Nintendo may sit on a lot of properties, but outside of Mario and maybe Pokemon, none are as distributed and beloved as The Legend of Zelda franchise. Earlier this year, the big N shocked a lot of people when they announced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. More surprising is that it would be a top-down adventure, where players finally got to play as Zelda herself. Do a lot of tricks and new gameplay techniques make this adventure one to cherish, or is it a rare miss for this brand? Let’s find out.
Story
This plot is simple but in true form, adds quite a bit of new lore for fans to sink into. Link has disappeared through a rift, and Zelda must find him by searching Hyrule in a new adventure where a new enemy by the name of Null has appeared. Along with some fairy friends, she must utilize the new Tri Rod to save the day. Sure, it’s a bit basic compared to prior titles, but I think most would expect that as this doesn’t try to be some massive undertaking. While the game is large, the story stays as minimal as possible to push forth the “echo” gimmickry, which really is where the heart of the experience is held.
Gameplay
While this game looks like it was built upon the engine that we got within the remake of Link’s Awakening, the echo system is really what this game is all about – which is a huge positive for the franchise, while also a small issue in itself. Players control Zelda from a top-down perspective as she navigates the large overworld, with dungeons to be found that build progression throughout the experience as you explore. The Tri Rod’s “echo” ability allows Zelda to capture beds, tables, fauna, and even enemies and summon them in order to progress forward. It’s a smart mechanic that is in true Nintendo form here, where players must tap into their creative juices in order to solve problems. Sure, there is some minimal combat as you can gain Link’s abilities for short periods, but the bulk of Echoes of Wisdom revolves around creating echoes to solve puzzles and defeat enemies.
At first, the echoes are a welcome breath of fresh air that feels a lot like what we got within Tears of the Kingdom. That kind of sandbox approach to puzzle-solving feels brilliant when it works well and makes exploration enjoyable as there are stamps and other things to collect along your journey. The real problem here comes from the echoes being required for combat. Think Pokemon, where you control a monster, but take out the ability to control their character. That is really what this is about. There are times when the enemy you summoned works great, but most are weak, and even if they are strong enough to defeat another foe, it usually takes a bit of time after trial and error to find the right formula that will actually work.
Remember that first octorok that you see in the original game? Instead of slapping it with a sword, you have to pull up a menu that has all of your echoes, select a quick summon, and see if the enemy or even object now has the power to defeat that once simple foe. I get it, it’s very creative, but the stop-and-go nature feels a bit awkward here, and while I did get used to it, it almost felt like I was playing Mass Effect in a Zelda world with how often I would have to jump in and out of this system. Sure, it’s still fun, but it just doesn’t feel as streamlined and fluid as it could have been in terms of execution.
The boss battles feel far more intuitive, as the summons seem to hit their mark and make exploring to find more worth it. These fleshed-out moments are a highlight, as they really capture that feeling of satisfaction, making your exploration pay off in the long run. Sure, I enjoyed summoning pots and tables to platform throughout the world as well and it’s fun to make weird bridges and paths from nothing, but the combat moments overlaying with that just leave a bit to be desired as a whole.
Audio
Should we expect less from a Zelda soundtrack? Absolutely not, as this one is superb. Sure, it sounds familiar, but the atmosphere in a game so different is important to nail here, and this game is dripping with all of the beats and tunes to really capture the essence of the franchise. There isn’t a lot of voice acting, but again – it’s Zelda and the sounds everyone makes really do fine and bring some personality forth.
Visuals
The graphics are absolutely stunning, especially if you enjoyed that recent Link’s Awakening port. All the characters are charming, bursting with energy and life with fluid animation and bright, bold colors. I totally get why they went back to this design as it works and I couldn’t have seen this game with any other style in retrospect. That said, the game has an issue that a lot of recent Switch titles from Nintendo have had, which is some performance snags. The game can stutter and feel over-encumbered with its own weight, and while it isn’t common or even game-breaking, it is a bit surprising considering this is Zelda and polish is usually an afterthought.
Overall
Nintendo kind of swung for the fences to give us another game in this franchise, and ultimately, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a fine break from the norm. That said, it’s sometimes bogged down by its own gimmick, leaving moments feeling awkward and slightly tedious. Yes, the adventure here is grand, but constantly accessing menus to summon objects and monsters isn’t as streamlined as it should be, and fans may be deterred by the mandatory usage of such. The game also isn’t as smooth in terms of performance as all of its predecessors, which really shows Nintendo may need a bit stronger hardware to handle such an intuitive design premise. Either way, we do have a solid game here and Zelda fits in well as its lead, making these Echoes of Wisdom just loud enough to make their mark.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Taking inspirations from some of the greatest pieces of media have resulted in just as wonderful games as a result, in fact there have even been times that these inspirations have turned into innovations, taking the new piece of media to new heights. Bloomtown: A Different Story from Different Sense Games and Lazy Bear Games is pretty blatant with where their inspirations lie as anyone familiar with the RPG genre or even other types of media will immediately see what the team is going for here. There is a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and with Bloomtown drawing on numerous sources to try and craft its own story, has this indie game managed to pull itself together into becoming a great experience?
Story
Set during the summer break sometime in the 1960s, a pair of siblings, Emily and Chester, have been whisked away from their home in Chicago to spend time with their grandfather in the far smaller and quiet town of Bloomtown out in the sleepy suburbs. After meeting their crotchety grandfather and getting settled in though, it quickly becomes apparent that Bloomtown is anything but sleepy at night. Strange dreams haunt Emily’s sleep and she soon learns that a local child has gone missing and, while trying to investigate like any bored pre-teen would in the ’60s she manages to find not only a wooden sword but also a strange whistle while helping the local kids search for her. With a light blow on this whistle Emily finds herself drawn into a strange alternate version of Bloomtown, a realm called the Underside, where demons roam freely and the land is twisted and corrupted.
Despite managing to fend off a demon and escape, Emily quickly finds that her nightmares are reality and she soon finds herself signing a pact with a demon to hunt down three other powerful demons using her own guardian deity as well as those of her friends in an effort to save Bloomtown from the dangerous demonic beings that have started taking root in the townsfolk that live there, causing untold levels of harm to the populace over the years. Along the way Emily is joined by her younger brother, a hinted romance with the daughter of the local police chief Ramona, and even a talking corgi that morphs into a muscle-bound beast with a rocket launcher in a fight. Together these four, and eventually sort of a fifth, must try to clear the Undersides that have sprung up around Bloomtown to try and save their quiet little town from turning into a nest of demons.
Banding together a group of pre-teens to venture into an alternate reality from their own isn’t the most original, nor is pairing them with a talking animal that knows far more about the situation than anyone would expect, but despite the writing taking many hints from other pieces of media, Bloomtown: A Different Story actually manages to handle itself quite well and this is thanks to how down to earth and also how impactful the game’s writing is and a lot of it has to do with how well it handles its characters. It is worth noting that Bloomtown isn’t afraid to have a far darker storyline than its colorful pixelated world may showcase and not only are there a number of side-quests featuring solid writing but core story points as well have some very intense themes. It also helps that, similar to other games with party members such as this, players can bond with their party members and learn more about their backstories which, just like before, broach themes and topics that players wouldn’t expect and that is something that Bloomtown does excellently more often than not.
Gameplay
Bloomtown: A Different Story is almost a tale of two games as players will spend their day and even most nights simply living life as Emily and exploring the quaint rural town, solving people’s problems, taking part in various activities, and even working or reading books only to delve into the Underside and face off against the monsters that reside within in an effort to solve the mysteries that are currently abounding and put a stop to whatever demonic influence has currently started rearing its head. Interestingly enough, everything in the game runs on a day and night cycle with stores opening and closing, specific activities only being available at certain times, reading or cooking or even crafting requiring in-game time commitments, and more. In fact, there is even a weather cycle of sorts with some days being normal, rainy, misty, or downright scorchers and all of these elements come into play in minor ways. Such as having certain rare fish spawn in fishing locations, having to either not water crops or water crops twice to keep them alive. Oh, and there are crops players can plant as well.
This is a game with an absolute abundance of things to find and do as players explore the city to the point that it can feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially since the game is incredibly thin on tutorials. First of all, while time passes and Emily must sleep at curfew, there is no actual time limit on how long players have to advance the plot despite the game seemingly saying otherwise. Similarly, the title also features a very handy quick travel system that allows players to jump to or nearby locations that they have previously discovered. This means that tracking down a quest objective in a previously found location can be incredibly easy and simplistic, especially since the diary does a solid job keeping track of what objectives players need to complete and where to do them. That being said, there were two occasions that a quest was suddenly able to be completed instantly despite not apparently accomplishing the steps to the task and while they were marked successful it does beg the question as to how buggy some quests can be.
Now, as mentioned before Emily has plenty of things she can do in Bloomtown and nearly every activity she takes part in can help her raise a personality stat as well. This includes her Smarts, Proficiency, Guts, and Charms and all of these stats come into play on both sides of the game. During dialogue or interacting with objects Emily will occasionally be given a choice that utilizes one of these stats and the higher the stat, the better percentage she has at a successful dice roll. On the Underside, these stats can also increase status element affliction rate as well as the roles required to “subdue” a demon. Either way, it is unfortunate to note that while players can make use of these roles, they are one and done affairs and while this may not seem like much of an issue for some choices, sometimes very noteworthy items or pieces of lore are hidden behind a successful dice roll.
This also brings up an issue that plagues every aspect of Bloomtown: A Different Story and that is the save system. Rather than allowing players to save anytime or even create a manual save the night before going to sleep, the title relies solely on autosaves. While this works well for the most part as the title autosaves whenever fast traveling or even moving between rooms on the Underside, it can lead to significant issues such as failing an aforementioned dice role, overwriting a save file that coil have given players a chance to make a different choice instead, or in my case, completely hard lock the game to the point it is unplayable. This resulted in a bug that created a permanent loading state on all recent autosaves with no proper way to actually continue the game creating a hard progress lock. Currently the only way around this bug is loading from a far earlier save file as the title does make an autosave upon chapter completion though, depending on playstyle and how many side-activities players have done, could be hours of progress lost.
Anyways, once players travel to the Underside they will bring their entire party with them and will find a variety of simple puzzles to solve, treasures to obtain as well as doors and chests to unlock with crafted lockpicks and of course plenty of demons to fight. Demons are encountered in the field via black silhouettes and will either attack Emily or be attacked, there appears no difference who hits who in combat, and the combat itself then takes place in a turn based format with all members of the player’s party attacking and then the demons attacking in-turn. Players can use melee weapons to attack any enemies they wish in the front rows but any foes further back that are protected by a demon in the front will need to be targeted either by a firearm, which have limited ammo for each fight, or with a spell. In some interesting but also annoying fashion, many spells in the game have two variations, ones that directly attack an enemy with an element with a small chance of inflicting a status ailment and one that focuses solely on inflicting an ailment. While this may work well to chain together combos using elemental chains, it doesn’t help with the actual “downing” and subduing of demons.
You see, another aspect of the game that lacks a proper tutorial, is how to subdue a demon. All demons on the field must be downed by being struck by their weakness or incapacitated in some way and then players must succeed a roll to actually subdue the demon. This demon can then be equipped to any party member to help augment their spiritual guardian by providing that demon’s useful abilities to help expand the player’s offensive line-up. In similar fashion, captured demons can be “fused” sort of, using a special device but rather than actually fusion it’s more like simply sacrificing them to boost a favorite demon’s stats. There are no fusions to create new demons and even unlocking new abilities is rare and unreliable.
This makes capturing demons something of an annoyance more often than not as players will simply want to cover their bases with elements and that’s all, relying on their old favorites rather than the minimal stat boosts that acquiring a new demon may provide compared to simply equipping stronger armor or weapons, albeit ones that appear to have random numbers likely indicating extra effects that aren’t properly labeled. It is also worth noting that should players not want to bother subduing a demon they can perform an “All Together” attack to deal massive damage to any demons on the field. It also must be said that, while combat is far from a simple affair, eventually players can easily outclass standard demon encounters and the ability to just “auto battle” would be a great addition to help zip through fights. In fact, Chester even gains the ability to randomly one-shot enemies he is stronger than though this happens far too rarely and feels like something that should be expanded on to help speed up easier battles.
Audio & Visuals
Bloomtown: A Different Story has some truly gorgeous looking sprite work at times, especially in the Underside. While the general world of exploring Bloomtown is fairly straightforward with a number of great looking structures and solid enough character designs, including some rather expressive ones given the limitations of the pixelated designs, the game shines its best when in the Underside. Not only are the twisted versions of some locations far creepier than they have any right to be but many of the demon designs are rather outstanding looking and put some fun twists on predictable tropes when it comes to facing off against specific demons. The spells aren’t the most impressive looking, even the grand spells players can eventually gain access to but the aforementioned All Together attacks are decent looking though it would have been nice if there were some variations depending on which character initiated the attack.
While there are only minimal sound effects to go along with the gameplay and no actual dialogue being spoken it must be said that Bloomtown: A Different Story features some incredible background music. The game features a number of different battle themes that all have accompanying vocals to them that just sound outstanding in combat with even “elite” demons having special tracks of their own. Players can even obtain vinyls while playing the game to listen to the background music back in Emily’s room.
Overall
Bloomtown: A Different Story manages to wear countless references and inspirations on its sleeves but it still manages to pull itself together to put out an impressive, albeit flawed and buggy indie RPG. With turn-based combat that feel satisfying but tend to drag on and so many side-activities to take advantage of and explore in the grander world Bloomtown offers a solid, albeit somewhat unoriginal storyline that is tied together by some impressive character writing and themes that fans of RPGs, especially indie ones such as this, will delight in.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Halloween Inspired Terror Sweeps Across Red Dead Online – New Telegram Missions, Moonshiners Bonuses, and The Halloween Pass 2 Returns
Dark forces descend on the frontier, bringing a bounty of treats to Red Dead Online today that include new Bodyguard Telegram Missions, Moonshiner Bonuses, and more.
New Bodyguard Telegram Missions The beginning of October brings three new Bodyguard Telegram Missions. Escort a driver and client through hostile territory, guard a wealthy resident during a chaotic night out, and protect a novice hunter from poachers and wild animals to ensure their survival in the wilderness.
Put your skills to the test in both the city and the countryside, and earn 2X RDO$, Gold, and XP on these new missions and all Telegram Missions through November 4.
Double Rewards on All Hallows’ Call to ArmsDefend settlements from relentless waves of attackers, human and otherwise, and use the powers of the Night Stalker Mask to your advantage in All Hallows’ Call to Arms, paying out 2X RDO$, Gold, XP, and Ability Card XP all month long.
The Halloween Pass 2 Returns
TheHalloween Pass 2 returns to Red Dead Online this month, offering eerie rewards perfect for the month’s freaks and shrieks. This upgrade — available for purchase for a limited time only — spans 15 ranks and is available until November 4. Equip yourself with bone-chilling masks, blood-stained outfits, and sinister accessories to leave a grim impression on all who cross your path.
All items earned during the span of The Halloween Pass will remain yours even after it ends. Players who previously bought The Halloween Pass 2 will maintain their progress.
Moonshiners Bonuses
Keep the good times flowing by completing Moonshiner Story Missions and Moonshiner Sales, both offering 2X RDO$, XP, and Role XP through November 4.
Complete a Moonshiner Sale anytime through November 4 to receive the black Morales Vest and Destroy a Revenue Agent Blockade to receive 30 Repeater Express Ammo and a Reward for a Moonshine Mash Refill.
All Offers and Rewards will be delivered within 72 hours of completion.
Weekly and Monthly Rewards
Play Red Dead Online anytime this month to receive the orange Porter Jacket. Celebrate Halloween week by logging in anytime between October 29 and November 4 to claim the stylish black Folwell Hat.
October 1 – 7: Reach Wave 5 in All Hallows’ Call to Arms to receive the black and white Darned Stockings
October 8 – 14: Complete a Moonshiner Sale to receive an Offer for 40% off an Established or Distinguished Moonshiner Role Item
October 15 – 21: Win in the Featured Series to receive the red Strickland Boots
October 22 – 28: Complete a Moonshiner Sale to receive an Offer for 40% off a Poncho
October 29 – November 4: Reach Wave 5 in All Hallows’ Call to Arms to receive the black Concho Pants
2X RDO$ and XP on Featured Series
This month’s Featured Series brings back the ominous Fear of the Dark and Dead of Night modes. Dive into these spine-tingling modes and take on fierce competition to earn 2X RDO$ and XP:
October 1 – 7: Halloween Series 1: Fear of the Dark
October 8 – 14: Halloween Series 2: Dead of Night
October 15 – 21: Halloween Series 3
October 22 – 28: Hardcore Halloween Series 1: Fear of the Dark
October 29 – November 4: Hardcore Halloween Series 2: Dead of Night
Plus, win in the Featured Series this month to receive an Offer for 50% off any Weapon.
Community-Inspired Outfit
Turn heads this Halloween with this haunting outfit skillfully assembled by YouTuber xXx Queen Inferno xXx.
Get these clothing pieces for free from the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue, while masks are available from Madam Nazar.
Add a touch of menace to the outfit with the Cartilage Gloves — available to unlock as part of The Halloween Pass 2. The Shaffer Chaps, Clymene Coat, Benbow Jacket, Squat Stovepipe Top Hat, Fanned Stovepipe Top Hat, and Cossack Hat also return for a limited time through November 4.
TOKYO —Oct. 1, 2024— Video game publisher and developer Cygames, Inc. (HQ: Shibuya, Tokyo; President: Koichi Watanabe, hereinafter referred to as “Cygames”) has partnered with Breeders’ Cup Ltd. to sponsor a race at the Breeders‘ Cup World Championships (hereinafter referred to as the “Breeders’ Cup”), one of the world’s most prestigious horse racing events. The Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint is scheduled for Saturday, Nov 2 (PT).
The Breeders’ Cup: A Proud 40-Year Racing Tradition
Breeders’ Cup administers the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s global year-end Championships, as well as the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races through an 82-race series hosted by twelve countries. The 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, featuring fourteen Grade 1 Championship races run during a two-day festival worth more than $34 million (USD) in purses and awards, will be held Nov 1–2 (PT) in Del Mar, California. The 2025 World Championships will also be held in Del Mar on Oct 31–Nov 1. The Championships will be televised live by NBC Sports.
The Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint to be Held on Nov 2
The Cygames Breeders‘ Cup Sprint, scheduled for Nov 2, is a 1,200-meter (six-furlong) race held on a dirt track for male and female horses, three years and older, and features a purse worth $2 million (USD). In addition, the company’s logo will be emblazoned on the starting gate and the saddle towels of the contending horses.
Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint Details
Race Name: Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint Date: 5:25 p.m., Saturday, Nov 2, 12th race* * Race order and time is subject to change. Venue: Del Mar Racetrack (California, USA)
“It is my great honor to announce our partnership with one of the world’s most prestigious institutions in horse racing, the Breeders’ Cup. Cygames’ mission is to bring ‘The Best in Entertainment’ to a global audience through our works and public endeavors,” said Koichi Watanabe, President of Cygames. “As part of that vision, we are releasing the English language version of Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a game heavily influenced by the world of horse racing. Our hope is to forge a relationship with racing enthusiasts through our partnership with the Breeders’ Cup and provide another avenue for potential fans to discover our content.”
Umamusume: Pretty Derbyis a simulation game and part of the Umamusume Project, a multimedia franchise produced by Cygames, which consists of anime, manga, music, and games that tell stories of characters inspired by racehorses. Along with their classmates and trainers, the Umamusume work towards every racer’s dream—winning the Twinkle Series. The English version of Umamusume: Pretty Derbyis currently in production.
Cygames, Inc. is a game company based in Tokyo, Japan. It is renowned for the development and management of numerous mobile and console game titles including Umamusume: Pretty Derbyand Granblue Fantasy: Relink, as well as various ventures in the animation and comics industries. The company’s vision of being the best in entertainment is reflected in its constant efforts to bring original and exciting experiences to the world.
For more information on Cygames please visit the website here. For information on the Breeders Cup visit the official website here.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (October 1, 2024): Today marks the exciting launch of The Three Thousands, a cutting-edge game development studio founded by a team of senior industry veterans. Inspired by its postcode (3000) in the heart of Melbourne, Victoria the studio is poised to bring a fresh and innovative approach to the gaming and entertainment space, drawing on a rich background in motorsport, automotive, and pop culture.
With a track record of over 750 million downloads in racing games including the Real Racing and Need for Speed franchises, the studio’s founders have extensive experience designing and developing critically acclaimed titles that have captivated gamers worldwide. With this new studio, they have their sights on developing genre-defining racing titles that will resonate with global audiences while tapping into the rich culture of car enthusiasts and pop culture lovers alike.
The Three Thousands Studio is founded by seasoned leaders with decades of collective experience in game development, creative strategy and storytelling:
Joseph Donoghue, Chief Executive Officer: With over 15 years in the gaming industry, Donoghue formerly led EA Australia’s studio as General Manager, driving major game titles and global product launches.
Nikhil Kurian, Chief Product Officer: A 12 year veteran in product development and operations, His roles include Racing GM at EA Melbourne. Kurian has steered innovative gaming projects and played a key role in shaping game genres.
Benjamin Dawe, Chief Creative Officer: With more than 15 years of experience, Dawe has a proven track record of delivering innovative and creative products. Prior experience includes Studio Creative Director at EA Melbourne and more recently Head of Creative at Roadshow Films.
Joseph Donoghue, CEO of The Three Thousands, explained the studio’s vision: “Our goal with The Three Thousands is to become the ultimate Digital Automotive Brand, blending racing, culture, and entertainment in a way no one has done before. We’ve assembled a core team that are truly best in class at what they do to help deliver against the vision and we couldn’t be happier with the results.”
Nikhil Kurian, Chief Product Officer, discussed the timing behind the venture: “Now is the perfect moment to launch The Three Thousands studio. With government incentives making Australia an attractive, cost-effective location, we’re positioned to build world-class products on efficient budgets. We’re excited to develop new games that harness these advantages and push the boundaries of world-class innovation.”
The Three Thousands has an ambitious roadmap ahead with one major title scheduled for release in 2025. Further product offerings and partnerships will be announced in the coming months.
Chief Creative Officer Benjamin Dawe, summed up the studio’s ambition, “As major franchises reach maturity, there’s an open lane for innovation in both the technology we use and how we build IP. We’re stepping into that space, aiming to create next-gen experiences that challenge what’s possible in gaming and entertainment.”
Founded by industry veterans, The Three Thousands is a Melbourne-based game development studio with a vision to become the leading digital automotive brand. With decades of experience and over 750 million game downloads to their credit, the studio is dedicated to creating genre-defining titles that fuse racing, motorsport, and pop culture across platforms. The studio’s focus extends beyond gaming to building a lasting digital ecosystem that connects racing enthusiasts and gamers through interactive entertainment.
Tune into the first-ever Dungeon Race with Twitch Rivals on October 12 AEDT/NZDT
Today, Destiny 2 developers hosted a livestream to preview upcoming content releasing for Act I of Destiny 2: Revenant, launching October 9 AEDT/NZDT. During the stream, the team gave an in-depth look at new features including tonic brewing, Onslaught: Salvation, new weapons and Artifact perks, and several other additions. Developers also teased what players can expect from Revenant’s story and the return of some major figures in the Destiny universe. Watch the recorded livestream here to prepare for next week’s launch.
The team also provided comprehensive details on Codename: Frontiers, Destiny 2‘s new content model slated for 2025. This model introduces two medium-sized expansions per year and four major free updates, focusing on non-linear storytelling, systemic innovation, and enhanced core game activities. The size of the expansions will be comparable to Destiny: Rise of Iron released in 2016. These new expansions will deliver meaningful narrative impacts to the overarching story within Destiny 2, and, in addition to other updates, will introduce significant changes to armour, including new stat ranges and set bonuses to enhance value and build-crafting options. Here is a developer deep dive blog on next gen armour in Destiny 2.
Destiny 2: Revenant launches on Wednesday, October 9 AEDT/NZDT, with the new dungeon, Vesper’s Host, launching on Saturday, October 12 AEDT/NZDT alongside Destiny 2’s first-ever Dungeon Race with partners Twitch Rivals. Tune into the Twitch Rivals Dungeon Race stream here on Saturday, October 12 at 4:00 AM AEDT/6:00 AM NZDT.
A curated Indie publishing label that puts the fans first
October 1, 2024 – We’re Big Fan, a Devolver Digital label. We’re a small but passionate team of industry veterans with a single focus: helping independent game developers breathe new life into their favorite movies, comics, TV shows, and cult heroes through the power of video games. (bigfangames.com)
Like you, we’re really into games. But when it comes to “licensed games”, we think there’s room for a new approach. One where indie developers get to make the call. To take some risks and explore unique ideas that aren’t dictated by spreadsheets. So we formed Big Fan to help make that dream a reality. From a team that carries a deep bench of experience working with games and entertainment properties like Dune, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Lord of the Rings, Hellboy, Evil Dead, John Wick, Blair Witch, The Power Rangers and more.
We believe (and have seen firsthand) that great games that propel existing franchises can offer a connection with a fan that only an interactive experience can offer. Independent games created in these universes can explore them in new and unexpected ways, and it’s our goal to raise the bar of what fans can expect.
Drawing inspiration from beloved franchises, we strive to bring these worlds closer to fans—both old and new—through the lens of creative teams driven by their passion for the material. We support developers by providing our industry expertise and the resources they need to bring their ideas to life. Our goal at Big Fan is to nurture fun and inventive games that stand on their own, rather than serving as marketing tie-ins for other media launches.
It’s easy for us to make grand statements in a press release, but we like to think we can back them up. Collectively, we’ve published a lot of different games on a lot of different platforms, some of which you might have even heard of. Our work includes collaborations with like-minded teams at Disney, Dark Horse Comics, Rebellion, Lionsgate, and more. We are actively working with these partners right now, with more on the way.
Have a favorite game you’ve always dreamed of rebooting or a cult classic film or book you’d love to see adapted into a game? We’d love to hear from you.
About Big Fan
Big Fan is a new publishing label and wholly owned subsidiary of Devolver Digital formed with one goal: to create great games from well-known and beloved entertainment franchises. We’re a team of dreamers that have come together from various places in the games and entertainment industry – you may already know our work from games like Hellboy: Web of Wyrd and John Wick Hex. We’re just getting started and we’ve got a lot in store for 2024 and beyond. Get involved at Bigfangames.com.
About Devolver Digital
Devolver Digital is the sixth or maybe fifth favorite publisher of the most distinguished gamers across all major gaming platforms. Recent bangers include Cult of the Lamb, The Talos Principle 2, Anger Foot and others, while older classics like Enter the Gungeon, GRIS, Hotline Miami and Inscryption continue worming their way into the hearts and minds of anyone unlucky enough to be targeted by Devolver’s unparalleled marketing strategies. Tell all your friends to check a look at devolverdigital.com.
TOKYO — October 1, 2024 —The Strongest TOFU, the ultimate condensed soy milk action platformer from developer Zounoashi Games and publisher Phoenixx, launches today onto PC via Steam with a 10%-off sale for $4.49 until Tuesday, October 15th at 10:00 AM PST.
Celebrate Japan’s Tofu Day by hopping from the proverbial frying pan into the fire with the winner of Bandai Namco’s 2022 GYAAR Studio Indie Game Contest Choose from firm, silken, or freeze-dried, each with its distinct strengths and weaknesses, and bounce into an action-packed, tofu-filled adventure created by a real Tofu Meister.
Squish and spring in any direction to attack enemies, clear massive gaps, and solve puzzles across various zany maps where the threat of being cooked, eaten, and crumbled into oblivion looms around every corner. Conquer The Strongest TOFU’s unique jiggle physics with an easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master control scheme and satisfying haptic feedback with every jump. Remember, tofu is delicate, and falling from great heights can cause a cataclysmic crumbling.
Bounce to the tunes of The Strongest TOFU’s original soundtrack composed by Ryo Nagamatsu of RH Music (Splatoon series Composer). Enjoy key artwork from Hattori-Graphics, one of Japan’s top 100 Graphic Designers of 2024, featuring their signature low-res aesthetic. Pick up morsels of trivia along the way with fun tofu facts courtesy of Head Developer and Tofu MeisterTomozoP.
“We’re honored to have collaborated with Ryo Nagamatsu, Hattori Graphics, and all of those who helped me earn the title of Tofu Meister,” says TomozoP at Zounoashi Games. “Our goal was to make The Strongest TOFU a simple yet memorable gameplay experience, and we’re proud to have achieved this on Japan’s Tofu Day!”
The Strongest TOFU is now available to PC via Steam for $4.99 USD with a 10%-off sale for $4.49 until Tuesday, October 15th at 10:00 AM PST. It will support Japanese, English, and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) languages. The purchase page for “Sugoi Tsuyoitofu Original Soundtrack” will appear soon on the “Sugoi Tsuyoitofu” Steam Store page. To learn more and stay up to date, follow Phoenixx’s official website, X/Twitter, Youtube, the official GYAAR Studio website, Zounoashi Games official website, X/Twitter, and head developer TomozoP’s X/Twitter.
About TOFU
Tofu is made from soybeans and is one of the most delicious foods in the world. Nutritious enough to be a meat substitute and even dates back to ancient times as a beloved food source. Tofu is extremely versatile, and can change a lot depending on its method of preparation, and particular dish it is used for.
About Phoenixx
Established in 2019 by industry veterans, Phoenixx aims to support innovative and creative developers from Japan and around the world. Its mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one creator, one game, and one community at a time.
The Farm 51 developers are proud to reveal the first gameplay footage of their upcoming post-apocalyptic action RPG – Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone. Immerse yourself in the dark, intense vibe of the video and get ready for the 2025 launch planned simultaneously on PC and consoles.
Add the game to your Steam wishlist to follow the game’s development.
ABOUT CHERNOBYLITE 2: EXCLUSION ZONE
Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone is a post-apo action RPG, mixing free exploration of a huge and extremely realistic open world, challenging combat, unique crafting, and team and base management with non-linear storytelling. You’re a planeswalker who travels through parallel worlds in search of the precious, high-energy material called Chernobylite. Cut off from the world, trapped in the Zone, attacked by hordes of nightmare creatures, you must fight for survival and unite the handful of remaining survivors.
The story told in the game will make you fight to survive in the most dangerous place on Earth. Whether you become the hunted or the hunter depends on how quickly you can evolve, your ability to adapt, and the strategy you follow when exploring the open world of the Chornobyl area. In the daytime, you can see the Zone as an intriguing, exciting, or even beautiful area, but when dusk comes, the absolute terror starts and you have to face it every night.
CHERNOBYLITE 2: EXCLUSION ZONE – MAIN FEATURES
OPEN WORLD EXPLORATION
Explore the big and realistic open world of the real Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Chernobylite has taken over the zone, transforming many of its elements, and people are trying to defend themselves against it using prototype technologies.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Create and develop your hero. Attributes and skills will affect combat effectiveness, as well as the conversation style. An arrogant muscle man with a big sword trying to intimidate everyone? Or a smart sniper who always finds the right arguments? The choice is yours.
DIVERSE COMBAT
Fight for survival with an advanced melee combat system or keep your enemies away with a diverse arsenal of firearms in a third-person perspective – gain complete control over your character. You can also use the stealth approach or ask others for help. When you explore the game world, you can see it from your eyes’ perspective, but whenever it comes to combat, you’ll get the third-person perspective to see all the threats around you more clearly and be able to react more accurately.
The combat system of Chernobylite 2 is a massive expansion of its predecessor. The introduction of advanced melee weapons fight and crafting system gives more diversity to the character build, strategies, and tactics you can create independently. Don’t forget that if you like to play at the pace of the original Chernobylite, you still can.
PLANEWALKING
Adapt your build and equipment to the situation with plane walking, which allows you to change things on the fly. You’re free to develop more than one character skill set. Are you encountering a situation that your previously prepared heavy melee build will solve better than your current ranged sniper? Planewalk and use another one.
TEAM BUILDING
Embark on the exciting team-building journey. Each of your mates is a potential teacher, ready to share their knowledge and skills. Assemble your team and discover the unique strengths and abilities they bring. The question is, will you earn their trust and unlock their full potential?
BASE DEVELOPMENT
Develop your base. There, you can create valuable items and upgrade your weapons every day. Assign your people to tasks, and they will take care of your equipment and supplies.
FACTIONS
Fight for domination and negotiate with factions. The Exclusion Zone is a battlefield that changes every day and reacts to your every action. Can you help them defeat the army of vicious monsters? And when old conflicts are revived, whose side will you be on?
COOPERATIVE MISSIONS
Experience online cooperative missions embedded in a single-player campaign allowing players to interact in various ways to achieve the goal.
Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone is being developed by The Farm 51 and will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2025.
About The Farm 51
The company was established in 2005 by three game dev veterans: Kamil Bilczyński, Robert Siejka, and Wojtek Pazdur. Since then, The Farm 51 has expanded significantly and today it hires over 100 employees. Since 2012, the company has been listed on the NewConnect Stock Exchange, which allowed it to develop even further. The Farm 51 has finished many projects so far, creating or co-creating more than 10 games and VR applications. They are also a licensed developer for Microsoft, Sony, and Apple iOS. The Farm 51’s newest projects are: Get Even, World War 3, Chernobyl VR Project, Chernobylite, and Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone. http://www.thefarm51.com
Venture forth into the land of Baldur’s Gate 3 modding
DUBLIN – Oct. 1, 2024 – Baldur’s Gate 3’s latest patch is now available on video game consoles and Mac! Today’s update is a hefty one, bringing brand-new Evil Endings, revamped split-screen gameplay, and a curated selection of in-game mods built by the community themselves.
To celebrate the modding season – and the fact that over 15 million mods have been downloaded already – we’ve also whipped up an animation with Mashed, featuring the Baldur’s Gate 3 Origin Characters taking on the tumultuous Wizard of Mod and his army of unfiltered chaos.
Watch the Baldur’s Gate 3: Modding Mayhem Animated Short
Already available on PC, Patch 7 now allows Mac and console players to access callous mutilations, multiplayer updates, and a growing collection of player-made mutations that populate our latest patch.
Highlights include:
Our Very Own In-Game Mod Manager: Browse, install, and use a curated selection of mods created by the community! Build mods on PC with the Baldur’s Gate 3 Toolkit; an official, accessible way to get into the world of modding.
New ‘Evil Endings’: Brand-new cinematic endings for your most villainous playthroughs, as well as unique endings if playing an Origin Character.
Revamped Split-Screen Gameplay: Dynamic split-screen is now available for couch co-op multiplayer! When playing on split-screen and near your fellow party member, the screen will merge into one as you adventure together.
Patch 7: Mods are officially in your hands now. Go wild!
It’s been a couple of weeks since the PC community first got their hands on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Modding Toolkit, and they have been cooking up a bevy of mods. Grease up environments for extra fire-blasted pandemonium, add new options to the user interface for a more personalized experience, or even roam the Sword Coast with 15 more party members. If you’re curious what sort of otherworldly mods are disrupting Faerûn, you’ll do well to read our latest Community Update: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1086940/view/4692277806490147502
New to the world of modding? Feeling overwhelmed, frightened, yet desperate to give Astarion a beard? We’ve also prepped a video walking through some of the best starter mods on the newly launched Larian: Channel from Hell, which promises exclusive behind-the-scenes looks, developer interviews, and more regularly scheduled chaos:
Players who’ve fallen in love with the bizarre land of modding and are curious about trying their own hand at it can find our full modding guidelines here: https://mod.io/g/baldursgate3/r/modding-guidelines
Today’s patch also adds quality-of-life improvements to scripting, writing, animations, and general gameplay. Test your might in Honour Mode – now with added difficulty and customization options, including new Legendary Actions, as well as numerous bug fixes for Origin Character and Dark Urge playthroughs. There may even be a way for a certain Tiefling bard to join the party…for a time. Just don’t get too attached. Full patch notes for Patch 7 can be found here: https://baldursgate3.game/news/patch-7-now-live_121
Baldur’s Gate 3 is out now with cross-save on PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. More information on Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on the official website.
About Larian Studios
Larian Studios is an independent RPG developer founded in 1996 in Ghent, Belgium. Over 400 people work between worldwide studios in Ghent, Quebec, Dublin, Guildford, Malaysia, Barcelona and Warsaw. Larian is best known for the Divinity universe, which they introduced to the world with Divine Divinity in 2002, and Baldur’s Gate 3. In 2014, Larian launched Divinity: Original Sin, a classic CRPG that won over 150 awards and nominations. The company released its critically acclaimed sequel Divinity: Original Sin 2 on Sept. 14, 2017, followed by the Definitive Edition in August 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to a 93 Metacritic rating. The Nintendo Switch version released in September 2019 featuring cross-save progression between Nintendo Switch and Steam. Divinity: Original Sin 2 won a BAFTA for Best Multiplayer Game. On Aug. 3, 2023, Larian Studios released Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC. On Sept. 6, 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 was released on PS5. On Dec. 7, 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 released for Xbox Series X|S. Baldur’s Gate 3 has won over 200 Game of the Year Awards, including the five major trophies from the BAFTA Game Awards, Golden Joysticks, Game Developers Choice, DICE, and The Game Awards.
