Square Enix’s Visions of Mana continues the franchise after fifteen years since the last mainline entry but we feel right at home as we set out as Val, the guardian and guide to the ‘alms’ that have been chosen to sacrifice themselves to the Tree of Mana in an every four year ritual that will maintain the balance of the world and prevent calamity from falling upon it.
Visions of Mana – Gameplay
Visions of Mana is a brand new title in this series revolving around the sacred sword and mana. The protagonist Val and his childhood friend Hinna, the newly appointed Alm of Fire, set off on a journey to the Mana Tree.
This game’s iconic vibrant and vast semi-open field contains adorable yet ferocious monsters, allowing you to enjoy swift three-dimensional battles using the power of the Elementals. Through adventures with friends met along the way, they start to see the truth about the world. Must we accept our fates?
A new “Mana” tale begins here as a classic fantasy series returns to its roots.
Visions of Mana Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Platform: Windows, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 Release Date: 30 Aug, 2024 Price: $59.99 USD
Recommended – “Visions of Mana is a gorgeous looking action RPG with a highly customizable and enjoyable combat system and an unfortunately simple storyline bolstered by a stellar cast of characters.”
Walnut Creek, Calif. (Sept. 5, 2024) – Maximum Entertainment today announced that Maximum Football is touching down into Steam Early Access starting Nov. 7, with PlayStation and Xbox releases following shortly after in Spring 2025: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1691280/Maximum_Football/
Today’s release date reveal was accompanied by a trailer showcasing the gritty, physics-based gameplay that awaits players on the field when Maximum Football launches:
In Early Access players will have a variety of multiplayer and singleplayer modes to experience a realistic and customizable gridiron experience, but that’s just the beginning. More modes will follow shortly including Franchise (professional football) and Career Mode, with much more planned over the coming months and years as Maximum Football continues to evolve. Maximum Entertainment encourages the community to provide feedback and input via the official Maximum Football Discord and X to assist in creating the best football game possible based on what players want.
Confirmed Early Access Game Modes:
Exhibition Mode
Offline vs. AI – (1 vs. 1)
Multiplayer – (1 vs. 1)
Spectate (AI vs. AI)
Dynasty Mode (Singleplayer college football)
Practice Mode
Player Customization System
Maximum Pro League
A celebration of the world’s most exhilarating sport, Maximum Football is built from the ground up to authentically deliver realistic, physics-based action. Every tackle, pass, block and catch relies on a lifelike physics engine to determine the outcome, empowering each play to occur in a different way every time it’s run. Maximum Football’s immersive physics ensure on-field action progresses as it would in real life.
Maximum Football will be launching into Steam Early Access on Nov. 7, with a console release planned for Spring 2025.
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About Maximum Entertainment
Maximum Entertainment is a global entertainment company dedicated to crafting indie to AA video game experiences through original content and licensed partnerships. A fully integrated group with a broad portfolio of content, the company emphasizes collaboration and inclusivity in its partnerships to produce the highest level of interactive entertainment. With more than 300 titles in its catalog, Maximum Entertainment has joined forces with talented creators and renowned franchises around the globe to deliver magic to the gamer in everyone. Maximum Entertainment employs experienced professionals across the entire value chain of video games including development, publishing, transmedia, sales, and operations. Visit Maximum Entertainment at www.maximument.com.
Become an agent of vengeance against the hive swarms
Green Bay, WI (September 10, 2024) – Midwest Games—an industry veteran-led publisher whose mission is to support and showcase abundant talent across the Midwest and underrepresented regions—is proud to launch St. Louis-based Graphite Lab’s sci-fi bullet heaven roguelike Hive Jump 2: Survivors out of early access today on Windows PC via Steam and GOG for only $6.99.
Hive Jump 2: Survivors is the fast-paced survival roguelike sequel to the sci-fi action platformer Hive Jump, where the player is the lone survivor of a mission in which their squad of intrepid jetpack Jumpers was decimated in an intergalactic ambush. Fueled by vengeance and the hunt for precious alien goo, players of this survivors-like are armed with a jumping jetpack to better attack and escape the variety of killer insects!
Watch the Hive Jump 2: Survivors Launch Trailer below:
In Hive Jump 2: Survivors, players immerse themselves in an exhilarating blend of strategic planning and high-octane action. Each Jumper offers a unique set of builds and abilities, allowing players to tailor their gameplay experience to their liking. Collecting amber and alien goo is crucial, as these precious resources are used to unlock powerful upgrades, enabling players to mow down hordes of enemies with ever-increasing efficiency. The game’s dynamic combat system, combined with the tactical use of jetpacks, ensures that every encounter is both thrilling and challenging. Master the art of dodging incoming threats, navigating treacherous terrains, and eliminating foes in spectacular, gory fashion.
Hive Jump 2: Survivors spans four distinct biomes, each presenting its own set of enemies and environments. Players will traverse the glimmering depths of Crystal Caverns, the icy expanse of the Frozen Tundra, the perilous landscape of the Volcanic Wasteland, and the dark depths of the Mushroom Forests. Each biome is meticulously designed to test the limits of the players’ skills, requiring new tactics and upgrades for success. With its rich visuals, immersive soundscapes, and relentless action, Hive Jump 2: Survivors is a bug-killing revenge spree through alien worlds, where only the most resilient Jumpers survive.
Key Features of Hive Jump 2: Survivors:
Jumping Jetpacks: A game-changing addition to your artillery, necessary for dodging enemies and traversing the environment.
Auto and Manual Aiming: Auto-fire at enemies to focus on movement, or take aim to better control the chaos.
Multiple Jumpers, Multiple Ways to Kill: Each Jumper has distinct stats that impact speed, rate of fire, health, and more.
Customize Your Jumper: Earn weapons, upgrades, and augments to tackle each run strategically.
HSA Store: Convert bug guts into currency, exchanging “goo” for weapons, utilities, and relics.
Permanent Upgrades: Unlock permanent abilities to give your Jumper an advantage.
Hive Jump 2: Survivors is available today on Windows PC via Steam and GOG.
About Graphite Lab
Graphite Lab is a talented independent development studio led by owner and Studio Director Matt Raithel based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team strives to produce hit titles featuring some of the world’s most visible and iconic brands. Graphite Lab specializes in bringing brands to life in fun and entertaining ways, including critically acclaimed projects such as Atari’s Kombinera, Mr. Run and Jump, Qomp2, and more including its first big original title, Hive Jump.
About Midwest Games
Based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Midwest Games is a video game publisher focused on creating opportunities for the abundant talent across the Midwest and other underrepresented regions. Led by industry veterans and entertainment enthusiasts, Midwest Games believes that great games can come from anywhere.
System 3 Begins Game Preservation Drive With Additional Content Including Cancelled Prototypes for International Karate and Last Ninja 4
London, UK – 10th September, 2024. The Last Ninja Collection launched today on Kickstarter, reaching its funding target inside 40 minutes and marking the return of a beloved franchise to PC and Nintendo Switch in 2025. In reaching its funding target, System 3’s drive for game preservation beings in earnest with the first physical release of Last Ninja titles in Decades.
Bringing together every Last Ninja title from the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Commodore Amiga for the first time, including The Last Ninja, Last Ninja 2, Last Ninja 3 and Ninja Remix, The Last Ninja Collection is joined by incredible games such as Bangkok Knights, International karate and International karate +.
Kickstarter backers at Diamond Ultimate level will also receive access to the code for Last Ninja 4 work-in-progress 2002 and 2018, as well as a cancelled remaster of international Karate, IK++ – each of these exclusive additions are never-before-seen developments not available to the public.
Last Ninja Collection:
See the work-in-progress videos of Last Ninja and IK++
Last Ninja 4
IK++
The Kickstarter for The Last Ninja Collection is live now, and is already fully funded, with The Last Ninja Collection available on PC and Nintendo Switch in early 2025. The Last Ninja Collection Kickstarter
To follow System 3 and its decades of bringing joy to consumers through multiple, internationally renowned brands, please visit the System 3 website.
About System 3
Formed in 1982 by Mark Cale, System 3 is recognised as one of the founding pioneers of the video games industry and as a name synonymous with producing original genre-defining concepts year on year. System 3 stands proud as the last surviving British Independent Publisher from those grassroots years and has been responsible for smash hits games such as Constructor, The Last Ninja, IK Plus, Myth: History in the Making, Putty Squad and Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli.
The fast-paced, covert action game also releases on iOS in 2025
El Paso, TX – September 10, 2024 – Developer Strange Scaffold (CLICKOLDING, El Paso Elsewhere, Life Eater, and more) and publisher Frosty Pop are delighted to announce today the release of sandbox first-person shooter and revenge thriller I Am Your Beast.
I Am Your Beast places you deep within the North American wilderness. You play as retired agent Alphonse Harding, who is now on the run from the Cover Operations Initiative. Harding has finally had enough and declines “one last job,” setting in motion a ferocious and deadly guerrilla war. Escape their grasp in this fast-paced, arcade-style shooter by chucking bear traps, sniping explosive tripwires from the treetops, and using the equipment of the military-industrial complex against it.
Key Features
Lightning-fast “he’s-in-the-walls” player fantasy, complete with superhuman tree climbing and head explosions
Fully voiced story campaign with 20+ levels
Lush comic book-inspired art style
Chase side objectives while getting the fastest times possible in replayable micro-sandboxes
Wield pistols, sniper rifles, bear traps, and more
Heart-slamming soundtrack from award-winning composer RJ Lake (CLICKOLDING, Unbeatable, El Paso, Elsewhere)
Innovative “kinetic typography” cutscene system
I Am Your Beast launches today on PC through Steam, GOG, and itch.io. and 2025 on iOS.
About Strange Scaffold
Strange Scaffold is the development label of Xalavier Nelson Jr., known for his work as a leading developer on CLICKOLDING, El Paso, Elsewhere, An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, and dozens of other critically acclaimed projects.
About Frosty Pop
Frosty Pop has developed over 30 playful original video games for Netflix Games, Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, Steam, the App Store, and Google Play. The studio was founded in 2014 by Faisal Sethi in Vancouver, British Columbia, and has been fully remote and distributed since its inception.
Sweet Transit Locomotive Pack DLC and free update are live!
Tuesday, September 10th 2024 – Ernestas Norvaišas and Team17 Digital have today released Sweet Transit’s first paid DLC: Locomotive Pack, and the free Electrifying Update for all players on PC!
The Electifying Update features the brand new Electricity System with new buildings to power your Railway Empire – with powerful options from Coal Plants to Wind Turbines – bring new energy to your next playthrough.
New Electric Trains and wagons, a cost-efficient solution for your railway network, make their debut in the free update, but require you to balance your power network to ensure adequate coverage. A whole new layer of strategic depth for players awaits, with the denizens of electrified worlds from Craftsmen and above relying on electricity to meet their needs as a new optional difficulty setting.
The paid DLC Locomotive Pack introduces 6 all-new trains, from Steam locomotives to Bullet trains, Sweet Transit’s new Locomotive Pack has you covered.
The free Electifying Update presents key features:
The Electricity System: Electrify your gameplay with an in-depth system of electricity generation and distribution across your network, not only for your trains, but also for the citizens served by your public transit network.
New buildings: Coal Plant, Wind Turbine, Offshore Wind Turbine: Vary your production, will you create a green electric future? Or will you recreate the rise of the industrial revolution with your electrical grid?
Substations and powerlines to build out your power network: Build more infrastructure for your infrastructure! Use powerlines to bring electricity all across your network.
New electric trains and wagons: Modernise your world with new transit options.
Bugfixes and Quality of Life improvements
About Team17 Digital
Founded in 1990, Team17 Digital is a leading developer, video games label, and creative partner for developers around the world. Part of Team17 Group plc, which floated on AIM in 2018, Team17 Digital has an extensive portfolio of over 120 titles, and fully encapsulates the spirit of independent games. Winner of the ‘Publishing Star’ award at the 2023 Develop: Star Awards, Team17 Digital has assembled a portfolio of multi-award-winning and award-nominated in-house brands include Hell Let Loose, Golf With Your Friends, The Escapists, and the iconic Worms franchise, alongside its games label partner titles, including the award-winning games Blasphemous, Greak: Memories of Azur, DREDGE, and the Overcooked! franchise.
The battle to save the world starts now in Playtonic Friend’s thrilling new rogue-like action platformer!
Burton-on-Trent, UK – 10th September 2024. A love letter to action-platformers with a roguelike twist Elsie has BLASTED on PC, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch TODAY! Take on hordes of deadly robots and survive intense boss fights as Elsie, the female android powerhouse and all-round badass! Are you up for the challenge? Publisher Playtonic Friends and developer Knight Shift Games invite you to lock’n’load and join the fight.
Elsie is a neo-retro, hyperkinetic, rogue-like action platformer filled with procedurally generated levels and an army of robots to blast through. Get ready to dash, dive, and shoot your way through stages filled with dynamic enemies and intense boss fights, all while performing perfectly timed precision parrying. In this roguelike rollercoaster, you’ll die and die and die again, but always get back on your feet and back in the fight to embrace the chaos.
Elsie also has a star-studded cast of voice actors, bringing the eclectic cast of characters to life, a high-octane original soundtrack created by the extremely talented Eric Benaim and stunning retro-inspired technicolour visuals!
Check out the recently released animated trailer below
Features of Elsie
Adrenaline pumping platforming with a unique parry system
Procedurally generated runs through neon-drenched pixel stages
Endless synergies with dozens of weapons, skills and augments
Tons of replayability with hours of content and daily challenges
Elsie is out today for PC via Steam (£15.49, €19.99, $19.99 with a 20% limited-time launch discount!), PlayStation 5 (£19.99, €24.99, $24.99) and Nintendo Switch (£19.99, €24.99, $24.99).
About Playtonic Friends
The studio that brought you Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, Playtonic launched their publishing arm, Playtonic Friends to be a helping hand to indie developers around the world. Established in February 2021 Playtonic Friends has helped bring incredible titles such as B.P.M, Demon Turf, Blossom Tales 2 and Lil Gator Game to wider audiences.
About Knight Shift Games
Knight Shift Games is an independent game studio based in Miami, FL, USA. We are dedicated to creating stylish games that reflect our core design values of breaking conventions, along with a hint of hardcore Hispanic spice.
CALABASAS, Calif. – September 10, 2024 – 505 Games is excited to announce the upcoming release of MIGHTREYA, a thrilling anime-styled hero action game, set to launch in 2025. Developed by sole Japanese indie developer Wazen, MIGHTREYA promises to deliver an electrifying experience that blends extraordinary aerial hero battles with a captivating anime-style story.
In MIGHTREYA, players will step into the shoes of the unexpected hero Reya and her manager Nio as they navigate their roles as Hero Content Creators in a world suddenly besieged by monstrous beings from another dimension.
Prepare for heart-pounding superhero aerial battles with intuitive controls, allowing players to effortlessly lock onto targets, unleash rapid attacks, and chain combos with ease.
To celebrate the publishing agreement 505 Games and Wazen are offering a new trailer created with early development footage.
For more information and updates on MIGHTREYA, please visit the Steam page.
About 505 Games
505 Games, a Digital Bros’ subsidiary, is a global publisher focused on offering a broad selection of video games for players of all ages and skill levels. The company publishes and distributes premium and free-to-play games on console and PC platforms as well as mobile devices. Publishing highlights include DEATH STRANDING (PC), Control, Assetto Corsa Competizione, Ghostrunner, Gems of War, Journey to the Savage Planet, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and Brothers: A Tale of TwoSons. 505 Games has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, China and Japan.
About Wazen
Japanese game developer Wazen K, who has previously worked on the Devil May Cry series, is sole developer of Assault Spy and the recently announced upcoming indie title MIGHTREYA for PC.
Run, Gun, and Sneak Through a Shadowy Organization’s Sinister Web of Lies
New York, NY (September 10, 2024) — Today, acclaimed developer WayForward and publisher Atari are proud to launch Yars Rising, the newest entry in the decades-spanning Yars universe. Yars Rising is now available on PC via Steam and Epic Games, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4|5, and Atari VCS.
Watch the Yars Rising launch trailer
Join young black hat hacker Emi “Yar” Kimura as she unravels a deep secret and her surprising link to an enigmatic alien race. After being hired by a mysterious entity to infiltrate the QoTech corporation, Emi realizes she’s taken on more than she bargained for after she’s taken captive inside the company’s colossal headquarters.
Navigate through an array of challenges, puzzles, and boss fights, supported by Emi’s team of eclectic friends, to unravel what QoTech’s been working so hard to keep secret — including powerful biohacks that may just change everything for Emi.
“I’m eager for players to meet Emi Kimura, the star of Yars Rising,” said James Montagna, Game Director of Yars Rising.” As a cyber criminal for hire, she’s far from your typical hero, but her sharp wit and endearing awkwardness make her impossible not to root for. Emi’s charm draws you in, and I’m certain she’ll become a beloved character for gamers everywhere.”
“The enthusiastic response to Yars Rising has been very gratifying; we know that fans are as excited for the release of Yars Rising as we are,” said Wade Rosen, Atari Chairman and CEO.
This newest installment in the 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.
Key Features of Yars Rising Include:
Otherworldly Abilities: Emi must jump, blast, and sneak her way past waves of robotic and alien enemies. Her latent powers are revealed as she progresses, granting her wild augments and biohacks to reach inaccessible areas.
Stealth Traversal: Emi can’t always shoot or jump her way out of a jam — tense sections of stealth gameplay force her to skillfully duck into the shadows to hide from relentless security bots.
Sci-fi Intrigue: A seemingly bottomless mystery takes Emi from drab office buildings into underground labs and even to the farthest reaches of space as she uncovers the dark truth behind the QoTech corporation. A sprawling, interconnected map allows for hours upon hours of gameplay.
Genre Mix: A metroidvania at its core, Yars Rising progresses the story with a series of hacking minigames paying homage to the original Yars’ Revenge, along with other levels and boss battles that take Emi far and beyond her “normal” adventure, like fight scenes and turn-based battles.
Yars Rising is now available worldwide on 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.
Fans can order their physical editions on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch from Amazon globally, Best Buy, GameStop, and Walmart in the United States, and a broad selection of retailers in Europe, The Middle East, and Asia. Find your preferred retailer: https://link.atari.com/buy-yars/
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About WayForward
Founded in 1990 by Voldi Way, WayForward has become one of the biggest independent developers in the video game industry and home to some of the finest talent in the business. The company got its start during the PC, Super NES, and Genesis era of gaming, rode the educational CD-ROM wave through the ’90s, and eventually found its way back onto handhelds and consoles. Wayforward built its reputation on solid gaming fundamentals, feature-quality character animation, and the ability to faithfully turn any brand into interactive entertainment – including original properties of our own design, adaptations of comic book and Hollywood favorites, and exciting new entries in classic gaming franchises.
About Atari
Atari is an interactive entertainment company and an iconic gaming industry brand that transcends generations and audiences. The company is globally recognized for its multi-platform, interactive entertainment, and licensed products. Atari owns and/or manages a portfolio of more than 200 unique games and franchises, including world-renowned brands like Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Pong®, and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. The Atari family of brands includes game developers Digital Eclipse and Nightdive Studios, the publishing label Infogrames, and the community-based sites AtariAge and MobyGames. Atari has offices in New York and Paris.
Skövde, Sweden – September 10th, 2024 – Stunlock Studios is excited to announce a Free Weekend on Steam for V Rising, the hit Vampire Action RPG Survival game, running from September 12 at 10:00 AM and ending on September 16 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time (PT). For five days, new players can dive into the dark, gothic world of V Rising completely free on Steam, and existing players can take this opportunity to invite friends to join the blood-soaked adventure.
During this limited-time event, players will experience the full game, including all the thrilling content from the recent 1.0 update. This free weekend offers newcomers the chance to awaken as vampires, construct castles, hunt for blood, and battle ancient foes across a vast open world teeming with danger and dark fantasy lore.
For those who fall under the spell of V Rising during the free weekend, the game will be available at a special 30% discount, with all available DLCs also offered at a 20% discount.
What Awaits You in V Rising:
Epic Vampire Adventure: Begin your journey as a newly risen vampire in a world ruled by humans. Feed on blood to grow stronger, evade the sun’s deadly rays, and engage in intense PvE and PvP combat
Explore and Conquer: Explore seven expansive regions, challenge 57 unique bosses, and uncover the secrets of the Ruins of Mortium, a new wintry zone introduced in the latest update
Build Your Vampire Castle: Construct and customize your own gothic castle, a base of operations from which you and your clan can launch raids, defend against enemies, and dominate the realm
Face Legendary Foes: Battle the infamous Dracula, Werewolves, Witches, and the powerful Church of Luminance
Don’t miss out! Mark your calendars for September 12-16, and prepare to rise as the ultimate vampire. Whether you’re new to the world of V Rising or a seasoned bloodsucker, this is the perfect time to immerse yourself in one of the most captivating vampire experiences of the year.
Stay connected and follow V Rising on social media for the latest updates and community events:
Stunlock Studios is one of the leading independent Swedish game developers in Skövde, known for vampire survival game V Rising and arena brawler Battlerite. Out now after 2 years in Early Access, V Rising’s gothic world has already attracted more than 4,7 million vampiric initiates and Battlerite was one of the most popular free-to-play games on Steam with over 6 million unique players entering the arena. With a passion for multiplayer action games, the studio crafts groundbreaking and community-driven games, always with their players in mind.
