, but I do UNDERSTAND why they limited things like they are.

[oswednesday]

imo what i think happened is that they focused the development time on making sure the game would run stable and look good and have all the mechanics (and failsafes fdfd) work in the ps4 like putting the routing of the plots on the backburner doing just like the bare minimum (which is still A Lot of work!) to make sure the quests can be completed no matter the choices made in the overworld, which is like a very gameplay over story choice : / like from my understanding of fromsoft dlcs for dark souls its likely going to be a single area that adds on to the existing story but in my wildest dream the dlc makes the routing complex

[rotkgame]

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