A new psychological horror game has been revealed by Bloober Team and it is called The Medium and will be releasing sometime this holiday season for the Xbox Series X and PC with the game being part of the Xbox Game Pass at launch. Bloober Team has stated that the game will feature a “dual” soundtack that will feature Bloober Team’s Arkadiusz Reikowski as well as Silent Hill’s composer Akira Yamaoka.
In The Medium players take on the role of a medium living in two different worlds: the real one and the spirit one. Haunted by the vision of a child’s murder, you travel to an abandoned hotel resort, which many years ago became the stage of an unthinkable tragedy. There you begin your search for difficult answers. As a medium with access to both worlds, you have a wider perspective and can see more clearly that there’s no one simple truth to what others perceive. Nothing is what it seems, everything has another side.
A new action RPG has been revealed by Curve Digital by the name of The Ascent. The Ascent is a sci-fi shooter that will allow for players to tackle the story alone or with a team of up to three friends through either online or local co-op in a cyberpunk world. Players take on the role of a worker, by the company that owns you and everyone else in your district. One day, whilst sent on a routine assignment to make use of your skills with a cyberdeck, you are suddenly caught in a vortex of catastrophic events.
The Ascent Group, the largest mega corporation on the planet, shuts down for unknown reasons, causing the automated security systems to go haywire.The survival of your district is threatened: rival corporations are trying to force appropriation and crime syndicates are looking to boost their black-market augmentation trade. You must take up arms to stop them from seizing control and embark on a new mission to find out what started it all.
The reveal trailer as well as a number of screenshots can be found below and The Ascent is currently set to be released sometime this year for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC.
A brand new RPG from the former members of the Tales of development team has been announced by Bandai Namco by the name of Scarlet Nexus. The game will be coming to the Xbox Series X and Xbox One with the game supporting Smart Delivery at launch and will also be coming to the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC at the same time.
Scarlet Nexus is set in the far distant future, where a psionic hormone was discovered in the human brain, granting people extra-sensory powers and changing the world as we know it.Just as humanity was entering this new era, deranged mutants known as Others began to descend from the sky with a thirst for human brains. Highly resistant to conventional attack methods, extreme measures needed to be taken to battle the overwhelming threat and preserve humanity.
Those with acute extra-sensory abilities, known as psionics, were our chance to fight the onslaught from above. To this day, psionics have been scouted for their talents and recruited to the Other Suppression Force (OSF), humanity’s last line of defense.Take on the role of Yuito Sumeragi, a new recruit to the OSF aiming to become an elite psionic like the one who saved him as a child. Armed with a talent in psycho-kinesis, explore the futuristic city of New Himuka and uncover the mysteries of a Brain Punk future caught between technology and psychic abilities.
After receiving plenty of Yakuza support over the last few months it looks like Microsoft will be continuing to see the franchise appearing on the consoles in the future as Sega has announced that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be releasing on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC as well as the previously confirmed PlayStation 4 version. While the announcement didn’t come with a release date Sega did state that it will be releasing on all platforms on the same time and that the Xbox versions of the game will allow for cross-save and feature the Smart Delivery system.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon follows a new protagonist by the name of Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking grunt of a low-ranking yakuza family, takes the fall for a crime he didn’t commit in order to protect his patriarch and father-figure, Masumi Arakawa. After serving an 18-year prison sentence, he returns to society to discover that the clan he once belonged to has been destroyed, its few remaining members are being hunted in the streets, and learns that his former patriarch may be the man responsible for it all. Facing an unimaginable sense of betrayal, loss, and confusion, he sets out to discover the truth.
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN in good hands for Spanish esports weekend
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN will have class on show during this weekend’s esports competitions, with Antonio Giovinazzi remaining a constant fixture in our driver line-up. The Italian will compete, as last weekend, in both the Veloce “Not the GP” Series and the official Formula One Virtual Grand Prix. He will be paired with esports ace, Daniel Bereznay, in the former and with Real Madrid CF goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, in the latter.
With just short of three million viewers tuning in to watch the race live on various platforms, expectations are sky high for the team. Having been plagued by game issues outside of his control, Antonio will aim to reap the fruits of his work in the two events; with his technical gremlins hopefully behind him, his pace has a chance to come through and earn him a top position at the chequered flag.
Alongside Antonio, shot-stopper extraordinaire Thibaut Courtois will ensure the team is in the safest pair of hands. Having demonstrated his ability behind the wheel, the Belgian footballer returns to the Virtual Grand Prix, making his official debut for Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN. Clinching a top result on his first outing with the team in the series would be a sweet way to mark the day…
Sunday will also see the return of the Pro Exhibition race, in which Daniel Bereznay will be paired with Iran’s Bardia Boroumand – the Hungarian also competing for the team in the Veloce series on Saturday. After a convincing show in Brazil last week, the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN duo enter this weekend’s race with the sights firmly on a top result – despite the ever increasingly competitive field they will have to contend with.
The Spanish Virtual Grand Prix will be live from 7:00pm (CEST) on Sunday, May 10, on Formula One’s official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch, Weibo, Huya and Facebook channels. The Pro Exhibition race will start one hour before, at 6:00pm (CEST), while the Veloce “Not the GP” will take place at 9pm (CEST) on Saturday.
About Sauber Group of Companies: The Sauber Group of Companies is composed of three operational entities: Sauber Motorsport AG, which operates and manages the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula One team; Sauber Engineering AG, which focuses on prototype development and additive manufacturing; and Sauber Aerodynamik AG, which conducts full and model-scale testing in the factory’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel and creates ground-breaking innovations in the field of aerodynamics. The companies collaborate closely and share know-how to apply the expertise of more than 500 dedicated individuals at the headquarter in Hinwil, Switzerland, to all internal and external projects. Since its founding in 1970, the passion for racing has been at the heart of Sauber.
For over 45 years, the innovative Swiss company has been setting standards in the design, development and construction of race cars for various championship series, such as Formula One, DTM, and WEC. Following its own Formula One debut in 1993, Sauber Motorsport AG has established one of the few traditional and privately held teams in the sport. After 25 years of competition in Formula One, the company launched a long-term partnership with Alfa Romeo in 2018 and enters the 2020 championship under the new team name Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN.
While XCOM 3 is still a daydream or an unannounced project, fans of the franchise are still getting another game based on the XCOM 2. XCOM Chimera Squad is set after the war. Humans, hybrids, and aliens now live a mostly peaceful coexistence in City 31. XCOM has sent Chimera Squad, the first team to consist of humans, hybrids, and aliens alike to take dangerous items off the streets. With the assassination of an important figure, the team’s mission changes as they struggle to find out who is trying to disassemble the fragile peace in City 31.
Story
I enjoyed XCOM Chimera Squad’s writing. The plot is a standard police drama with a sci-fi twist. The plot isn’t very deep, but it’s enough to bring all the missions together. For those new to the franchise, there’s a decent amount of world building in the character biographies and the radio chatter between missions. The story has a certain degree of replayability as players have the option to chase different targets and each team member has their own lines for mission conversations. The random banter between characters is probably some of the best writing in the game. It brings out each character’s unique personality and offers some lighthearted moments to break up the grittier plot.
Gameplay
XCOM Chimera Squad takes the franchise’s classic turn-based combat and gives it a SWAT team twist. The main addition is the breach mode that starts off each map. Players assign each of their four squad members to enter from available entrances. Each entrance has a randomly generated effect that can help or hinder characters. During the breach, characters are also able to trigger a variety of items and abilities that can give the player a little extra edge in combat.
The overworld board game binds each individual mission together. While there are also some options for improving character skills and snagging extra currency, the emphasis is squarely on managing the city’s anarchy. Too much anarchy and it is game over. The difficulty starts at a leisurely pace, but soon becomes a constant panic as players try to figure out what is the least bad choice to make.
Combat is an enjoyable challenge. Mission difficulty trends upwards in a consistent linear fashion save for the odd story mission that needs to be done in a specific way. Characters synergize well, offering a lot of opportunity for creative tactics. Enemies tend to hit incredibly hard, so tactical errors can be punishing. By default, XCOM Chimera Squad is still reasonably accessible to new players. Permadeath isn’t a thing as the game ends if a character bleeds out and dies; however, players are still punished for having character knocked out in combat as they are left with a scar that lowers a stat. Training can remove a scar, but it will take a character out of action for two days. The game tends to be very generous with the auto-saves, so it’s easy enough to wind back to an earlier save in case a serious tactical error is made. Of course, there are options to amp up the difficulty for the truly hardcore.
The gameplay is incredibly addictive. The tick-tock rhythm of the gameplay pushed me into a “just one more turn” mindset that made time fly by. The endless possibilities for creating different team synergy is more than enough motivation to try multiple runs through the game. For those new to the franchise, XCOM Chimera Squad’s riveting gameplay is an excellent example of why the franchise has had so much staying power.
The tutorial could be improved. There is a short battle to introduce players to the basics, but the rest is left for the players to figure it out. There is some documentation in the in-game manual, but it doesn’t cover everything.
The balancing is well done for the most part. Each character fills a specific niche, allowing for all the synergy possibilities. No character seems to be excessively underpowered, but there are a few that still need balancing. Blueblood is incredibly overpowered compared to other DPS characters and needs some attention. Zephyr also needs some balancing because her fist weapon can’t be upgraded. In the beginning, she an incredibly powerful character. At end game, she must either be converted to a less effective crowd control character or a pretty average DPS who must follow a cookie cutter talent build.
The biggest flaw with XCOM Chimera Squad is the incredible number of bugs plaguing the game. While there is nothing game breaking, there is enough quantity to make up for it. Everything is there, from minor graphical glitches causing characters to float in the air for no reason to major issues like upgrade descriptions being completely incorrect.
Visuals
The game uses a nice combination of comic book-style 2D art with a more realistic 3D style. The 3D style won’t be mistaken for a hyper-realistic look as there is a hint of comic book influence with the slightly flatter colour palette. While the 2D work uses simple animations, the 3D animations are well done. Character movement is both realistic and natural looking.
Audio
The audio experience is solid. The sound effects are good, with a nice variety to keep combat from getting stale. The soundtrack is enjoyable and unobtrusive, with heavy use of low-key electronic music for the sci-fi flair.
Overall
Even with its warts, XCOM Chimera Squad is a fantastic game. Since most of its problems are not mechanical in nature, a lot of issues will be fixable given some time and patches. It’s just a shame the game wasn’t held back by a month or two to allow for more polishing time. Considering its price point and the amount of content offered, XCOM Chimera Squad is a solid pick to keep XCOM fans busy while they wait for XCOM 3 and give new players a chance to see what the franchise is all about at a very accessible price point.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Celebrity Jackbox: Games & Giving Returns Tonight with Jack Black, Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudeikis and Keke Palmer
Jackbox Games is donating $100,000 every episode to groups battling the impact of COVID-19, tonight in support of Save the Children
CHICAGO — May 8, 2020 — Celebrity Jackbox: Games & Giving, the new live-streaming series featuring famous personalities playing Jackbox Games’ hilarious party games, returns tonight with special guests Olivia Wilde (Booksmart, House), Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live, Horrible Bosses), Jack Black (Tenacious D, Jumanji), and Keke Palmer (Hustlers, GMA3: Strahan, Sarah and Keke).
The fun kicks off tonight at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, and Facebook Live. Fans can play along from home as audience members by going to Jackbox.tv on their mobile devices and entering the onscreen code.
Tonight Jackbox will spotlight the important work of and make a $100,000 donation toSave the Children, which is responding to the pandemic by protecting and preparing doctors and health clinics in refugee camps, helping children in unsafe households, and supporting distance learning in the face of school closures. Learn more about Save the Children’s ongoing efforts at www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do/emergency-response/coronavirus-outbreak.
Produced in partnership with Mission Control Media and 3 Arts Entertainment, Celebrity Jackbox: Games & Giving is a 10-episode streaming series to highlight and support not-for-profit organizations fighting pandemic-related hardships for first responders, displaced workers, victims and their families, and healthcare and service workers. Each episode, Jackbox donates $100,000 to a new group, for a combined total of $1 million over the series’ run. New episodes air Tuesdays and Fridays at 9 PM ET/6 PM ET.
SCARLET NEXUS FROM BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT INC ANNOUNCED FOR XBOX SERIES X, CURRENT & NEXT GEN HOME GAME CONSOLES AND PC
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Reveals Its First Next Gen Title with SCARLET NEXUS
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (May 8, 2020) – Leading video game publisher and developer, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced SCARLET NEXUS™, a new RPG franchise developed by BANDAI NAMCO Studios and led by former members of BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s acclaimed TALES OF series. Announced for the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation®5 (or 4) console, and PC via STEAM®, take on the role of Yuito Sumeragi, armed with a talent in psycho-kinesis, and explore the futuristic city of New Himuka and uncover the mysteries of a Brain Punk future caught between technology and physic abilities.
In the far distant future, a psionic hormone has been discovered in the human brain, granting people extra-sensory powers and changing the world as we know it. As humanity enters this new era, deranged mutants known as Others begin to descend from the sky with a hunger for human brains. Impervious to conventional weapons, those with acute extra-sensory abilities, known as psychics, are our only chance to fight the onslaught from above and preserve humanity. Since that fateful day psychics have been scouted for their talents and recruited to the Other Suppression Force, humanity’s last line of defense.
Players will dive into a complex story of bonds, courage and heroism crafted by the minds behind the iconic TALES OF game, TALES OF VESPERIA. Using psycho-kinetic powers, the world becomes an important ally. Lift, break, and hurl pieces of the environment to build attack combos and lay waste to enemies.
“The next generation of video game home consoles lets the development team realize the full potential of SCARLET NEXUS,” said SCARLET NEXUS Producer, Keita Iizuka from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. “Players can expect visuals and psychic battles with high resolution and frame rate along with fully interactive real-time battles with dynamic animation. Utilizing Smart Delivery on Xbox Series X also means players can enjoy the best version of SCARLET NEXUS regardless of whether they are playing on the next generation with Xbox Series X or Xbox One.”
“SCARLET NEXUS aims to change the way gamers view Japanese RPGs with a powerful futuristic aesthetic as well as a streamlined combat system that balances fast-paced action with strategic planning,” said Stephen Akana, Senior Brand Manager for BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “Led by an extremely talented team at BANDAI NAMCO Studios, including members from fan-favorite title TALES OF VESPERIA, SCARLET NEXUS combines years of game development experience with the excitement and creative freedom of the power behind the next generation of home console systems.
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive entertainment for all major video game consoles, iOS, Android, and online platforms. The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including PAC-MAN®, GALAGA®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, and ACE COMBAT®. BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. is the premier publisher in the Western hemisphere for anime based video games including NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, DRAGON BALL Z®, and ONE PIECE®. More information about the company and its products can be found at http://www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS
AUSTIN (May 8, 2020) – The unstoppable team of Mediatonic and Devolver Digital invite fans around the world to join them for a taste of the chaos that awaits them in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout with their upcoming series of beta tests. Stumble over to fallguys.com to sign up and get pumped with a brand new gameplay trailer that flouts social distancing orders to reach out of your screen and hug your eyeballs.
The public beta will be the first opportunity for clumsy contenders around the world to challenge family, friends, and beloved pets for the coveted Fall Guys crown ahead of launch, flinging hordes of contestants together online in a mad dash through round after round of escalating chaos until one victor remains.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout beta participants will hone their tottering technique across a range of randomized rounds for up to 60 players, including Door Dash, Tip Toe, Hex-A-Gone, Tail Tag, Hit Parade, Egg Hunt and Fall Mountain in anticipation of the game’s release for PC and PlayStation 4 in Summer 2020.
Features:
Massive Online Pandemonium: Dive into a series of ridiculous challenges and wild obstacle courses with masses of other competitors online, all with the hopes of making the cut and advancing to the next round of mayhem.
Competitive & Cooperative: Shift between competitive free-for-alls and cooperative challenges where the losing team all get eliminated.
Comically Physical: Watch in delight as your fellow competitors bend, bounce, and bash their way to hilarious, physics-based failure.
Delightfully Customizable: Fail in style with everything from fashionable pineapple couture to the latest in bunny hats available to customize your look in Fall Guys.
Visit fallguys.com, join Discord and follow @FallGuysGame for regular updates and prepare for your inevitable failure in front of the whole world. # # #
Rising High: Multiplayer Action-RPG The Ascent Coming to Xbox Series X and PC from Curve Digital in 2020
Dystopian Cyberpunk Epic Debut Game Developed by Neon Giant
London, United Kingdom – 8th May, 2020 – As a new console generation dawns, Curve Digital is excited to announce it has an Xbox Series X title in the works, courtesy of brand new Swedish studio Neon Giant – an 11-person development team formed by individuals with considerable Triple-A experience on titles such as the Bulletstorm, Gears of War and Wolfenstein franchises.
Also launching on Xbox One and PC, The Ascent will offer players the chance to step into an action-orientated sci-fi RPG powered by Unreal Engine 4 that takes the genre to new levels, available to play in both single-player and up to four-player co-op.
“We wanted to create a sci-fi RPG where players can play in the way they like, building up their character with cyberwear, augmentations and looting in a story-driven environment,” says Tor Frick, Art Director and co-founder of Neon Giant.
Arcade Berg, fellow co-founder and the studio’s Game Director adds – “For us, creating The Ascent has been about us all taking what we’ve learned from working on Triple-A titles and bringing it to a highly focused project like this, redefining what gamers might have come to expect from a title developed by a small and flexible team.”
The Ascent will feature: –
A free-roam play style in a cyberpunk inspired dystopian world
Classic RPG mechanics to enable players to build up their character including cyberwear, augmentations and looting
An unprecedented sense of verticality within its world, with different levels and platforms discernible within play
Double-aim mechanic enables players to utilise the full screen and choose between multiple targets anywhere in the environment
A narrative-led adventure playable in single and up to four-player co-op modes
“It was obvious from the moment we met that Tor, Arcade and the whole Neon Giant team that they were doing something very special,” says Simon Byron, Publishing Director, Curve Digital.“They know how to make games where combat feels right, and even in its very early stages, The Ascent has been enormously playable. Everyone at the studio is determined to show how a tightly-focussed, passionate team can create something which will stand shoulder to shoulder with games whose credits run into the hundreds, and The Ascent truly is an audacious debut.
“The fact that Microsoft has seen enough behind the scenes in the early stages of development to very publicly give The Ascent such overwhelming backing should give you an idea of its promise. I’m relieved we are finally able to start showing it publicly.”
The Ascent will launch on the Xbox Family of devices, including Xbox Series X, and PC in 2020. Look out for further details on the game’s launch in the months ahead.
