Sonic creator Yuji Naka took to Twitter today to announce he has joined Square Enix. Naka left Sega in 2006 to start his own development studio Prope (Rodea the Sky Soldier). It is unclear if Naka will continue with Prope as Prope’s information is still listed in his Twitter bio along with Square Enix. According to their official website, Prope has not released a major update to their titles in several months now.
Just a quick note to let you know, I joined SQUARE ENIX in January. I’m joining game development as before, and strive to develop games at SQUARE ENIX. I aim to develop an enjoyable game, please look forward to it.
Naka’s announcement on Twitter did not name any specific project he was working on or what title he will hold at Square Enix.
Our Take
Prope’s future is likely grim. Even if Naka chooses to divide his attention between Prope and Square Enix, the drying trickle of updates from Prope and the slowing of mobile releases in the past year is a bad sign on its own. I would not be surprised if Naka is simply seeking greener pastures at Square Enix.
Saying that The Red Strings Club is a point n click adventure is technically correct, but that definition strips so much of what the game is about. Now, if I told you that you get to play as a bartender with a goal to get your customers drunk and reveal information to you or making genetic implants in form of pottery……that would be a far better description. The Red Strings Club is all of that and so much more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdEejMypzTg
Story
The game opens up with quite of a spoiler – one of the story protagonists, Brandeis, is falling to his death. He finds peace before hitting the ground, thinking how it’s not a bad way to go. Next we are shifted back into the past, with Brandeis playing piano and his friend Donovan tending the bar. Compared to what we witnessed earlier, it is a serene moment and something that defines the overall atmosphere in The Red Strings Club. After some dialogue back and forth, we are met with our first puzzle. Bartender Donovan has a job of fixing the drinks for his clientele, and with the right ingredients, he can squeeze valuable info out of them. The puzzle is sort of a minigame where it is necessary to create a perfect cocktail that resonates with our customers mental state. Being somewhat of a physics-based puzzle, it didn’t end up being as frustrating as I found it hilarious. After 5 minutes of spilling hectoliters of alcohol from those four bottles, I managed to conjure a decent cocktail while imagining how the whole bar should be flooded by now. While serving it to Brandeis, we learn more about the world we’re in and that it’s far from utopia. Brandeis blames it a lot on corporations and says how it is his dream to take down a few (foreshadowing wink wink). Soon enough they’re both interrupted by a barely functioning android bursting into the bar. Brandeis taps into its memory circuits to find out more about it. Our newcomer by the name of Akara turns out to be a factory android designed to manufacture human upgrade modules. That is all done through minigames of crafting blocks of biomatter into required upgrade modules. Their design is similar to pots of clay so the game gives us a nice excuse to experience being a cyberpunk clay artisan. With every introduction of important characters of the game and more minigames, the story begins to unravel. Akara is working for a corporation called Supercontinent Ltd. They specialize in such behavioral implants and augments but their ambition doesn’t stop there. They plan to soon launch something called Social Psyche Welfare, a program that eliminates depression, anger, and fear from everyone. The catch is, they want to do it sneakily and without anyone’s consent. Once Donovan and Brandeis learn about that, the story really kicks into the motion.
Gameplay
The plot advances through minigames of mixing drinks, making futuristic pottery and some hacking & social engineering. While some minigames like mixing drinks tend to be hilariously wonky, making hi-tech pottery is strangely relaxing. A big part of it goes to a magnificent soundtrack ranging from soothing noir jazz pieces to enjoyable synth tunes. It wasn’t so unusual to redo my pottery module after shaping it perfectly so I could savor more of that synth goodness. I also experimented a bit with trying to craft some of the phallically shaped pottery just to see if it was possible. Even though the game decided against giving a green light to my lewd biomatter modules, I was still able to make them. Just putting that out there as a potential selling point. By clicking on the left side of the game’s menu, we can bring up a timeline from the start of the game to the Brandeis’ inevitable end. In between are the dots we have to fill with various choices that will put our sense of ethics and morality to the test. Whatever we decide, it is always interesting to see how some choices have an impact on the next one. Of course, it is impossible to go through all of them in just one playthrough so it is a decent way to add some replay value to the game.
Visuals
The pixel art direction for The Red Strings Club works perfectly with its cyberpunk setting. It gives us plenty of moments of detailed animated backgrounds to gaze at. It is impressive how much of the work went into making backgrounds less static. There is always something moving, whether it is flickering neon lights or computer terminals. The developers clearly went an extra mile here, understanding that the game’s setting coupled with its choice of an art style is made to impress us if done properly.
Audio
Another selling point of the game is its great soundtrack that often compliments the setting and most importantly, the characters. While mixing drinks, you are accompanied by some smooth piano notes and upbeat synth tunes are there to make your work better as you craft biomatter modules. The more you play, the more you are impressed with the rich soundtrack of The Red Strings Club, despite its moderate story length.
Overall
I consider that the best games are those where the impression stays even after you finish them. The Red Strings Club is a good example of that. The real repercussion of your choices in the game shows way later after you stopped playing. You rewind them in your mind, wondering if you did the right thing. The choices here are not in the spotlight as it is your pondering on the ethics and morality of what you picked. It’s not a surprise that the game is made with more than one playthrough in mind. Eventually, you find that there are no bad or good choices in The Red Strings Club. You may perceive them as you please, but in the end, they’re the ones you have to live with.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Compulsion Games announced their plans for We Happy Fewin the coming year. Currently, the developers consider the game to be content complete; however, they will be delaying the release of the game. Originally, We Happy Few was supposed to leave early access in April, but now they the game will launch in summer 2018 (winter 2018 for the Southern Hemisphere). The delay is a result of the major changes to the first two hour’s of Arthur’s storyline late last year resulting in more polishing work needing to be done.
Compulsion Games shared their reasoning for the delays in their latest production update video. To cap off the video, they share the very first footage of Sally, the game’s second playable character.
We Happy Few is scheduled to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in summer 2018 (winter 2018 for the Southern Hemisphere). The game is currently available through Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview.
A BRAND-NEW DIGI-ADVENTURE BEGINS WITH DIGIMON STORY: CYBER SLEUTH —HACKER’S MEMORY, AVAILABLE NOW FOR PLAYSTATION® 4 AND PLAYSTATION® VITA
Dive into the Digital World and Take on an Exciting Adventure with the Help of Your Favorite Digimon
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (January 19, 2018) – Leading digital entertainment company BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced the release of Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth — Hacker’s Memory for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita handheld system (digital only).
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth — Hacker’s Memory brings classic turn-based gameplay back to Digimon fans and Japanese role-playing-game (JRPG) enthusiasts. Players take on the role of Keisuke Amazawa who has been accused of crimes he didn’t commit. Diving into the Digital World, players will unravel the truth behind the crimes, clear Keisuke’s name, and protect his family and friends. Players will travel between the real world and cyberspace in their journey and encounter unique characters from hacker groups including Erika Mishima, Chitose Imai, and Nokia Shiramine. These characters, as well as others, might be able to provide clues to Keisuke and help uncover the game’s true mystery. Throughout their adventure, players will also scan, raise, and train over 300 Digimon to assemble into teams and take into turn-based battles against rival Digimon.
“The Digimon franchise enjoys an incredibly loyal fan base and we are excited to bring Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth — Hacker’s Memory to Digimon fans as the series enters its 20th anniversary,” said Kasumi Yogi, Associate Brand Manager, at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Inc. “Fans of the Digimon franchise and Japanese RPGs will find an all-new mystery full of adventure as they re-enter the Digital World. Together with the game’s new storyline and its classic turn-based battle system, players will find a highly engaging and rewarding experience awaiting them.”
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth — Hacker’s Memory is rated T for TEEN by ESRB and is available for purchase today at video game retailers in the Americas for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system at a MSRP of $59.99. The PlayStation®Vita handheld system version is available through digital download via the PlayStation Network for $39.99. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth — Hacker’s Memory supports Sony’s Cross-Save feature, enabling players to transfer their save files between the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita versions of the game. To learn more about BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.’s other products go to: http://www.bandainamcoent.com/home.html or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS or join the conversation at https://twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS.
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About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.
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
Sydney, Australia – January 19th, 2018 – Konami Digital Entertainment B.V. today released the beta for METAL GEAR SURVIVE on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One™. Starting today until January 21st, 2018, fans can experience new features in co-op mode, including new missions and live events.
The beta features two maps containing three co-op missions. Participants in the beta will also earn in-game bonus items, which will be rewarded upon the full game’s release:
One FOX HOUND name plate
One Metal Gear Rex head accessory
One bandana accessory
METAL GEAR SURVIVE picks up from the ending of METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES. Players are pulled through a wormhole and land in a hostile world where they look for answers while trying to survive in the harsh environment. Not only will they fight off deadly creatures, but also explore and forage the environment for food, water and other resources to stay alive. Scavenged materials can be used to build weapons, buildings and other useful items, as well as develop a base camp, where crop growing and animal rearing facilities can be added. New weaponry will also be introduced to combat charging creatures and lethal environments, as well as familiar weaponry such as Walker Gears and Fulton balloons.
In the single player campaign, players will learn resource management, character progression through base camp development, and craft useful weapons and equipment that can be utilized in the co-op gameplay. In co-op mode, up to four players will thwart enemies together online and collect rewarding loot which can aid in the single player campaign.
METAL GEAR SURVIVE will launch on PlayStation®4, Xbox One™ and PC via Steam on February 22nd 2018.
Konami Group was founded in 1973, starting as an amusement machine manufacturer for arcades. Over the years, the company has grown to include different business units across various markets. Currently, KONAMI HOLDINGS CORPORATION includes the Digital Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Gaming & Systems, and Amusement Businesses. The company went public on the Osaka Securities Exchange in 1984, the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1988, and the London Stock Exchange in 1999. For more information, visit: www.konami.com/en
Nintendo announced their Nintendo Labo line of cardboard building kits designed to work with the Switch. The kits are scheduled to launch in Australia and New Zealand on April 20th. Each kit comes with laser cut cardboard that can be assembled into a variety of toys and software for the Switch to turn the toys into controllers. Three kits will be available.
The Variety Kit comes with five projects to create two Toy-Con RC cars, a Toy-Con fishing rod, a Toy-Con house, a Toy-Con motorbike, and a Toy-Con Piano. Each toy will have a corresponding mini-game on the Switch that will bring the toy to life. The Variety Kit will carry an MSRP of $99.95 USD.
The Robot Kit comes with enough parts to create a wearable Toy-Con Robot costume and several mini-games. By mounting the Joy-Cons into the costume’s backpack and docking the Switch, players are able to control the mini-games on the TV. The MSRP will be $119.95 AUD.
The final kit is a decoration kit to augment the Variety Kit and the Robot Kit. Containing stencils, stickers, and decorative tape, the Customisation Set has an MSRP of $14.95 AUD.
Our Take
While Nintendo is offering a laudable idea that bridges the gap between video games and more traditional, hands on toys, the MSRP is a bit shocking. Nintendo is expecting parents to spend $99.95 to $119.95 for essentially a handful of mini-games and laser cut cardboard. I have a hard time seeing parents opting to choose a Nintendo Labo kit when an equally child-friendly copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sits on the same shelf with an MSRP of $79.95 AUD. While I suspect the pricing is an attempt to compete with high end Lego kits, I suspect Nintendo Labo will need a price cut to match the MSRP of high end Switch titles as not to lose out to its number one competitor: itself.
When I was younger, I enjoyed sitting down each week like the nerd I am waiting for the newest Supernatural episode. It was always enjoyable and refreshing seeing the Winchesters fighting a different monster or cosmic entity week to week.
Of course, there was still an overarching plot usually involving the destruction of a powerful demon. This demon usually had ties to the monsters that showed up throughout a season, whether it was personal or they had summoned the monsters to protect themselves/kill the Winchesters.
I bring this up not only because it is an interesting trope that I enjoy and shows up in many other shows such as Buffy, Agents of Shield, X-files, Doctor Who, and even the American Sherlock series Elementary, but also because it is the title of an amazing Tabletop RPG.
Monster of the Week RPG uses the “Powered by the Apocalypse” system. This system uses only 2 six-sided die to determine whether events are successful. This system was utilised by other games such as Worlds in Peril, Apocalypse World, and MASHED.
The game consists of the players, known as “The Hunters”, and the Game Master, known as “The Keeper”. There are 12 hunter classes to choose from, each with a small but unique set of abilities. These classes are: The Chosen, The Crooked, The Expert, The Divine, The Flake, The Initiate, The Monstrous, The Mundane, The Professional, The Spell-slinger, The Spooky, and The Wronged. Each of these classes define a cliché present in Monster of the Week fiction; The Long-gunman from X-files, Castiel from Supernatural, John Watson from Sherlock etc.
These Hunters have abilities called “Moves”. There are moves all classes share: Charm, Cool, Tough, Sharp, and Weird. Charm is for convincing people and sometimes monsters. Cool allows you to act under pressure when being attacked or help someone out. Sharp helps with investigation. Tough helps you with protecting people or fighting. Finally, Weird is for magic use. Classes also have ones unique to them, which I will not go into detail to as there are around 7 for each class.
Each of these abilities ranges from -2 to +3, which denotes proficiency or lack thereof in a skill. A Spell-slinger will always have a higher weird than a Professional, while the professional will always have a higher tough than a Spell-slinger.
The Keeper has a unique roll from other RPG systems. They don’t roll at all.
This system encourages pre-planning and improvisation during play. The Keeper writes out what would happen if The Hunters hadn’t arrived in town, and The Hunters respond to the situations The Keeper presents. A Keepers most powerful move is the phrase “Something bad is happening”, which means that somewhere in the game world, something is going down that The Hunters should find and stop. This is usually the Monster or its minions enacting their plans.
There is always a sense of dread and terror in the air anytime The Keeper says this phrase, and it is always a good laugh to see the players scramble around looking for abilities to help with the situation, or making rolls to try to find out what’s happening.
All-in-all, this is an interesting system that is available for free from Evil Hat Productions. I encourage everyone to give it a try. There’s so much content in this game that, and you can support the creator, Michael Sands, by buying a PDF with more information and everything collated for only $12 from HERE. It’s definitely worth it if you and your friends enjoy monsters, anxiety, and using magic to try and solve all your problems, to the frustration of The Keeper.
GOOD SHEPHERD ENTERTAINMENT AND VILE MONARCH RELEASE OH…SIR!! THE INSULT SIMULATOR AND OH…SIR! THE HOLLYWOOD ROAST ON NINTENDO SWITCH™
AMSTERDAM – Jan. 18, 2018 – Good Shepherd Entertainment and independent developer Vile Monarch have launched their verbal jousting games Oh…Sir!! The Insult Simulator and Oh…Sir! The Hollywood Roast on Nintendo Switch™. Oh…Sir!! The Insult Simulator and Oh…Sir! The Hollywood Roast are now available via the Nintendo eShop for $1.99 and $2.99, respectively.
The original competitive roasting game, Oh…Sir!! The Insult Simulator’s comically contentious battle system lets players create quick-witted combos of disrespective dialogue to hurl at adversaries in one-on-one arguments. The game’s crude, quarrelsome characters possess their own unique voices, ticks and jabs with which to verbally decimate opponents.
Inspired by the heroes of the silver screen, Oh…Sir! The Hollywood Roast takes the torment to Tinseltown with a new cast of focus group-tested characters and features, as well as twice the vindictive vocabulary of its predecessor. An expanded career mode delivers new situations inspired by classic movie icons, while a revamped scoring system and new charged comeback mechanic make battles more dynamic than ever.
Both games have been rebuilt to take full advantage of the Nintendo Switch’s unique capabilities, as they allow players to verbally fight one another on a single system, each using a single Joy-Con controller in the game’s Versus Mode.
Oh…Sir!! The Insult Simulator is rated T (Teen) and Oh…Sir! The Hollywood Roast is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. For more information, follow Good Shepherd Entertainment and Vile Monarch on Twitter @GoodShepherdEnt and @VileMonarch.
About Good Shepherd Entertainment
Good Shepherd Entertainment publishes video games from independent artists worldwide and operates a proprietary investment platform for a growing global network of qualified investors seeking risk-mitigated participation in the $130B video game industry. Originally established in the Netherlands in 2011 as an equity crowdfunding platform under the name Gambitious BV, the Company became a publisher in 2014 with the release of Train Fever, which was the first game ever successfully published with equity crowdfunding. The Company has since funded and released over a dozen original games across eight digital platforms. The founders of Devolver Digital and Croteam, two very successful companies in independent game development and publishing, invested in the Company and joined its management in 2012. The Company rebranded in 2017 as Good Shepherd Entertainment following an investment by Advance/Newhouse, having established a track record of success with both independent developers and investors. www.GoodShepherd.games
About Vile Monarch
Vile Monarch is a hard rock game studio created by two twisted minds: Kacper Kwiatkowski and Grzegorz Mazur, who catapulted from 11 bit studios, where they had worked together on This War of Mine. Soon after he was born, the Monarch started using his exceptionally skillful minions to start making engaging video games for various platforms full of surprising, novel ideas. And, what’s worse, he forced them to have fun while working! All of it to – you wouldn’t guess – conquer the world! Vile Monarch lives in his castle in Warsaw, Poland. He likes rock music, beer and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Flight Sim World® Enters Next Phase of Development
Dynamic weather dated for release in February update
CHATHAM, Kent – Jan. 18, 2018 –Flight Sim World®, developed by simulation specialists Dovetail Games, has entered its second phase of development. This phase sees the sim released from Steam Early Access as the development team moves towards making bigger, less frequent updates.
https://youtu.be/gKhqB8jQmXo
“We have some really exciting updates planned,” said executive producer Stephen Hood. “We are working on weather and world improvements, IFR, and the introduction of sleeker, faster aircraft, from business jets right through to the all-important airliners, all delivered with the key features that support them. The feedback our community has given during early access has absolutely steered the program for what we bring to Flight Sim World next.”
The Phase 2 content schedule includes:
A variety of aircraft, including airliners
IFR and ATC upgrades
World improvements
Dynamic and live weather
“We are confident that our players will feel the benefit of us focusing on their feature requests now that Flight Sim World’s foundations are in place,” said Rob O’Farrell, SVP of Development. “Larger updates will really allow us to deliver high-priority community features and aircraft this year.”
Since its initial launch in May 2017, 15 updates have been released for Flight Sim World, including the addition of Steam workshop functionality, passenger models, the ability to start all aircraft from a cold and dark state, advanced weather featuring trueSKY technology, lighting and rendering updates, and countless fixes and performance improvements.
The first major Phase 2 update will release on Thursday, Feb. 1, and will feature dynamic weather.
Flight Sim World is available to purchase from Steam or the Dovetail Store for $39.99.
About Dovetail Games
Dovetail Games was launched in 2013. Previously trading as RailSimulator.com Ltd, the business launched in 2009 initially producing and marketing Train Simulator. Today, Dovetail Games is responsible for developing train, flight and fishing simulation games for PC and consoles. http://www.dovetailgames.com.
Bigben Announces Retail Release For Snow Moto Racing Freedom on Nintendo Switch™ in North America This February
LESQUIN, France – Jan. 18, 2018 – Video game publisher Bigben has revealed it will launch the arcade sports game Snow Moto Racing Freedom on Nintendo Switch™ in North America this February. Developed by Zordix, the title will be available as a physical product at major retailers, as well as digitally via the Nintendo eShop, for $39.99.
Snow Moto Racing Freedom lets players experience downhill snowmobile racing at blinding speeds across seven competitive game modes, including Championship, Snocross, Freestyle, Spring, Time Trial and Leisure. Go for gold in 24 championships across 40 snow-heavy tracks in the Sprint League, Snocross and Freedom League divisions. Play alone, with up to eight players online, or with up to four players in local multiplayer, either split-screen or with each player using their own Switch devices in handheld mode.
Customize your driver and master 12 sleek snowmobiles, each with their own unique designs and power for the situation at hand, while performing a variety of gravity-defying stunts and flips on the slopes.
Snow Moto Racing Freedom is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB. For more information, visit https://snowmoto.us.
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About Bigben
Bigben is a major video game publisher, designer and distributor of mobile phone and gaming accessories as well as audio products. The group, recognized for its innovation and creativity, aspires to become a European leader in each of the sectors it is active in. http://www.bigben.eu
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