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Space Trucking Sim, Star Trucker, Now Available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass and PC

Traverse the Cosmos and Master the Galactic Highways Today

STOCKHOLM – Sept. 3 2024 – Swedish publisher Raw Fury and developer Monster & Monster today launched their interstellar trucking simulator, Star Trucker, globally for PC and Xbox Series X|S. Star Trucker is also available today on Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, and in celebration of launch, players can enjoy a soundtrack and customization pack DLC available on PC via Steam.

Star Trucker puts an intergalactic twist on the trucking simulation genre by bringing authentic and grounded trucking gameplay to an out-of-this-world setting. Star Trucker invites players to take to the ultimate open road and search for fame and fortune among the stars.

Watch the launch trailer below:

In Star Trucker, players tame the most open road of them all – space – in a true Americana-inspired retro sci-fi fashion. Players will be able to explore expansive worlds, overcome the challenges and opportunities with zero-g truck physics, skill up their mastery over hauling different types of goods and upgrade their truck to complete their jobs faster and more efficiently.

Key Features in Star Trucker include:

  • Cruise the hyper highways, taking on a variety of jobs such as fuel-hungry long hauls and hazardous drop-offs to earn cash and unlock new content.
  • Use the galactic map to plan your journey and warp jumps, while keeping an eye on your fuel reserves and power levels.
  • Utilize the fully voiced, interactive CB radio to get the latest gossip from fellow truckers, request docking permissions or send out an SOS, and swing by auto shops to upgrade and improve your truck systems to gain access to new areas.
  • Kick back, crank up the cab hi-fi and cruise to a range of starburst blues, galactic rock and asteroid-influenced Americana, spotlighting unique tracks by acclaimed musicians like Tom Bromley from Los Campesinos!, composer Randall Breneman and more.

About Monster & Monster

Monster and Monster consists of Co-Directors Dan Griffiths and David Fullick. Established in 2011, the studio has developed and self-published multiple games including the award-winning DEEP LOOT, an underwater exploration game that surpassed three million downloads across iOS and Android platforms.

About Raw Fury

Raw Fury is a boutique indie (un)publisher founded in 2015 by Jonas Antonsson, Gordon Van Dyke, and David Martinez. We do not care about genres or mechanics. We care about experiences and emotions. We want to help developers make magic.

Experience ‘Agatha Christie In Space’ When Murder On Space Station 52 Releases September 25th

Hunt for the keychain killer in point and click murder mystery filled with a cast of eccentric suspects

Tampa, FL, USA – September 3rd, 2024 – Solo developer Made From Strings and publisher Dionous Games are delighted to announce that their point and click murder mystery in space, Murder On Space Station 52, will be releasing on PC on September 25th. The game will also be coming to PlayStation, Xbox and Switch at a later date. Murder On Space Station 52 places players in an atmospheric sci-fi noir world where the “Keychain Killer” is at large and gives them an investigative murder board, an eccentric cast of suspects, and some good old point and click puzzling to get stuck into as they seek to solve the mystery.

In Murder On Space Station 52, you play as Edward Locke. The new repairman finds himself trapped on a strange space station filled with even stranger people, including one with a penchant for leaving dead bodies lying around with keys in their wounds. Join him as he explores a hand-drawn, richly conceived world, filled with danger, mystery, creativity and memorable moments.

Collect evidence, question suspects, explore the scenic station, consult your meticulous murder board and catch the Keychain Killer. Earn in-game currency by exploring the world or completing tasks and use it to customise your apartment and aquarium with the most amazing items and creatures. Take a deeper dive into the game’s mechanics with the dev commentary video and check out how the game’s hand-drawn art makes it from paper to pixels in the art dev diary.

Key Features

  • A murder mystery investigation with evidence collection, a murder board and suspect interrogation
  • A unique hand-drawn world full of perilous situations and unbelievable mysteries
  • Fun puzzles that will challenge your solving skills
  • Full voiceover for the entire charismatic cast
  • All original, blues inspired cinematic soundtrack.
  • Unlockable cosmetic items with in-game currency

“I can’t wait for people to land on Space Station 52 and start investigating on September 25th”, said developer Christopher Mathes. “This game really is a labour of love – the art is hand-drawn, I’ve composed the soundtrack and I’ve voiced most of the characters – so I’m really excited to have people experience the mystery I’ve worked so hard to create for them.”

About Made From Strings

Made From Strings is the pseudonym of artist, musician and game developer Christoper Mathes. The studio’s debut titles was the supernatural puzzle adventure Moonrise Fall and the studio is currently working on murder mystery adventure, Murder On Space Station 52

About Dionous Games

Dionous Games develop and publish narrative-driven games. They are always looking to share their passion for adventure games and join forces with people who love to work in a collaborative environment. The studio specialises in titles developed in Visionaire Studio Engine.

Antstream Arcade Heads to PlayStation on Friday

The leading retro streaming service will bring more than 1,300 retro games to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 from 6th September 2024.

London, 3rd September: Antstream Arcade, the world’s leading retro platform, is excited to confirm the streaming service will land on PlayStation on 6th September, wish Wishlists available now. Coming to both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and announced during the Antstream August Connect, Antstream Arcade will bring more than 1,300 retro gems to the new platform, solidifying the team’s commitment to preserving the games of the past for both hardcore fans and future generations alike.

Discover a lifetime of gaming, the ultimate retro gaming experience with Antstream Arcade on PlayStation. Dive into a vast collection of over 1,300 classic games, with new titles added every week. Travel through countless genres and eras, from arcade legends to cherished console classics, all streamed directly to your PlayStation without messing around with roms or emulators. Climb global leaderboards to show off your skills, compete in world tournaments, and take on mini game challenges, all while being able to save progress in any of the Antstream library’s 1,300+ games, at any point. PlayStation gamers are in for a retro treat when Antstream launches on 6th September.

It’s time to power up your PlayStation:

A service for fans of classic games and retro indies, Antstream is available on Microsoft Xbox, Epic Games Store, iPhone, iPad, Android, Samsung TVs, PC, Mac, Linux and soon, Sony PlayStation.

Antstream Arcade is the world’s largest officially licensed retro game platform, featuring more than 1300 games available to stream. The extensive and impressive catalogue includes titles from the early systems like the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64, to Arcade classics and games from SNES, Megadrive, and PlayStation One, and even features newly developed arcade games. Tournaments and challenges mean that these classic games can be played in new ways, allowing players to compete with the active community. With the gaming service accessible on a multitude of devices, including PC, mobile, Xbox, PlayStation and more, Antstream ensures you can enjoy gaming anytime, anywhere!

WayForward’s New Story Trailer for ‘Yars Rising’ Invites You Down the Rabbit Hole

Today, WayForward and Atari revealed the official story trailer for Yars Rising, the upcoming 2D sci-fi metroidvania based on one of Atari’s best-selling classic franchises. For the first time, players take a closer look into the characters, narratives, and anime-inspired world they’ll dive into when Yars Rising launches on PC and consoles on September 10, 2024.

Watch the Yars Rising story trailer here: 

In the new story trailer, black hat hacker Emi’s mission takes a dangerous turn when she’s caught hacking into Qotech’s servers and dragged into the depths of the company’s headquarters. What was supposed to be a quick in-and-out job becomes a fight for survival as she discovers powerful augments and biohacks. As she navigates through a maze of aggressive sentinels, laser defenses, and bizarre bio-hacking experiments, Emi realizes there’s much more at stake than she ever imagined. 

Emi’s struggle intensifies as she attempts to escape her captors. Communicating with her fellow hackers, she uncovers hidden augments that expand her abilities, allowing her to explore previously inaccessible areas. As she battles through enemies and security systems, Emi begins to unravel the corporation’s dark secret and her unexpected connection to a distant alien race. It’s now up to her to expose Qotech’s true mission and prevent a looming catastrophe.

The newest installment in the storied Yars universe delivers a wholly reimagined experience that blends past, present, and future, establishing a unique take on metroidvania gameplay with stealth and hacking-based sequences that progress the story and map exploration. With gameplay that rewards both stealth and run-and-gun strategies, unlockable upgrades and abilities, and unique genre mash-up mechanics, Yars Rising creates some new rules and breaks some old ones, just as its predecessor did. 

Yars Rising launches on September 10, 2024, to Windows PC via Steam and Epic Games, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, and Atari VCS. For more information, visit the official website: www.atari.com/products/yars-rising.

To stay up-to-date on all things Atari and retro-pop culture, follow on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube, and join the community on Discord.

Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game Crowdfunding Campaign is Live!

CD PROJEKT RED and board game developer Go On Board proudly announce that Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game, a unique adaptation of the hit video game, has now begun crowdfunding on Gamefound.

  • Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game is a cooperative story-driven tactical action game for 1–4 players which explores a “what if?” scenario that alters a crucial event from the video game.
  • Featuring 13 diverse missions and unique mechanics, it aims to faithfully recreate the feeling of the video game.
  • The crowdfunding campaign contains an already released stretch goal and a special perk for first-day backers.

Made in close cooperation between CD PROJEKT RED and Go On Board, the tabletop adaptation brings to life the experience of Cyberpunk 2077 and features key characters from the video game, including V, Judy, Panam, and Jackie. The cooperative story-driven tactical action game gives 1–4 players the ability to explore a “what if?” scenario which alters a crucial event from the video game, branching out into a new story told throughout 13 diverse missions.

Watch the Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game launch trailer

The Gamefound campaign, which garnered over 60,000 followers prior to the official start, features a first-day perk in the form of an alternate version miniature of V with mantis blades and a stretch goal which unlocks a Johnny Silverhand miniature and additional game mode. Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game is slated for release in December 2025 in several language versions.

See the campaign on Gamefound

The dynamic and fast-paced board game features a time pressure mechanic to recreate the experience of being a mercenary in Night City, featuring epic action moments, and over 50 Street Stories to make each playthrough diverse and unique. It also contains an additional Afterlife Mission Generator, which offers high replayability with dozens of single missions for players to create. To learn more about the game’s mechanics, a REDstreams special with board game creator Łukasz Woźniak and Franchise Content Strategy Lead Patrick Mills dives into the various elements available to players.

Watch the REDstreams episode (below) More information about Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game can be found on its official crowdfunding page and on Go On Board’s YouTube channel. To learn more about Cyberpunk 2077 and its critically-acclaimed expansion Phantom Liberty, follow the game on X, Facebook, or check out its official website.

About CD PROJEKT RED

CD PROJEKT RED is a game development studio founded in 2002. It develops and publishes video games for PCs and video game consoles. The studio’s flagship titles include the futuristic RPG Cyberpunk 2077, its spy-thriller expansion Phantom Liberty, and The Witcher series of games, including The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its two expansions. In collaboration with studio TRIGGER, CD PROJEKT RED also created the award-winning Netflix anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, set in the same universe as the game. Other games developed by the studio include Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales and GWENT: The Witcher Card Game. Together with GOG.COM, a game store offering hand-picked titles for PC and Mac, CD PROJEKT RED is part of the CD PROJEKT Group. CD PROJEKT S.A. is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (ISIN: PLOPTTC00011).

About Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is a narrative-driven, open-world RPG set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour, and body modification. The game tells the multilayered, mature story of cyber-enhanced mercenary V. Players are faced with choices and consequences as they customize their character and playstyle, take on jobs, and build their reputation. The game has sold over 25 million copies and won over 200 awards, and is also the inspiration for the award-winning Netflix anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, created by CD PROJEKT RED in collaboration with studio TRIGGER. Its spy-thriller expansion Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty was released on September 26, 2023. Cyberpunk 2077 is set in the universe of the classic pen & paper RPG system, Cyberpunk 2020.

About Go On Board

Founded in 2015, Go On Board is a Polish board game studio known for its successful crowdfunding campaigns and strong community engagement. The studio’s portfolio includes popular titles such as Valhalla, Titans, The Witcher: Old World, and The Witcher: Path of Destiny. Go On Board is dedicated to setting new standards in the board game industry, focusing on high-quality components, intricate mechanics, and engaging narratives. The studio actively involves its community in the creation process, using crowdfunding to share the journey. Currently, Go On Board is preparing for the release of Cyberpunk 2077 – The Board Game, developed in collaboration with CD PROJEKT RED.

BEWARE THE STORM IN NEW COOPERATIVE SURVIVAL ROGUELIKE, SKYWARD EXTRACTION

Test your success in the game’s free demo ahead of the Early Access release on September 24th.

Los Angeles, USA, 3 September 2024 | A perfect storm approaches as Skyward Extraction, a light horror, cooperative roguelike from indie developer Naughty Clogs, announces its Early Access for Steam, coming September 24th. Players can step into this high-flying adventure in the game’s free demo.

A Skyward Adventure

Encounter Skyward Extraction’s Relencost, a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by ancient conflict. A magic storm has rendered the surface unlivable, forcing the planet’s survivors above the cloud layer in search of safety. Even so, one place remains treacherous above all others: The Stormwall. A place so dangerous that its shifting depths are rarely explored, where only the bravest or most greedy dare to travel. Thus begins your journey.

Cooperative Extraction

Skyward Extraction is a co-op survival game with roguelike elements coming to Steam. Explore the depths of The Stormwall alongside your friends to retrieve valuable loot from Relencost’s pre-war period. Navigate through the clouds in your airship, allowing you to move deeper into the chaotic storm in search of valuable resources. As you pierce further into the storm, both your risks and rewards increase significantly. Player perks–including increased health and stamina or decreased fall damage–can protect you in a pinch, while equipment upgrades can alter your kit’s abilities. Scale vertical climbs with the long-range Grapple Pack, expand your inventory size with the Mule Pack, or cross gaps with increased efficiency using the Glider Pack. Commissions and dungeon loot will reward you with gold, letting you purchase new advancements at the game’s supply outpost.

Hosts of Challenges

Ensuring your swift escape is vital to retaining your loot. Activity within the storm attracts unwanted attention, so you must return to the ship often to store your rewards. A host of dangerous entities await, including slimes, goblins, automatons, and deadly scorpions. Patrolling the skies are Stormbeasts, posing another threat to your ship’s integrity. The game’s eight unique dungeons feature seven different interiors with various enemies and rewards. Each day, new escape and entry routes will open, closing other paths to keep players on their toes and exploring.

Gameplay Features:

  • Procedurally generated maps, dungeons, and events offer 7 unique interiors and a diverse cast of enemies, ranging from burrowing scorpions to high-flying Stormbeasts.
  • Voice proximity chat and co-op mode create a thrilling multiplayer experience.
  • Permanent character progression, combined with the game’s procedurally generated challenges, ensures players will never experience the same challenge twice and can continue building their stats after each run.
  • Equipment enhancements increase base functions, such as extended range on a grappling hook, reduced stamina consumption on a glider, or a large radius light to guide your way through the dark.
  • Skyward Extraction’s Early Access launch promises a thrilling cooperative experience, with additional features–such as mini-quests and open exploration environments–planned for the game’s full launch.

Skyward Extraction will launch soon in Early Access on September 24th. A free demo is available now on Steam, and interested players can wishlist the title for updates on its launch. Additional updates are available on Naughty Clog’s X and the studio’s official website.

About Naughty Clogs

Naughty Clogs is a small team of passionate developers from all over the world. Made up of industry veterans, they take a Fun First approach to making games while focusing on community involvement. They strive to make sure that they are putting out games that they would want to play and never take themselves too seriously. 

Beloved RuneScape tunes given Drum n Bass makeover with Old School Runebreaks

  • Pre-orders open for double LP vinyl set
  • Limited Edition available via Laced Records and Official RuneScape Merch Store
  • Music by video game DnB producer Pizza Hotline
  • Album now streaming via Spotify, Apple Music & more

London, 3rd September 2024 –  Old School RuneScape players know their IFB from their IDB. That’s why beloved RuneScape tunes have been remixed by London producer Pizza Hotline, known for making video game-flavoured Drum n Bass and Jungle with a nostalgic feeling. 

Pre-orders are now open for a Limited Edition double vinyl set, available via the Laced Records store (www.lacedrecords.com) and the Official RuneScape Merch Store (runescape.backstreetmerch.com). The set features 11 blissed-out tracks on blue galaxy-effect heavyweight discs, all housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve. Artwork is by Jagex collaborator Matthew Leiher aka Uber

The album is also now available on major music streaming platforms (lnk.to/rs-runebreaks) and purchasing the vinyl via Laced Records unlocks 320kbps MP3 digital downloads.

“Garden” and other tracks enjoy more traditional DnB remixes, while the infamous “Sea Shanty 2” is reimagined as a minimal DnB banger. “Autumn Voyage” gets a slower breaks remix, while Pizza Hotline took inspiration from Aphex Twin for their atmospheric adaptation of “Shine”. Fans will lap up the use of familiar sound effects in fun places, such as the original ‘Urgh!’ death sound before the drop of “Background”. 

The producer used, among other software and hardware, a Roland JV-1080 to stay faithful to the classic era of DnB; and several tracks feature a reverb based on the PS1’s original built-in effects.

One of the world’s most popular MMORPGs, Old School RuneScape unites the intricate mechanics of modern MMOs with nostalgic gameplay reminiscent of early role-playing games. It’s the only MMORPG in the world that is truly shaped by its players with developers releasing new, regular content that has been voted for by the fans!  

For more information on RuneScape and Old School RuneScape visit: play.runescape.com 

About Jagex:

A leader in creating deep and engaging live games on PC and mobile, Jagex’s flagship MMORPG, RuneScape, has welcomed over 320 million player accounts to its world and is a $1.5 billion lifetime revenue franchise. Today the RuneScape franchise exists beyond live operations; our titles are forever games that connect and inspire millions of players, with content and experiences both inside and outside of inexhaustible game worlds. Both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, on PC and mobile, offer ever-evolving, highly active worlds and our community-focussed development ethos empowers players to have a real say in how each game is shaped.

Jagex has expanded with the acquisitions of Pipeworks and Gamepires, bringing its expertise in building forever games to SCUM, a multi-million selling open-world survival title in Steam Early Access. Jagex employs more than 700 people globally, and is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

About Laced:

Laced is the world’s leading video game soundtrack record label, with over 200 releases to date across vinyl, CD and digital.

We create the best special edition vinyl sets on the market for games new and old, from the biggest blockbusters to the most intimate indies. Releases include music from IP as diverse as Ace Attorney, Alan Wake 2, ARK, Assassin’s Creed, Bloodborne, Borderlands, Braid Anniversary Edition, Control, Cult of the Lamb, Dead Cells, Deathloop, Devil May Cry, Dishonored, DOOM, Fallout, Far Cry, Gears of War, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hi-Fi RUSH, Hitman, Homeworld, Hotline Miami, Inscryption, Lords of the Fallen, Mario+Rabbids, Mega Man, Metal Gear Solid, Monster Hunter, No Man’s Sky, The Outlast Trials, Quake II, Resident Evil, RuneScape, Serious Sam, Skull and Bones, Tomb Raider, Street Fighter, The Talos Principle, TEKKEN, Terraria, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon & Rainbow Six, Total War, Vampire: The Masquerade, Warhammer & Warhammer 40,000, Watch Dogs, Wolfenstein and Yakuza/Like a Dragon.

Partners include Bandai Namco, Bethesda, Capcom, CI Games, Creative Assembly, Croteam, Devolver Digital, From Software, Games Workshop, Gearbox Entertainment, Good Shepherd Entertainment, Hello Games, Jagex, Kepler Interactive, Konami Digital Entertainment, Merregnon, Microsoft, Motion Twin, Re-Logic, Remedy Entertainment, SEGA, Sharkmob, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Thekla Inc., and Ubisoft.

Laced offers full label services including product design, mastering, manufacturing, worldwide physical and digital distribution, and marketing. As well as operating a trusted, direct-to-consumer store internationally, Laced also supplies products to major and specialist retailers around the globe.

The record label lives alongside Laced’s other service offerings, including music composition, licensing, sound design, implementation, and music publishing administration for games and moving media.

DROVA Launches October 15th On All Systems!

Deck13 Spotlight and Just2D are proud and excited to announce the release date for their upcoming grim dark Pixel RPG DROVA  – Forsaken Kin which is set in a mystic Celtic world.  The brutal open world will welcome new travellers on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on October 15th.

Enslave The Spirits of nature – or save them! The druids whispered about a promised land called DROVA, a new horizon they claim to be paradise. But you will learn the truth in October: This world is anything but a Utopia. Drova is a grim world where every man is for himself

Features:

  • 40 Hours of Story-driven gameplay
  • A brutal combat system with multiple weapon classes and magic
  • A handcrafted seamless open pixel art world
  • Join one of two factions to survive in this grim dark world
  • Trust no one

A Release Date After All These Years

After more than six years of development, DROVA finally has a release date carved in stone: October 15th. During Gamescom countless people played the game on PC and Nintendo Switch, with creators of the original Gothic stepping in and revealing they were part of a public playtest. They have finally found a game which captures the spirit of the original Gothic for the very first time.

Grab your axe, sharpen your blades and explore a grim dark world when Drova – Forsaken Kin will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch October 15th 2024.

About Deck13 Spotlight

Deck13 Interactive is one of Germany’s leading developers. Based in Frankfurt, the passionate team develops award-winning, large-scale productions for consoles and PC. With Deck13 Spotlight the team has also established a publishing service that helps independent developers bring their projects to wider audiences.

Total Extreme Wrestling IX Review

Total Extreme Wrestling IX

Developer: Grey Dog Software
Publisher: Grey Dog Software
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $34.99 – Available Here

Overview

Years ago, I found Total Extreme Wrestling while forum-surfing. It was a text-driven game where you could be the booker for a federation, and watch results simulate week after week. The game was pretty big online and even used to ultimately influence the much less interesting “GM Mode” that modern wrestling games would adopt. Over 20 years later, this little game is now out with its 9th iteration. How does it fare all of these years later with Total Extreme Wrestling IX? Let’s find out.

Story

You dream it, you build it. That’s the core thought process behind the narratives that happen here, as players are greeted with a full cast of original characters they can use to create an entire wrestling universe. From major organizations to the independents, TEW IX allows you take control of literally anyone, book matches and literally influence the entire wrestling scene through trades, shows, ratings, and so on. Yeah, this game is a lot, but the stories inside are rather clever, where injuries and other life events quickly change how you must think and strategize as you attempt to book your way to success. If your new here, this can be never-ending, or you can set your own goals to go until you feel satisfied. That said, there is something super-addicting about the formula once you make the plunge, as I spent hours into the night clicking away in this little toolbox.

Gameplay

Total Extreme Wrestling IX is easy enough to understand, but a lot to actually get started with. Everything is customizable. Everything. From the show names, to the talent, to the gimmicks, and so on. It’s almost a bit too complex as I feel I took longer to create my base of what I wanted than I did with the core game itself in some ways. Think of it as a giant menu where each show has a ton of options. Finances, creative, ratings, health reports, titles. It’s a lot for just running one show at a time, and sometimes the drop-down menu interface feels a bit archaic to understand due to the heavy amount of depth and options. Patient and imaginative players are rewarded, however, as there are limitless possibilities once you jump in and once it “clicks”, it’s hard to put down for a minute.

As a person who has not played this franchise in over a decade, I was pleasantly surprised with how everything almost felt the same. Sure, there are new features like a touted streamlined interface and so on, but there is something very satisfying to an older player like myself of how accessible the menu system still feels, as if no time has passed. That said, there have also been a ton of improvements elsewhere in the market over the years, and part of me wonders if this old engine would be a lot more accessible for others if it was simplified and overhauled for a younger market, as I see this being far from accessible to a new player. 

It seems booking logic was a big thing this year, and that really does show. The world-building is incredible with how well each federation interacts by the moves you make, and its pretty neat seeing a nobody you create turn into a big deal, where their demand slowly becomes a centerpiece of the wrestling universe inside here. Kind of like fire-pro, this release is only as good as its community however, as mods really make it feel real, with the ability to fully customize an entire roster and federation with pre-loaded picture sets and talent that come with everything you know them from the actual product. It took a second, but after what may have been ten minutes I was able to load up some amazing creations, many of which I plan on returning to as I relive my own history in wrestling with this hefty sim.

Audio

I know this is more of a tool than a game, but there isn’t a lot of music to speak of here. I kind of feel that the lack of sound takes away a fun element of wrestling as music has such a role with identity, but alas, that’s just not what this product is built to do.

Visuals

The blue backdrop in Total Extreme Wrestling IX made me feel at home again as if I was yet again in my late teens and trying to build factions all over again from years ago. That said, there isn’t a lot of flash or style to speak of, even though the visuals have improved. Mods can certainly add some life to this, but again, this is more of a creative tool than it is a video game in the standard sense. How that reflects on the player is up to them.

Overall

Part of me wants to critique Total Extreme Wrestling IX as it has changed but still feels like that same program from years and years ago, despite its immense depth. That would be unfair, though. This is an amazing way to soak hours of your own creativity into, and the limitless options and ease of navigation make for one of the only real ways to truly play any sort of “GM Mode” correctly, as this title just overshadows all other experiences. It may be the 9th instalment, but Grey Dog has something truly special here, and hopefully it will continue to see refinement and life in the community to keep it around for another couple of decades. This is still the undisputed wrestling booker, and no one else is even close to touching what this simulator can do.

Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

BEWARE THE STORM IN NEW COOPERATIVE SURVIVAL ROGUELIKE, SKYWARD EXTRACTION

Test your success in the game’s free demo ahead of the Early Access release on September 24th.

Los Angeles, USA, 3 September 2024 | A perfect storm approaches as Skyward Extraction, a light horror, cooperative roguelike from indie developer Naughty Clogs, announces its Early Access for Steam, coming September 24th. Players can step into this high-flying adventure in the game’s free demo.

A Skyward Adventure

Encounter Skyward Extraction’s Relencost, a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by ancient conflict. A magic storm has rendered the surface unlivable, forcing the planet’s survivors above the cloud layer in search of safety. Even so, one place remains treacherous above all others: The Stormwall. A place so dangerous that its shifting depths are rarely explored, where only the bravest or most greedy dare to travel. Thus begins your journey.

Cooperative Extraction

Skyward Extraction is a co-op survival game with roguelike elements coming to Steam. Explore the depths of The Stormwall alongside your friends to retrieve valuable loot from Relencost’s pre-war period. Navigate through the clouds in your airship, allowing you to move deeper into the chaotic storm in search of valuable resources. As you pierce further into the storm, both your risks and rewards increase significantly. Player perks–including increased health and stamina or decreased fall damage–can protect you in a pinch, while equipment upgrades can alter your kit’s abilities. Scale vertical climbs with the long-range Grapple Pack, expand your inventory size with the Mule Pack, or cross gaps with increased efficiency using the Glider Pack. Commissions and dungeon loot will reward you with gold, letting you purchase new advancements at the game’s supply outpost.

Hosts of Challenges

Ensuring your swift escape is vital to retaining your loot. Activity within the storm attracts unwanted attention, so you must return to the ship often to store your rewards. A host of dangerous entities await, including slimes, goblins, automatons, and deadly scorpions. Patrolling the skies are Stormbeasts, posing another threat to your ship’s integrity. The game’s eight unique dungeons feature seven different interiors with various enemies and rewards. Each day, new escape and entry routes will open, closing other paths to keep players on their toes and exploring.

Gameplay Features:

  • Procedurally generated maps, dungeons, and events offer 7 unique interiors and a diverse cast of enemies, ranging from burrowing scorpions to high-flying Stormbeasts.
  • Voice proximity chat and co-op mode create a thrilling multiplayer experience.
  • Permanent character progression, combined with the game’s procedurally generated challenges, ensures players will never experience the same challenge twice and can continue building their stats after each run.
  • Equipment enhancements increase base functions, such as extended range on a grappling hook, reduced stamina consumption on a glider, or a large radius light to guide your way through the dark.
  • Skyward Extraction’s Early Access launch promises a thrilling cooperative experience, with additional features–such as mini-quests and open exploration environments–planned for the game’s full launch.

Skyward Extraction will launch soon in Early Access on September 24th. A free demo is available now on Steam, and interested players can wishlist the title for updates on its launch.

About Naughty Clogs

Naughty Clogs is a small team of passionate developers from all over the world. Made up of industry veterans, they take a Fun First approach to making games while focusing on community involvement. They strive to make sure that they are putting out games that they would want to play and never take themselves too seriously.