Back in February 2021, we shared via Xbox Wire the backward compatibility team developed FPS Boost, a feature employing a variety of new methods for nearly doubling the original framerate on select titles. Higher, steadier framerates make games visually smoother, resulting in more immersive gameplay. We partnered closely with developers to enhance the experience while maintaining the game’s original intent. And while not applicable to all games, these new techniques can push game engines to render more quickly for a buttery smooth experience beyond what the original game might have delivered due to the limitations of the hardware at the time.
In some instances, because there are higher graphics requirements to enable FPS Boost technology, we’ve had to reduce a game’s resolution to ensure it both runs smoothly and plays great. In those select cases, FPS Boost is not automatically enabled for Xbox Series X gamers but can easily be turned on under the Compatibility Options in the Manage game and add-ons setting. To experience FPS Boost and to be able to toggle the feature on and off, make sure your console has taken the latest update and you’ve rebooted your console.
Today, we released our largest drop of games featuring FPS Boost to date, bringing the total titles boosted to 97, many of which are included in Xbox Game Pass and EA Play (included with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription).
With Title Update 4.0, Players Can Discover DedSec’s New Playable Hero Mina Sidhu Alongside New Co-op Missions and Additional Free Content
AUSTRALIA – May 4, 2021 – Today, Ubisoft announced that Update 1 (Title Update 4.0) for Watch Dogs: Legion will be available tomorrow on Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store on Windows PC, Stadia, Amazon Luna and Ubisoft+*, Ubisoft’s subscription service.
Title Update 4.0 introduces exclusive content for Season Pass holders in single-player and in the online mode of Watch Dogs: Legion, including:
A new playable hero character, Mina Sidhu: Once a test subject, Mina Sidhu now wields the power of mind control and can take full control of an enemy with her Mind Control Device, the OMNI Optik. She is also equipped with a Mental Blast that can disrupt nearby enemies.
A new DedSec Stories mission, Swipe Right: In this new single-player mission, DedSec discovers that someone in London is conspiring with an Egyptian minister to sell off the country’s antiquities, with the money going to fund violent insurgents.
The update also adds a variety of free content to both single-player and the online mode, including:
Single-player campaign & Online Mode –
2 new Operatives: the DJ & the First Responder
Operative Customization: players can customize their Operatives’ hair and body art
5 new Operative abilities
Pickpocket: Operatives can earn currency on each takedown
Second Wind: Operatives quickly regain health when defeating enemies
Wanted: Albion or Clan Kelley enemies will attack upon detection anywhere in London
Hoarder: Operatives can loot and carry more ammo
Stuntman: Operatives take less damage from falls, explosions and collisions with vehicles
Online mode –
3 Co-op Missions:
In “Dysfunction,” a pair of mysterious Clan Kelley hackers, known only as the Cousins, have laid London’s court systems low in a DDoS attack, demanding as ransom the dismissal of all cases against Kelley family members.
In “Meltdown,” Clan Kelley has killed four Tidis employees at Southwark Incinerator. Bagley believes Clan Kelley has bought an experimental plasma weapon, which has a half-life so short it’s only detectable in a body for a short time after death.
In “Repossession,” Albion has a cache of data drives belonging to the original DedSec, and they plan to use the drives to pinpoint the location of active DedSec Operatives.
5 new solo Assignments
2 Co-op Gadgets:
Guardian Drone: A Tidis Guardian Drone that escorts and supports nearby Operatives
Point Defense Drones: A throwable device that deploys a cloud of drones to block incoming fire
Furthermore, as part of Watch Dogs: Legion’s post-launch plans in 2021, Ubisoft has detailed the availability of the free content for all Watch Dogs: Legion players as well as the new, exclusive content for season pass owners across single-player and online modes.
The free post-launch content for all Watch Dogs: Legion players include:
At the end of May, players will have access to two new PvP modes: Extraction and fan favourite, Invasion, and a new Tactical Op, Project Omni, in the online mode of Watch Dogs: Legion. Project Omni is an intense and challenging mission which will require players to strategize with their team of four to infiltrate a secret project to find out why Londoners’ Optik devices are negatively affecting their brains.
For Season Pass owners:
Late-June will see the release Watch Dogs: Legion – Bloodline, a new storyline which includes Aiden Pearce from the original Watch Dogs game and Wrench from Watch Dogs 2 fully playable in the single player campaign and online.
In August, Darcy, a member of the Assassin Brotherhood from Assassin’s Creed®, will be available as a new playable character alongside new missions.
In Watch Dogs: Legion, London is facing its downfall. Amidst the growing unrest of a restless London, an unknown entity named Zero-Day has framed secret underground resistance DedSec for coordinated bombings across London. In the aftermath, criminal opportunists from every corner of London took hold and filled the void left by a defeated government. As a member of DedSec, players will be going up against those criminal opportunists in Watch Dogs: Legion; sadists, mercenaries, cybercriminals, and more; they’ll have to be prepared for a variety of situations. Players must recruit members into their DedSec Resistance to take on these criminal opportunists, liberate London and uncover the identity of Zero-Day.
Watch Dogs: Legion has a variety of accessibility options, ranging from fully customisable controls to directional audio captions. A full list of accessibility options can be found on news.ubisoft.com.
For the latest news on Watch Dogs: Legion and all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit news.ubisoft.com.
For more information about Watch Dogs: Legion, please visit watchdogs.com, and join the conversation by using #watchdogslegion.
*AU$19.95 per month. Cancel anytime. The Ultimate Edition (Excluding VIP status) will be available as part of a Ubisoft+ subscription. More information at ubisoft-plus.com.
ABOUT WATCH DOGS
Watch Dogs launched in 2014 as the video game industry’s best-selling new IP at launch. To-date, the award-winning franchise has registered more than 50 million unique players worldwide. The hacker series extends to other entertainment media, including books and comics. The latest opus in the franchise, Watch Dogs: Legion, was released on October 29, 2020.
ABOUT UBISOFT
Ubisoft is a leading creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services, with a rich portfolio of world-renowned brands, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, For Honor, Just Dance, Watch Dogs, Tom Clancy’s video game series including Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and The Division. The teams throughout Ubisoft’s worldwide network of studios and business offices are committed to delivering original and memorable gaming experiences across all popular platforms, including consoles, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. For the 2019–20 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated net bookings of €1,534 million. To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com.
GOG.COM and Razer are bringing Polish games closer to worldwide gamers
GOG.COM is all about its hand-picked selection of unique indies, all-time classics and exceptional AAAs – coming from Poland, we keep a special place for titles created there. This time together with Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, we’re running a week-long Polish Games Festival to promote Polish games to gamers around the globe.
Starting today (May 3rd), we’re putting some great deals on a variety of titles coming from Polish developers, including Frostpunk (-66%) from 11bit Studios, The Medium (-20%) by Bloober Team, Ghostrunner (-50%) from One More Level, Dying Light (-70%) from Techland, Sniper Ghost Warrior series (up to -80%) by Phobia Game Studio and many, many more. Check out the full selection of nearly 200 games on the Polish Games Festival page.
Taking this opportunity, we’re joining forces with our friends at Razer, to show which games were made in Poland and bring additional perks to gamers worldwide. During Polish Games Festival (from May 3rd to May 10th till 1 PM UTC) if you buy any game at GOG.COM and sign up to GOG’s newsletter, you will receive a special 15% off on peripherals in the Razer Store.
Expect more activities from both GOG and Razer throughout the week, like dedicated contests where you can win sets of great peripherals from Razer bundled with games from GOG.COM.
GOG’s Polish Games Festival is also part of PolandSHIOK, an annual-encompassing platform that presents Poland’s best in Singapore by promoting Polish culture, art, culinary traditions, tourism, and exploring business cooperation opportunities.
Magma’s Stunning RGB Lighting & Affordable Price Redefine the Membrane Gaming Keyboard Category – Pyro is the Most Feature Rich Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Under $100
White Plains, NY – May 3, 2021 – ROCCAT, Turtle Beach’s (Nasdaq: HEAR) Hamburg, Germany-based PC peripheral brand, today revealed two all-new additions to the brand’s award-winning keyboard lineup: the Magma Membrane RGB Gaming KeyboardandPyro Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard. The Magma’s fully illuminated top plate showcases ROCCAT’s innovative AIMO RGB lighting technology like never before, and its attractive $59.99 MSRP makes it perfect for PC gamers looking to improve their desktop RGB setup. PC enthusiasts on the hunt for a new mechanical gaming keyboard need look no further than Pyro, one of the most feature-packed mechanical gaming keyboards available for a MSRP of $99.99. Magma and Pyroare equipped with detachable palm rests and convenient media controls, and feature ROCCAT’s acclaimed Easy-Shift [+] technology allowing gamers to assign a secondary function to their most-used keys. The Magma membrane gaming keyboard and Pyro mechanical gaming keyboard launch at participating retailers worldwide on May 30, 2021. Pre-order now from www.roccat.com.
“With Magma we’re redefining membrane keyboards while pushing the boundaries of keyboard illumination yet again,” said René Korte, ROCCAT Founder and General Manager for PC Peripherals at Turtle Beach. “With the Vulcan series, we had already evolved the RGB experience by mounting transparent key housings to mechanical keyboards. With Magma we made the whole plate transparent to push the AIMO lighting to its full potential. It looks like nothing else out there and it’s affordable for gamers who want to show off their RGB gaming setup.”
ROCCAT Magma Membrane RGB Gaming Keyboard
Since the launch of the AIMO lighting engine in 2017, ROCCAT has focused not only on delivering high-performance PC gaming equipment, but also on bringing the RGB experience to new levels. ROCCAT’s Magma Membrane RGB Gaming Keyboard is equipped with a semi-transparent top plate and five zone, 10 LED backlighting for ROCCAT’s best AIMO lighting showcase to date. With 16.8 million RGB color illumination, gamers can enjoy a vivid and immersive lighting experience. Magma will connect and sync-up with all other products in ROCCAT’s AIMO range, including the just revealed Kone Pro series mice, Elo series headsets, and more, to create a vibrant PC gaming battle station.
Magma also features silent membrane typing thanks to high-quality rubber dome keys. Keystrokes feel both responsive and reliable. Advanced anti-ghosting technology ensures gamers can press all the most-used keys simultaneously, when reacting in the heat of battle. The Magma is equipped with a detachable palm rest to suit gamers’ preferred typing and gaming styles. Available May 30, 2021 at participating retailers worldwide for a MSRP of $59.99.
ROCCAT Pyro Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard
Pyro is one of the most feature-packed mechanical gaming keyboards for under $100. The Pyro’s new design is reinforced by a premium brushed metal top plate, offering gamers a sleek, robust, and stylish mechanical keyboard. Pyro uses TTC’s linear (red) switches with a 2.0mm actuation point, 45g operating force, and a total travel distance of 4.0mm for a keystroke that feels both precise and strong. The Pyro’s switches are tested to 50 million keystrokes lifetime for a responsive and durable gaming experience. Advanced anti-ghosting technology also ensures all simultaneously pressed keys are registered.
Like the Magma, the Pyro is equipped with a detachable palm rest. It also has the Vulcan series’ fan-favorite volume wheel for quick and easy audio control. Pyro features ROCCAT’s AIMO lighting engine with per-key illumination in 16.8 million RGB colors. AIMO reacts organically to your usage with vivid lighting displays out of the box, without the need for extensive configuration. It also syncs with compatible AIMO-enabled products to create desktop illumination that flows from device to device. Available May 30, 2021 at participating retailers worldwide for a MSRP of $99.99.
Turtle Beach Corporation https://corp.turtlebeach.com) is one of the world’s leading gaming accessory providers. The Turtle Beach brand (www.turtlebeach.com) is known for pioneering first-to-market features and patented innovations in high-quality, comfort-driven headsets for all levels of gamer, making it a fan-favorite brand and the market leader in console gaming audio for the last decade. Turtle Beach’s ROCCAT brand (www.roccat.com) combines detail-loving German innovation with a genuine passion for designing the best PC gaming products. Under the ROCCAT brand, Turtle Beach creates award-winning keyboards, mice, headsets, mousepads, and other PC accessories. Turtle Beach’s Neat Microphones brand (www.neatmic.com) creates high-quality USB and analog microphones for gamers, streamers, and professionals that embrace cutting-edge technology and design. Turtle Beach’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq Exchange under the symbol: HEAR.
With Rune Factory 5 set to be released in Japan on May 20th for the Nintendo Switch, Marvelous and Hakama have chosen to release a five minute video that serves as a bit of a walkthrough of the game’s main city Rigberth, showing off many of the game’s locations, shops, some of the bachelors and bachelorettes, and more.
The video can be found below and while XSEED Games has announced that they will be releasing Rune Factory 5 in the West, they have not narrowed down the release window to sometime in 2021. Similar to past games in the series, Rune Factory 5 is a standalone entry that sees the player, either male or female, waking up with amnesia outside of a town and recruited to not only help protect it against monsters alongside other villagers but also own a farm of their very own.
SYDNEY., 3rd May, 2021 – Bandai Namco Entertainment ANZ is thrilled to launch Digimon X! After pent up fan-demand, consumers can finally get their hands on the newest digivice. This is more than just a virtual pet, it’s the next evolution in gameplay.
Based on the Original Digivice that started it all, this new device is back and equipped with tons of new features and evolutions that come in a variety of different colours. Users can now hatch, raise, feed, and train their digital monster for the ultimate monster match, a showdown between one Digimon and another! These devices connect to each other (and previous versions) to allow users to compete with whoever challenges! The Digimon X has a variety of new features like the Random Attack Generator, New Quest mode, Digimon facial expressions and so much more! Brace yourself for hours of fun and tons of Digimon to battle with!
Fans can be first to order Digimon X with pre-sales launching online this week, with product hitting store shelves in August 2021.
“We’re so excited to bring this new device to market!” said Cisco Maldonado, Senior Director – Brand Strategy, Bandai America. “Fans of Digimon have been asking for Digimon X (quite vigorously- I may add) for a while and I’m pleased we are able to make it happen.”
Digimon X Features:
New Colours: (black & red, white & blue, purple & red, and green & blue)
Over 100 new evolutions of Digimon to train and battle
new abilities, more variety
longer playtime
Devices can connect & battle
Devices are also compatible with earlier versions of Digimon
Random Attack Generator
New Quest mode with new ways to level up your Digimon
About Bandai America Incorporated Bandai builds on dreams, adds to the fun, and strives to inspire kids of all ages around the world, every day! A leader in developing engaging, quality toys that capture children’s imaginative spirit and provide endless “Fun For The Future,” Bandai America Incorporated is the manufacturer and master toy licensee of some of the most popular brands in children’s toys and interactive entertainment today. The Bandai America brand family includes PAC-MAN®, Dragon Ball®, Charaction CUBE™ by MegaHouse, Anime Heroes™, DIGIMON® and Tamagotchi®, among other boys, girls, preschool, and hobby product lines. Bandai America Incorporated is a subsidiary of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings USA Inc., an entity that resulted from the integration of Bandai Co. Ltd. and Namco Ltd. of Japan. Global interests encompass five strategic business units: Toys and Hobby, Network Entertainment, Real Entertainment, Visual and Music Production, IP Creation and Affiliated Business Companies. The company is headquartered in El Segundo, California. Find out more about our expertise in connecting with kids in fun and fresh ways at www.Bandai.com. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Looking at the popularity of the NieR franchise today and one would never believe that it all began in a rather strange way over a decade ago with two different versions of the same game being released, only with Japan getting both versions of the game and the West only getting NieR Gestalt. With the story altered only slightly to place the focus on a father daughter relationship instead of a sibling one, the game was something of a hidden gem thanks to its incredibly unique story that was buried between aged combat mechanics and a number of other troublesome design decisions. So now with NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… bringing the original Japanese story to the West with upgrades all around, can the rest of the game now match what the original was known for?
Story
For many returning fans of the original game they will find that the gruff Papa Nier has now been replaced with a younger main character that serves as a brother to Yonah. This decision matches the original release of the game in Japan and may be a bit off-putting to some longtime fans initially, especially as a father trying to save his dying daughter can strike home a lot harder for most, but given that the script never was really altered outside of a few interactions in the original release, the characters continue to act the same as before, which will explain at least a few of the more awkward seeming events that happened in the original NieR.
Now, that being said, NieR Replicant follows the story of a nameable young boy whose little sister Yonah has been afflicted by the Black Scrawl, a strange illness that has no cure. The post-post-apocalyptic world has been filled with monstrous creatures called Shades that roam the lands and attack everything from animals to people. With the Shades increasing and Yonah’s conditioning worsening, her brother continues his journey into tracking down any possible clues that may cure her illness and what better stop than the local library.
With the help of the village’s librarian Popola and sister Devola, the boy travels to a mysterious shrine where he manages to obtain an all-knowing book by the name of Grimoire Weiss who believes that there may just be a way to cure the Black Scrawl. NieR Replicant stays true to tone when it comes to telling its original tale, with the brother taking on a fitting enough role compared to the father figure Western fans are familiar with, meaning that things are still a slow burn through the first few hours but then once the story does begin to move quickly, players will quickly find themselves engrossed in the tales that the writing team has to tell.
The world of NieR Replicant is a hopeless one with many side-quests having unfortunate conclusions to them while even the core cast members that join the brother on his adventure suffer from tragic backstories and even worse fates in the future. It is also worth noting that there is a brand new chapter included in the core storyline that was never offered in the original. Rarely are there moments of joy in this world and even when they do occur, they tend to be rather short lived. That being said, there are plenty of moments of humor mixed into the game thanks especially to the witty banter between Kainé and Weiss as well as some of the sidequests that tend to take a more unusual turn. These brief moments of levity help balance the tone of an otherwise darker themed game where nearly everyone is struggling to survive and nearly every new piece of information always seems to make things worse.
Regardless of humor or drama, NieR Replicant‘s strongest element remains its story, especially since there is some significant payoff when it comes to rewarding players for their efforts. It is worth noting that once again players will want to make sure to play through the game more than once as the first ending is not truly the end. Instead far more backstory elements for the player’s companions, the world itself, and more are revealed throughout the second run of the game with subsequent runs featuring even more content, though it is worth noting that players will need to meet a certain requirement to obtain these endings, especially since this time around players will find that there is something brand new at the end of it all.
Gameplay
When the original NieR was released, it suffered from stiff combat mechanics, relatively simplistic and often boring side-quests, and tons of grinding for materials to upgrade the player’s arsenal. One of the first things players will notice when playing NieR Replicant is that the game’s combat is now far more fluid than it ever was in the original release. Where combat was previously a stiff affair that players would need to struggle against at times, the newly revised mechanics make it flow almost as smoothly as can be. This leads to some truly outstanding looking fights, especially against the bosses that continue to stand out as exceptional today.
Players can quickly move in to deal damage to foes, dodge or parry incoming attacks, and even chain together combo strings by using the quick weapon swap mechanic unlocked in the second half of the game. Enemies will also drop “words” that provide a variety of buffs to the player’s stats and can be applied to weapons, magic, and basic skills. All of this can be done while using Wiess’ magical powers to deal damage or protect the player, making for a revised combat system that, while still a bit sticky at times thanks to a camera that can be problematic in tight spaces.
That being said, if players simply want to experience most of what the story has to offer without trying to challenge themselves, there is an easy mode with an auto battle system that will take care of most battles for them. It is not really recommended as the game itself is fairly easy even on Normal difficulty but it is a nice option to have for potential newcomers.
Where NieR Replicant‘s combat has seen a significant improvement, the same cannot really be said about the game’s handling of side-quests. While players will still be able to use Devola to track down side-quests they may not have noticed in various towns, the quests themselves are almost always of the fetch quest variety, often asking the player for a large number of rare item drops, or require traveling back and forth between the same locations numerous times with no actual difference. It is worth noting that many of these side-quests can be ignored if the player chooses, but not only do some reward the player with weapons but also unlock things such as the ability to use the garden next to the player’s house, the ability to ride a boar and cut down on traveling time, and more.
Just like when trying to complete side-quests players will also find that the grind for materials, both for upgrading the player’s arsenal and for quests, remains as annoyingly time consuming as ever. It is worth noting that players will unlock a series of dungeons once they clear the first ending of the game and can earn extra money and items for completing them, but still this level of repetition can be more than a little frustrating even with NieR Replicant still requiring the player to make their way through the game multiple times in order to see every ending.
Visuals & Audio
When one considers the fact that the original NieR released in 2010 and, even at time, was not a great looking game it is amazing to see just how far NieR Replicant has come in this upgrade. Not only have nearly all of the character models been completely revamped and designed but many aspects of the world itself feature completely rebuilt designs that still hold true to the original vision but now harness what current consoles are capable of. Players will find that the game’s outside environments are gorgeous to explore as they see ruined architecture in the distance all while fighting without a single dip in quality.
While it only makes sense that NieR Replicant features a freshly recorded English voice track as it features a brand new main character alongside the returning voice actors for past characters, it will be surprising to many to hear that nearly every piece of dialogue in the game is now actually voiced. This includes random tidbits players will hear from NPCs when wandering around town and any time they interact with characters, even those not relevant to any quests. As for the sound tracks, the game’s original music may have already been stellar but NieR Replicant takes things a step beyond that by making sure that almost every track is memorable in one way or another.
Overall
After over a decade NieR Replicant ver.1.2247448713R9… feels like the game that fans should have been able to experience back when the original came out as it capitalizes on its amazing storyline with now stellar gameplay and gorgeous graphics. There are still elements of the game that continue to feel dated, with grinding and repetitive missions remaining a problem, but with improvements that capitalize on most aspects that have helped the franchise grow over the years, it is easy to see why NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is an action game that should not be missed.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Wrestling games have been in a rut for a while now. With the historic decline of the 2K franchise, it’t really been up to smaller titles such as Fire Pro and Wrestling Empire to deliver a glimpse of hope for the genre, and one could say they have filled the empty space in the market with some entertaining romps. RetroMania Wrestling is the latest to throw its hat in the ring, acting as the official sequel to WWF Wrestlefest, which is now right at thirty years old. Thirty years is a long time, so is this offering worthy of your attention, or is it a bit too late to bring out this rivival? Let’s find out.
Story
The story mode in RetroMania Wrestling is something. Players start out as Johnny Retro, which you may know as WWE’s own John Morrison. Retro is on a comeback from an injury, and basically works through bookings in a branching path narrative. Storylines branch through progression and choice, and though short, most will find this little mode to be a lot of fun. Sure, it isn’t exactly gripping in terms of writing, but RetroMania wears its indie booking heart on its sleeve, and managed to pick a roster of stars that are social media all-stars, with Stevie Richards, Matt Cardona, and a good selection of people who I was simply delighted in seeing get time to shine. The narrative is a good time, packed full of humor. Even though most will not know everyone in the roster if they don’t follow this scene, there is enough personality and charm to warrant several playthroughs overall.
Gameplay
The gameplay was what I was a bit concerned about going into RetroMania. Wrestlefest is a big name to live up to, and thankfully, Retrosoft Studios have made a simplistic, yet solid system that feels much like its predecessor. The grappling system basically works a bit like Fire Pro, where you have stages of grapples you can perform based on the strength of your opponent. The more offense you do, the quicker you build up your momentum – allowing execution of medium and heavy attacks. Add in your weapons, stipulations, and general wrestling fare, and you have a polished set of mechanics that flow quite nicely, once one is able to learn the basics.
During my first match I did have a bit of a stall with the controls as the timing is a bit tricky to master, but in just a few matches, it all became relatively easy to perform just about anything. Submissions, pins, and so on rely on a button-mashing competition to execute effective techniques, and even though some may scoff at that, I felt it was such a relief not to be thrown into a maddening mini-game that killed the pace of the fight (2K, that jab was for you). RetroMania’s gameplay takes things back to basics, and even though it doesn’t have the most maneuvers or match types, it does work well within its own walls, allowing those wanting an authentic experience to get some satisfaction without some silly gimmick tied in that hinders combat.
Story mode is fine for the story side of things, but the star of the game in my opinion comes with the “10 Pounds of Gold” mode. This works much like any other tournament, but puts the NWA title on the line and has a sense of importance, offering a huge payoff to those who are willing to make the trek. There is also an offline versus mode as well as a ton of easter eggs buried within, but I do think that it comes as a missed opportunity to not have online play, considering that this game feels like it would be made for that. Due to the lack of creation tools and a short roster, RetroMania’s biggest drawback is that it stands as a bit of a novelty experience rather than a game you can sink hundreds of hours in. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that mindset, but the current market of wrestling titles simply has more content available at launch, and the lack of it here in such a polished romp will surely leave fans of the genre hungry for more in a short time.
Visuals
The 16-bit pixel art in RetroMania is phenomenal. Colors are bright and crisp, models are well detailed, and animations add in a ton of charm and life with little details such as facial expressions and taunts that bring the larger-than-life personalities out of each one of the 16 stars within. You can tell by the design that this game was made by a team that cared, and that love is sewn into so many places that nothing feels or looks underdone or generic. Even the little picture boxes that pop up during rumbles add a lot of depth to the experience, with characters doing their little entrance bits as they come to the ring, without disturbing gameplay due to the clever placement.
Audio
The music is also fantastic. Fans may not know every little theme song, but there is definitely a lot of nostalgia within the soundtrack. The smooth beats are also joined with impressive voice-overs, with in-game commentary (that actually is impressive) and ring announcing, which actually surprised me as I can’t tell you the last time I have seen a 2D wrestling game with competent play by play. The audio is just a welcome addition to all of the detail RetroMania already offers, creating a distinct experience for any player with its quality and charm.
Overall
RetroMania Wrestling is a fun throwback with a lot of heart. Sure, it could have done more or checked more boxes in terms of additional content, but what it does do it does well, and novelty or not you will walk away with a smile due to how much fun it can offer in a quick session. Wrestling games are not what they used to be, and the point of RetroMania seems to be to give the fans just that, an experience that is true to the foundation of the genre, with a lot of quirk, atmosphere, and personality that could easily turn into a franchise with enough support.
Help dogs find their forever homes in the virtual world and real-life alike with To the Rescue!. This sim follows the journey of one dog lover’s mission to open a shelter, care for canines, and unite man’s best friend with loving new families. In addition to enjoying this uplifting adventure, every purchase of the game will benefit the efforts of the organizations and animals who inspired this tale, as Little Rock Games will be donating 20% of the title’s profits to The Petfinder Foundation.
The Petfinder Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that gives grants to shelters and rescue groups across North America to increase the effectiveness of animal adoption programs. These critical practices are also reflected in To The Rescue!, where volunteers will get to know the pups’ personalities and individual needs and use this invaluable information to make matches that will last a lifetime.
In addition to meeting with prospective new dog moms and dads and playing with the puppers, life as a volunteer in To The Rescue! spans the full shelter experience, from feeding hungry mouths and managing medication to behind-the-scenes efforts like financing the operation.
“When we chose the charity partner for our game we wanted to make sure our donation would have the biggest impact possible,” said Olivia Dunlap, co-founder, Little Rock Games. “We’re proud to partner with the Petfinder Foundation and are overjoyed that To The Rescue! will have a tangible impact both raising awareness of animal shelters and helping fund their amazing efforts.
To The Rescue! launches Q3 2021 on Nintendo Switch and Steam via Windows PC and Mac for $19.99.
Little Rock Games is a community-based tabletop game development studio with To The Rescue! Being its first digital video game title. Focusing on making humane games that emphasize local, ethical, and impactful elements, the studio aims to raise awareness of professions and social issues as well as donating profits to organizations whose work is relevant to the subject material in their games.
Freedom Games is a publisher dedicated to offering best-in-class services to partners and providing players around the world with unique and memorable experiences. With over 50 years of combined industry experience at the executive level, Freedom Games seeks to leverage its expertise to facilitate great games and even better publishing experiences.
NEW PUBLISHING PLATFORM FOR BITCOIN NFT-COMPATIBLE GAMES LAUNCHES LATER THIS YEAR
Alicante, Spain, April 30, 2021 – Satoshi’s Games has announced that the long-awaited, first-ever NFT marketplace for games based on Bitcoin, Elixir, is now available. The marketplace utilizes the latest technology from the Liquid sidechain, Lightning Network, IPFS and L-SAT to replicate the behavior of NFTs and crypto-collectibles through Bitcoin.
Elixir is live ahead of the launch of a dedicated publishing platform for NFT-compatible games due to the Light Nite community’s request for a system to trade the tokenized in-game gear they acquire from the battle royale third person shooter. The publishing platform will be available later this year. The NFT marketplace may be found at http://market.elixir.app.
Take a look at Elixir’s magic in motion with the trailer below:
“The NFTs in our titles aren’t just collectibles,” explains Carlos Roldan at Satoshi’s Games. “We want our players to have greater control and ownership of their in-game items while still being able to use them on the digital battlefield.”
Satoshi’s Games’ Light Nite allows players to collect bitcoin just to stack sats or to obtain in-game gear that’s been tokenized with Liquid (a Bitcoin sidechain). NFTs may be earned while playing, purchased or traded in the Elixir marketplace. Users can also withdraw NFTs to their own wallet if they prefer to custody them.
The Elixir marketplace will eventually become part of Satoshi’s Games’ greater Elixir publishing platform, due out later this year. The platform will allow any developer to publish games with features such as bitcoin Micro-Rewards and Asset Tokenization. These features have already been implemented in Light Nite, meaning fans of the title already have access to the marketplace.
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About Satoshi’s Games Founded in 2018, Satoshi’s Games is pioneering the micro-reward gaming industry by creating games and gaming platforms, enabling a new level of interaction between gamers and developers. Bitcoin micropayments, tokenized items and improved security will give users greater confidence to manage their assets and empower developers/publishers to offer consumers higher value.
About Elixir Elixir is the first Bitcoin native platform for game distribution. Since the presentation of the first lightning-based micro-rewards gaming platform in 2018 as a proof of concept, Satoshis Games has been working to offer the game developer industry a place where any studio can easily integrate bitcoin-based rewards and tokenization, and safely distribute their products to the gaming community. This multi-genre platform will also provide users with a framework to intuitively manage their sat balance and tokenized gear for all of their games in a single place.
About Light Nite Light Nite is a multiplayer battle royale third-person shooter title with in-game bitcoin rewards and a beautiful, minimalistic and cartoonish design. Bitcoin microtransactions add a new level of interaction, as players can earn bitcoin instantly when they shoot opponents and withdraw balances whenever they wish. All in-game items have a real value that players can gift or trade, allowing them to feel in control of their gaming world.
