Auto card battler designed by former Magic: The Gathering prosin Early Access tomorrow
Olympia, Wash.–June 17, 2021–Good Luck Games announced today that Storybook Brawl is coming tomorrow to Steam Early Access. Developed by a team of veteren designers from Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone and Elder Scrolls Legends, Storybook Brawl is a lighthearted card-based autobattle game featuring characters from beloved fairy tales and myths. While the game is easy to jump into and simple to play, a wide variety of cards offers opportunities for deep strategy and accommodates different play styles.
“The goal was to create a game that anyone can get into and have fun,” says Matt Place of GL Games. “Fairy tales give us a huge array of characters with different personalities and attributes to explore, and it allows us to make a very accessible game that is not too complex but has deep strategy for those who want it.”
Features of Storybook Brawl include:
Battle 7 other players over several rounds to be the last person standing
Choose from over 30 different heroes with fun and unique powers to lead your battle
Draft characters to your party, leveraging abilities, effects and combos to deal the greatest damage
Match 3 characters to create a supercharged version and earn a treasure
Founded in 2019, GL Games is helmed by three veteran card game designers and former professional players. Magic: The Gathering Hall of Famer and Player of the Year Josh Utter-Leyton was a two-time US National Champion and six-time Pro Tour top 8 competitor. He was Lead Designer on three Elder Scrolls: Legends sets as well as Designer and gameplay engineer on Eternal and Elder Scrolls: Legends. In addition to serving as a lead designer on Elder Scrolls: Legends and a designer for Eternal, Matt Nass reached the Magic: The Gathering World Championship top 8, the Pro Tour Top 8 and clocked five Grand Prix wins. Matt Place is a Magic Pro Tour champion turned game designer. He’s had many roles during his 18 years in the game industry, including lead initial designer for Hearthstone at Blizzard Entertainment.” www.storybookbrawl.com
In case you missed it over the manic weekend that kicked off E3, acclaimed indie developer 17-BIT (GALAK-Z, Skulls of the Shogun) just released a brand new behind the scenes look at their upcoming VR survival adventure Song in the Smoke. Directed by Japanese gaming documentarian studio Archipel, an abridged version of this documentary premiered during Upload VR’s Showcase, but the full 9-minute version can be viewed right here:
Coming to PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift this year, Song in the Smoke immerses players in a mysterious prehistoric world full of strange beasts where they must craft, forage, hunt, and fight to survive.
Song in the Smoke utilizes VR to its full potential, allowing players to expertly identify threats with sound, sight, and smell. Use the world to your advantage, and stalk your prey from the tall grass. Intuitive VR controls let you line up the perfect shot with your bow, but be careful to listen out for the creatures that may be hunting you, or else you’ll have to fight for your life with clubs, sticks, or anything else you can get your hands on.
With art by famed illustrator Katsuya Terada (The Legend of Zelda, Blood: The Last Vampire, The Monkey King), Song in the Smoke creates a primordial wilderness unlike any other. Part survival game and part mysterious adventure, Song in the Smoke’s fantastical creatures and stylized scenery lend an eerie, otherworldly tone to an experience that’s both action-packed and intimate.
The unique title made by Devilish Games will be released in digital format in a little less than two weeks.
Madrid, June 17th, 2020. Although the release of Onirike on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC has taken longer than expected (it was scheduled for the first quarter of this year), we finally have a definitive release date: June 29.
Near the end of this month, the unique title made by Devilish Games, developers of King Lucas and Path to Mnemosyne, will arrive in digital format on PC and the aforementioned consoles, with the exception of PS4, that version will arrive shortly after; we will confirm the final release date of this version very soon.
Onirike is an original 3D adventure, puzzle and platformer video game which takes place in an intricate open world, designed with a non-linear narrative and presented with a peculiar audio-visual aesthetic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdf9BKY7448
In Onirike we will play Prieto, a charming character who wakes up again and again in the same place. Every time the sun rises, his memories are erased and the next night he returns to the same starting point. But one of the peculiar beings that inhabit this world that would delight Tim Burton reveals to him the key to escape from there: he must collect enough gypsophila to explore the orb of nightmares while avoiding the devourers of souls.
And how does this translate into game mechanics? In a rather ingenious way. The gypsophila appears on the stages like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs, and we’ll pick them up as we go through the platform design areas, because without it, Prieto will become invisible until he disappears.
But there are areas where there are no gypsophila plants, and it will be up to us to plant them with the seeds we will collect in special levels, during the day, where the hero can glide through the air. This adds an element of strategy, to which is added the impossibility of being detected by the devourers of souls when we are invisible, which makes Onirike an adventure as original as it is challenging.
Main features: Explore Onirike’s intricate open world.Discover its captivating non-linear story.Be amazed by its peculiar audio-visual style.Help Prieto gain new abilities.Strategically grow gypsophila flowers.Avoid the devourers of souls by becoming invisible.
Onirike will be released in digital format on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam on June 29th, 2021. The PlayStation 4 version will follow shortly after.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers – Now ready to go on patrol in early access
Duesseldorf/Germany, June 17, 2021 – It is finally time for police fans to take up their badges: Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, the new simulation project of the Munich-based developer studio Aesir Interactive and the successful German publisher astragon Entertainment will become available in early access on Steam™ today at 5 pm (CEST)! The game is supported by a game-grant of the German funding body FilmFernsehFonds Bayern.
Find out more about what will await you in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers in our launch trailer!
• Platform: PC • Engine: Unreal® Engine 4 • Release: Available in early access on on Steam™ starting today at 5 pm (CEST) • Several update phases after the initial launch • Game modes: Single player from launch, a cooperative multiplayer to be added in Q3 2021 • Price: 19.99 Euro/USD 24.99/17.99 GBP (RSP) – all future content until the official end of the early access phase are included at no additional cost
In Police Simulator: Patrol Officers, players can choose from a total of 8 different characters and slip into the role of a male or female US police officer. In this role, they go on patrol in the first city district of the fictional US metropolis of Brighton. They start in the neighborhood of North Point, where they collect shift points and duty stars by completing their first shifts and patrols, which in the course of the game will give them access to four more neighborhoods as well as new tasks and equipment. Initially they will patrol the streets on foot to look out for parking offenders, speeders and suspicious persons. With a good work performance officers can soon get behind the wheel of the first patrol car included in the game as well.
Brighton itself offers players a varied urban landscape that exudes liveliness and authentic city flair thanks to a complex city simulation. Here, the players can expect numerous tasks and emergencies in which they have to decide for themselves which action is appropriate depending on each situation. All measures taken should always be proportionate and compliant with the rules of law, as police misconduct or even police violence in Police Simulator: Patrol Officers results in the loss of shift points or even in the immediate end of the game. When working out these individual tasks, developer Aesir Interactive and publisher astragon Entertainment attached great importance to the level of detail in order to let players experience the everyday work of the virtual police officers as realistically as possible.
In the coming months, Police Simulator: Patrol Officers will be expanded through regular updates and will receive even more game depth through the addition of new districts, tasks, equipment, and vehicles as well as a cooperative multiplayer. As it should be for a game in early access, the intensive involvement of the player community will be an essential part of the ongoing development. Interested players can not only exchange ideas with developers and other gamers on Discord, the Steam™ page and of course the game’s official channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, they can also use the official Police Simulator: Patrol Officers roadmap to find out more information about the planned next steps, express their wishes for the game, and even vote on their favorite features.
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers for PC will become available today via Steam™ and the official astragon homepage for 19.99 Euro/USD 24.99/17.99 GBP (RSP).
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All titles, content, publisher names, trademarks, artwork, and associated imagery are trademarks and/or copyright material of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
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About astragon Entertainment GmbH astragon Entertainment (founded on July 25, 2000 in Hagen/Germany, since 2019 based in Duesseldorf/Germany) is one of the leading independent German games publishers. The focus of the diverse product portfolio of our company lies on high-quality technical simulation games such as Construction Simulator, or Bus Simulator, but also many other exciting games such as Police Simulator:Patrol Officers or the space strategy game Drone Swarm. The distribution of high-quality licensed and distribution products such as Farming Simulator, Transport Fever 2 and SnowRunner complete our attractive product range. astragon games are available world-wide on many different platforms such as consoles, smartphones, tablets, and PC. Find more information at: http://www.astragon.de/en/
About Aesir Interactive Aesir Interactive is a German development studio based in Munich, Bavaria. Over 35 passionate designers, artists and programmers lay the foundation for engaging games and innovative interactive applications. As a leading Unreal Engine developer, Aesir established a formidable tech-stack and workflow for smooth continuous development and integration, creating lively and beautiful worlds for passionate gamers across the globe on all major consoles and PC. The diverse members of Aesir come from all over the world, yet they share a common path – Crafting memorable experiences through elegance, discipline, and excellence. For more information, visit aesir-interactive.com
About FilmFernsehFonds Bayern FFF Bayern provides funding for story and project development, the production of feature and television films, international co-productions for feature films or high-end series, (web)-serial and virtual reality formats, distribution and sales, cinemas as well as games. Besides its funding activities, FFF Bayern is also involved in extensive consulting and information services for the film, television, and games industry. Shareholders of FFF Bayern are the Free State of Bavaria, the Bavarian regulatory authority for new media (BLM), Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Zweites DeutschesFernsehen (ZDF), Seven.One Entertainment Group, RTL Television and Sky Deutschland Fernsehen.
Console edition gamers can also look forward to a free patch with improvements to graphics and sound
STOCKHOLM – June 17, 2021 – Paradox Interactive, the game company adept at playing politics, today launched the fourth expansion pack for Stellaris: Console Edition! Today also marks the console release of Federations, an expansion focused on the galactic community and its internal politics, for Stellaris: Console Edition. Fans can grab Federations today on both PlayStation and Xbox consoles for $19.99/ €19,99.*
Players can also choose to purchase Federations along with two upcoming expansions, the Ancient Relics Story and the Necroids Species packs, as part of the fourth expansion pass for $24.99 / €24.99.*
Federations offers players expanded diplomatic capabilities, as well as establishing a powerful galactic senate. Aspiring legislators now have the chance to showcase their political prowess on an astronomical level. In all, Federations features:
Expanded Federations: With expanded diplomacy capabilities, players can build up the internal cohesion of their Federations and unlock powerful rewards for all members. Whether you join a Trade League, Martial Alliance, or Hegemony, membership can be extremely advantageous.
Political Party: Unite the space empires with a galactic senate that can vote on a wide range of resolutions to drive legislative agendas. For example, players can pass a resolution to increase commitments to collective defense or funnel profit towards wealthy elites.
Origins: Each empire has a story that shapes its path. Give your civilization deeper roots with the new Origins system. When choosing an Origin, players flesh out their empire’s background and alter its starting conditions.
New Constructions: Construct glorious new projects for your empire like the Juggernaut, a massive mobile starbase that provides a moveable repair base even in enemy territory, or the Mega Shipyard, a new megastructure that can churn out fleets with incredible speed.
Get sworn into office and watch the new Federations trailer below!
Additionally, console fans will receive the free 2.8 update – a sound and graphical overhaul that will enhance the Stellaris experience across all consoles. 2.8 remasters over 70 audio effects, adds new VFX and graphics improvements, and UI improvements. Additionally, the update continues to optimize performance on next-generation consoles, with improvements in both simulations and loading time for PS5 gamers.
Expansion Pass Four will also include the following expansions, coming later in 2021:
Ancient Relics Story Pack: Uncover the ruins of long-dead civilizations in Relic Worlds to piece together the story of their rise and eventual downfall. Excavate their derelict cities and ships to unearth the truth, discover powerful relics and harness them for your own empire’s ambitions.
Necroids Species Pack: Necroids are an intelligent species who believe that death is not the end, but rather the beginning of their journey. A brand new selection of portraits, civics, ship sets and other cosmetics for players who don’t fear the afterlife or the dark side of the galaxy.
* This represents suggested pricing. Pricing is set by the retailer and incremental differences may occur based on region.
Paradox Interactive is a leading global publisher of strategy games for PC and console. The company has developed and published a world-renowned catalog stretching back to 1999, with players hailing from all around the world.
The publisher’s steadily-growing portfolio includes firmly established franchises such as the critically acclaimed Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron, and Stellaris series created by Paradox Development Studio, the Age of Wonders series created by Triumph Studios, as well as award-winning titles such as Cities: Skylines, Pillars of Eternity, and more from a network of partner studios. Paradox is the owner of the World of Darkness IPs and is publishing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Today, over four million people play a Paradox game each month, and the number of registered Paradox users is over twelve million.
Paradox’s head offices are located in Stockholm, Sweden. Our development studios are located in Stockholm, Malmö and Umeå, Sweden, in Delft, The Netherlands, in Seattle, Washington, and in Berkeley, California. We share a passion for gaming and gamers, and our goal is to provide deep and challenging games with hours of gameplay and endless variety to our ever-growing community.
Make your own movie theater and restaurant during Steam Next Fest
Bangalore, India – June 16th, 2021 – Tentworks Interactive’s upcoming multi-business management game, City Block Builder, has released a demo offering players a sneak peak at its rendition of 1950s Los Angeles ahead of its launch later this year.
City Block Builder is a mashup of deep tycoon management games with large-scale city building elements. Set in Los Angeles during the 1950s, the game puts you in the shoes of a young, budding entrepreneur who is determined to build their own business empire. Fresh off the victory of WWII, Los Angeles is the pop culture capital of the world. With the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, designer shops, and finest cuisine money can buy, all under a canopy of clear blue skies, the City of Angels represents the “American Dream” at its most ideal.
This demo offers players the chance to create their own movie theater and restaurant. As the owner of these establishments it’s up to you to make every decision, both large and small, about how your enterprise operates. Choose which tiles, wallpapers, and furniture to decorate with. Decide what movies your cinema plays and at what times. Set the menu for your restaurant. Hire and fire staff. Nobody said building an empire was going to be easy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a90mIIoJok
The full game will allow you to erect all manner of trades from bowling alleys, to jazz clubs, to drive-in theaters, parlors and more. Micromanage each business down to every detail, from its layout, to its lighting, to ensuring the entrance makes optimal use of foot traffic in your bustling borough! City Block Builder encourages players to find creative solutions to complex problems. Setting up the L.A.’s entertainment hub has never been so immersive!
Each detail of City Block Builder is brought to life in glorious detail through hand-drawn art paying homage to the incredible culture of the era. Movies, posters, comic books, and advertisements capture the look and feel of the 1950s with their bold, technicolor palette, dapper outfits, and neat slogans. Even the foliage has been extensively researched to be accurate to the time, changing dynamically with the seasons.
While City Block Builder’s campaign mode will take you from rags to riches as you micro and macro manage each monetary decision, there will also be a Sandbox Mode offering full freedom to create the Los Angeles of your dreams with no expense spared! Every decision you make will set you on a different path giving different players varying outcomes.
“City Block Builder offers an unprecedented level of choice as you build up the most happenin’ block in LA” said Jay Basani, CEO of Tentworks Interactive. “This demo is limited to making a movie theater and restaurant, but we think that it will give players an idea of just how detailed and charming the full game will be when it launches later this year.”
About Tentworks Interactive Founded in 2018 by Jay Basani in Bangalore, India, Tentworks Interactive is a rag tag crew of passionate developers specializing in tycoon and strategy games, with the goal of making India a serious contender on the world stage of video game development with its high quality titles. Having expanded to opening a second branch in California, Tentworks is working on its most ambitious enterprise yet with the 1950s LA empire-building tycoon game City Block Builder.
New story trailer released, new demo available at Steam Next Fest
17 June 2021 – Kemono Games and Ravenscourt are happy to announce that ProtoCorgi will release on 26 August 2021 for PC and Nintendo Switch. After gathering his strength to go on his quest to save his creator, the cybernetic pup Bullet is now ready to head out and defeat every villain that stands between him and Nixie.
The new story trailer sheds light on how Bullet came to life and also how Nixie disappeared.
You can watch the trailer
If you want to take the cute-yet-deadly cybernetic Corgi for a walk, you can do so in a new demo that is part of the Steam Next Fest. In addition to the gameplay, the demo also includes a first, limited look at the level editor of ProtoCorgi and lets you create custom adventures for Bullet.
The level editor offers different backgrounds that you’ll explore while playing the story of ProtoCorgi and gives you access to all kinds of obstacles to make Bullet’s life a little bit harder while navigating your creation. Obviously, the level editor also lets you place all sorts of enemies in the cybernetic pup’s path to bark up.
You can even decide whether you want your level to be classic sidescroller or if you want to move up or down and which tune from the soundtrack you want to accompany your custom level. If you want to unlock all possible content for the level editor when you got your hands on the full game on 26 August, you’ll have to finish Bullet’s heroic story in the campaign.
About ProtoCorgi ProtoCorgi is an retro style pixel art, horizontal shoot ‘em up with arcade gameplay that gives the player control over Bullet, a C3 class (Cute Cybernetic Corgi) cybernetic pup.
When Bullet discovers that Nixie was kidnapped by evil alien forces seeking galactic domination, the cute, yet deadly Corgi goes on a quest to save her. The adventure ahead fills your screen with fully animated beautiful retro pixel art and lets you experience Bullet’s fights with precise controls, solid gameplay and passionate story. Shoot, Dodge and Bark your way through in this adorable Bark’em up!
About Kemono Games
We are an indie development studio based in Rancagua, Chile. We are inspired by the old arcade games, but not afraid to clash as many pixels as necessary to breed a new generation of games with new and exciting mechanics.
About Ravenscourt
Established in 2014 – and operating from its Munich headquarters in Germany – Ravenscourt’s mission is delivering amazing games to a broad audience from both established studios and industry newcomers. With a diverse portfolio, managing the titles of multiple international studios, Ravenscourt games span everything from adventure and management sims through to city builders and indie gems. The label even boasts a good old sing-along karaoke franchise.
Our players delight in engrossing narrative driven adventures, relish the challenge of building new worlds and love solving puzzles. We have more delights in store for them…
The publishing label Ravenscourt stands for worthy interactive entertainment for a broad range of players. It belongs to the Koch Media Group.
Try the first few stages for free during Steam Next Fest!
Espoo, Finland – June 17th, 2021 – To kick off Steam Next Fest, Improx Games has released a free demo of their upcoming brain-teasing puzzle adventure game The Last Cube ahead of its release later this year on PC, Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation. Set in a series of surreal otherworldly landscapes, it’s up to you to discover the history of this mysterious alien civilization.
This demo features four full levels of the game, which should last players about an hour. Here you’ll get a taste of The Last Cube’s unique sticker system, allowing you to stamp certain abilities onto your cube’s sides, granting all new abilities for that surface. Some will allow you to dash through barriers, others will create makeshift stairs, and some grant the ability to spin in place for easy maneuvering in tight places.
Positioning your cube to acquire the desired stickers on the correct surface can range from pleasingly simplistic, to masochistic head scratchers as you scramble through The Last Cube’s 100+ puzzles. New mechanics are introduced at a breezy clip, rapidly expanding one’s perception of what your cube is capable of.
The full game will take players through a plethora of moody, monolithic chambers ranging from foggy nightmarish abysses, to oppressive lava lit factories, to uplifting natural landscapes full of golden rays of sunshine glistening against mountains. This demo will showcase the first few stages, offering a glimpse at the expansive scope that lies beyond the shrouded horizons of this derelict world.
“We’re really proud of how The Last Cube looks and feels, and can’t wait for players to get their hands on it. To get the full grasp of how the cube’s abilities make the game unique, you really need to play it for yourself,” said Max Samarin, creative director at Improx Games. “That’s why we decided to offer players everywhere free access to its opening levels ahead of launch. We know from playtesting how engaging The Last Cube is, and we want everyone else to experience its tantalizing brain-busting charms for themselves!”
About Improx Games With their roots in game jams and pixel graphics, five Finnish students founded Improx Games in 2016. Their first game gathered over 150,000 downloads on Steam and 8 million views on YouTube. As the team’s rate of mastering their craft has grown exponentially, the next project they started is quite ambitious. Since 2017, Improx Games has been working on a beautiful 3D puzzle platformer – The Last Cube, which is already winning awards and earning nominations internationally. The Last Cube is set to roll out on PC and consoles in 2021.
Melbourne, Australia (June 17, 2021) – After slaying theatrical box office records around the globe, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train will stream exclusively on Funimation in Australia and New Zealand starting June 23. The film will be available in both English dub and subtitled for fans to enjoy.
As previously announced, Funimation‘s streaming service will replace the AnimeLab service in Australia and New Zealand. From today, customers that have an AnimeLab account will be able to sign on to Funimation with their AnimeLab credentials, so they can make sure they are ready to watch the film on the 23rd, or catch up on Demon Slayer Season 1 before the movie drops.
AnimeLab subscribers and fans should check out the below social handles for further updates and news on the AnimeLab to Funimation transition:
DRIFT OFF INTO A VICTORIAN ERA NIGHTMARE STARRING A CURIOUS GIRL AND HER BIZARRE TOY BEARFACE YOUR FEARS IN A FREE DEMO AVAILABLE NOW DURING STEAM NEXT FEST
Paris, France, June 16, 2021 — Developer Monochrome and Publisher Hatinh Interactive have unveiled a new character trailer for upcoming mystifying puzzle platformer Tandem: A Tale of Shadows, slated for release on PC, Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year. The game follows an intelligent, strong-willed girl named Emma and an eccentric, anthropomorphized teddy bear named Fenton as they investigate the disappearance of Thomas Kane, the only son of a famous family of illusionists, and survive the illusory dangers that await them.
A free demo comprising Tandem’s first universe and initial seven levels is now available until June 22 as part of Steam Next Fest.
Learn more about Emma and Fenton with Tandem: A Tale of Shadows’ character trailer:
While Emma may seem coddled at a glance, she’s fiercely independent. Despite her young age, the girl can maintain composure when faced with uncertainty and knows how to learn from her mistakes. Fenton may appear indolent when measured against Emma’s determination, but acts as a great complement to the indomitable woman, comforting her when hope fades away.
From the top of his wall, Fenton observes Emma and is ready to leap in to help her progress in her dimension! There’s no need to talk to each other: the switch between the two characters is immediate. Fenton will be able to jump to the next door as soon as Emma creates the solid shadow on which he can move. But before that, Emma must identify what she is using to create the shadow each time she enters a new room in the mansion. This is the only way to give Fenton an accessible platform! Emma and Fenton work as a duo: Emma, in her dimension, creates shadows and Fenton unlocks the levels that will allow them both to progress. Emma must also face enemies and bosses. But she can count on Fenton’s help to repel or attract them!
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows Key Features
Stunning Art Direction Discover a playful and frightening universe inspired by Jules Vernes, Conan Doyle, Tim Burton and Victorian era architecture.
Clever Puzzles Solve over forty puzzles and obstacles in order to unravel the mystery surrounding Thomas Kane’s disappearance.
Dual Gameplay Swap perspectives between Emma and Fenton. Light up the scene and cast shadows as Emma from a top-down view. Walk on shadows projected by Emma’s lantern from Fenton’s side-scroller view.
Fight with Strategy Players will face mechanical toy-like enemies and bosses throughout each dimension. Since Emma’s strategy is not to attack, players must rely on their wit to move forward.
Narrative-Driven Adventure Players are invited to discover many fun, creative and very elaborate cutscenes. Clever players will find the hidden rooms which will reveal the clues that will teach them more about the disappearance of Thomas Kane.
Diverse Mechanics Push or pull objects to create shadows. Use alarms and traps to your advantage. Tandem features a variety of interactive elements for players to experiment with.
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows will launch for PC, Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year. To keep up to date with all the latest information on the title please like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join us on Discord, visit our website.
