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JOIN THE CRUSADE! PATHFINDER: WRATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS COMES TO CONSOLES ON 29 SEPTEMBER

Philip Federico
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Third premium DLC coming to PC on 11 August 2022

Cyprus, Nicosia 14 July 2022: Owlcat Games and Prime Matter are pleased to announce that the multi award-winning, critically-acclaimed Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is coming to consoles on 29 September 2022. 

The epic RPG will be available on both physical and digital formats for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S via backward compatibility); as well as Nintendo Switch via the Cloud.

The Enhanced Edition of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous will become the standard version for the console release, and also will be available for all PC owners of the game on 29 September for free. 

The Treasure of the Midnight Isles DLCIn addition to the eagerly-anticipated console announcement, Owlcat Games also confirmed that The Treasure of the Midnight Isles—the third premium DLC for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous—will launch 11 August 2022. The islands—scattered across the dark abyssal ocean—hide treasures untold (and horrors unspeakable). Board the grim cursed ship and venture into the unknown to find your fortune… or demise.

  • Explore the vast archipelago full of treasures and dangers in a stand-alone rogue-like mode, or as a part of the main campaign
  • Try out different builds and party compositions, taking advantage of the enormous variety of the Pathfinder role-playing system – including the mythic paths
  • Death is just a setback! If a party perishes, its progress can still help you in subsequent playthroughs
  • Equip new magic weapons, put new magic potions and scrolls on your belt, and challenge both old and new enemies
  • Discover the secret of the ship that takes you on your journeys – and the truth about the ultimate treasure you’re seeking

Prepare for your trip to the Midnight Isles with a 50% discount for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous in the Epic Games Store Summer Sale. Also, the Mythic Edition and Commander Edition are available at a 45% discount. The Epic Games Store Summer Sale starts today and ends 28 July 2022.

About Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Embark on a journey to a realm overrun by demons in an epic RPG from the creators of the critically acclaimed Pathfinder: Kingmaker, and based on Paizo Publishing’s tabletop Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Explore the nature of good and evil, learn the true cost of power, and rise as a Mythic Hero capable of deeds beyond mortal expectations.

The realm of Sarkoris was destroyed when Areelu Vorlesh, a scholar and practitioner of forbidden magics, opened a rift to the abyssal planes of existence, and hordes of demons invaded the world of Golarion. Led by the evil Demon Lords Deskari and Baphomet, the abyssal forces crushed all who stood against them, turning Sarkoris into a demon‑infested land now known as the Worldwound. Join the Crusade against the demonic invasion and rise as a new hero wielding unimaginable powers in this classic cRPG. The fate of this world lies in your hands.

About Owlcat Games

Owlcat Games is a team of developers united by a love of RPGs. From our beginnings as a small group of games industry veterans obsessed with the idea of making our dream games a reality, we have grown into a truly international company, with our headquarters in Cyprus and more than 120 employees spread across offices in various countries. We are continuing to expand and take on new hires from around the world, and we also get together every week to play tabletop games in the office and on Roll20 online.

About META Publishing

META Publishing is a rising video game label powered by industry veterans and gaming enthusiasts worldwide. We do not only publish games but create unique relations between the game and the players. With love and passion for games, we cater to developers’ needs and help them make each game shine!

About Prime Matter

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Prime Matter is the premium gaming label dedicated to delivering a range of diverse and immersive games from amazing game development talent all around the globe. Working across projects of all styles, scopes and sizes, single-player, co-op to live ops, from producing to publishing, from ambitious teams taking their first step that need full support without compromising their dream to larger established successful studios searching that next step in the global market and building of brands. Prime Matter looks to lead through creativity, expression and passion, with games that will grip and enchant with enthralling story-telling, winning an audience with its incredible moments and larger-than-life experiences. Prime Matter is a proud member of the Koch Media Group.

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

KARTRIDER RUSH+ ROLLS OUT SEASON 14 WYLDWOOD UPDATE

Philip Federico
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KARTRIDER RUSH+ ROLLS OUT SEASON 14 WYLDWOOD UPDATE

Special legendary karts, new player mode and player events kick off this month

SEOUL – July 14, 2022 – Fans of the fun mobile racing game KartRider Rush+can play the game’s Season 14 “Wyldwood” update starting today. The new season will take players to “Wyldwood,” the forest of dreams. Legendary karts will be released including hybrid kart “Scary Bear” and speed kart “Tiger.”  New themed racers will take the track too including “Wolf Bazzi” and “Deer Dao.” Plus, thrilling “Wyldwood” themed tracks such as “Rickety Bridge (Wyldwood)” will be released, challenging racers to weave their way through wild obstacles to win first place.

Watch ‘Wyldwood’ Breaking News

Season 14’s highlight kart “Plasma GT” was recently revealed on Nexon’s official YouTube channel, showcasing its thrilling speed and explosive energy.

Season 14 ‘Wyldwood’ Trailer:

Nexon also unveiled new game mode “Simulation Mode” where players can assemble their dream team and compete with other players. It requires strategic decisions as players allocate appropriate karts and characters for each position.

Plasma GT Trailer:

In celebration of the update, player events will be added that will offer many rewards. Players can obtain “300 Batteries” for free when they participate in five multiplayer races every week until Sunday, Aug. 7. Additionally, players can exchange “Wyldwood Guardian,” and Epic graded kart “Minekart(perm)” and more upon collecting Wyldwood Shard after completing various missions until Thursday, Aug. 18.

You can get more detailed information on KartRider Rush+ and the new “Wyldwood” season on the official website.

About NEXON Co. Ltd.
Founded in 1994, NEXON Co., Ltd. (Nexon) (3659.TO) is a company engaged in the production, development and operation of online games and Virtual Worlds. First listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December 2011, Nexon was placed on JPX400 in 2015 and added to the Nikkei Stock Index 300 in 2017. In 2020, Nexon was added to the Nikkei 225. Nexon currently has more than 50 live games on multiple platforms including mobile and available in more than 190 countries. Major game franchises include MapleStory, KartRider and Dungeon&Fighter.

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Fish Like a Pixel Pro With the Bassmaster Fishing 2022 “Pixel Pro Pack” Cosmetic DLC, Now Available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Consoles

Philip Federico
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Dovetail Games, developer and publisher of authentic sports simulation titles, released the “Pixel Pro Pack” for Bassmaster® Fishing 2022, launching on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One/Xbox One X, and Windows PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. The “Pixel Pro Pack” is now available for owners of the “Retro Cosmetic Season Pass”, available for a MSRP of $10.99/€9.99/£7.99, and includes both the “Synthwave Cosmetic Pack” released in June as well as the upcoming “Throwback B.A.S.S.® Pack” releasing in August. Separately, the “Pixel Pro Pack” is available for $5.99/€4.99/£3.99 individually and will be available to non-Season Pass holders on July 21.

Anglers can now sport their favorite Bassmaster® Elite Series™ Pro Anglers, such as cover star Scott Martin, on their clothing with a host of retro items such as the Pixel Pro T-Shirt, bucket hat and pants. Two tiers of Mastery challenges will have anglers conquer unique tasks on the water to unlock the brand-new Pixel Pro Sneakers to complete their look. To complement their new outfit, an original boat wrap featuring the full lineup of Bassmaster® Elite Series™ Pro Anglers, pixel art inspired Bassmaster® Fishing 2022 logo, and emissive light up strips has been added to amaze and dazzle their fellow anglers.

“Retro Cosmetic Pack Season Pass” owners can also look forward to the release of the Throwback B.A.S.S.® Pack in August, bringing the old school B.A.S.S.® look to the game. The Pack will introduce a variety of vintage Bassmaster® designs and badge patches spanning the groovy 70’s, radical 80’s, and extreme 90’s. The publisher will reveal additional details about the final DLC bundle when it launches in August.

Bassmaster® Fishing 2022 was released on Oct. 28, 2021, in North America and Europe on the PS5™, PS4™ system, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One/Xbox One X, Windows PC via Steam, and Xbox Game Pass. The game is also now available on Nintendo Switch™ via the Bassmaster® Fishing 2022 – Super Deluxe Edition, which released on June 23, 2022. The game is rated “E for Everyone” by the ESRB. For regular updates on additional content coming post-launch, please visit www.bassmasterthegame.com.

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Community-Driven Football Management Simulator Soccer Manager Elite Rebrands As Soccerverse 

Philip Federico
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Community-Driven Football Management Simulator Soccer Manager Elite Rebrands As Soccerverse 

Freshly Unveiled Brand Adds Gaming Industry Veteran Andrew Gore To The Organization

London, UK – 14th July 2022 – London-based Soccer Manager Elite (SME), a Xaya blockchain-based massive multiplayer online soccer management game, has rebranded itself as Soccerverse, which will be developed under a separate legal entity titled Soccerverse Ltd. Soccerverse has added games industry veteran Andrew Gore to the team as part of its latest initiative.

Soccerverse is part football management game run in an entirely decentralized format on the blockchain and also a DeFi-oriented game where clubs and players form DAOs and fractionalized NFTs for participating gamers to hold shares. With those shares, gamers can propose and vote for club managers and player agents. 

With the new brand and legal entity, the team behind Soccerverse will be developing, guiding, and promoting the game in cooperation with its userbase and is currently focused on completing a fresh browser-based user interface for desktop, mobile, and tablet computers. Scheduled for late July, the launch of Beta 4 will see the game move from the Xaya blockchain onto the Polygon blockchain, where it will gain access to a large ecosystem of potential users. 

Commenting on the latest changes, Xaya Creative Lead and Soccerverse Co-Founder Andrew Colosimo notes, “What we’ve created with SME is lightyears ahead of what most people think of when it comes to blockchain games. Soccer Manager Elite simply doesn’t reflect what it is, or where we’re planning for it to go. Soccerverse is a much more suitable name.”  

Joining this fresh effort is Andrew Gore, an experienced veteran with over 20 years in the industry. Andrew commands over 20 years of industry experience developing video games and football management games, including titles such as FIFA, Need for Speed, Soccer Manager Worlds, the Soccer Manager series, and many others. Moreover, the company plans to engage in further talent acquisition over the coming months.

Per Andrew Gore, “I am excited to be rebuilding a decades-old battle-proven multiplayer manager game onto the blockchain and having the opportunity to do so with the blockchain gaming pioneers at Xaya.” Soccerverse’s Colosimo concludes, “We’re extremely excited to partner with Andy. You really couldn’t find anyone better. He’s the top expert in this field, and we’re fortunate to have him.” 

For more information and to view the current version of Soccerverse, visit the official website at https://soccerverse.io

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About Xaya

Xaya is a blockchain agnostic platform and SDK for creating fully decentralized, censorship-resistant, permissionless, and serverless video games and decentralized applications (dApps). It is fully open-source and free to use. 

About Soccerverse Ltd

Soccerverse Ltd. is dedicated to developing and promoting the Soccerverse blockchain game that was formerly known as Soccer Manager Elite (SME). This massive multiplayer online soccer management game is a community-driven project that leverages decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and decentralized finance (DeFi) to deliver gamers a unique, immersive experience.

From Amiga Demoscene to Your PC – the Retro Roots of VergeWorld

Philip Federico
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14 JULY 2022, WARSAW, POLAND – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Developers of the upcoming combat racer VergeWorld have shared a new Steam update about the retro beginnings of their game. You can see how the original fan-made Amiga demoscene project grew into a full-scale indie production coming to PC later this year

Arek Kwaśny wanted to fulfill the childhood dream of creating an Amiga game, a retro sci-fi project inspired by the likes of Rescue on Fractalus and After Burner. He began prototyping his sci-fi adventure game in Unity back in 2018 and later coded it into a working prototype for Amiga 1200.

After this demo, the developers from Bad Bones joined the project and started to push both the Amiga and Sega Genesis hardware to their limits. The game itself evolved from a static space opera into a more dynamic combat racer with story elements. By 2020, the team felt they could do more and appeal to a wider crowd, so they got back to working in Unity and started making a full-scale PC version. They redesigned and expanded every aspect of the game by adding roguelite mechanics, PSX-style 3D visuals, and more.

More details about the development and evolution of VergeWorld from the Amiga prototype to the current PC version can be found in the developer’s latest update on Steam. Both Amiga and Sega Genesis prototypes are also available to download and play for free, and the PC version has a playable demo on Steam.

VergeWorld will release on Steam and other PC storefronts in the fall of 2022. Console versions are planned for the future as well.

VergeWorld on Steam

Full development update on Steam

VergeWorld retro prototype (Amiga, Sega Genesis)

About Bad Bones

Established in 2017, Bad Bones is a small team of ambitious and experienced individuals who worked on games like the Amiga classic Cytadela, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, and The Witcher: Monster Slayer. Their aim is to combine elements of retro and modern games into a completely new fun and unique experience.

About Retrovibe

Retrovibe is a publisher that aims to unlock next levels of fun by delivering new indie games with a retro heart. It was established in 2021 by a group of experienced games industry professionals.

Apico Review

Jamie Laike Tsui
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Apico Review

Apico

Developer: TNgineers
Publisher: Whitethorn Games
Platform: Switch, Windows PC (Reviewed)
Release Date: 20 May 2022 (Windows PC), 7 July 2022 (Switch)
Price:  $19.99 USD/$28.95 AUD – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

Apico is a bee keeping game inspired by the mod Forestry for Minecraft. Players will step into the beekeepers suit to raise and crossbreed bees, discover long lost species, and rejuvenate the wild bee population.

Story

Apico follows the classic story set out by the Harvest Moon franchise where the player returns to the family business to bring it back from ruin. This time, it just happens to be bees. Lots of bees. The writing isn’t particularly deep as the relationship with other characters are transactional at best. What is there is decent, just be prepared for endless bee puns.

Gameplay

At its heart, Apico is a Mendelian genetic simulator mixed with a casual sandbox game. The pacing is relaxed as players are free to progress at their own pace. The player’s goal is to collect all the species of bees and plants available in the game by crossbreeding bees, who will then cross pollinate flowers and potentially produce hybrid seeds. The sandbox mechanics are very simple, allowing players to build and customize their own structures and harvest a small handful of resources needed to support beekeeping.

The game’s learning curve is not too steep. The game is very generous with hints and tips on what to do. Instead of forcing players to blindly experiment until they get the right combo, Apico is more concerned about having the player create the ideal circumstances to give themselves the highest chance for success. This means getting the right flowers, bee traits, and environment. I like this approach as it fits the game’s relaxed mentality well and cuts down on a lot of frustration.

There’s something joyous and a little addicting about playing Apico. Once I got a hang of crossbreeding bees with good stats and ideal traits and then churning out clones in my hives, I quickly found myself spiraling down a rabbit hole full of Punnett squares in the age-old quest to collect absolutely everything.

The gameplay loop is tactile, striking a good balance between realism and enjoyable gameplay. I love how machines need some sort of physical input from the player to run. Even the late game machines still require some input, even though it is significantly less work for the amount of outputted material. It goes a long way to impart a little bit of realism to the game.

The user experience is good, though there are a few areas that could use quality of life improvements. The mouse and keyboard controls offer a desktop like experience with multiple pop-up windows. Crafting menus are smart enough to pull items out of already open boxes, and it’s a pure joy to be working through multiple machines and boxes without having to run around and open each one at a time to shift around materials. It’s a UI layout that I hope catches on in more games. On the other hand, the sorting system isn’t the smartest thing in the world when multiple windows are open. It would be nice to get a more context aware sort system. For example, having the game automatically move a bee to the correct bee species box when multiple boxes are open would be a huge quality of life improvement.

The user experience is still very good, albeit more standard, for controller users. Things are a bit more stripped down in comparison which makes it a great alternative for players who find themselves a little overwhelmed by windows.

My biggest issue with the user experience is the lack of a UI zoom function. With a 1440 monitor, the text and the game graphics are a touch small. The ability to at least zoom in the UI by 50% would be a great addition.

The developers are taking a page from their Minecraft mod roots by providing a robust set of modding tools for players. While there’s already a decent amount of content in Apico, the growing list of mods offering new content and quality of life features stretches out the game’s life nicely.

Visuals

Apico offers a great visual style that has a cute, yet slightly serious aesthetic. The rounded square style and the more restrained colour palette gives the game a distinct flair. Almost all the bee species can be differentiated with a quick look, but a few could have their colour differences exaggerated a bit more, like the Verge and Forest bees.

Audio

The audio experience is relaxing. The sound effects are solid and very serviceable. The music is an enjoyable accompaniment that matches the laid-back pace of the game, but it only kicks in occasionally. There is an in-game jukebox with different records that can be purchased, but I would have liked to see an option to increase or decrease the regularity of when the default music kicks in.

Overall

While there isn’t much of a story, Apico delivers addictive gameplay that sneakily teaches players the basics of Mendelian genetics while they create the perfect bee habitat. There are some quality-of-life features that could be addressed, but these are the fixes that would turn a good game into a great one. Combined with the enjoyable audio-visual experience and growing mod scene, Apico is a solid indie game for people looking to relax and scratch that 100% collection impulse at their own pace.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Legends of Kingdom Rush Review

Jamie Laike Tsui
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Legends of Kingdom Rush Review

Legends of Kingdom Rush

Developer: Ironhide Game Studio
Publisher: Ironhide Game Studio
Platform: Mac, Windows
Release Date: 14 July 2022
Price:  $14.99 USD/$21.50 AUD – Available Here

Video Review

Overview

Ironhide Game Studio is continuing to branch out into new genres with their new rogue-lite tactical RPG Legends of Kingdom Rush. The new game brings back fan favourite characters the Kingdom Rush franchise for a humorous adventure to save the kingdom from an evil bent on destruction.

Story

Legends of Kingdom Rush is a little light on story like many rogue-lite titles. The plot is pushed forward by short comic-style cutscenes at the beginning of a run and smaller in-game chats ahead of combat. The writing is lighthearted and is heavily salted with some intentionally bad jokes. The bulk of the content is the narrative events that can happen during a run. Everything is well written, fun, and never takes itself too seriously.

Gameplay

Character progression is somewhere between a rogue-like and a rogue-lite. While characters do not get significantly more powerful as they’re used, they do unlock level two and three abilities to be used in battle. There is a cap on how powerful a character can get though, as each character is limited to one ability per tier. Once the first level three ability is unlocked, players are simply benefiting from flexibility. The flexibility is helpful though as players only select three out of four party members: one hero and two adventurers. The fourth and final adventurer will be randomly selected early in the run. Characters always start from level one at the beginning of each run and level up anew each time.

The character ability design is enjoyable. Each character has a clear theme, and many have interesting combo opportunities with other characters. Several characters also have creative and unique mechanics. Bruxa is probably my favourite as she stores the souls of fallen enemies in battle and spend the souls to beef up her abilities.

Legends of Kingdom Rush features turn based strategic combat, similar to games like XCOM. It’s extremely simple, forgoing a lot of common mechanics like side attacks in favour of a stripped-down experience that is easier to learn. The developer is likely trying to make an easy to learn, hard to master type game, but it is ruined by the poor game balance.  Player ranged units can be easily one shot by the more powerful enemy ranged units. Matters are made worse by the fact units who die in battle are revived with one less point of maximum health that can only be cured with an item. The game’s low movement speed slows down the game’s pacing significantly, especially for melee characters. Players are incentivized to simply stand their ground and let enemies come towards them while the player pokes at the enemy with their ranged units while the melee wait in reserve. A big part in solving the balancing issue will be to increase the amount of health the player has and scaling everything accordingly. This will give the developers a chance to do punishing amounts of damage but have more opportunity to prevent untimely one-shot kills. Another may be increasing the movement speed of melee units to three to allow them to close the gap more effectively.

The map design is a mixed bag. The boss fights are made well. The mechanics are creative, and the multi-stage battles are great fun. On the other hand, there are quite a few duds as well. An example is the Yeti mini-boss fight in the mountains. Players are usually relying on a bit of luck so the three yetis will clump close enough to the two explosive barrels that they’ll be able to do enough damage to kill one yeti so another can be crowd controlled safely.

It is clear the game was designed with tablet touch screens in mind as everything is controlled with a single mouse button click. There are some keyboard shortcuts to initiate a bound ability, but it still requires a mouse click to confirm the shortcut. It’s not much faster than using the mouse to do the exact same thing. To make matters worse, the confirm action button on the UI is not very responsive, as I ran into multiple occasions were trying to click the button resulted in the mouse clicking through the button and onto the tile underneath. The game is also in desperate need of a fast forward button so players can zip through often long enemy turns.

The UI is inconsistent. The close screen buttons are found in a variety of different locations depending on the menu. System menus use the traditional X at the top right corner. The hero menus have them in different locations on the bottom right of the screen, and most infuriatingly places a tutorial menu where the close window button traditionally sits.

Visuals

Legends of Kingdom Rush uses the same art style as their previous titles. It’s cute, lighthearted, and colourful.

Audio

The audio experience is good. The sound effects are solid. The music is an enjoyable accompaniment.  The voice acting is decent, but the quantity is extremely limited. An extra two or three lines per friendly unit would help.

Overall

Legends of Kingdom Rush is an unbalanced disappointment. The turtle-style tactics become dull quickly and are only interrupted by the odd final boss fight. While the character, audio, and visual design is enjoyable, the mediocre user experience hamstrings the game. Unless the developers are able to pull off a major rebalancing of the game, it’s hard to recommend Legends of Kingdom Rush to anyone other than die hard fans of the franchise.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

Legends of Kingdom Rush Gameplay

Philip Federico
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Legends of Kingdom Rush Gameplay

We’re breaking out of jail and taking down a village of aggressive orcs hellbent on destroying the forest in the first two adventures in Legends of Kingdom Rush.

RPG turn-based combat game with deep tactics and bad jokes! Do you have what it takes to save the kingdom?

Legends of Kingdom Rush
Developer: Ironhide Game Studio
Publisher: Ironhide Game Studio
Website: http://www.ironhidegames.com/
Platform: Windows
Release Date: 15 Jul, 2022
Price: $14.99 USD

Available now on Steam – https://store.steampowered.com/app/1904860/Legends_of_Kingdom_Rush/

Summary:

Not Recommended – “An unbalanced disappointment best left to die hard fans of the Kingdom Rush franchise.”

Check out our Review for Legends of Kingdom Rush here!

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Spidersaurs Review

Travis Bruno
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Spidersaurs Review

Spidersaurs

Developer: WayForward
Publisher: WayForward
Platforms: Switch, Xbox One, Playstation 4, PC, Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S (Reviewed)
Release Date: July 14, 2022
Price: $19.99 USD – Available Here

Overview

When it comes to WayForward players never quite know what they will be working on next. Their line-up of titles cover a wide range of unique titles and throwbacks to classic genres with modern elements. This includes the likes of River City Girls, the Shantae series, and even Contra 4 back in 2007 and now the team has taken their experience and created a strange mash-up of 80s/90s cartoon stylization with run-and-gun shooting in the form of Spidersaurs. Originally released as an Apple Arcade exclusive back in 2019 this shooter has arrived on modern platforms but has it made the jump well enough to be worthwhile?

Story

Set in a near future where solar flares and overpopulation have ruined the world’s food supply, a gene modification company known as InGest has taken the opportunity to solve the food shortage the best way they know how, by creating genetically modified food that can be grown in a lab. Of course any basic food would be boring so InGest went all out by mixing dinosaur DNA with that of insects to create Spidersaurs, an apparently delicious and dangerous combination that just like always, eventually goes wrong.

When the Spidersaurs break out of the lab and start wreaking havoc within the company it is up to two freshly hired interns in the form of the indie rockstar Victoria and cop-in-training Adrian to put them down. Thankfully not only are these two desperate for money, they also have begun to develop unique abilities by consuming so much of the genetically modified food making them perfect for the job.

Spidersaurs plays the comedy card hard and it works in its favor with plenty of little references to other properties that involve bringing dinosaurs back to life. The actual plot is incredibly straightforward with only small bits of dialogue changes depending on which character players are using while playing through a stage though it does have a unique little twist at the end as the console release of the game has now seen the addition of a true ending and final boss to face off against that expands upon the story a little bit more but doesn’t expand the game from being a little over two hours long. 

Gameplay

It becomes quite clear as soon as players start making their way through Spidersaurs that WayForward is putting their skills from Contra 4 to good use here as the title plays incredibly close to that series. Players will run through a stage while platforming as needed to avoid hazards all while shooting down creatures and obtaining weapon pick-ups by shooting down flying drones. While their movement options are the same Victoria and Adrian’s weaponry couldn’t be more different from one another. While Victoria uses her modified guitar to blast enemies and has weapon upgrades that fires wall piercing lasers, shotgun blasts, and more while Adrian’s baseball launcher upgrades to a flamethrower or ricochet shot that spawns extra projectiles after hitting anything. These weapons can be upgraded to a second level should players pick up the same weapon drop though it will immediately be downgraded when damage is taken.

Of course another element that remains true in Spidersaurs is a fairly brutal level of difficulty that can be frustrating at times, especially during sequences that force players to traverse hazard filled areas while the camera forces upward or downward progression. To make these sequences worse, while players can take three hits from enemies and hazards before losing a life, falling off screen results in an immediate death. There are some factors that help with the difficulty a bit and that happens to be newly added mid-level checkpoints. These are situated after the mid-boss of any given level and allow players to load up a level or revive halfway through a stage with all of their lives intact. Another aspect is the ability to select between three difficulty options but it is worth noting that if players beat the game on the easy difficulty they cannot access the new final stage and true ending.

As far as enemies go Spidersaurs features a solid variety of standard creatures for players to face off against as well as a mantis-like creature that will attack when players stand still too long. The best time that the game shines however happens to be the various mid-bosses and bosses for most stages. Only a few of these bosses are fairly predictable while most others feature some unique challenge or twist to keep things feeling fresh and challenging.

One unique aspect that sets Spidersaurs apart from WayForward’s previous run-and-gun work is the ability to gain various genetic upgrades from defeating bosses. Anytime a boss is defeated players are rewarded with a nice chunk of meat that unlocks abilities such as wall climbing, double jumping, and more to help make players feel more mobile and navigate the stages that they will face in the future with a few extra attacks as well. It is possible to return to old stages with these upgrades but for the most part they do not offer much in the way of extra exploration and often certain upgrades feel like they feel like they come too late to be useful outside of their specific stage.

Once the fairly short story mode is completed players will unlock two additional modes in the form of a time trial that will immediately unlock all genetic mutations and have players rush against the clock to rank on the leaderboards as well as an arcade mode that is literally just the story mode minus all character interactions. It is disappointing that, outside of the story and co-op play, the game is fairly barebones especially since the title feels like it would be a perfect fit for a boss rush mode at least.

Visuals & Audio

Once again WayForward has shown just how amazing their team is when it comes to providing games with a unique aesthetic as Spidersaurs feels like it captures the style of 90s cartoons perfectly including an opening cinematic right out of a Saturday morning cartoon line-up. The character and enemy designs are fantastic with a solid amount of variety while boss designs are splendid to look at and although some levels can get a bit busy looking and occasionally distracting, they are nicely designed all the same.

Every line of dialogue in the game is voiced by a solid voice cast and while fighting against a boss, the characters will occasionally chime up to alert players that certain attacks are coming and help telegraph them a bit more. Spidersaurs also boasts an incredible sounding set of background music composed by the veteran Harumi Fujita through the various stages alongside its fitting opening theme.

Overall

Spidersaurs offers some challenging, and occasionally frustrating, run and gun gameplay that Contra fans will feel right at home with and in classic WayForward fashion the team has managed to put enough unique elements in to make the game stand out. Between the unique cartoon aesthetic, ridiculous premise, and solid gameplay Spidersaurs may be a bit short and lacking in extra features but offers its own twist on a genre that needs as much revitalization as possible.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

THE DIVISION RESURGENCE DEBUTS GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

Philip Federico
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NEW YORK CITY IS IN YOUR HANDS; THE DIVISION RESURGENCE DEBUTS GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE

Sydney, Australia — July 14, 2022 — Today, Ubisoft debuted gameplay footage for Tom Clancy’s The Division® Resurgence.

The footage shows Division Agents encountering enemies in the streets of New York. In addition, players will see how the game is reimagined up for mobile devices, and will get a closer look into weapon customization and shooting mechanics.  

Gameplay Walkthrough: Watch on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcBTSPb98Ss

Players will have a chance to experience the open world of The Division Resurgence during upcoming tests. The Division Resurgence will be available for iOS and Android™ devices on the App Store® and Google Play™. Go to thedivisionresurgence.com for a chance to participate in the upcoming tests.


About Ubisoft 

Ubisoft is a creator of worlds, committed to enriching players’ lives with original and memorable entertainment experiences. Ubisoft’s global teams create and develop a deep and diverse portfolio of games, featuring brands such as Assassin’s Creed®, Brawlhalla®, For Honor®, Far Cry®, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon®, Just Dance®, Rabbids®, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®, The Crew®, Tom Clancy’s The Division®, and Watch Dogs®. Through Ubisoft Connect, players can enjoy an ecosystem of services to enhance their gaming experience, get rewards and connect with friends across platforms. With Ubisoft+, the subscription service, they can access a growing catalog of more than 100 Ubisoft games and DLC. For the 2021–22 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated net bookings of €2,129 million. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com

© 2022 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are registered trademarks in the US and/or other countries. 

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