Unbelievable treasures that might cost you everything.
A blood trial, separating your old life from a new one…
The debut S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase was all about the atmosphere. And now, here comes the first-person look at the Zone.
That’s how the game actually feels: fast-paced change of scenery, ominous landscapes and the ever-present feeling of an inevitable danger accompanied by a barely-distinguishable guitar soundtrack.
You’re seeing this world with the eyes of a stalker named Skif — remember the codename, you will hear it a lot. Following the steps of its predecessors, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 introduces a completely new main protagonist. His actions will shape the new grand chapter in the history of the Zone.
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a brand-new entry in the legendary series, enjoyed by millions of players worldwide.
The unique combination of first-person shooter, immersive sim, and horror is back. With unprecedented scale, advanced graphics, freedom of choices and the thickest atmosphere of a deadly adventure, it’s going to be the ultimate S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience.
Welcome to The Zone — an area of exclusion around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Full of radiation, mutants and anomalies, it keeps drawing adventurers from beyond the perimeter.
Bounty hunters dwell deep into the Zone, driven by its treasures and mysteries. These people are known as stalkers.
Are you ready to become one of them?
About GSC Game World
GSC Game World is a Ukrainian video game development based in Kyiv. Founded in 1995, it is best known for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Cossacks game series. The studio is currently developing the next big entry in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise.
There have been many types of games that have seen players planting and harvesting crops as well as battling against enemies in an RPG style format but generally these two mechanics work as separate parts of a game or simply an extra way to earn money. Rarely do these mechanics blend together in such a way that the player finds themselves stronger as a result of proper farming but that happens to be exactly what Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin offers. After debuting at Comiket of all places, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin has made its way to Western shores but the question is whether or not this unique side-scrolling RPG is worth your time?
Story
The goddess Sakuna has always had an easy life in the “Lofty Realm” where the gods reside as being the daughter of a warrior god and harvest goddess has left her wanting for nothing. This carefree attitude has allowed Sakuna to easily slack off on her duties as a divine being and when she notices that a number of desperate humans have managed to somehow find their way on a bridge into the Lofty Realm, she cannot stop them before they cause massive damage and ruin a major event for the gods. As punishment for her failure, Sakuna is banished to the a distant island teeming with demons where she must not only take care of the humans who now find themselves trapped in the Lofty Realm with no way to return home but also uncover the reason as to why monsters continue to appear on the island if she ever wishes to find herself back among the other gods.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin starts off a bit risky by having nearly every character in the game be at odds with one another as not only does Sakuna blame the humans for her predicament but even the humans are often bickering. Most of these interactions occur at the group’s small home either during the day or during dinner and serve as ways to expand upon the world by detailing just how bad things have gotten for humanity and why the group was so desperate. Watching Sakuna learn to appreciate the humans that she has grown close all while growing out of being a spoiled brat into one capable of truly being called a goddess makes this risky beginning worthwhile as Sakuna’s journey of redemption.
Gameplay
Players will quickly find themselves introduced to the two split modes of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin after they begin the game as they must fight through a side-scrolling platforming set of zones to reach their eventual home base where, with little food left, Sakuna plants rice seeds in the rice paddy that takes up most of the limited land. With the home base being playable in 3D, it serves as the location where Sakuna can talk with her human companions, plant seeds, manage the field and other elements of the rice, have meals, and more before setting out into numerous 2D stages filled with monsters that players will need to slay over and over again.
Players will quickly learn that Sakuna is quite a fast and skilled fighter when it comes to using farming tools and her divine raiment to take down the various foes that populate the island. Players can make use of light and heavy attacks that can be combo’d together into various attack strings allowing for potential enemy juggling and even sending foes flying into one another with satisfying smacking sounds anytime they smash into one another. Alongside this Sakuna’s raiment can be used to zip around a battlefield as it can be used to grapple to surfaces or even flip around a foe, pull them closer for extra damage, or even throw them. It is a bit unfortunate however that Sakuna really does not have any proper way to defend herself in a fight outside of playing aggressively and dodging any incoming attacks using her raiment.
When it comes to actually exploring these stages, players will find that the actual platforming can be a bit on the iffy side. Sakuna isn’t the most accurate when it comes to properly landing her jumps and even the raiment often does not launch exactly where the player is aiming, meaning Sakuna might end up launching herself into spikes or falling straight down and being forced to climb back up. These issues wouldn’t be too bad if it wasn’t for the fact that there is always a timer going whenever the player is in the field between a day and night cycle as well as Sakuna’s bottomless stomach.
While time must pass back at the base for the rice to grow, it also passes while the player is exploring and fighting enemies. The problem here is that when night falls the enemies see a remarkably high spike in difficulty to the point that players won’t even be able to touch them until they are are much stronger than they would regularly be for that level. When it comes to the hunger meter, Sakuna can no longer regenerate health or see any buffs from her previous meal when she grows hungry meaning players will find themselves quite limited when it comes to exploring. This can be quite disappointing especially since players must complete various objectives in every map ranging from simply completing a stage, to mining at every location available, to slaying a boss within a certain timeframe. These completed objectives unlock additional locations to explore that, in-turn, provide players more chances to advance but between time constraints and difficulty spikes, players are far more limited than how things appear.
This is generally because players cannot initially upgrade Sakuna’s abilities without the slow growing process of the rice. Weapons can be crafted and have their potential unlocked while Sakuna’s clothing can occasionally provide additional effects it is up to the rice yield and quality to see just how much of a boost Sakuna will gain at the end of every harvest. This does make for a very unique leveling mechanic that makes it so players truly have to pay attention to the ins and outs of managing the rice and there are tons of details to learn and manage.
This includes creating fertilizer that can add different effects to the rice, adjusting the water level, pulling weeds, making sure the shoots are planted just the right distance apart, and more. Even the type of rice that players plant will play a role in how the character grows as white and brown rice provide different effects in the end. The rice is then harvested, dried, and more as players try to keep the quality up and make sure to get the most out of every yield. This is perhaps the most in-depth rice farming a player could ask for and while it may feel a bit much at times, things quickly feel like they fall into place though whether this is because it is essential to make Sakuna stronger or simply because it is easy to learn will be up to the player. That being said, players can eventually leave some tasks to a human companion but things can easily go wrong this way and leave Sakuna in a bad way. Combine this with the fact that ingredients gathered from the world and dropped from monsters spoil and players will always feel like they have a timer ticking away at nearly every aspect of the game only to be held back from advancing thanks to the aforementioned leveling system.
Visuals & Audio
Every aspect of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is dripping with style as the 2D platforming sections feature great designs and a wide-variety of areas to explore, which is good considering how many times players need to replay every level, with solid enemy designs while the character models, even in their 3D forms, have a hand-painted style to them that is absolutely wonderful looking. Once again a lot of praise has to go out to making sure that the rice field can look quite detailed and varied depending on how players raise their crop and the season that it is growing in.
The release of the game features both the original Japanese voice track as well as an English voice track that players can swap between at any time with the English cast handling the characters well enough, though it is worth noting that not all dialogue is voiced. The soundtrack fits the aesthetic of the game perfectly, whether players are whiling away in the field tilling rocks out of the ground and planting seedlings or fighting against waves of large red-eyed rabbits there is a tune to match it.
Overall
There has probably never been a game that has taken rice farming to the level that Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin has done and that is saying something. The level of depth that can go into managing the field and harvest is quite outstanding even though it ends up limiting what players can often do at times by limiting Sakuna’s growth to the harvest of the bounty. The fast-paced combat may work well enough but when players find themselves simply overpowered and dealing with less than ideal platforming, even the charming style of the game can only help so much.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
In case you missed our recent Winter Showcase video, here’s a quick reminder that we are launching the side-scrolling survival horror Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story for Nintendo Switch on January 7th.
Inspired by classic adventure games and the origins of the survival horror genre, Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story celebrates the slow, cerebral creep of dread instead of relying on over-the-top action or jump scares. With careful attention to pacing, atmosphere and storytelling, this futuristic tale seamlessly blends 2.5D exploration and problem solving with suspenseful ghost encounters that act as paranormal glitches in our own reality.
About Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story
Inspired by classic adventure games and the origins of the survival horror genre, Sense – A Cyberpunk Ghost Story celebrates the slow, cerebral creep of dread instead of relying on over-the-top action or jump scares. With careful attention to pacing, atmosphere and storytelling, this futuristic tale seamlessly blends 2.5D exploration and problem solving with suspenseful ghost encounters that act as paranormal glitches in our own reality.
In Neo Hong Kong, 2083, a young woman named Mei Lin Mak is dragged into a maelstrom of supernatural horror. As she peers into the century old mystery, Mei is forced to question her perception of reality and her trust of her cybernetic eyes. Under the neon lights of a cyberpunk cityscape, the ruins of the Chong Sing Apartments hide a bloody secret illuminated by the traditions of Chinese folklore and innovations of the industrial future. If there is any hope of escaping this nightmare, Mei Lin must explore this complex, piecing together stories of 14 lost souls and discovering the truth of her own family curse.
LG TO UNVEIL COMPANY’S FIRST QNED MINI LED TV AT VIRTUAL CES 2021
LG takes its LCD TV to the next level with up to nearly 30K tiny LEDs, impressive peak brightness and excellent image contrast
SEOUL, Dec. 29, 2020 — LG Electronics (LG) will introduce the company’s first-ever QNED Mini LED TVs at the all virtual CES® 2021 as its top-of-the-line offering among the 2021 LG premium LCD TV line-up. The company’s newest TVs represent a leap forward in LCD TV picture quality. Thanks to quantum dot and NanoCell technologies with Mini LEDs as the light source, brightness and contrast are far superior to that of conventional LG LCD televisions. The 2021 line-up includes 10 new 4K and 8K models covering a wide range of large screen sizes up to 86 inches.
With OLED at the top-end of the LG TV offering, with its self-lit pixels and independent dimming control, the arrival of the LG QNED Mini LED TVs offers a compelling option for consumers. Thanks to a new panel structure enhanced by the company’s advanced Mini LED backlighting, these new TVs deliver a truly immersive viewing experience within the LCD space. As the first TVs to combine quantum dot and NanoCell technology in one product, LG QNED TVs produce incredibly accurate colours while the advanced LED backlight offers enhanced contrast and deeper blacks, for vibrant and realistic images. And with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, these TVs render motion smoothly and more naturally.
The LG Mini LED backlighting technology on the 86-inch 8K QNED model comprises up to almost 30,000 tiny LEDs that produce peak brightness and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 when paired with up to nearly 2,500 dimming zones and advanced local dimming technology. This results in a high level of HDR image quality and colour accuracy through excellent contrast and a wide colour gamut. For life-like images that seem to shed the confines of the screen and enter the viewer’s space, LG QNED Mini LED is the latest in LG LCD TV technology.
“Our new QNED series is a premium home entertainment option that expands and improves the LCD TV space and gives consumers another terrific viewing choice,” said Nam Ho-jun, senior vice president of R&D at LG’s Home Entertainment Company. “These TVs deliver an experience that set them apart from other LCD TVs and speak to our commitment to innovation and pushing the standard forward.”
The top-of-the-range LG 86-inch 8K QNED TV will be on display in LG’s virtual exhibition booth during CES 2021 starting January 11.
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About LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company
The LG Home Entertainment Company is an industry leader in televisions and audio-video systems. The company is a globally recognized innovator for its leadership in OLED TVs which is revolutionizing the premium TV category. LG is committed to improving customers’ lives with innovative home entertainment products led by award-winning OLED TVs and NanoCell TVs featuring artificial intelligence and sound solutions developed in partnership with Meridian Audio. For more news on LG, go to www.LGnewsroom.com
DEMON SLAYER and COWBOY BEBOP voice actors join the cast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 28, Tokyo, Japan
Internationally beloved “kawaii” character GLOOMY BEAR will make his animated debut with a new TV series set to air in Japan in April 2021.
A new bilingual promotional video announcing GLOOMY THE NAUGHTY GRIZZLY has been released to YouTube featuring new dialogue and visuals.
Veteran actor Koichi Yamadera (the voice of Spike Spiegel in the Cowboy Bebop anime) has been cast in the lead role of GLOOMY, while Natsuki Hanae (the voice of Tanjiro Kamado in the smash-hit anime series Demon Slayer) has been cast as GLOOMY’s young owner PITY.
Originally created by Osaka-based artist Mori Chack, GLOOMY BEAR first debuted as a character in 2000. The appeal of GLOOMY and PITY’s unusual relationship – full of cuteness, violence, and surprising emotional depth – led to a wave of GLOOMY merchandise and high-profile collaborations in Japan. Eventually, GLOOMY would win devoted fans all over the world as well.
In addition to the anime series announcement video, there is also an additional promotional clip focusing on GLOOMYs creator Mori Chack and the 20-year build-up to the new GLOOMY BEAR anime series.
Paramount Pictures announced Buddy Gameswill hit Australian cinemas on January 7th. The announcement came with a brand new trailer for the comedy.
Josh Duhamel (Transformers) wrote, directed, and starred in the film. Buddy Games is his directorial and writing debut. Duhamel stars alongside Dax Shepard, Olivia Munn, and Kevin Dillon.
Buddy Games follows the story of six lifelong friends looking to patch up their relationship by reviving a competition called the Buddy Games. The guys will compete in a variety of challenges to test their physical strength, mental stamina, and ability to attract women in hopes of winning the $150,000 pot.
1999 NEOGEO POCKET COLOR CLASSIC brought to life on the Nintendo Witch. Bust up your pals in handheld or tabletop modes!
Osaka, Japan, December 23, 2020 – SNK CORPORATION (Corporate HQ: Suita-city, Osaka, Japan, Company Chairman and President: Ge Zhihui) has announced today that FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT is now available on the Nintendo Switch™ via the Nintendo eShop for $7.99. Originally released in 1999 and heavily based around the arcade fighter REAL BOUT FATAL FURY 2, this NEOGEO POCKET COLOR SELECTION classic allows fighting game veterans to duke it out around Southtown as FATAL FURY fan favorites like Terry Bogard, Geese Howard, Mai Shiranui, as well as newcomers Rick Strowd and Li Xiangfei.
Witness some of the earth-shattering moves that await you in the FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT launch trailer
Features in FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT include a POTENTIAL POWER comeback mechanic that allows players to unleash an ultra-lethal special move at the brink of death and opportunities to play as the DOMINATED MIND protagonist and REAL BOUT FATAL FURY 2 hidden boss, Alfred. The Nintendo Switch™’s Tabletop and Handheld Modes are a match made in Fatal Fury heaven as they go hand-in-hand with the game’s single-lane fighting system beautifully.
Take a look at a special video message regarding FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT and THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV from SNK Producer Yasuyuki Oda below:
ABOUT SNK Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, SNK develop, publish, and distribute interactive entertainment software on a global scale. Known for such franchises as THE LAST BLADE, THE KING OF FIGHTERS, METAL SLUG, and SAMURAI SHODOWN, SNK continues to focus on their rich console game and arcade history.
ABOUT FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT is a fighting game that launched for the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR way back in 1999. It is heavily based around arcade fighter REAL BOUT FATAL FURY 2, so expect to see newcomers Rick Strowd and Li Xiangfei clash knuckles with FATAL FURY fan favorites Terry Bogard, Geese Howard, and Mai Shiranui. Additionally, you can also play as the DOMINATED MIND protagonist and REAL BOUT FATAL FURY 2 hidden boss, Alfred. Fighting game beginners will feel right at home as they duke it out on a single-lane ring. There is also a comeback mechanic in the form of POTENTIAL POWER.
About the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR SELECTION SNK launched the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR, a literal pocket-sized handheld gaming system, back in 1999. Many games were made for it, and finally, some of those amazing classics are finding their way to the Nintendo Switch™ though the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR SELECTION. Not only are these games perfectly emulated to look and play as they did back on the NEOGEO POCKET COLOR, but advancements in technology have enabled them to be played together with a friend with just one copy. Fans can even change the virtual exterior designs on a whim! Currently, FATAL FURY: FIRST CONTACT, THE LAST BLADE: Beyond the Destiny, KING OF FIGHTERS R-2, SAMURAI SHODOWN! 2, and SNK GALS’ FIGHTERS are available to download. More games are on the way – stay tuned!
Redmond, Washington, December 23rd, 2020 – Super Meat Boy Forever, Team Meat’s long, long awaited sequel to 2010’s runaway platforming hit Super Meat Boy, has finally made its debut on the Nintendo Switch eShop and Epic Games Store, where it costs $19.99 / £15.99 / €15.99. PlayStation and Xbox versions will follow in approximately one month.
This much anticipated sequel also moves the Meat Boy saga forward, as Meat Boy and his partner Bandage Girl have had a child, Nugget, who has unfortunately been kidnapped by the sinister stillborn psychopath, Dr. Fetus (I hate that guy!). So now it’s up to Meat Boy, Bandage Girl, and some surprising new characters in the Meat Boy Cinematic Universe, to rescue the kidnapped child.
In the time since we saw him last, Meat Boy has been hitting the gym and he now packs a punch with an oversized, Battletoads-esque right fist that packs a mean whollup! Combined with new slide and plummet maneuvers, Meat Boy is more agile than ever!
What’s better than playing through Super Meat Boy Forever once? The answer is simple: Playing through Super Meat Boy Forever several times and having new levels to play each time! Levels are randomly generated and each time the game is completed the option to replay the game appears and generates a whole new experience by presenting different levels with their own unique secret locations. We’ve handcrafted literally thousands of levels for players to enjoy and conquer. You can replay Super Meat Boy Forever from start to finish several times before ever seeing a duplicate level. It is truly a remarkable feat of engineering and a monumental example of ignoring the limits of rational game design and production.
“It seemed like this day would never come, but after over a decade Super Meat Boy has a fully fledged sequel that takes everything people loved about the original, but makes it meatier and more super,” said Team Meat co-founder and programmer Tommy Refenes. “I knew I didn’t want to release a sequel that was simply more of the same, so Super Meat Boy Forever rethinks the entirety of how the game works, from the controls, to your moveset, to the new power-ups. It’s a completely different experience that still fundamentally feels like Meat Boy. And with its thousands of randomly generated challenges, you can literally play it forever!”
About Meat Boy Meat Boy took the world by storm in 2008 when it was conceived as a free Flash game by developers Edmund McMillen and Jonathan McEntee. This devilishly difficult love letter to arcade platformers went so viral that over 8 million people played it. Due to its popularity, Team Meat founders Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes collaborated on a commercial successor that became the 2010 megahit Super Meat Boy, which went on to sell over a million copies in its first 15 months. A decade later, Super Meat Boy is still capturing the populace’s imagination as its Switch port’s launch sales nearly matched that of its 2010 debut on Xbox 360. The franchise’s latest project, Super Meat Boy Forever, is coming to Epic Games Store and Nintendo Switch eShop on December 23rd, 2020, with PlayStation and Xbox versions to follow shortly thereafter.
The publisher of War Thunder and Crossout revealed a new online game
Gaijin Entertainment in partnership with The Three Whales Studio today revealed its new online adventure Age of Water. Set in a post-apocalyptic water world and developed as a Gaijin inCubator title, Age of Water will be available for PC on the gaijin.Net platform. The first Alpha test for Age of Water begins soon.
Age of Water tells the story of a distant future when the Earth has been transformed into an ocean world. Residents live in cities built upon whatever urban structures remain above the water’s surface including skyscraper rooftops and giant statues. Take control of a motorboat and travel between settlements, fighting pirates, excavating the remnants of a lost civilization from the depths of the ocean and transport valuable goods whilst discovering whether the mythical land still exists.
“We believe that the bright visual style of Age of Water as well as it’s unusual setting and high level of freedom will appeal to the players that like exploring new worlds”, explains Yuri Miroshnikov, the producer of Age of Water.
In Age of Water players will need to complete quests in solo or with friends, fight against AI-controlled enemies, gather valuable resources, profit from price differences between settlements and freely explore the high seas of the open world. Between adventures, they can upgrade their boats or build new ones from available hulls and components. For example, they can construct an armoured deckhouse and fill the deck with high-calibre machine gun turrets.
More information on Age of Water is available at the official website. https://ageofwater.net/
New and Improved Features, Tighter Security and an Overall More Polished and Streamlined Experience Are Just the Beginning of Major Hotel Remodel
Helsinki, Finland — December 23, 2020 — Social entertainment company, Sulake, announced today that Habbo’s much-anticipated move from Flash to Unity has now entered Open Beta, starting the full transfer of the virtual social and gaming platform to a new client that will lead to a more secure and overall more polished experience. Through the end of 2020 Habbo will run simultaneously in Flash and the Open Beta in Unity, however starting January 1, 2021 the virtual hotel will only be available in Unity.
Many of the same beloved features are being prepped and revamped to make the move to Unity, including the Marketplace and trading system, while the new Habbo client will also introduce a number of new features including vaults and a new avatar leveling system.
“We are very excited to launch the Open Beta for Habbo 2020 today in Unity, which will allow us to vastly improve the user experience while still providing the most loved features of the original, just more polished and streamlined,” said Sulake CEO Valtteri Karu. “Our developers are hard at work building older and more complicated features into Habbo 2020 with the Unity game engine so that we can have all of your favorite features ready and working in future releases. We’ll keep you up to date with our progress on our website and social media pages, so drop by and let us know what you think!”
One of the original free-to-play virtual communities, Habbo’s focus on providing a safe and fun online space for self-expression held wide appeal for tweens and teens in the 2000’s and 2010’s. However, now the demographic tracks a bit older (young adults over 19 years make up 71% of the current player base) as the player base has grown up with Habbo and many have returned to the game during various COVID-19 lockdowns.
Throughout the course of its long and illustrious history, Habbo has celebrated widespread international success with 9 language versions and over 316M registered avatars in over 115 countries, creating over 500M rooms. Multiple awards have been showered on the service, including Fast 500 EMEA (2005), Best Community Site, Site of the Year (MetrixLab, multiple awards from 2006-2015), Global Safest Social Network (the European Commission, 2011) and the Nokia Foundation Award (2008), but the Habbo innovation doesn’t stop there. It was also one of the first online virtual communities to secure numerous advertising partnerships with over 300 brands from a wide variety of sectors and major celebrity features. These include musical artists Pink, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Ozzy Osbourne and blockbuster films such as the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, Fantastic Four and many more.
