Players will discover their destiny with new angel and class change in major November update
YOOZOO Games, Shanghai – 10.11.2020 | Players of the hit 3D online action RPG League of Angels – Heaven’s Furywelcome a new otherworldly figure to their ranks this month when the beautiful and divine character, the Angel of Destiny (Fortuna) is added to the game.
Fortuna’s celestial arrival into the desktop game makes her the third angelic character from the League of Angels series to be added. Lydia and the Angel of Vengeance (Alecta) made their way down from the heavens, blessing players with their presence, earlier this year. Fortuna will join Lydia, and Alecta in League of Angels – Heaven’s Fury later this month.
Starting today, November 10, players will also have the chance to become even more powerful beatific beings when the 8th class change opportunity is added to the game. Reach level 620 to unlock the exciting new Avatar gameplay system which allows players to improve their Battle Rating. Become a mighty, heavenly force and unleash glorious damage!
League of Angels – Heaven’s Fury welcomes several new, fun, and enjoyable events, allowing players to unlock brand new content and get discounted items. In the new phase of the Food Festival Event, External Display Fragments, all-new outfits, and more great rewards will be available!
Black Friday and Thanksgiving discount events will also give players more reasons to celebrate the holiday season. Equip these discounted items to show the world how happy you are for the holidays!
We thank players for their support and wish them a joyous November in League of Angels – Heaven’s Fury!
YOOZOO Games is a global entertainment company specializing in game development and distribution. The company is headquartered in Shanghai with offices across Asia, Europe, and the US. Since its founding in 2009, YOOZOO has forged a strong global distribution network and launched over 40 highly successful titles including Game of Thrones Winter is Coming, the League of Angels series and Saint Seiya Awakening: Knights of the Zodiac.
New Dungeon System and Various Boost Events Available for a Limited Time
LOS ANGELES – November 12, 2020 –Mabinogi, Nexon’s free-to-play fantasy MMORPG, today announced its latest update bringing various limited-time events to help Milletians earn an abundance of rewards and help them advance in the world of Erinn starting today.
The update adds a new, permanent Dungeon Guide System to escort players through the mystifying subterranean chambers, providing information about the major dungeons in Erinn with recommendations based on players’ physical and magical attacks. The system also comes with a guaranteed reward system to compensate players with some core rewards for their repeated efforts. There is even a new special shop with tons of useful items for players to exchange with the vouchers they can now earn through clearing the dungeons.
Now through December 10, players can also perform quests during the Generation Boost Event to earn a variety of rewards, including Erg level 35 catalyst, reforging tools, gems, pets, outfits, trade unlock potion and much more! Milletians will also receive a limited-time first title with strong stats that can further be upgraded. Players are encouraged to login as early as possible to enjoy the boosts longer. Completing G19-G24 is now easier and will also result in more grand rewards. Rewards will also be available to those who previously completed G19-G24.
As a bonus, Mabinogi is also bringing back the Dungeon Drop Rate Increase Event through December 17. During the event period, players will enjoy an increase in drop rates for some of Uladh’s rarest items. Entering Uladh Dungeons with up to seven friends will also now be available permanently.
Starting December 3, even more events, buffs and rewards will be added to help all Mabinogi players, whether active, returning or new, advance even further as they login to the game this Winter.
For more information on Mabinogi’s November update, visit the official website and follow @mabinogion Facebook for the latest updates.
Released in 2008, Mabinogi is an immersive free-to-play MMORPG world where mystical adventures await. Create anime-inspired heroes with thousands of customization options, such as hairstyles, facial features and outfits. Select from dozens of talents ranging from professional gunslingers and archers to musicians, tailors and cooks. Players can enjoy the game on their own terms, taking the perilous path of an adventurer or build a thriving business using unique trade skills.
Founded in 2005, Nexon America Inc. delivers outstanding free-to-play online game expertise and live game support, taking the strengths of NEXON Co., Ltd. (“Nexon”) and applying them for uniquely western audiences. Nexon America has consistently sustained iconic franchises such as MapleStory and Mabinogi for more than a decade, which have gone on to break records and captivate players. With new projects on the horizon, Nexon America maintains the pioneering and innovative spirit of its parent company, employing its player-first approach, while designing the best possible gameplay experiences for the western market.
Free Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition Companion PDF, adding additional clans, powers, coming this December
STOCKHOLM – November 12, 2020 –World of Darkness, the transmedia entertainment brand behind celebrated fantasy horror properties including Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse, announced today that Renegade Game Studios is now the Publishing Partner for its catalogue of tabletop role playing games (TTRPG). World of Darkness also revealed it is bringing IP development of its story universes in-house and is kicking off this change with Vampire: The Masquerade Companion, a free digital supplement that brings new playable clans to Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition, that will be available this December.
“Renegade and World of Darkness worked closely together on Vampire: The Masquerade – Rivals and the team proved their passion for our brands and alignment with our values in that collaboration,” said Sean Greaney, Brand Manager for World of Darkness at Paradox Interactive. “Our joint goal is to ensure that there will be no disruption of service for fans looking to get their hands on Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition books.”
“We’re thrilled to work with the World of Darkness team and create exciting content for this rich universe of supernatural horror.” said Scott Gaeta, President and Publisher at Renegade Game Studios. “We look forward to supporting the existing community and welcoming in new players very soon.”
Check out this video where the World of Darkness team discusses the Renegade Game Studios partnership, future development of tabletop products, and deep dives into the Vampire: The Masquerade Companion book.
World of Darkness is taking over IP development of its story universes, including Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Led by World of Darkness Creative Lead Justin Achilli, they will create the foundational material – including core TTRPG books – for all stories set in a World of Darkness franchise, including video games, comics, and other forms of media. Renegade Game Studios, working with local partners globally, will broaden the offering with additional TTRPG products. Additionally, all World of Darkness books will continue to include sensitivity reviews as part of the development process.
“Bringing IP development in-house is one of the many reasons why the World of Darkness team hired me and I’m thrilled to take on this responsibility. I’ll be working with handpicked teams to set the lore, atmosphere, and tone that players have come to expect, and working with partners like Renegade to create compelling stories within that framework,” Achilli said. “Even though I’m leading this process, we’ll continue to work with teams of writers and freelancers. Our goal is to ensure that book development happens with teams that include a diversity of voices.”
While World of Darkness will take over IP development of its core TTRPG books, as publisher, Renegade Game Studios will handle publishing and marketing of these products. Everything that falls outside of the core story setting, as determined by World of Darkness, will be developed and published by Renegade Game Studios.
The Vampire: The Masquerade Companion book brings highly-anticipated Vampire clans from the community into tabletop play and gives Storytellers more tools to enhance their narratives. To download completely free of charge, fans will simply need to visit the World of Darkness website (https://worldofdarkness.com) and log in with a Paradox account.
Vampire: The Masquerade Companion Key Features:
Three vampire clans: Tzimisce, Ravnos, Salubri
Discipline powers representing each of the new clans
How to play rules for ghouls and mortals
Details on each clan’s view on vampire coteries
Additional Merits for players’ characters
Updates to Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition core rulebook
“World of Darkness fans have been asking us for more Vampire: The Masquerade content since we launched the 5th edition core book in 2018. Vampire: The Masquerade Companion is our answer, adding in some of their most-requested features like clan Tzimisce and rules for Mortals”, said Martyna Zych, Brand Community Developer for World of Darkness. “We are listening to our players, and now that we are developing IP in-house, we are equipped to respond to their feedback and produce content like the Companion. This is just one of many products we have in the pipeline, and while we can’t reveal anything else now, I will say that it is a great time to be a World of Darkness fan.”
World of Darkness will share more information about its lineup of announced products including, Second Inquisition, Vampire: The Masquerade Player’s Guide, Werewolf: The Apocalypse core book and more in the coming weeks. The first TTRPG book to release under this new process will be the Sabbat Sect Book. Stay tuned to www.worldofdarkness.com for updates.
About World of Darkness World of Darkness is a transmedia entertainment brand encompassing a number of modern fantasy horror franchises, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and more. Through tabletop roleplaying games, video games, board games, literature, comic books, and more, these franchises tell mature stories in a dark supernatural fantasy layered over our modern world. Since 1991, World of Darkness has defined monster-perspective entertainment for a generation of fans. For more information visit www.worldofdarkness.com.
About Renegade Game Studios Renegade Game Studios was established in 2014 by game industry veteran Scott Gaeta to publish engaging, unique, and fun tabletop games and has published a catalog full of award-winning titles. Renegade’s catalog of games includes numerous popular titles such as Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Card Game, Gudetama: The Tricky Egg Card Game and award-winning titles such as Raiders of the North Sea, Clank! A Deck-Building Game, and The Fox in the Forest.
About Paradox Interactive Paradox Interactive is a leading global publisher of strategy games for PC and console. The company has developed and published a world-renowned catalog stretching back to 1999, with players hailing from all around the world.
The publisher’s steadily-growing portfolio includes firmly established franchises such as the critically acclaimed Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings, Hearts of Iron, and Stellaris series created by Paradox Development Studio, the Age of Wonders series created by Triumph Studios, as well as award-winning titles such as Cities: Skylines, Pillars of Eternity, and more from a network of partner studios. Paradox is the owner of the World of Darkness IPs and is publishing Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Today, over four million people play a Paradox game each month, and the number of registered Paradox users is over twelve million.
Paradox’s head offices are located in Stockholm, Sweden. Our development studios are located in Stockholm, Malmö and Umeå, Sweden, in Delft, The Netherlands, in Seattle, Washington, and in Berkeley, California. We share a passion for gaming and gamers, and our goal is to provide deep and challenging games with hours of gameplay and endless variety to our ever-growing community.
What Secrets will Ryza and her Furry Companion Discover Inside the Ruins’ Depths?
Burlingame, Calif. – November 12, 2020 – KOEI TECMO America and developer GUST Studios are excited to reveal the latest gameplay details and characters featured in Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy. The 22nd entry into the magical Atelier franchise will be released in North America on January 26, 2021 for Nintendo Switch™, Windows PC via Steam®, PlayStation®4, and digitally on PlayStation®5*. The thrilling and emotional JRPG follows Ryza and friends as they set out in an all-new quest to discover the secrets behind the ancient ruins and the truth behind the lost legends inside the Royal Capital.
Joining Ryza on her adventure is the adorable and enigmatic creature known as Fi. Ryza and Fi become increasingly close throughout their journey, with the bond between the two deepening as they begin to live together. As Fi continues to grow, Ryza realizes that the creature possesses a mysterious power. Ryza eventually brings Fi to explore the ancient ruins, and when Fi behaves like it wants to go deeper into the unknown darkness, the party discovers a glowing crystal that seems to hold deeper meaning to Ryza’s new best friend. While exploring the ruins, Ryza and Fi run into Empel and Lila, who initially helped guide Ryza in her adventures three years ago. In fact, Empel is the one who taught Ryza alchemy, while Lila remains one of the fiercest female warriors in the land. The pair continue their search for “something” special in the ruins. Could their search also help Ryza and Fi learn the secrets of the lost legends?
Check out the Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy theme above
In addition to the expanded character roster, Ryza will also be aided on her adventure by her Puni companions. These blob-like creatures can be sent on gathering trips, and will now even be able to level up, making it easier to discover rare items to pass along to Ryza. Ryza can then use these items to decorate inside her atelier, and by changing things like the wall or floor, Ryza will be able to influence certain special effects, including the likeliness of having sunny weather.
Alongside the new gameplay and character details, KOEI TECMO America also announced the first information related to the title’s Digital Deluxe and Ultimate Editions, which will be made available digitally for Nintendo Switch™, Windows PC via Steam®, PlayStation®4, and PlayStation®5. The Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy Digital Deluxe Edition features the base game along with additional costumes and gathering spots, including the Kurken Island Gathering Tour, Another Style Costume Set, the Summer Memories Costume Set, the Helpful Items Set, and the All You Need! Gem Pack. The Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy Ultimate Edition features everything included inside the Digital Deluxe Edition along with the Atelier Ryza 2: Season Pass and the special Season Pass bonus Ryza costume: Mysterious Book Alchemist.
First Season Pass details were also revealed, including 12 upcoming DLC packs that will be available at a lower price when purchased as a Season Pass than when purchased individually. Upcoming DLC includes new swimsuit costumes, recipe expansion packs, the additional area of Keldorah Castle, the high-difficulty area of Flame Sun Island, and the Gust Extra BGM Pack.
Additionally, gamers who pre-order physical versions of Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy at select retailers will receive the “Beware of Puni!” and “Blue Puni Costume” t-shirt DLC for Ryza! In addition, gamers who purchase a physical or digital copy of Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy during the first two weeks of launch can download for free the “Summer Fashion Costume Set” Early Purchase Bonus. Gamers who have save data from Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout will also be able to unlock the Classic Costume Set, including outfits for Ryza and her friends from the previous title.
For all of the latest news on Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, check out the official site, like KOEI TECMO on Facebook @KoeiTecmoUS, and follow us on Twitter @KoeiTecmoUS.
*By purchasing the digital or physical PlayStation®4 versions of Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, you can receive an upgrade to the digital PlayStation®5 version of Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy at no additional cost.
ABOUT KOEI TECMO AMERICA CORP.
KOEI TECMO AMERICA CORP. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds and digital download content based in Burlingame, California. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. KOEI is best known for its Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® franchises. TECMO is best known for the Dead or Alive®, Ninja Gaiden®, Tecmo Bowl®, and Fatal Frame® series.
Milan, Italy. 12th November 2020 – 505 Games and console developer FunLabs are thrilled to announce that the acclaimed open-world zombie survival sandbox game UNTURNED is now available digitally worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is priced at £19.99GBP/€24.99EUR/$24.99USD and is available from the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store.
UNTURNED is created by Smartly Dressed Games, a studio launched by Canadian developer and game designer Nelson Sexton. The studio has partnered with publisher 505 Games and remains actively involved in the console development process.
After a hugely successful PC launch (with over 400k ‘very positive’ reviews on Steam), UNTURNED now turns its brain munching attention to consoles, offering an enhanced gameplay experience and a host of new features. As well as specific console improvements such as a redesigned camera system, enhanced physics and graphics as well as specific console controller support, UNTURNED will also offer local split-screen multiplayer for zombie killing fun from the comfort (and safety) of your couch. Another exciting addition for consoles will be the option for players to create their own persistent game worlds on private servers so they can either play with their friends or open them up to anyone in the community. These private servers will be made available free of charge for all console players.
A brand new trailer, full to the brim with zombie stomping action, has been released to celebrate the launch of UNTURNED. You can watch the trailer on YouTube at the links below
UNTURNED is an open-world survival sandbox game where players assume the role of a survivor, dropped into the zombie-infested ruins of modern day society, and must work with friends and forge alliances to remain among the living. Players must search out supplies such as clothes, food and weapons, as well as scavenge for resources like wood and metal to create strongholds and defenses to fend off the zombie horde. Survivors must also keep an eye on their health by finding food and water as well as checking on radiation levels. Getting hit by a zombie or entering ‘deadzones’ without the proper hazmat protection will have an impact on their health. As they progress through the game, players can earn experience points that can be used to upgrade their character improving their chance of survival!
Key Features of UNTURNED for PS4 and Xbox One:
Massive maps – explore up to 8 sandbox maps by traveling by land, air, and sea
Craft – create your equipment and structures from supplies you collect
Power up – upgrade skills in three categories: Offense, Defense, Support
Customise – avatars can be fully cosmetically personalized
Multiplayer – brave zombies and other foes alone or team up with friends
Split Screen – play locally with a friend in split-screen mode
Compete or ally – attempt to form alliances with other players or take out all the competition
UNTURNED is now available digitally worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, priced at £19.99GBP/€24.99EUR/$24.99USD, from the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store.
About 505 Games
505 Games, a subsidiary of the Italian entertainment company Digital Bros., is a global publisher focused on offering a broad selection of video games for players of all ages and skill levels. The company publishes and distributes premium and free-to-play games on leading console and PC platforms as well as mobile devices and social networks.
Publishing highlights include DEATH STRANDING (PC), Control, Journey to the Savage Planet, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Indivisible, Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons, Terraria, ABZÛ and Virginia. Distribution highlights include No Man’s Sky, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, Dead by Daylight and Inside/Limbo.
505 Games has offices in United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, China and Japan. For more information on 505 Games and its products please visit 505games.com.[WC1]
About Smartly Dressed Games
Smartly Dressed Games is an independent Canadian studio. Their current flagship project is the PC version of Unturned with development dating back to mid-2013. For more information please visit https://smartlydressedgames.com
About FunLabs FUN Labs is a Romanian company developing games for more than 20 years. A full-service development studio, FUN labs made games on all major gaming platforms from PS2 and original Xbox to current gen consoles and PC. For 16 years, Fun Labs was an exclusive studio for Activision developing a wide variety of games including Cabela’s outdoor games franchise, NPPL Championship Paintball, Angry Birds, Transformers Fall of Cybertron, Prototype. Fun Labs recently completed the port and remaster of the best-selling survival game, Stranded Deep, as well the full remake of Walking Dead 1, Walking Dead 2, and Walking Dead 3, the smash hit, critically acclaimed series from Telltale Games. For more information on FunLabs please visit www.funlabs.com.
Thunderful Publishing are proud to announce that two titles will be represented at the event Indie X 2020, which is an annual international showcase and competition focused solely on indie games. The two titles from Thunderful Publishing represented at the festival this year are Say No! More and Curious Expedition 2 and The festival runs from 28th of October to the 15th of November.
“It’s always great fun to have our games showcased at different events such as Indie X 2020, as we feel it’s a great way for our titles to touch new audiences,” said Paulina Lorné, Marketing Manager at Thunderful Publishing. “It also gives our developers a chance to talk about their creations and what drives their passion to create these unique and wonderful experiences.”
Say No! More (Q&A and Demo Showcase) – November 12th, 3 PM CET Studio Fizbin’s Marius Winter and Nick Maierhöfer will be showcasing their upcoming title Say No! More, coming to PC, Nintendo Switch™ and iOS platforms in 2021. The developers will demo new gameplay, discuss particular aspects of Say No! More and its development with their co-host from Rubber Chicken Games. Expect some seriously oddball humour, beautifully chunky visuals and more ways to say “NO!” than you’ve ever imagined!
Curious Expedition 2 (Q&A and Demo Showcase) – November 13th, 3 PM CET Maschinen-Mensch’s Mascha Camino will be showcasing their Early Access hit Curious Expedition 2, in development for PC, PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch™ and Xbox One. Host Ricardo Correia (Rubber Chicken) will be going through an expedition with Mascha guiding him through this emergent narrative fable where no two journeys are ever the same. Expect a sense of pulpy adventure, whimsical characters and unexpected scenarios, all wrapped up in a charming Franco-Belgian comic book aesthetic.
Amidst the announcement of the next generation of video game consoles, phishers and scammers are increasing interested in using the launch of the new PlayStation to their advantage. Here is what cyber security firm Kaspersky found:
130 suspicious resources around the world mentioning ‘PlayStation’ in their names.
1/2 the number of such websites detected between January and October.
These sites mainly offer visitors the chance to pre-order the PlayStation 5 by making a prepayment or by leaving personal information.
Kaspersky’s researcher remind gamers what to look out for in a scam.
12 November 2020
Amid the announcement of the next generation of video game consoles, phishers and scammers are becoming increasing interested in using the launch of the new PlayStation to their advantage. Just this recent October, Kaspersky has found about 130 suspicious resources around the world mentioning ‘PlayStation’ in their names, which is half the number of such websites detected between January and October.
These sites mainly offer visitors the chance to pre-order the PlayStation 5 by making a prepayment or by leaving personal information. Some webpages even offered purchasing the console at a lower price than the official retail cost. There were also resources that stated there was a special sale price available for the previous version of console – the PlayStation 4. They attributed the discount to the release of the new PS5.
“We would like to remind users that if something on the internet looks too good to be true, then it is probably a scam. Messages about sales and pre-orders should be checked on reliable sources and we advise against clicking on links from suspicious emails or messages on messengers and social networks. It is also recommended to install a security solution with up-to-date databases of phishing and spam resources,” says Kaspersky’s security expert Tatyana Sidorina.
About Kaspersky
Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies and we help 250,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.au
Fleeceware applications, posing as Minecraft mods, lure hundreds of dollars per month from their users for simple services such as new wallpapers
November 11, 2020 — Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy products, has identified a wave of malicious mobile applications in the Google Play Store targeting gamers, particularly fans of the popular Minecraft video game. These so-called “fleeceware” applications offer new skins, colorful wallpapers, or modifications for the game, but disproportionately charge users hundreds of dollars per month. Avast has reported seven of these apps to Google, but as of this publication they are all still active.
Fleeceware, a relatively new category of cybercrime, offers users an attractive service, usually for a short free trial period of three days. After that, the application will automatically and subtly begin charging excessive costs, up to USD $30 (AUD $40/NZD $44) per week. Fraudsters expect the user to forget about the installed application and its short trial, or fail to notice the real subscription cost. The reviews will have many 1 or 5 star reviews but nothing in the middle, with a low star rating overall.
“Scams of this nature take advantage of those who don’t always read the fine print details of every app they download. In this case, young children are particularly at risk because they may think they are innocently downloading a Minecraft accessory, but not understand or may not pay attention to the details of the service to which they are subscribing,” noted Ondrej David, malware analysis team lead at Avast. “We urge our customers to remain vigilant when downloading any app from unknown developers and to always carefully research user reviews and billing agreements before subscribing.”
If you have installed an app that you suspect may be fleeceware, it is not enough to uninstall the app; you must also cancel the subscription directly in the Play Store (Play Store → Menu in the upper left corner → Subscription).
Avast has reported the following fleeceware apps to Google Play:
Avast (LSE:AVST), a FTSE 100 company, is a global leader in digital security products. With over 400 million users online, Avast offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect people from threats on the internet and the evolving IoT threat landscape. The company’s threat detection network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in real time. Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Visit:www.avast.com.
Crafting a gripping horror story, especially one that allows players to have a little bit of input into how things will play out, is incredibly difficult and through the years Supermassive Games has done their best endeavoring on delivering the best spine-tingling games they can. With Until Dawn serving as their best starting point, the developer moved onto an anthology series of games that, while smaller in scale, would come out at a quicker pace. With Man of Medan being the first in The Dark Pictures Anthology and serving as a base of what to expect, has the developer stepped things up a bit for the most recent entry, Little Hope?
Story
It is worth noting that like any anthology, the story for Little Hope is entirely self-contained so those who have not played Man of Medan do not need to worry about missing any clues or even references to events that have happened in the past. Instead Little Hope is set entirely in a small New England town aptly named Little Hope that not only took part in the horrific witch trials of the 17th century but also suffered from a horrific tragedy closer to modern day with an entire family losing their lives in the 1970s. Here players find their group of survivors stranded in the middle of the night after their bus flips and crashes in the middle of the road after taking a detour. With no sign of the bus driver and a mysterious fog preventing them from leaving, four college students and their professor find themselves completely lost.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope takes on a bit more of a unique twist when it comes to storytelling as rather than simply focus on the now, it also focuses heavily on events that have happened during a series of witch trials that plagued the village in the past. Incredibly creepy ghosts often grab a hold of characters and bring them into visions of events from the past, giving players and the characters themselves a glimpse at the town’s history and, oddly enough, the doppelgangers of every survivor always seem to play a major role in these events. Of course delving too much deeper into the meanings of these visions and the how these interactions between the characters and their past selves would spoil things, but let’s just say that character interactions and choices do play a major role here in ways that many would not expect.
That being said, where things quickly spiraled out of control and featured a number of escalations throughout the story in Man of Medan, this time around Little Hope is a far slower burn when it comes to both revealing plot details and even delivering some proper scares. This does help drive the tension up, especially when players know their characters are being stalked by demonic creatures, but often the pay off doesn’t quite feel worth it. This is partially due to the fact that the game relies heavily on swapping between the current time and back to the events occurring in the 17th century. As a result it can become a bit difficult to feel attached to some of the cast’s current selves as they are given very little time to really develop in any meaningful way outside of the choices that players make.
These choices do seem to play a more pivotal role in how various events will play out than in their previous game. As before, characters will have unique traits that develop depending on how players choose to play them and not only can some of their negative traits or positive traits play a role in how they automatically react to a scene, they can play a major role in other events as well. This means that, outside of tring to go for the handful of different endings and the numerous variations of each one, players will find plenty of replayability here to see how various scenes play out depending on the choices one has made.
Gameplay
In most ways players will find that The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope plays the same as the previous game in the series as players will find themselves making timed dialogue decisions, exploring the environment while searching for “secrets” that can reveal more of the game’s plot and some mysteries of their own, and of course taking part in a number of quick time events as well as “keep calm” rhythm style events. Both the quick time events and rhythm events have been made a bit easier with the latter not lasting nearly as long as they used to and the former now featuring a bit of warning before the player needs to worry about pressing the button. These warnings also feature some context icons so players can roughly know what to expect when they appear.
Another change that has been made to the game is the way the camera system works. While players still have a general control of the camera the game will occasionally take on a dynamic camera angle that, while useful for a jump scare at times, can often halt progress entirely as the character veers off into a wall due to the quick camera shift. It is nice to note that the dynamic shifting between character perspectives during intense sequences is a noticeable improvement and helps keep tension high as players often need to worry about keeping more than one character alive during a scene now. While searching for secrets and the returning “photos” that serve as premonitions for events that can potentially happen in the future, players will find that Little Hope is a bit more limiting in exploration despite featuring areas that appear to be open in nature. Instead, players will often find themselves limited by a fog that will prevent any type of backtracking in an area and teleport them back to the rest of the group, hindering some exploration of bigger areas.
Visuals & Audio
One area that Supermassive Games continues to excel at is creating some amazing looking character models that are highly detailed as well as some incredibly horrific looking monsters that the survivors will need to worry about. Even the town of Little Hope itself is a delightfully dilapidated shadow of its former self and helps provide a spooky atmosphere as players travel through run-down buildings, overgrown paths, and ancient burial grounds in a town that was well known for its witch trials.
As for the voice work, the characters are handled excellently here as their portrayals come off as natural and fitting for most of the horrific and confusing scenes that can play out in front of them. The sound effects and background noises really help convey a sense of dread while exploring the town and while the signature theme song used for the first game does return as a great rock intro for the game, a fairly awful “cover” version is used for the credits that doesn’t match the feel of the track at all.
Overall
It is clear that Supermassive Games is starting to get a hang of things with The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope as the developers have told a tale that is far more intriguing and mysterious than their first entry but the slower burn and eventual pay-off still feel a bit flawed. By polishing the quick time events and featuring the same classic mechanics as before, Little Hope serves as a noticeable improvement in The Dark Pictures Anthology but one that is still lacking in some areas, especially when it comes to exploring the creepy world it takes place in.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Cobra Kai, along with the rebirth of The Karate Kid in terms of popularity has been an impressive wave to watch grow. While I personally am a little outside the scope for the main franchise, I do love a good beat-em up, which on paper sounds like a perfect fit for the popular television show. Does Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues pack a punch or does it need a bit of training before it is ready for the big leagues? Let’s find out.
Story
There is quite a bit of story packed into this romp, as players get to choose from one of two, selecting to represent the Miyagi-Do dojo or the Cobra Kai dojo. Without giving too many spoilers away, most elements from around the second season of the show are here, with familiar foes, allies, and bosses.
Playing as mainly Johnny, Amanda, Miguel, and of course Daniel, players basically beat up enemies, get fed a bit of story through progression, and move forward. The narrative is told through voiced still scenes and lightly animated comic sequences, which are fine, but seem a bit of an easy way out (or cheap, if you will) for such a big namesake.
Gameplay
The gameplay is where Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues kind of starts showing its development life. I am sure Flux tried with the development, and it does show, but there is a lot of roughness here, as for a 2D beat-em up, the mechanics feel broken at most times. Let’s start with the combo system, which is pushed heavily throughout. The game rewards high combos and there are plenty of repeating enemies that will allow it. The issue with the combo system is that the core gameplay is a bit unhinged, lacking polish. For instance, enemies will go one frame above you in the street while you are attacking and stop taking hits, which makes this process feel disjointed due to constant interruptions. There is no smooth flow due to this, meaning if I am laying into an enemy, entering correct inputs to pull off a combo, one small movement may falter the entire process.
The AI also is a huge mixed bag. One of my first boss battles was way too simple as he got stuck in some sort of walking loop and I was quickly able to lay in attacks until he was defeated. I think during my entire time with the game I only looked at my life meter in worry maybe once or twice as the AI for all enemies is so predictable and broken that I never really felt a true challenge. I kind of started to think “Oh, he is going to do this, so I will just stand here and wait, then move in for some hits.” There is so much depth to this system that I do think this wasn’t intentional, as the quick back and forth character switching, power-ups, and so on have a lot of thought and meaning behind them, but the game just doesn’t seem to need to use them due to its own bugs and shortcomings.
The skill tree within the game is awesome as you can make a character feel customized to your own liking, with no walls up for linear growth. That was great to see as I can make any character stronger in defense, offense, and so on – but with the execution of the gameplay’s core, you don’t really get to feel the payoff and overall effect of such a well-crafted system in play. There is a lot of game here and it is playable. I can even say co-op is a lot more fun as you and friend can do quite a bit to bring more to the table, but I recommend going in without thinking about Streets of Rage or Double Dragon as this title just does not live up to any of the famous beat-em ups from the past, even though there are times you can see with more time applied, it probably could have been so much better.
Visuals & Audio
The graphics are fine for the most part. I dig the art style and the environments, but yet again there are signs of a rushed release. Background models sit in shaded areas with no problem, looking as they should. Even if you go in the shade, your character is still just as lit up as they ever were, and the effect it conveys on screen is kind of jarring, making the game look cheap. Animations also look wooden, as the player rarely has a smooth connection during attacks, despite dealing damage heavily.
Sound wise, the voice actors, which are mostly from the actual show do fine to bring their parts to life. Sometimes the change in audio however make it seem like one is in a poorly filtered sound room, while others seem to be in a normal studio. When these two opposites come together for a conversation, it again feels unnatural and noticeable. The soundtrack is fine, with tunes from the show setting an atmosphere to thwomp enemies in. There are also some generic tunes throughout, which blend it all into what can be thought of as a forgettable set-list overall.
Overall
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues will certainly be acceptable to fans as it does capture the product it is representing. That said, as a video game, and a beat-em up at that – it simply feels far too rushed and rough to recommend. I think there were a lot of awesome ideas on the table and the developers simply tried to push them all in, without seeing if the core actually functioned with the depth they were adding to enhance it, leaving with what feels like a huge missed opportunity as with patches and more attention, this title could be good. As it stands, both dojos are in need of “under construction signs, as for the price tag, this is sadly another licensed title that just doesn’t feel complete.
