Star Renegades Content Update – Guardian of the Metaverse
A new character, the Guardian, is now live for the turn-based, strategy rogue-lite, Star Renegades. This new character is part of the free Guardian of the Metaverse update. The Guardian is a new tank class with the ability to bend reality. In addition to the new character, a new building is also being introduced: The Metaverse Relationship Tracker. This building allows players to survey all their heroes’ unlocked relationships across realities and lets them replay key bonding moments. The update is available on Steam, GoG, and Epic. This is part of the recently announced content roadmap.
Atomicrops Gets Cats, Cats, and More Cats
The bullet hell farming simulator is getting yet another free update which is coming out VERY soon…maybe even right now! It IS however, currently available on Steam in Public Test. The yet to be named update focuses on new base upgrades which are achieved through the collection of various powerful cat statues, cat plushies, AND cats for your homestead. That’s right, collect cool cats and get cool upgrades to add even more variety to each playthrough. Aside from looking adorable, these cat statues will add in new endgame challenges by providing power buffs at a cost…In addition to a bunch of cats, more elite enemies will begin to appear after year 3 and there will be a new way for players to challenge themselves by boosting their score and earning more rewards after defeating the final boss.
Per Aspera Introduces Modding
While Mars still has some secrets to unveil in the future…for now, coming soon, a modding update will be live on Steam in Public Test which includes Steam Workshop support. This is something the community has been requesting for a long time and the Tlön Industries team is happy to get it up and running. With this modding update, players should be able to add their own buildings, technologies, quests, and more.
Townscaper Release Month Confirmed
For those that didn’t witness the news during the E3 GameSpot Play For All Showcase, Townscaper got an official release window. Expect this calming little town builder to hit PC and Nintendo Switch by August of this year with a port Mobile coming a little later on.
Steam Summer Sale
The Steam Summer Sale is upon us, and Raw Fury is jumping all in. Most of the Raw Fury catalogue is being featured in the sale, including Star Renegades, Call of the Sea, Kingdom Two Crowns, Per Aspera, and SO many more! With a plethora of titles, many of which having received recent free content updates, the best place to spend this summer may be in front of your computer.
Tactical Adventures, a French development studio of passionate RPG game developers and tabletop players, recently released version 1.0 of its first game, tactical RPG Solasta: Crown of the Magister on Steam. The game has seen great reception from the community and a very positive Steam user rating and is now available in the Steam Summer Sale beginning today through July 8 for $31.99 (a -20% discount). Head indoors and beat the heat in a nice cool dungeon and join in on the action-and-strategy-packed tabletop adventure.
Watch the Solasta: Crown of the Magister launch trailer HERE
Wizards of the Coast has granted Tactical Adventures a license to use the Dungeons & Dragons SRD 5.1 content and rules in Solasta: Crown of the Magister.
Solasta is a team-based adventure game where each character plays a critical role in the campaign and can be a hero. The dynamic and mysterious world features elements of verticality, allowing players to use their surroundings as an element of strategy. Players can position ranged characters on high vantage points or send their thief down into shafts and caverns to scope out what lies ahead. In Solasta, light is a tool to explore the depths and hallows of dungeons or can be used as a weapon against the creatures of the dark, but if players aren’t careful, it will give away the party’s position to nasty creatures bent on their demise.
Check out the new Snowdrop Tech Showcase video and see how we’re bringing the alluring world of Pandora to life on the new generation of hardware.
About Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™ is a first person, action-adventure game developed by Massive Entertainment – a Ubisoft studio, in collaboration with Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney.
Built using the latest iteration of the Snowdrop engine, and developed exclusively for the new generation of consoles and PC, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings to life the alluring world of Pandora with all of its beauty and danger in an immersive, open world experience.
In this new, standalone story, play as a Na’vi and embark on a journey across the Western Frontier, a never-before-seen part of Pandora. Explore a living and reactive world inhabited by unique creatures and new characters, and push back the formidable RDA forces that threaten it.
Indie studio’s newest game launches into a massive galaxy of intrigue and conquest, with you as the star
Reykjavik, Iceland – Icelandic indie publisher Solid Clouds has just announced a brand new game in their Starborne universe in the shape of Starborne: Frontiers, a radical expansion into the world established by their first game, Sovereign Space.
In Frontiers, players will have to navigate a web of complex alliances and conflicts among the stars, giving them the opportunity to explore a dazzling, expansive universe in ways that may surprise and delight. The first sneak-peak trailer for this exciting new game will premier on June 24th at https://starborne.com
“I am very excited about the opportunity to tell deeper stories with our games,” said Stefán Gunnarsson, the CEO of Solid Clouds. “We’ve come together and built the technical base that will allow us to truly dive into this massive universe and give our players more elaborate stories and role-playing elements. We’ve put enough work into Starborne’s factions and characters to fill a book or two, and now we’re finally getting to share it with the world – it’s incredibly rewarding.”
Frontierswill be a departure from Sovereign Space’s real-time empire-building format, instead challenging players in completely different ways as they voyage across the edge of civilized space. As their renown grows they will be able to build personal bases, discover the galaxy’s secrets, and even team up with their fellow commanders to take on its greatest dangers through both PvP and PvE elements. Along the way they may encounter over a dozen factions with their own unique histories and philosophies who might help or hinder players as they strive to claim their place as the strongest force in the frontier.
Further updates on the game’s release and development will be available on Starborne’s website, where the team has already published some enticing glimpses into the history of Frontiers‘ colorful galaxy.
About Solid Clouds
Founded in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2013 by Stefán Gunnarsson, Stefán Björnsson and Sigurdur Arnljotsson, the original CEO and co-founder of developer CCP Games, Solid Clouds was formed with one goal in mind: take the best elements of 4X Grand Strategy and combine them with the scale of an MMO to create something brand-new and unique – Starborne: Sovereign Space. Over the years, Solid Clouds has created a vast universe of lore an intrigue, as well as a robust technical base for future games. Starborne: Frontiers will be the second game from the studio.
The growing team at Solid Clouds is passionate about games and excited for the future of the Starborne universe. For more on Solid Clouds, visit https://www.solidclouds.com
SAKURA HARUNO (GREAT NINJA WAR) JOINING NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER AS FIRST MEMBER OF SEASON PASS 4
For a first look at both Sakura Haruno (Great Ninja War) and Kawaki, check out the latest NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER trailer can seen below:
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced Sakura Haruno (Great Ninja War) as the first member of NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER Season Pass 4. Currently an in-game Heal Type Master, Sakura will become a fully playable character as paid DLC soon.
The star pupil of Legendary Sannin and Fifth Hokage Tsunade, Sakura’s physical prowess and mastery of medical ninjutsu have allowed her to manifest The 100 Healings Jutsu secret technique. In NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER, this ability releases accumulated chakra and increases the user’s own physical abilities, while also restoring the health of all allies for a limited amount of time.
NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER Season Pass 4 will feature a total of five new playable characters, including Sakura Haruno (Great Ninja War) and Kawaki, who will be the final member released in early 2022. Players who purchase Season Pass 4 will also receive Secret Technique: Super Uzumaki Rasengan as a bonus item.
NARUTO TO BORUTO: SHINOBI STRIKER is available now in the Americas for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC via STEAM®.
Remarkable Increase in Subscribers, Staff, and an Integrated Office Environment in the Works
MUNICH, Germany (JUNE 24, 2021) — Megadev GmbH, the developers behind the innovative single-player gameplay customization platform PLITCH, today reported notable results and ongoing expansion plans, roughly six months after its Series A funding round. Since January, PLITCH’s user growth has increased by more than two-thirds, marking exceptional progress that promises to ramp up as the year continues.
Impressive Game Support An average of 40 new titles added every month in 2021, in addition to 800+ patches to existing games. New games supported this year include Resident Evil: Village, Mass Effect LegendaryEdition, Biomutant, and Valheim, all of which launched on PLITCH the same day they were released.
Additions to the Team Users and supported games aren’t the only aspects of PLITCH that are on the rise, as the headcount at MegaDev has increased by 64% since January. This hiring momentum is set to continue, as MegaDev aims to hire at least half a dozen more employees by the time core gaming season kicks off in September.
A Newly Designed Office The new hires and veteran employees alike will have the benefit of a newly redesigned work environment, spearheaded by renowned architect and artist Konstantin Landuris. The MegaDev office is being transformed into a loft-style open office that overlooks the city of Munich in two directions, and features a redesigned Tatooine-inspired conference room (yes, we are talking about THAT Tatooine). Employees will have larger offices that can be ventilated easier and will feature ergonomic tables that can be transformed into standing desks.
“PLITCH is all about creating a custom gaming experience that fits a player’s needs, and allows them to get more enjoyment out of gaming, so we decided that our staff’s working environment should be a reflection of this,” said Robert Maroschik, Managing Director and co-founder of MegaDev. “By adding larger offices, more ventilated areas, adjustable workstations, and a conference room you actually want to be in, we are creating a better space that fits our employees needs.”
Future Plans The first half of 2021 is only the beginning. MegaDev has several exciting features and initiatives to announce in the latter half of the year, including the expansion of language options for PLITCH.
To stay updated on the latest announcements, follow PLITCH on Twitter and Instagram, like them on Facebook, and join the official PLITCH Discord.
About MegaDev
Founded in 2015, Munich-based MegaDev offers an all-in-one game wizard that enables players to customize single-player PC games by making them easier or more difficult. The PLITCH PC software already covers thousands of titles with tens of thousands of customization options.
MegaDev has already been selected twice for the prestigious German Accelerator: In 2018, MegaDev took part in the German Accelerator’s Silicon Valley program, in which the company focused on strategies for entering the US market; participation in the Southeast Asia program was added in 2020.
PLITCH allows gamers to easily tailor an ever-increasing list of 2,500-plus PC games to perfectly suit their preferences and optimize their single-player game experience. Whether it’s to train for overall game prowess by increasing game challenges or making less fun aspects easier to get past, PLITCH members retain complete control over their single-player experiences.
New Maintenance Area Map and Abilities Brings More Sabotage and Deception on the killer Cruise to Nowhere
Baltimore, MD – June 24th, 2021 – Independent developer Invisible Walls ApS and indie publisher Versus Evil are excited to announce that the latest update for their multiplayer social deduction game First Class Trouble is now live on Steam.
The Personoid Quarters Update introduces a new maintenance area map to the game as well as new game mechanics for players to utilize, including magnetic boots to help players survive being sucked out of airlocks, a regular occurance for many unfortunate players in First Class Trouble. A forklift also provides a way for players to access out of reach areas in the new Personoid Maintenance Area.
The Personoid Maintenance Area is a dark and cold environment. It is not meant to be seen, filled with heavy industrial equipment that makes sure that the facade of the space-cruise liner, the Alithea is kept clean. The area is full of Personoid Shortcuts as this is where they can come from all over the ship for maintenance. They come here to recharge, be repaired or be decommissioned if they are of no further use.
Players will need to repair 20 of the 25 CAIN servers to activate the elevator with personoids doing all they can to sabotage this objective.
This latest update also improves the transformation animation sequence and gives the personoid shortcuts a visual overhaul.
First Class Trouble is a multiplayer social deduction game where six players must work together to shut down C.A.I.N., the rogue A.I. of a failing luxury space cruise-liner that is trying to kill them. Two of the six players are chosen at random to secretly play as Personoids, killer humanoids sent by C.A.I.N. to betray the other players.
Stay up to date with First Class Trouble via Twitter here.
About Invisible Walls Invisible Walls is an award winning indie studio established in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2017. Their focus is to create games with a strong emphasis on the social experience as well as making games that are as fun to watch as they are to play – underlining their ambition to embrace both players and audiences.
About Versus Evil Founded in 2013, Versus Evil, LLC is the US based video game publisher behind critically acclaimed video games First Class Trouble, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire and The Banner Saga trilogy. Publishing games on all major mobile, PC and console platforms, Versus Evil works with independent development studios from around the world. The corporate philosophy is to champion for the independent game developer. For more information visit versusevil.com
Usually once a developer finds their flagship franchise they rarely deviate from that course. For Nippon Ichi Software this couldn’t be further from the truth however as the developer, who may primarily be known for their Disgaea series, has been constantly experimenting with new and different titles throughout the years. These can range from different styles of RPGs, horror games, and more as the company constantly keeps players wondering what they will be working on next. Well this time around we have Poison Control, a third-person shooter that once again steps outside the box for the company and now that it has been brought to the West, was it a worthwhile experiment?
Story
Players begin with choosing to play as either a boy or a girl and find themselves waking up in a pink hellscape only to be immediately attacked viciously by a strange creature known as a Klesha. While this demonic looking being may have wanted to kill the player, it has instead fused with the player’s body restoring their life-force and transforming the monster into a being known as a “Poisonette.” Poisonette, who has forgotten her name, now shares your body as what is known as a Soul Mate bond, giving the player who should be dead the ability to keep surviving in hell while also allowing the Poisonette to purify the various “Belle’s Hells” of the poison that they create.
Should the Poisonette manage to purify enough of these hells, they will be given a chance to head to heaven and have a wish granted. With the hopes of being revived on the line, Poisonette becomes the player’s best chance and closest bond in the strange new world as they compete against other groups and more. Poison Control tells a fairly unique storyline with a colorful cast of main characters, with Poisonette’s interactions being a great part of the game even if they are limited to dialog prompts.
That being said, the story never feels like it is truly hitting its stride even towards the end of the game. It is also worth noting that every “Belle’s Hell” that the player explores has their own storyline that features a woman, either still alive or already dead, who has suffered some form of trauma that the player must uncover and “purify.” These traumas range from being fairly simple to incredibly dark in nature and unfortunately the game really doesn’t treat most of these any differently from one another, nor are they explored beyond a base surface level which can be rather frustrating especially during a few specific dungeons. This means that while the core storyline may be fairly unique and decent thanks to the core characters, nearly all of the substories that players must go through can be incredibly unsatisfying.
Gameplay
As a third-person shooter Poison Control is about as straightforward as they come with only a few light RPG elements and clean-up management mixed in to vary things up. Players will enter every Belle’s Hell level individually and will find themselves facing off against all manner of enemies that can be taken down with some running and gunning using a small variety of weapons that don’t really come with any surprises. Ammo management is a bit unique here as players will recover ammo over time, either swapping to another weapon in the mean-time or cleaning poison to boost the recovery rate. Players will need to dodge incoming fire, melee attacks, and more in an effort to make sure they complete a stage successfully by cleaning enough of the poison in the Belle’s Hell to complete it.
Cleaning this poison is done by swapping with Poisonette who cannot directly damage enemies and can only run for a limited time outside of the player’s body. Running over the various pools of poison will clear them when Poisonette returns to the player’s body though making complete circles can completely clear an area and deal massive damage to enemies within the circle. As mentioned before, ammo will be recharged while cleaning poison but also health will slowly be restored and money, used to upgrade weapons, can also be obtained this way.
While playing through the game players will gain levels but it quickly becomes clear that there is very little improvement to their ability as a whole as the bigger RPG elements instead come from the aforementioned interactions with Poisonette. Generally when exploring a Belle’s Hell or completing a location players will have a “Heart-to-Heart” with their Soul Mate partner where they can choose from three statements that will raise certain skill ranks. These can help the team’s Synergy, Empathy, Insight, Toxicity, and Trust with there being various skills and bonuses that can be obtained when certain levels are reached. These remain fun overall as they give players a chance to interact with the best part of the game but it is a bit limiting that, sometimes the choices you want to make won’t work the best when certain skills are instead locked behind unfortunate dialogue choices.
Unfortunately for Poison Control, the shooting mechanics as a whole can be incredibly rough to handle. Not only does this Switch version not offer any form of gyroscopic aiming but enemies often fall to the ground before actually being defeated, forcing players to waste shots or rely heavily on auto-aim to fix the clunky aiming mechanics. It is also worth noting that while players are given an “ultimate” radio skill it plays almost no role in combat as the recharge time and lack of range makes it fairly useless in most instances.
Visuals & Audio
The design of Poison Control is rather interesting in the fact that while the 3D models of the enemies and bosses are rather interesting to look at, they are eventually repeated ad nauseum and while the dungeon layouts of a few Belle’s Hell have some elements related to that girl’s regret that element isn’t explored nearly enough nor are they exceptionally well-designed in the first place. On the other side of things however we have some absolutely gorgeous looking character portraits and a stylish menu system that easily outshine the 3D aspects of the game.
The soundtrack features some unique sounding tracks that help fit the odd feeling that the game can take at times though there are very few that truly stand out, instead settling as rather simple background music. The game also features only the original Japanese voice track accompanied by English subtitles that cover every aspect of spoken dialogue, even when Poisonette chimes in during menu navigation or while running on the field.
Overall
Poison Control quickly shows players almost everything it has to offer within the first couple of hours of starting the game and does little to actually evolve from there. The storyline can be rather interesting at times and rather fun, helping to alleviate the rough gameplay mechanics but its mishandling of the Belle’s Hells is a real loss. As a whole, Poison Control may be Nippon Ichi Software trying something new but unfortunately it fails to really stand out as an actual shooter.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Another year, another Steam Summer Sale. We get to recklessly spend our hard-earned money to buy the games that we might play at some point in the future. Emphasis on might. Valve’s yearly event has evolved a bit in the last few years so you have quite a few activities besides clicking on that purchase button. Not much is known at this point, but after some data mining, the folks over at steamdb have discovered that there are new community-themed profiles this time, such as Candy, Cherry, Steam Green, Sea Foam, Autumn, Blue Screen, and Summer 2021. More info in the tweet below:
24 hours remain until the Steam Summer Sale.
Sneak peek, there are new community profile themes coming: Candy, Cherry, Steam Green, Sea Foam, Autumn, Blue Screen, Summer 2021.
If you’re curious how all of that looks like in action, sadly you’ll have to be patient just for a few more hours. Mysterious cards are already dropping for everyone if you decide to craft any badge right now and it’s safe to assume that we will get a sale-specific badge for our profiles this time as well. Expect plenty of PC discounts and difficulties to properly open the page in the first hour or two of the sale.
GreedFall: Gold Edition, New “De Vespe Conspiracy” Expansion & Next-Generation Console Upgrade Launch June 30
PARIS — June 24, 2021 — GreedFall: Gold Edition, featuring the full base game of Focus Home Interactive and developer Spiders’ hit fantasy RPG plus the new “De Vespe Conspiracy” expansion, will launch on June 30 for PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and PC.
That same day, GreedFall will officially release on PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a free upgrade and save file compatibility for current owners of the game on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One. PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S users can experience enhanced visuals up to UHD native 4K, fast loading and 60 FPS in performance mode.
The “De Vespe Conspiracy” expands on GreedFall’s sprawling world and story, inviting you to discover a previously uncharted region of Teer Fradee with totally new intrigue. Navigate a web of lies, manipulation and secrets as you unravel a nefarious conspiracy that threatens the balance of power. Explore new territory on the island, battle strange new beasts, equip new gear, and face off against a villainous enemy faction in your hunt for the truth.
The “De Vespe Conspiracy” expansion will also be available for standalone purchase for players who own the base game. For more on GreedFall, visit http://greedfall.com/shop.
