505 Games and the developer Prideful Sloth have announced that they are currently developing a game named Grow: Song of the Evertree and are planning on releasing it sometime this year for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Players take control of one of the last Everheart Alchemists and it is your ancestral task and privilege to care for the Evertree, where many worlds once resided on its branches, in an effort to bring it back from its sapling form to its former glory.
Players can freely explore the world at their own pace, collecting minerals and flowers, fishing, bug catching, solving puzzles, and more all while meeting new people and helping them whenever the need arises. Grow: Song of the Evertree will also allow players to craft and build a town of their dreams using a variety of different buildings. The announcement trailer for the game can be found below alongside a number of screenshots.
Gothenburg, Sweden – June 7th, 2021 – Thunderful Publishing & Carry Castle have revealed all new gameplay for their upcoming Lovecraftian side-scrolling action roguelite Source of Madness, ahead of its release later this year on PC (Steam®). Having premiered at this year’s Guerrilla Collective showcase, this latest trailer teases but a handful of the procedurally generated horrors you’ll encounter in this creepy cosmic adventure!
Watch the all new trailer from the Guerilla Collective showcase
Source of Madness is a side-scrolling dark action roguelite set in a twisted Lovecraftian inspired world powered by procedural generation and AI machine learning. Take on the role of a new Acolyte as they embark on a nightmarish odyssey. Uncover the cosmic secrets of the Loam Lands and The Tower of Madness, the moon’s mysterious Citadel.
Fight hordes of nightmarish beasts utilising powerful close-combat magic, explore labyrinthine environments, collect powerful loot and manage your item loadout, then infuse the beasts’ blood at magical altars to unlock additional abilities, perks and spells. Decide your Acolyte’s fate in the customisable skill tree.
As your journey progresses, the arcane lore of the Loam Lands unfurls and plunges you deeper into its dark depths. The world and monsters are rendered using a combination of hand-drawn assets, AI visual manipulation and procedural generation. The monsters inhabiting this dark world are animated using a machine learning AI. This means Source of Madness offers ever-changing landscapes to explore and new monstrosities to face on every run.
“We’re really thrilled to partner with Guerilla Collective to show off more of the game as we get closer to launch later this year,” said Carry Castle CEO Per Fronander. “We not only wanted to showcase our unique AI-driven art style, with its gothic and Lovecraftian overtones; but we also used this opportunity to tease a little more of the arcane lore that Source of Madness will contain for those willing to explore it deeper…”
“Source of Madness combines so much of what we love about cosmic horror and video games into one unholy cocktail of roguelike adventuring,” said Thunderful Head of Publishing, Dieter Shoeller. “Its procedurally generated creatures and labyrinths make it utterly unpredictable and eerie, as you encounter machine learning concoctions that feel truly one of a kind.”
About Thunderful Publishing Thunderful Publishing is a games publishing company, founded in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2017. Part of the Thunderful Group, which also includes development studios Zoink Games and Image & Form, and publisher Rising Star Games, Thunderful Publishing focuses on premium PC and console games for a worldwide audience and is the publisher behind award-winning games such as Steamworld Quest: Hand of Gilgamesh, Lonely Mountains: Downhill and Curious Expedition 2.
About Carry Castle Carry Castle is a small game company based in Sweden that loves new technology and was born from their great passion for playing and making games. Its titles include musical VR relaxation experience Zen Garden, the action-packed VR physics adventure Everything Must Fall, and its upcoming gothic action-roguelike Source of Madness.
Dev Diary #1 shows off the main hub, new interfaces and Game Maker features!
HONG KONG — 7th June 2021 —The Sandbox, the virtual world built onto the blockchain, has revealed new information about the game’s highly-anticipated Public Alpha: The Explorers. In this developer diary, The Sandbox has shared a first look at the game’s main hub; the starting point for your adventure in the Multiverse. A new Marketplace interface allows players to buy NFT wearables for their avatar and see all of the most important information at a glance, including the creator’s other designs. With the new Marketplace, you can now buy new LANDs directly, your own customisable piece of virtual real-estate that can be anything from an art gallery to a challenging combat arena.
The Sandbox has updated their Game Maker to include new combat mechanics such as a Parry and a Charged Attack with new UI to help you fend off enemies. Not to mention the quality of life updates with new camera controls and an auto-climb for a smoother user experience.
“As we are preparing to release the Alpha, we wanted to share some of the work done by our talented developers. Our goal with The Sandbox has always been to empower players to create personalised experiences while using the unique advantages of NFTs to distribute high-quality designs while supporting creators,” said Marcus Bläsche, Marketing Director at The Sandbox. “We hope that our Game Maker can inspire you to make your own games and art pieces, with potential for Play2Earn by sharing your creations on the Marketplace.
“As the core of our community, LAND owners are the first stakeholders who have been contributing to our Ecosystem, constantly showing support and believed in our vision of an decentralized gaming virtual world from day one,” said Sebastien Borget, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox. “We felt it was essential that they be the first ones to experience what our 100+ people team has been busy building and experiment with our Play-to-Earn system. But the public Alpha isn’t just for our early adopters, and we have a lot to offer all players to also benefit from their play time, so join us in the metaverse!”
In The Explorers alpha event, all players will be able to download the game client and access the Main Hub, where they can visit the NFT museum, learn about the factions of The Sandbox and socialize with other players. The Alpha will be packed with more than 50 exclusive studio-approved experiences, offering hours of challenge and fun. Crafted social hubs will also be released where players can meet up with friends, meet new people and explore the lore of the Multiverse’s different factions.
The Sandbox is a unique virtual world where players can build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences using NFTs. These NFTs come in the form of SAND, ASSETs, and LAND. SAND is the currency used within The Sandbox which can be used to purchase ASSETs. ASSETs, are tokens serving as creation elements in The Sandbox Game Maker and are used on LAND, the digital real estate in this metaverse. These components of The Sandbox work in concert to allow players create digital assets in the form of NFTs, upload them to the marketplace, and integrate them into games using the #nocode Game Maker.
About The Sandbox The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is one of the decentralized virtual worlds that has been fueling the recent growth of virtual real-estate demand. The Sandbox has partnered with major IPs and brands including Atari, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Care Bears, The Smurfs, Shaun the Sheep, and Binance, and expands their use in support of good causes. Building on existing The Sandbox IP that has more than 40 million global installs on mobile, The Sandbox NFT Metaverse will offer players and creators a decentralized and intuitive platform to create immersive 3D worlds and game experiences and to safely store, trade, and monetize creations through blockchain. For more information, please visit www.sandbox.game and follow the regular updates on Twitter, Medium and Discord.
About Animoca Brands Animoca Brands is a leader in the field of digital entertainment, specializing in blockchain, gamification, and artificial intelligence technologies to develop and publish a broad portfolio of products including the REVV token and SAND token; original games including The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes; and products utilizing popular intellectual properties including Formula 1®, Marvel, WWE, Power Rangers, MotoGP™, and Doraemon. Animoca Brands’ portfolio of blockchain investments and partnerships includes Lucid Sight, Dapper Labs (creators of CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot), WAX, Harmony, and Decentraland. Subsidiaries include The Sandbox, Quidd, Gamee, nWay, and Lympo. For more information visit www.animocabrands.com or get updates by following Animoca Brands on Facebook or Twitter.
24 Entertainment are all set to reveal the launch date, new content and much more in their 10-minute E3 showcase
Hangzhou, June 7, 2021 | 24 Entertainment is proud to announce that NARAKA: BLADEPOINT will be a part of E3 this year. With a 10-minute segment during the NetEase show on June 13th and a segment in the PC Gaming Show later that day.
After a hugely successful open beta, 24 Entertainment will not only reveal the release date of the NARAKA: BLADEPOINT but also the dates for their next open beta — to be held this summer. Returning players will once again explore, and fight for their lives, on the island of Morus; where there will be new and, as yet unrevealed, content to experience ahead of NARAKA: BLADEPOINT’s release later this year.
Please tune in at one of the following streaming platforms, June 13 @ 9:30 AM PDT (17:30 UK, 18:30 Paris) to watch the NARAKA: BLADEPOINT Show live.
About 24 Entertainment 24 Entertainment is a Chinese game studio founded by a group of artists, engineers, and designers; who are all gaming industry veterans. We have a shared vision of introducing global players to Eastern cultures through cutting-edge gaming technology.
The Earth Defense Force franchise has always had a special place in gaming as being one of the few shooters that is so absurd that even though they may not be the most technically sound games around, the ridiculous nature and fun of simply blasting away at giant bugs, aliens, and other manners of things have outweighed the negatives. This has led to many fans always recognizing the EDF! EDF! chant but despite the campy nature of the franchise, the realistic giant bugs and occasionally challenging combat have been a bit rough for some. As such Earth Defense Force: World Brothers takes a bit of a different approach by featuring a more approachable voxel-based art style and gameplay far more accessible to newcomers.
Story
In a parallel world the cube shaped Earth has managed to fend off many invaders through the years thanks to the Earth Defense Force but the latest theat has proven to great to overcome. The newest threat is Dark Tyrant, an unknown being that has led six motherships to Earth filled with all of the enemies that the EDF have defeated in the past and have shattered the planet into pieces, separating the once brave fighters from one another. It is up to the player, as the Commander, to bring the EDF back together along with any other civilians willing to take up arms to bring the fight back against the motherships and hopefully restore the Earth to its normal cubed self.
The Earth Defense Force series has only dabbled in being serious and even then it usually features plenty of cheesy content at the same time but World Brothers takes any hint of drama and tosses it out the window as it instead focuses entirely on being more about light-hearted fun set against an apocalyptic scenario. Players may start their team with members of the usual EDF like a soldier and wing glider but quickly find themselves running with a four-person team with a cowboy, a cheerleader, a standard soldier, and even a milkmaid all wielding different types of weapons to take down the alien threat.
This means that the real charm in this game comes from simply being able to make whatever crazy party you feel like as every level players will find various characters that they can rescue, ranging from civilians from various nations to soldiers from past games in the franchise. The story dialogue itself even focuses more on references to past games and topics such as the local cuisine for the area the players are currently fighting at and more.
That being said, it also means that the in-game banter that the characters have while fighting can grow incredibly repetitive as each character, with there being over a hundred total (counting color variations), only has so many lines of dialogue while fighting and using abilities especially in some of the lengthier stages.
Gameplay
Despite the shift in tone and graphics, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers still retains most of the core gameplay aspects of the franchise as players will take down giant insects, robots, and other manners of creatures in third-person. Unlike previous games, as mentioned earlier, players now will be doing battle with a team of four soldiers at a time with players being able to swap between units on the fly, giving them a chance to continue the battle while other units reload, wait on skill cooldown, or must rescue a potentially captured/downed ally.
Most units in the game will feature a special skill that is unique to them, an ultimate ability that can be unleashed when it is charged enough, and utilize their primary weapon to take down whatever creature is in their sights. Players can unlock additional weapons and upgrade units over time but weapons no longer drop randomly while fighting, as such players can instead focus on rescuing units that will then be unlocked for use, or upgrade an already existing unit if they have been rescued before. This not only reduces the grind for the game but also gives players far more options than before since, not only is the gameplay simpler in nature it is also quite a bit easier than before.
The arsenal players will have available to them thanks to the amount of characters they can unlock is quite extensive and the combinations can be rather unique as well, as players can choose to use multiple flying characters, chaining their abilities together to fly to incredible heights, create multiple turrets with other units to create a complete perimeter of defense and that is only the tip of the iceberg. It is worth noting that some of the characters that players can unlock can be a little… rough when it comes to presentation. Since the characters are based off of a country’s myths or local people, most feel right at home or just tongue-in-cheek nods to a nation while a couple tip-toe over the line a bit to the point that some may take offense so be wary in this regard.
Players will have the option to select from three difficulty modes when beginning a stage and it is worth noting that even on Normal most fights will play out fairly easy, even when taking down the gigantic boss monsters that appear in certain stages. That means that hardcore fans will want to turn the difficulty up a notch from the start while newcomers can start on Normal without worrying about getting overwhelmed or even lower if need be.
WIth the PlayStation versions of the game players will have access to online multiplayer as well as split-screen local co-op allowing for some truly outrageous gameplay. Rather than dividing a four unit team into single units, World Brothers instead allows for players’ teams to enter a battle instead allowing for some real chaos to reign as a result, making for some real great moments even if the game is completely unbalanced when it comes to that many units at a time.
Visuals & Audio
By utilizing a voxel art-style World Brothers manages to not only present itself as a bit more approachable for those afraid of the more realistic bugs of the original games but also gives the development team free reign to make the world as colorful and fun as possible. Players will venture into stages all over the world with obvious monuments and signature locations being present in each area as they battle the alien menace. In fact, thanks to the voxel designs the destruction of the buildings to explosives and shredding of giant bugs looks better than ever.
As far as the voice work is concerned, players will have the option of choosing between the Japanese voice track as well as a freshly recorded English dub. It is worth noting that the English dub does try to insert various accents into most of the national characters’ dialogue so be prepared for that as it once again is rather hit and miss with its representation. The soundtrack is fairly standard for a game such as this though it does aim a bit more simplistic and light compared to the mainline Earth Defense Force games.
Overall
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers really doesn’t try to do anything new for the series and instead focuses on the franchises’ strengths by giving fans plenty of great action to enjoy by bringing back numerous fan favorite enemies that they can once again bring down in a game that doesn’t take itself seriously by any means and instead let’s players focus more on their own enjoyment as a result. This does mean that the combat is a bit lacking in depth and some aspects can be a bit repetitive if players don’t keep rotating their characters to keep things fresh, but as a result newcomers will find a game that is easy to access and just as fun even if they have little to no knowledge of the EDF.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A phenomenal fox in an adventure inspired by the golden age of 3D platforming! Demo available now on Steam
5 June, 2021 – Publisher Big Sugar and developer Glowfish Interactive are delighted to announce Trifox for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. The game is scheduled to launch Q1 2022.
An action-adventure with a variety of ways to play, Trifox‘s titular hero is a fox on a mission… to retrieve his stolen TV remote! A multi-talented mammal, Trifox can use the skills of a trio of different character types – Warrior, Mage, and Engineer. Each has its own unique set of class-based abilities and these can be mixed-and-matched, allowing players to create a wily protagonist with a tailor-made moveset.
The debut title from Belgium-based developer, Glowfish Interactive, Trifox has already been attracting attention. It was nominated as ‘Most Anticipated Game’ at the Belgian Game Awards, received honorable mentions at the Unfold Games Awards for ‘Best Level Design’ and ‘Best Character Design’, and was awarded a ‘Seal of Approval’ after being selected to participate in Yogscast’s Tiny Teams event.
Watch the announcement trailer for Trifox:
Full-time development on Trifox started in 2019, although as Glowfish co-founder and developer Emiel De Paepe explains, the project has always been part of the studio’s plans:
“We had the first idea that led to Trifox in 2014, after we started the company and were figuring out what we wanted to do. The game back then was much more combat centric, with less focus on the adventure itself,” says De Paepe.
“Over time it grew as we added elements inspired by a bunch of games we loved while growing up, such as Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter. Our aim is to bring the same joy to Trifox that people experienced when playing those kinds of games when they were younger.”
About the game
Trifox is a colourful and cartoonish action-adventure featuring a phenomenal fox with a multitude of talents! After his home is attacked and his TV remote stolen, Trifox sets out in pursuit of the mysterious looters in an action-packed adventure inspired by the golden age of 3D platformers. Use magic, might, and marvelous gadgets to outfox foes across four danger-filled worlds as you fight your way to a final showdown at Villain HQ!
Key features
Three different classes: Wield a giant hammer as a Warrior! Master magic and mystery as a Mage! Use a backpack full of gadgets as an Engineer!
Mix-and-match styles: Customise your Trifox by combining different class-based abilities! Want to cast spells and fire a Gatling Gun? No problem!
30 abilities to unlock: Collect and spend coins to gain new skills, such as Spike Slam, Shield Bubble, Guided Missile, and many more!
Four worlds to beat: Fight hordes of enemies, traverse platforming pitfalls, overcome environmental puzzles, and battle big angry bosses!
A modern retro adventure: A new and fresh experience designed to evoke the spirit of classic 3D platformers!
About Big Sugar Big Sugar is a new publisher that does what it wants. And what it wants is to work with talented independent developers and to publish the unique, fun, compelling, entertaining, memorable, and all-round high-quality games that they create.
About Glowfish Interactive Glowfish Interactive is a small indie team based in Belgium. Founded by two DAE alumni and later joined by another. They strive to push the boundaries of what can be expected from a team their size. http://glowfishinteractive.com/
LOST EPIC, 2D Hack & Slash Action Game with Online Cooperative Multiplayer Out Now on Steam Early Access
Latest Title From Creators of EARTH’S DAWN Which Has More Than 300,000 Downloads
TOKYO – June 5, 2020 –LOST EPIC, a 2D side-scrolling action RPG with fast-paced battles and elements of hack-and-slash from Team EARTH WARS, surprise launches today on Steam Early Access for Windows PC without a prior release date announcement, as revealed today at INDIE Live Expo 2021.
Featuring a vast amount of character progression options, and a multitude of upgradeable weapons, LOST EPIC invites adventurers to summon help from other players online, by using the item Shroud of Mist. Two explorers can join in, spawn to the chosen area, and assist the main character, in exchange for Anima that strengthens equipment and Tamahagane that can further power skills.
Early Access contains a third of the content planned for 1.0, featuring at least 7-10 hours of gameplay with additional challenges. Travel through The Sacred Mountain of Fertilis and Lake Pelgrand, discover more than 30 weapons, and more than 100 skills, with character artwork by Namie (Fate/Grand Order, Arknights, Azur Lane).
In a newly released trailer, developer Team EARTH WARS. explains the features of Early Access, with multiplayer footage and voices of the characters sprinkled throughout the video. LOST EPIC is still under active development, with further content updates planned ahead of the 2021 launch. The developers invite the community to submit their feedback through Steam and the official Discord server.
The production team from EARTH’S DAWN which was released in 2015 and ported to many platforms. EARTH’S DAWN is a stylish fast-paced 2D action RPG. The user friendly interface and the hack and slash style replayability was praised by hardcore gamers resulting in 300,000 downloads.
About Ryu’s Office
Ryu’s Office offers in-depth marketing solutions for smartphone, console, arcade, and PC games in Japan. They are particularly focused on the planning and production of numerous live broadcasts based out of Japan for the gaming industry.
There are a number of MMOs that tend to play the same way, especially in recent years, and it looks like a new developer is looking to try something a bit different. Singularity 6, a team made up of veterans from Riot Games and Blizzard, has announced that they are working on a new community-based MMO called Palia: Welcome Home. Players can choose to play solo but playing with friends allows for more interactions with things such as cooking, farming, and even house decoration.
While there will be combat, players can instead focus on exploration, building a home, farming, and making friends as they take on the role of humans who once vanished thousands of years ago only to now re-emerge into a new world filled with fantastical creatures and beings that players can befriend and even romance over time. For now Palia is currently preparing to enter a pre-alpha testing stage, where interested players can sign up for here, and will be available on PC sometime in the future.
While Atlus may have been hoping to have a big reveal for Shin Megami Tensei V during E3 this month it looks like it will be a bit less impactful as the official website for Shin Megami Tensei V has leaked some vital info. As first revealed by Persona Central, the website went live only to be taken down fifteen minutes later when Atlus noticed that not only did it reveal a number of elements in the game but also revealed that the game will be launching on the Nintendo Switch on November 11th.
It is worth noting that Atlus has previously stated that they were aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release so this would mean that the game is launching in the West on November 11th as well. The website also revealed that the main character, a high school student living an ordinary life, wanders into another world called “Da’ath.” The hero fuses with a mysterious man and becomes a “Naobino,” a forbidden being, throwing himself into a battle between gods and demons of which there are now over two hundred with a number of new enemies being thrown into the mix.
It is worth noting that while this leak did come from the company’s official website, it should still be taken with a grain of salt until the probable announcement next week.
During the latest interview with PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst it was revealed that Sony will no longer be releasing the next God of War game, that currently is not named, this year and will be delaying it to 2022. This news was also accompanied with the reveal that, despite initially being revealed as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, that the game will also be releasing on the PlayStation 4 at the same time.
The reason given for the delay is that Santa Monica Studio wishes to deliver “the amazing God of War game that we all want to play” while also citing that they do not want to sacrifice the quality of their titles nor the health and well-being of the development team.
