#brace yourself games

[black-klok-youth-pastor]

Sadly not sure how likely this would be not just because of [adult swim] games shutting down ,but WB Games would probably be like “buT WheRE’s thE LiVe SErvICe FEatURes?!!”. So I guess anybody want to collab to at least make a sick mod? /hj

[sharplimeade]

Cadence of Hyrule is actually amazing like they reached out to Nintendo and were like:

hey can we use some Zelda stuff for a dlc

and Nintendo was like :

let's make new Zelda game together

that's so incredibly amazing actually I need to do something of this caliber

[mememan93]

Brace yourself games' discord server has Bolt as the symbol for they/them and chaunter as the symbol for ask me. This means bolt is NonBinary and Chaunter is genderfluid and uses neopronouns. To me

[nester-the-lark]

Hatsune Miku has entered the Crypt!

[everygame]

Cobalt Core  Developed/Published by: Rocket Rat Games / Brace Yourself Games Released: 08/11/2023 Completed: 17/01/2024 Completion: I’ve beaten it six times including once without using the starting three characters.

Slay The Spire is great, isn’t it? I mean you could basically play it forever. Except… I stopped because I felt like–at least for me–I had to play it focusing on defense, and after beating it a few times it just started to feel samey. With well over a year since I last touched it I’m wondering if I was being a bit unfair on it–I mean I played it for so long it’s like those Steam review that are like “140 hours, I got bored, 1 star”. But let’s imagine there was a roguelike-like deckbuilder where you could dodge instead of just putting it all into block.

Hang on!!! We don’t have to imagine! Because here’s Cobalt Core!

Cobalt Core takes Slay The Spire’s metagame–by which I mean the entire thing where you do three branching levels experiencing events, fighting normal enemies and bosses and collecting or removing cards from your deck and getting passive powers via artifacts and that–exactly and throws it onto an actually rather more complex card game set up. Instead of selecting one character, you now select three (each with their own selection of cards) and a space ship (which provides its own playstyle quirks) and then in each battle you’ve got more to think about than just playing your cards. You also have to think about your ship’s positioning, because you can move it to either avoid damage or make sure that you’re hitting your opponent. Actually I suppose you still do that by playing cards.

This is a really fun change, and it also makes things even more complex than they already were. Not only do you now need to think about how much damage you’re putting out on a turn and how much defense (in this case, shields), you now need to think about how much movement your are gaining, or spending, and where that means your ship will be or needs to be. And in turn you do this with a deck that’s made up of cards from three characters whose abilities can be wildly different making adding new cards to your deck a minefield of potential combos and non-bos.

To start with, it’s totally overwhelming, with every screen packed with information. Then it suddenly clicks (probably quicker, much quicker, if you’re an old hand with Slay The Spire) and it becomes super fun. You feel powerful, in control and it starts to feel a bit… easy?

Then you pick a new character and it’s frustrating and confusing again. Then it’s fun! And… a bit easy?

Basically, you’ll continue this loop as long as you like, and something nice about the game is that it’s not particularly bothered about you playing it on progressively harder difficulties or anything (unless you really want an achievement or whatever) so you actually can choose a level where it’s not as easy, or you can just not bother.

Where it falls down a bit for me is that it’s got a really cute narrative with excellently written characters, and I liked it a lot, but to unlock the “true” ending you have to beat the game 18 times. It’s simply… too many times! Being able to do it on the easiest difficulty helps, I guess, but then that just ends up being a grind, and if you’re like me and played the game multiple times over with one character failing every time till you got a handle on them/got the right drops, that means a lot of time spent playing this. And the more I played it the more I felt like I hit the same issue I had with Slay The Spire. The game makes healing so rare that even though you can move to avoid getting hit, it’s still so hard to avoid getting hit you still need to put a lot of focus on defense. To the point that the character with defense is probably the best one in the game (and the one with movement is a close second.) So I guess the change here wasn’t enough, and just like Slay The Spire I started to find this too samey.

But just like Slay The Spire you’ll play this for so long until you find it samey that it positively feels churlish to say so. If you can get through the initial complexity you’ll have a great time. Just don’t feel you need to see the true ending, I guess.

Will I ever play it again? Well, after I wrote most of this I actually decided I fancied seeing if I could beat this on the hardest difficulty, and after a couple of runs I did and I had fun as well! So there’s something still oddly moreish about this, even though I’m intent to put it down for good.

Final Thought: Something I must say is that it may simply be in the nature of these kinds of roguelike-likes that you will always have to concentrate on defense somewhat because a single death is, well, the end of the game. It’s like how if you chose to play Doom or whatever with a single life suddenly the way you play it changes completely. In basically everything else I love to play glass cannons–games where you die and reload–and it may simply be a case of horses for courses. Every time I have to choose a boring-ass card with shields on it rather than the one that’s like “do loads of damage” I slightly die inside, but maybe that’s not you. Maybe you’re boring!!! I mean… maybe my complaint doesn’t hold water with you because you accept that bit of the design. Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi! You can pick up a digital copy of exp. 2600, a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.

[steamsalenotifier]

Crypt of the NecroDancer is currently on sale until April 13th!

There are also a couple of related bundles* and DLC on sale, so if you're interested be sure to check it out before the discount expires!

*disclaimer- Dwarf Fortress does Not currently have a discount, as of me writing this post. It is only discounted through the bundle shown above.

[gamemories]

[linuxgamenews]

Crypt of the NecroDancer gets a big update and changes

SYNCHRONY update offers big changes for Crypt of the NecroDancer hardcore roguelike game on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the tireless ingenuity of developer Brace Yourself Games's. Which is available on Steam, GOG, and Humble Store. The recent update for Crypt of the NecroDancer called SYNCHRONY, has a lot of new features and changes. One of the new features is a game mode, Ensemble Mode. In this mode, you have to complete all the levels, but each level you play as a different character. Mind you, you do get to pick which character you want to play as for each level. Any items you find will carry over to the next level. Thanks to SYNCHRONY, there are also new achievements you can earn in the game. Such as completing all the levels in Ensemble Mode. Or playing through the game on Linux with all four main characters at once in co-op mode. There are also new challenges, like trying to beat the first level of the game in double time with a specific character. The SYNCHRONY update also includes some balance changes to the game. For example, some items have been added to certain characters' pools. While others have been removed. Some items have also had their prices changed. So Linux players will need to save up more or less gold to buy them.

Crypt of the NecroDancer Launch Trailer

There's also been a rework of the Charm Spell in SYNCHRONY. In the past, this spell allowed you to temporarily control an enemy, but now it permanently turns them into a pet. Which follows you around from level to level. Pets can help you attack enemies and earn coins, and you can even charm shopkeepers. Due to make all their future shops empty. The Charm Spell has also had some other changes, like affecting monsters within a larger radius and allowing you to heal your pets.

SYNCHRONY Extra Mode:

Finally, there's a new extra mode called Friendly Fire. In this mode, you and your friends can accidentally hit each other with your weapons. So you'll need to be careful when fighting together. There's a safe zone around your starting point where you can't hit each other though. That's a brief overview of the new SYNCHRONY update to Crypt of the NecroDancer. There are lots of other changes and fixes included, so make sure to check out the full details. If you're eager to play the game, its available on Steam and Humble Store. Priced at $14.99 USD / £12.79 / 14,79€. Discounted 80% on GOG. Along with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC.

[hardcoregamer]

Godless Could Be a Heavenly Delight for Strategy Fans

Playing as a god, your goal is simple: wipe out as much of humankind as possible. Sounds easy! Okay, to clarify further, you’re a sole survive god due to the fact that those pesky mortals have been killing off the rest of your kind, so you might be a wee bit justified in wanting revenge on the god-killers.

Read more!

[vvnhuang]

Some holiday social illustrations I did at Brace Yourself Games.

[gamesinorbit]

10 must-play indie games on Nintendo Switch

Discover hidden indie treasures on the Nintendo Switch! These games may have slipped past your radar, but they're as deserving of attention as the all-time favorites.

Some indie games become so famous that they end up appearing on every list of best games for a console—Shovel Knight, Rocket League, Hollow Knight, among others, are already etched in the memory of any gamer. With this list, we aim to introduce some games that may have flown under the radar or that you may not know have been released for the Nintendo Switch, but deserve as much attention as any…

[black-klok-youth-pastor]

Showcase of my custom Crypt of the Necrodancer X Metalocalypse soundtrack.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

last of us tv adaption decided to make a Gay Romance For The Ages out of a Gay Pettiness Subplot and i respect that sm 💘but PLEASE recognize both r valid

[knightscanfeeltoo]

I don't think Anyone is Prepared when Bridget came back in Guilty Gear Strive...

(i thought that meme is from the lord of the rings but nah, game of thrones...)

[nester-the-lark]

I'm really excited that Rift of the NecroDancer is officially confirmed for Switch!

Especially since my NecroDancer folder looks kinda empty.

[why-rock-look-tasty-if-no-eat]