Since Capsule Computers has previously covered Mini Motorways, I thought you’d be interested to know that Dinosaur Polo Club, the award-winning studio behind best-selling traffic management sims Mini Motorways and Mini Metro with nearly 12 million combined players, today spotlights the development and previous work on a now-canceled project code-named Magic School.
The team sees this as an opportunity to transparently discuss learnings from the recently canceled Magic School project.
Though Magic School will never be released, Dinosaur Polo Club wants to champion the hard work team members poured into it, celebrate their contributions, and encourage them to share their work with the broader gaming world and provide some insight into the game development process.
The studio is grateful to be in a position to retain the varied talent of the Magic School team and plan to redirect their skills to the new projects within their celebrated Mini series.
The goal of the Magic School project was to explore something new outside of the minimalist simulation games the studio is typically known for.
Designer Zala Habib comments on her experience working on the project. “The Magic School team was an absolutely incredible group of people. Everybody was so inspiring and driven throughout the project’s life, and it was a joy to collaborate with such talented folks.” However, over the course of development, it became clear that the expanding vision for the game was leading the team towards a much bigger project, one that would require a far larger team size than the studio could sustainably support.
Although the team were excited by the breadth of visual exploration and specific game systems, the prototypes felt overly complex, which is very much at odds with the intuitive, quick-to-learn gameplay that our community has come to expect from a Dinosaur Polo Club title.
“Ultimately, we simply did not see a path forward for Magic School. However, we still wanted to share the amazing work the team had produced over the course of prototyping,” said Amie Wolken, newly appointed CEO of Dinosaur Polo Club. “So much great game development never sees the light of day because studios are often shy about sharing when things don’t go as planned. Instead, we are choosing to celebrate what we learned along the way and the incredible work from our team.”
Dinosaur Polo Club is an independent game development studio based in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand. Founded in 2013 by brothers Peter and Robert Curry, the studio first made waves with their award-winning and BAFTA-nominated debut Mini Metro. Created in collaboration with Disasterpeace and Jamie Churchman, Mini Metro explores relaxed and minimalist subway design. The second game developed by Dinosaur Polo Club introduces a brand new type of city management with colorful road-building and resource management found in Mini Motorways. Combined, Mini Metro and Mini Motorways make up two parts of an expanding Mini Collection. With an inclusive and supportive culture that believes in giving back to its creative community, the studio has grown and is now home to nearly 30 dinos as it works on new titles with relatable simplicity.
Use positioning to your advantage and plan your assault to defeat your enemies in the first demo, available on Steam today!
NICOSIA, Cyprus – July 29, 2024 – CRITICAL REFLEX and Luxorix Games are thrilled to debut Deadlock Station with an action-packed trailer showcasing the all-new roguelike autobattler tactical RPG. Command your squad, build your base, explore the world and fight aliens in this fully-featured demo experience available on Steam today!
Turn the battlefield to your advantage in this pixelated tactical roguelike with indirect controls. Assemble a unique squad of heroes to destroy the alien invaders with precise strategic planning. Use resources to upgrade your base between each tactical expedition as you seek to uncover the truth about the Event and the mysterious disappearance of humans.
Key Features:
Strategic Auto Battles: Carefully plan out the attack by positioning your units and queuing unique abilities before each fight.
Use the Environment to Your Advantage: Lead your heroes into a damage-boosting anomaly, lure enemies into traps, and erect barricades to halt your opposition’s advance!
Build Your Base: Between expeditions, develop your base to unlock new items, characters, and factions to interact with, from the ruthless Order to the all-knowing Past and Future Society.
Upgrade Your Squad: Combine weapons, armor, items and mutations to create truly unique fighters, and use resources collected in battle to unlock all-new abilities!
Mysterious Artifacts: Utilize strange alien artifacts in the heat of combat to gain an advantage and help you win even the most difficult battles.
Download the demo and wishlist Deadlock Station on Steam today. Follow Luxorix on Twitter/X for the latest news and updates from the game.
About Luxorix Games
Luxorix Games is an indie game team who came together by happenstance, and so they continue to work together. They’re currently working on Deadlock Station, a game made in GameMakerStudio2. Learn more at luxorixgames.com or by following Luxorix on Twitter/X. Gamedev unites!
About CRITICAL REFLEX
CRITICAL REFLEX is an indie game publishing label on a mission: find kick-ass games, make sure they’re at their best upon release, and put them in front of as many gaming fans as possible. Members of our team have worked with a lot of successful indie projects, launched a dozen crowdfunding companies, and now we’ve come together to publish games that we love! www.criticalreflex.com
Check out the new update for ‘Scholar of the Arcane Arts’ and grab a discount for ‘Unusual Findings’
Limassol, Cyprus – 29th July 2024. Indie publisher ESDigital Games is thrilled to announce its participation in the Pixelated Event from 29 July to 5 August with the roguelike action RPG Scholar of the Arcane Arts and the 80s inspired 2-D pixel art point-and-click adventure Unusual Findings.
As a bonus for fans looking to pick up a copy of Scholar of the Arcane Arts during the event will be pleased to know that the new Sunobius Edition update will be going live during the event! If that’s not enough excitement, then there will be a limited-time event discount for both games when the Pixelated Event starts!
Unusual Findings
Unusual Findings transports you back to the 80s and pays tribute to classic movies such as The Goonies, The Explorers, Monster Squad, The Lost Boys, They Live, Terminator, and Aliens and adds gameplay that combines mechanics of Point and Click masterpieces like Full Throttle with its own unique twist.
Fans will soon be able to dig deeper into this quintessential adventure when the free Vinny’s Diary update launches very soon! In this update Vinny, one of the three main characters from Unusual Findings, will share hints on how to complete and solve puzzles via his thoughts in his diary and provide a little extra lore from the game. Players can also use the ‘give more hints’ button until the help and advice are replaced by direct instructions for those needing extra help. Also included in the update are various fixes and QOL improvements, as well as improved PC mouse controls and traditional Chinese localisation. That’s not all, as console fans can now enjoy a PS5 and Xbox Series update which not only adds the Vinny’s Diary update but also improves performance on these current-gen systems. Nintendo Switch players will also have access to all the Vinny’s Diary update content!
There will also be a huge 50% discount for Unusual Findings on Steam during the event!
Check out the recently release Vinny’s Diary update announcement trailer below
Scholar of the Arcane Arts
As a passion project for solo developer Courtesy of Endo, Scholar of the Arcane Arts launched into Steam Early Access in December 2022. Since then Courtesy of Endo has been busy working on new gameplay content and updates as part of the EA development journey. Today the team is thrilled to release a new update packed with new content, fixes and of course, magic
Scholar of the Arcane Arts is a Roguelike Action RPG where every spell you cast interacts with one another. Learn new spells, solve puzzles, unlock secret dungeons, and defeat monstrous beings to save the world invaded by five Planes of magic!
The new Sunobius Edition update adds some truly magical gameplay content including a wealth of new spells to master, tons of enemies to defeat and a brand new Demigod to take down. But don’t worry, you can now add the ability to wield lightning to your arsenal of spells!
With nine new spells, new equipable items and the ability to combine all spells with Aeromany for new shocking effects, Scholar of the Arcane Arts allows budding wizards to test their spell casting while exploring 2D procedurally generated magical worlds to defeat dark monsters lurking within!
Scholar of the Arcane Arts will have a magical 25% discount during the event!
Watch the new Sunobious Edition update trailer below
Scholar of the Arcane Arts is now available for PC via Steam Early Access. Unusual Findings is now available for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation and Xbox consoles and Nintendo Switch.
About ESDigital Games
ESDigital Games is a global video games publishing company specializing in premium indie and mid-core games for both PC as well as consoles. ESDigital Games portfolio includes the 80s-themed point-and-click adventure Unusual Findings and the Early Access releases of roguelike action RPG Scholar of the Arcane Arts, the twin-stick shooter REMEDIUM, RTS tower defense and match-3 mechanics title Cats on Duty and the complex alchemy RPG Battlejuice Alchemist. Other exciting titles in development include the side-scrolling Metroidvania inspired Awaken – Astral Blade, the story-driven sci-fi adventure Sky of Tides, the sci-fi stealth action game Steel Seed and the awe-inspiring action-adventure title Island of Winds as well as new unannounced titles in development.
Highrise City, the ambitious PC Steam ‘blockbuster’ city builder from FourExo Entertainment and Deck13 Spotlight, has built up and captivated a dedicated community constantly playing the unique mix between classic city builders and complex economy simulation. This unique format blows away recent competition for those who have experienced Highrise City’s complexity.
Deck13 Spotlight is pleased to announce their ongoing support with the announcement of the second PC DLC, Vacation Season, releasing on 5th August on Steam and Good Old Games, price point $9.99.
A Vacation DLC which deserves its name!
The new Vacation Season DLC offers tons of new content, starting with a whole new economy branch to satisfy a new group of citizens: Demanding tourists who will visit your city to spend their hard earned money on products exclusively designed for them.
Build tourist spots and attractions, open up hotels and set up complex tourist lines with public transport to entertain your visitors. With seven new resources and 17 new buildings and all new mechanics this expansion indeed deserves the name DLC.
But that’s not all! With the release of the DLC, the Highrise City base game will receive a major free content update, introducing new resources and buildings as well. Players will be able to build massive exhibition halls to satisfy the needs of companies and they will also be able to create mowing tools as certain developments, such as parks, will need this new service.
Highrise City is available now onPC Steam and Good Old Games. The upcoming DLC Vacation Season will release on 5th August and introduce new mechanics and content.
About Deck 13 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.
FourExo is a small indie developer located in eastern Germany. Their debut title stands perfectly well for the teams ambitions: Working like maniacs on a vision – that’s the mission. More information on the website: http://highrisecitygame.com
Paramount+, the global streaming service from Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA, PARAA), has launched the Paramount+ app on PlayStation 5 consoles in Australia.
Available now, PlayStation 5 console users can download the Paramount+ app and subscribe to receive access to the service’s vast content portfolio, including the new six-episode Australian original series Fake, local original hit from the NCIS franchise – NCIS: Sydney, eight-episode original series A Gentleman In Moscow, fan-favourite and critically acclaimed original series Evil, and original film Little Wing, not to mention live sport including all A-Leagues, Matildas and Socceroos matches.
The service also boasts content from Paramount’s extensive library including CBS TV shows CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and NCIS, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants and Comedy Central’s South Park.
Moreover, Paramount+ is gearing up to launch exciting new original series, including the political espionage thriller The Agency starring Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere. Also on the horizon is Dexter®: Original Sin, featuring Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, and Patrick Gibson.
Adding to the lineup is Landman, a compelling drama co-created also by Taylor Sheridan, with a stellar cast including Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Jon Hamm, and Michael Peña.
Lachlan Roach, Vice President, Partner Management & Business Development – Streaming, Paramount Australia, said: “At Paramount we have long believed in the power of collaborations to grow scale and help build our brands and franchises, while creating shared value with global and local players.
“This upcoming launch of Paramount+ on PlayStation 5 consoles is another testament of our commitment to make our popular content, characters and franchises available to an expanded audience.”
You can stream 20,000 hours of unique stories, iconic stars, live sport and a mountain of entertainment on Paramount+ with various plan options including: Basic Plan (with ads) for $6.99 per month for a monthly subscription or $61.99 for an annual subscription; Standard Plan for $9.99 per month for a monthly subscription or $89.99 for an annual subscription; Premium Plan for $13.99 per month for a monthly subscription or $124.99 for an annual subscription.
About Paramount+
Paramount+ is a global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount that features a mountain of premium entertainment for audiences of all ages. Internationally, the streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including SHOWTIME®, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel™, in addition to a robust offering of premier local content. The service is currently live in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Caribbean, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.
Create some Mayhem at home or on the go with all six Borderlands adventures together in one package
Today, 2K and Gearbox Software released a new way to experience the Borderlands universe on Nintendo Switch™ with Borderlands: Pandora’s Box, an all-in-one collection, featuring all six acclaimed base games and all their add-on content* in one giant bundle.
The digital-only offering is now available at a special introductory price of $59.99 AUD / $62.49 NZD** on Nintendo Switch. The edition packages the iconic franchise together including: Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Tales from the Borderlands, Borderlands 3***, and New Tales from the Borderlands.
Fans will experience the franchise that defined the looter-shooter genre with its over-the-top firefights, absurdly varied arsenals, and thrilling interplanetary adventures, great for solo and co-op play. It is the perfect opportunity for lovers of the franchise and newcomers to experience this legendary series in one place on the Switch.
If you already digitally own any Borderlands game within the Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box on Nintendo Switch and want to complete your collection, the Nintendo eShop entitles you to a special price on this bundle****.
Gearbox Software is a 2K studio. 2K is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO)
**Special Introductory Offer available on Nintendo Switch until August 15th, 2024. Pricing and availability may vary by region and retailer and are subject to retailers’ own terms. See retailers’ site for specific details and terms.
***Add-ons available as a separate download through the Nintendo eShop at no additional cost. Requires download and installation of base game to access.
****Digital Nintendo Switch versions of Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, Borderlands Legendary Collection, Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition, Tales from the Borderlands, or New Tales from the Borderlands required. If you own a physical version of Borderlands Legendary Collection or New Tales from the Borderlands: Deluxe Edition, you can claim your digital version by redeeming your code-in-box for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, or Tales from the Borderlands respectively. If you own a physical version of Borderlands 3: Ultimate Edition, you can become eligible for the special price on Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box by downloading any of its free DLC content from the Nintendo eShop. DLC content includes Borderlands 3: Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, Borderlands 3: Guns, Love, and Tentacles: The Marriage of Wainwright & Hammerlock, Borderlands 3: Bounty of Blood, Borderlands 3: Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, Borderlands 3: Designer’s Cut, Borderlands 3: Director’s Cut, or Borderlands 3: Additional Voiceover Languages. Nintendo
There is a saying that “War is Hell” that harkens back all the way to the American Civil War and has been used repeatedly throughout history since then as the nature of war has remained truly horrific for the soldiers and civilians caught within it. Now, when one thinks of a game based around survival horror, one usually thinks about fighting against the undead, monsters, or even psychological manifestations all while trying to manage their limited resources to stay alive. Conscript from Team17 and Catchweight Studio looks to create a different type of horror experience from these games, but are they successful?
Story
Set during one of the worst battles of World War I, often dubbed “The Great War,” players will find themselves taking on the role of André during the Battle of Verdun as a French soldier who has been conscripted into serving in the military in this already drawn out war. Not only is André forced into service, but his brother Pierre is also brought to the front lines and both of them have been stationed within the same fort after surviving countless encounters with the German military and surviving so far. With resources running low and nearly every form of reinforcement cut off, hope is dwindling for the French forces and when the next German raid pushes the French defenders to the limit.
Upon finding that his brother Pierre has gone missing after being wounded during the raid and is now somewhere else in the sprawling trenches of Verdun, either on the run or trying to complete a potentially disastrous mission, André sets out on a mission to escape with his family intact, one way or another, all while having to face off and wade through all of the horrors that come with war, especially one fought on such a brutal scale as this one that saw unmistakable cruelty and thoughtlessness for human life that made trench warfare feel like hell. Indeed, the only horror found in Conscript is manmade and it is the war itself raging around as players try to survive, the things they witness and discover, and how far they’ll go simply to stay alive.
Conscript tells a harrowing tale of two brothers forced into fighting a war that neither volunteered for and the writer here knew how to portray that perfectly. This is no glorious take on war, it is a dark and dismal journey that feels like it encapsulates the horrors of war, especially The Great War, at its worst. Players will find notes left behind from other soldiers on the front, talking about how they’ve seen others treated or vanish, find photos of loved ones on enemy soldiers they’ve just caved in the skull of, and propaganda posters depicting how France is winning despite the true reality all around the trenches. This all comes together to create a truly special type of horror that is unlike anything else simply because the tense feelings players have traversing the trenches, witnessing the horrors left behind as shelling, poisonous gas, disease carrying rats bloated on corpses that have been heaped into piles, and more tear apart the land in a way that happened historically, albeit one where Conscript plays a bit loose at times.
The story itself is mostly straightforward as players will, as mentioned, mostly find notes of other locations or hint at what they should do next while occasionally meeting with other actually friendly faces from time to time. That being said, there are some poignant moments that are portrayed through pixelated cutscenes as well as unique feeling flashbacks to life before the war and a glimpse at these brothers’ lives before Europe erupted into war. Players will also have a few decisions to make though these decisions may not be entirely clear or even obvious at first glance, especially in some circumstances, into how they will play into the endings. There are four different endings and each one has certain conditions that must be met and even then these endings can also have variations on them depending on what players have done while trying to survive in the trenches, including some that require a bit of thinking to properly obtain.
Gameplay
Conscript plays with an isometric perspective as players traverse through the maze-like trench system that makes up the map. Along the way they’ll encounter numerous enemies that need to either be avoided or taken down, puzzles that have to be solved, locked doors that are often more complex than they seem, and even a merchant willing to lend them some aid in exchange for cigarettes. Make no mistake, Conscript is a very dense game when it comes to exploration including some hidden areas with useful rewards and it makes heavy use of the fact that players will be needing to backtrack through locations multiple times, sometimes because they left something behind in a chest because of limited inventory space, or most of the time because they now have a key item needed to unlock a new pathway.
Thankfully players will always have a map with them that shows at least the locations they’ve been to and, if they’ve acquired a map for their current area, what the full layout might be. That being said, sometimes the directions about what players are meant to be doing next is left vague and there are more than a few objectives that are completely optional while some are required to advance. One key aspect that Conscript has taken from the survival horror genre is the limited inventory system. While players may seem like they can hold a lot of items at the start, every weapon, ammo, health item, and more takes up a space and this can fill up quite fast especially when entering a new location. As such players will need to manage their inventory to make sure they are capable of picking up the newest item needed to unlock the next door or risk having to leave valuable ammunition or healing items behind. One thing that is nice to note is that the game does automatically discard keys and other objects that no longer have any use, giving players a small reprieve when it comes to managing their inventory. It is also worth noting that through exploration and straight up buying upgrades from the merchant can also expand the player’s inventory space.
The merchant appears in every safe room, similar in many ways to a certain game that was given a remake last year and he works in similar fashion as well. Players will use the already mentioned cigarettes as currency to purchase various items including upgrades, melee weapons, ingredients such as gunpowder, and more. The merchant can even use “gun parts” that are rare to find in an effort to upgrade a chosen weapon’s damage, reload speed, ammo, and fire rate. It is also worth noting that the game does make use of item combination to not only combine quest items but also craft ammunition and enhance the effects of some healing items, once again in similar fashion to a certain survival horror title from last year.
Unlike that game however Conscript takes a more classic approach to combat, with a mix of current movement abilities such as the ability to dodge roll and even sprint to avoid getting hit by a melee attack or shot all while managing a stamina bar and the classic “stop and pop” style of version of old school attacking. With firearms players must stop and aim, with the reticle growing more precise the longer they aim, to shoot at an enemy and every weapon has a different control style. Rifles need a new round chambered every time, making their higher damage cost more timewise while a pistol can fire multiple times for less, though all require the player to stand still and reload, leaving them vulnerable for enemy attacks. The melee combat is handled in a similar fashion though this time as the reticle shrinks the more damage is done to an enemy when they are struck.
This gives every encounter a feeling of risk and reward, with melee combat feeling risky and offering some meaty thwacks when caving in an enemy’s head with a combat shovel or taking a pot shot with a rifle from a distance but players will always need to be wary of gathering too many enemies on them at once as Conscript isn’t afraid to punish players for being overconfident as enemies hit like a truck and will pursue them until they leave the location. Playing stealthily is viable at times, as the game does have various locations that players can hide and sneak past enemy patrols and even hitting a foe while they are unaware will instantly kill them but more often than not this isn’t the best route thanks to enemy’s being able to see players quite easily and alert the entire location instantly.
This is especially true since players will need to get familiar with the game’s combat anyways as there are a number of times throughout Conscript that they are forced to fight off waves of enemies until they can finally proceed, meaning if they haven’t grown accustomed to the systems they’ll be in trouble here. These forced combat encounters give players a number of ways to ease the pain of the longer fights, be it mounted machine-guns, explosive barrels, or even the ability to flee, but feel a bit off when compared to the rest of the game’s pacing. As mentioned before, players will have to do quite a bit of backtracking at times to hunt down items, retrieve items, or use them in certain locations and occasionally enemies will respawn in these locations through broken trench defenses and players can use limited trench wiring to repair these. But as players backtrack or explore they will also see that some of these areas have rat holes in them.
Now, one thing that is certainly worth mentioning is the rat problem. Players can preemptively deal with the situation if they have a grenade to chuck down into the hole but otherwise they will turn into a problem later on as any enemies that players kill will eventually find themselves being gnawed away at by hungry rats that will chase down the player looking to turn them into their next meal (think of Crimson Heads). The rats themselves are easy to kill, a single shovel swing can dispatch one, but they come in swarms and gnaw at the player’s health all while potentially sickening them at the same time, lowering their permanent health total until a valuable first aid kit is used. These rats are incredibly annoying and while yes, players can also use limited fuel to burn bodies of slain German soldiers to prevent rats from eating them, they often feel far more punishing than even the soldiers themselves.
It is nice to note that Conscript encourages the player to play through the game multiple times. As mentioned before, not only are there multiple endings but there are also a variety of unlockables, New Game+ benefits, and even achievements for rewarding certain playstyles. This includes things such as only saving the game six times, never killing anyone, or even beating it in under three hours.
Audio & Visuals
Conscript makes use of a very gritty and dark style of pixel art that does wonders to give the game a heavy atmosphere and make sure players never quite know what is around the corner despite the isometric view. Sometimes this is thanks to moving through dark corridors without any extra light, other times it is due to poisonous gas filling the location but even when there is light the art design does a wonderfully horrific portrayal of the damage this battle has done and how little human life is valued in the trenches. While there may not be scary monsters, jumpscares, or horrific reveals, the art style and visual design do wonders to portray the horrors of war here.
The sound design is similarly handled quite well. It is worth noting that there is little in the way of actual voice work here outside of some character barks at times and the groaning death cries of those around you and enemy soldiers but it still works well to showcase that the battle is continuing despite the player not actively engaging in a fight. The background music is subtle, almost non-existent at times, but does play well when it does appear though this is usually only during dire story moments or specific scenes.
Overall
While the horror aspect of this survival horror game may not quite be what everyone is looking for, Conscript certainly does its best to not only keep the spirit of the genre alive but also portray that type of horror in its own unique way. Scavenging through destroyed corridors filled with the dead, surviving with limited resources and limited space all while German soldiers can be waiting in the next trench, and trying to solve puzzles to advance all keep Conscript a thrilling and tense game even if it it’s combat can be a bit rough around the edges and the rats are often more dangerous than anything else.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
A cigarette tip burns dimly in a dark alleyway as a grizzled detective stands over a corpse of an unfortunate victim. A crime he’s grown all too familiar with in his decades on the force and as the rain beats away at the pavement, the scene fades to gray then black with dramatic jazz. This type of stylish take on crime solving and film noir always felt like a perfect fit for one another but yet rarely have they been combined lately when it comes to video games. Now here we have Critical Hit Games that is looking to put a bit of their own spin on these classic themes. Take the worn-out detective, murders, and dark and dingy world that looks like its set in the ‘40s and put a futuristic spin on things with holographic billboards and you have Nobody Wants to Die. Is this blend of a futuristic setting with familiar themes a worthwhile story to unravel?
Story
In the far off future of 2329 humanity has found a way to seemingly conquer death, but not only does it come with a cost, it just so happens that that cost is so high only the rich are able to take advantage of it? Set in New York, players take on the role of James Karra, a former baseball player who has since taken on the role of being a detective after losing his original body and taking on a new form. Now, over a century old and seemingly in a fairly recently swapped body that is riddled with issues, James has been given a task by his police chief despite the fact that he is meant to be on “leave” following a disastrous train incident prior to the game’s beginning.
The mission may seem simple over the radio, head the location where a suicide has happened, record anything of note, and retrieve their Ichorite so they can be brought back to life, and close the case like nothing happened all while the seemingly rookie assistant Sara works alongside James as his partner through an ear-piece. Of course, things are never that simple, especially when it comes to James’ no nonsense approach to the job (unless players want to have a bit of nonsense) as this gruff detective quickly deduces that this is far from a suicide. This is a rather drastic and elaborate murder set up not only to make it look like one of, if not the wealthiest man, in New York committed suicide, but he did it in a way that managed to kill himself permanently, destroying his Ichorite at the same time.
Despite his chief’s insistence to log the event away as a suicide and forget all about it, James continues to investigate the murder with the potentially reluctant help of Sara who helps him navigate things that he can’t access such as official police documents, computer systems, and background checks all while he is out in the field investigating the crime scenes themselves. As James continues his investigation the pair find themselves discovering even more horrifying truths than what is already laid bare to the world as a whole as well as just how awful the ruling rich have become in this world where immortality is all but assured as long as there is enough cash on hand.
Nobody Wants to Die tells a shockingly gripping narrative that is unfortunately a bit too short for its own good, though what it does have to tell is an enthralling noir style detective tale where many of the classic tropes of this old genre come to life in new ways thanks to its futuristic setting. This is partially thanks to how well-paced and written the investigations are and how well-realized the world and James are. While we don’t want to give too much away in regards to the theming and nature of the story, Nobody Wants to Die’s future is a bleak one where despite having flying cars that are stuck in ‘40s design and seemingly conquered death, the caveat to it is that it is mandatory. In this world, when someone reaches the age of 21 they must pay a fee to the government to keep their body and continue living. If not, they are “killed” and have their Ichorite, which is essentially the essence of everything that is their mind and soul, extracted and put into a bank until someone can pay for them to obtain a new body, and it might even be a worse one than what they had to begin with, all while their original body is given to someone else.
In a future world such as this where hopes have now potentially turned into nightmares it only makes sense that people have become numb to life. As such, while this may be a bit too on the nose, James’ portrayal as a grizzled detective as true to the noir genre as they come and seeing the world through his eyes, experiencing the horrors that he has to experience while haunted by the ghosts of his long distant past all while in a body that isn’t even originally his makes the character feel all the more impactful to this type of world. It also helps that the game’s dialogue choices do help develop the story in various ways. Sure, players cannot make major choices outside of a few specific ones throughout the title that will determine how the ending goes, but James’ responses to other characters, especially Sara, can help sculpt him a bit in the player’s own way.
Whether it is helping warm Sara up to him or being scared of UV lights despite carrying one in his pocket and regularly smoking, these little choices can prompt extra dialogue and even unlock extra choices as the story progresses. That being said, it is a bit unfortunate that for a game with different ending variations such as this one has, there is no real way to quickly navigate through the game again as there is only one save file available, no chapter select, or anything similar that will help speed things along beyond being able to skip some of the longer dialogue sections. Sure, this may help a bit, but those wanting to experience every element of the game’s story, and the many variations that James can bring to the table with the dialogue options, will need to start from scratch every time.
Gameplay
As James, players will find themselves traveling to a number of different crime scenes, entirely in first person, and examining them using his various detective tools to uncover the truth, or about as close as he currently can, about what happened there. Some minor tools happen to be an X-Ray device that is generally used to track wiring to activate electronics and occasionally something else but it, alongside the UV flashlight which is used to trace blood trails as well as other chemical patterns feel like they get paltry use compared to James’ main futuristic gadget, the Reconstructor. This powerful device is the central focus of Nobody Wants to Die’s investigations as players will use it to rewind time and see how certain events happened, or at least he will eventually.
Despite these being the core puzzles that players are meant to solve they aren’t really difficult. In fact the game even highlights where players will need to stand to find an aberration with the Reconstructor’s data and analyze it, fixing the timeline and revealing the next step of the investigation which will similarly be pointed out. In fact, after we completed the game we noticed that there is even a hint button to literally highlight exactly what players need to do next. This means that the puzzles, while interestingly set-up and can vastly change the way a crime scene looks as they are solved, are a bit too simple for their own good even if they are incredibly flashy. Instead, players will find that most crime scenes have a slew of other items players can interact and look at, either for in world lore and unique conversations between James and Sara or even dialogue choices that less thorough players might miss.
Outside of the crime scene investigations and dialogue choices players will occasionally need to come up with a hypothesis for what actually happened using the clues they’ve gathered and what Sara might be able to provide depending on their standing with her. This is played out as a grid-game where questions are asked such as “How was the victim killed?” and players can select clues from their evidence pile and drop them into the slot with a correct choice moving things on smoothly. Ironically there are some fun mistakes players can make when linking evidence together that will offer some new comments from either James or Sara and there’s no punishment for making any mistake as they can be easily corrected.
Audio & Visuals
The world design of Nobody Wants to Die finds the perfect blend between futuristic dystopia and retro aesthetic. Flying cars floating across perpetually gray skies in front of holographic billboards advertising body replacements all while the cars themselves are modeled after those from the ’40s and most buildings and technological aesthetics remain tied to the same time. These elements are just lovingly crafted and exploring every scene to see what it contains is one of the best parts of the game, the gorgeous detail in this ugly world. The character models themselves are handled well enough but can be rather rough when compared to the scenery surrounding them which is a bit of a surprise.
The voice work for the characters is handled perfectly for a game looking to take the noir genre as seriously as they can. James and Sara make for an interesting pair and do wonders to help add to the story. The soundtrack also happens to feature some of the classic type of music one would expect in a jazzy noir crime game, though while fitting there isn’t anything too special in the background music.
Overall
Nobody Wants to Die takes the noir genre and puts a fresh sci-fi spin on it to make an engaging and thrilling mystery. The storyline may be a bit on the shorter side and there is no easy way to replay it but the story and world building that Critical Hit Games have crafted here is absolutely wonderful and it is all set to a gorgeously dystopian world with a fitting main character, it’s just a bit of a shame the puzzles along the way feel more like going through the motions at times just to hit that next great part of the storyline.
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DeveloperSweet Bandits Studios and publisher Tripwire Presents today announced the launch of the free Summer Splashupdate and limited-time event for their unique multiplayer FPS title blending stealth and spycraft, DECEIVE INC.. Available now on PC (via Steam, now Steam Deck Verified, and Epic Games Store), the PlayStation®5, and the Xbox Series X|S consoles, the Summer Splash update adds more long-term progression rewards for dedicated agents, combat and gameplay enhancements, a major upgrade of the in-game bots, and much more. Launched alongside the update is the in-game Summer Splash event, live from July 25 – Aug. 29, where agents have been assigned to stop the dastardly Evenson twins from smuggling prototype weapons in their summer fashion collection. Agents will be rewarded handsomely for their efforts, earning breezy summer-themed cosmetics as they progress through the 15 levels in the event.
DECEIVE INC. Summer Splash update highlights include:
Summer Splash Event & Rewards: The Evenson Twins summer fashion collection is going on a world tour and it’s more than just haute couture; it’s a front for smuggling prototype weapons disguised as water guns! Collect newly added posters, prototype weapons, and weapon crates to earn points to unlock 15 levels of themed cosmetics throughout the event. A catwalk has also been added to all maps, earning players who strut their stuff as the VIP a massive point payoff to supercharge their progress.
New Echelon Ranks Sparkle Brightly: Reaching high echelon levels with an agent is no small task, and new echelon rewards make sure players can make their prestigious accomplishments known! Progressing to rank 10 unlocks a “Golden Echelon” agent skin, rank 30 rewards a unique ink for weapons and gadgets, rank 50 rewards a “Platinum Echelon” agent skin, and the dedicated few who make it to rank 100 can show off their dazzling “Diamond Echelon” skins! These skins and inks are available for all agents, only through hard work.
Give ‘em the ‘ol Left, Right: Responding to feedback, the melee combat system has seen both under-the-hood reworks and visual improvements designed to make melee combat more consistent alongside further improvements including rumble support on melee attacks when using a controller. Importantly, melee attacks are now appropriately stealthier and will only trigger a response from NPC’s or guards in the immediate vicinity.
New Ways to Celebrate Victory: Agents eliminating opponents more than 10 levels higher than them will be rewarded with bonus experience and see an additional celebratory message to mark their accomplishment. Additional options for celebration events are planned for future updates, every victory is worth celebrating!
Retinal Scanners Offer Alternative Vault Access: The implementation of Retinal Scanners offers a new way for agents to access vaults while discouraging camping during the first phase of the game. After starting a match players will need to gather intel they will need to use to open the scanners, which open after seven minutes have elapsed. Once active any agent can deposit intel and contribute towards unlocking the scanner, with the price decreasing based on phase progress. When fully unlocked, agents will need to secure a VIP as only their eyes will open the vault door. Scanners are designed to offer new options and approaches to the first phase, adding new layers of strategy for players to master.
Bots 2.0: Thanks to extensive field testing and data analysis, the capabilities of in-game bots have been considerably expanded. Bots will now more actively play and attempt to accomplish objectives, capable of triggering progress through each phase of a mission and even extracting with the package.
Additional improvements, bug fixing, and balancing: Server improvements and weapon visual alignment, full patch notes for balance changes, and bug fixes.
DECEIVE INC. is available now for PC (via Steam and Epic Games Store), the PlayStation®5 computer entertainment system, and the Xbox Series X|S console systems. The standard edition has an MSRP of $19.99 USD, €19.99 EUR, and £16.99 GBP with an ESRB: T for Teen and PEGI 16 rating. Aspiring agents can also purchase the DECEIVE INC. Black Tie Edition for an MSRP of $29.99 USD, €29.99 EUR, and £24.99 GBP to receive a ton of cool extras, including the “Dressed to Impress” Profile Portrait, Title, and Equipment Ink with an additional 1,000 Bonds (in-game premium currency). It is now available on PC via Steam in a new Ultimate Edition which includes all content from the Black Tie Edition plus all four Premium Catalog passes released since launch for a MSRP of $49.95. PlayStation®Plus Premium members can also play DECEIVE INC. for free while it remains a part of the subscription service, here.
Dark narrative-driven detective game coming soon to PC
Guangzhou, China – 26th July 2024. Publisher 663 Games and developer Shadowlight Sanctuary have today revealed Kill the Shadow, a suspenseful narrative-driven detective role playing game coming to PC via Steam later in 2024. Brought to life using a combination of highly detailed 3D environments and 2D-pixel art characters, Kill the Shadow transports you to an alternative post-war divided city as you take on the role of Detective Ah’Guang as you investigate a series of murders. Use your eloquence, intelligence and the ability to rewind time (or even violence) to piece together the evidence of the bizarre cases and unravel the shocking secrets lurking behind them. Justice or love? The decision is in your hands.
Watch the announcement trailer for Kill the Shadow below:
Kill the Shadow is a suspenseful narrative-driven detective role playing game. Investigate a series of bizarre murders in different areas of the dark water city: the missing Master Ruan at the temple fair, the sudden death of Wangcai, the grudges at the Shipwreck, and the dismembered limbs in the sewers.
Find the lost memories of the city and piece together the truth of its division from ten years ago. Unravel the truth – kill, judge, or even kiss (?) the mastermind behind it all.
Features:
Hints and Evidence – Freely choose how you enhance your abilities—strength, spirit, charm—and select your own methods to investigate cases—psychological warfare? Bribery? Or simply beating your suspects? Deduction System: Collect, analyze, and connect related clues to create your own unique investigation path
Seeing the Past – “The Shadow”, a strange creature attached to you that reads memories and reconstructs the traces of the deceased “Don’t worry, Ah’Guang, we’re just using each other. You use me to find the culprit, and I, well, I love tasting those bizarre stories, hahaha!”, says the Shadow.
The Ways of the World – Meet various characters in the city: the energetic girl with a camera, the elegant Mrs. Ruan, the rumoured goddess who can cast spells, and the elderly fish-selling lady. Discover the stories behind them. Encounter characters like the self-righteous Captain Wang, Lao Citou’s son Xiao Citou, the foul-mouthed Little Rascal, and the deceased Master Ruan. Earn the hearts of your favourite characters by completing certain events!
Retro and Neon – The combination of 3D environments and 2D pixel art characters creates a unique artistic style with a striking contrast between modern and retro aesthetics. Explore a variety of diverse and freely explorable scenes: the dilapidated steel forest factory, the muddy shipwreck dock built on water, the Zhulong Walled City blending the fictional traditional Ma Island and Imperial culture, and the bustling old city district.
Kill the Shadow will be released for PC via Steam in late 2024. Fans can add the game to their Wishlist now.
About 663 Games
663 Games is a newly established publishing label committed to premium and indie game publishing on PC, consoles, and mobile platforms. The company, headquartered in China, was founded by a team of passionate gamers and industry veterans. The team had a proven track record of achieving global success with several titles previously, offering extensive experience and resources for worldwide publishing, along with unique advantages for a strong presence in the Chinese market. The team empathises with the financial challenges that independent developers and small teams often encounter, and 663 Games is dedicated to providing them with funding support to help bring their creative visions to life. As a new, ambitious and trustworthy global publisher, 663 Games collaborates closely with developers to ensure commercial success.
