Ananki Game Studio had a blast while playing The Fate of Baldr and now they are thrilled to share a brand new developer playthrough direct from the Studio.
21 March, 2024, Oslo Norway – The Norwegian Indie game studio Ananki Game Studio is thrilled to reveal the brand new gameplay from the promising The Fate of Baldr. The developer team behind the game made a nice commented playthrough of The Fate of Baldr.
Ananki had a blast when they played The Fate of Baldr together and it gives all of you insights of what to expect of the game when it releases on Steam this year. This official developer playthrough of The Fate of Baldr gives the complete overview of the Norse mythology inspired unique tower defense game.
We’re thrilled to showcase some of the game mechanics, along with useful tips and tricks to enhance your gameplay experience.” said Ananki Game Studio.
Fearless warrior vikings on their journey to an alien world, that’s the start of this epic new 3D tower defense game The Fate of Baldr. It’s time to get rid of the alien squads using their advanced firearms and defensive towers. As the battle hardens, the Vikings know that the fate of the entire universe is in their hands.
Watch the developer playthrough below::
Release your inner viking and embark on a new adventure by wishlisting The Fate of Baldr on Steam.
Ananki Game Studio is an indie game development studio with 3 full time employees based in Oslo, Norway. The team consists of André (CEO/programmer), Asia (2d artist) and Anders (3d artist/programmer). Each of them have 10+ years of prior experience with programming, 2D art and 3D modeling. They’ve been developing games full time since 2020.
The Arisen this time around finds herself in a far different situation than before as our adventure kicks off with a blast before settling into the massive exploration available in this action RPG from Capcom that has been long awaited. Journeying together as a pair of Beastren, myself a thief and my pawn a warrior, we join teams with a number of other pawns as we begin our adventures in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a single player, narrative driven action-RPG that challenges the players to choose their own experience – from the appearance of their Arisen, their vocation, their party, how to approach different situations and more – in a truly immersive fantasy world.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platform: Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S Release Date: 22nd March, 2024 Price: $69.99 USD
Recommended – “Dragon’s Dogma II improves upon the original in every way, offering an organic feeling story, exciting and varied combat, and a world that is just begging to be explored.”
Get Ready to Crush: BATTLE CRUSH 2nd Beta Goes Live in 97 Countries
Pangyo, South Korea – March 21, 2024 – NCSOFT has just launched the global beta for its action-packed game BATTLE CRUSH. The second beta test went live at midnight on March 21st, 0:00 a.m PT (Pacific time). Players from around the world are warmly invited to join and become a pivotal part of BATTLE CRUSH’S game journey.
Back in October, NCSOFT kicked off the first global beta test for BATTLE CRUSH. This time, the testing will be expanded to include 97 countries encompassing North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. Players around the globe can dive into the action on both PC (via Steam) and mobile (Android) until 11 p.m. PT on March 28th.
In this second global beta test, players will be able to experience the enhanced gameplay of BATTLE CRUSH, now significantly improved thanks to your feedback from the first beta. Key upgrades include an enhanced PC control using keyboard and mouse, redesigned lobby UI for seamless interaction, added rewards system that makes defeating enemies even more satisfying and eased the difficulty of stamina management.
BATTLE CRUSH offers a thrilling action battle brawler where players fight to be the last one standing on ever-shrinking battlefields, filled with enemies. You will be able to pick characters of your choice from various gods and mythological creatures, called Calixers, to dominate the arena and overwhelm your enemies. Put your skill set to the test through a diverse array of Calixers, each offering unique play styles to explore. Strike down your foes and be crowned victorious in the heat of an epic battle!
Key features include:
Strategic combat action that uses simple controls, terrain, and objects.
Unique battlefields and various game modes supporting up to 30 players.
Characters with unique action skills inspired by mythical legends.
Set for global release in the first half of 2024, BATTLE CRUSH is currently in development as a cross-platform title, including Nintendo Switch, Steam (PC), and Mobile. More detailed information is available on the official BATTLE CRUSH website, Discord, and YouTube channel.
NCSOFT, headquartered in Pangyo, Korea, is the world’s premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games, including the critically acclaimed Lineage®, AION®, Blade & Soul®, Guild Wars® franchises as well as numerous casual games. With approximately 5,000 employees worldwide, NCSOFT aims to provide fun for everyone, everywhere in the world. More information can be found at www.ncsoft.com.
In a new video, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO producer Jun Furutani revealed more details about the game’s mechanics.
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO brings back and enhanced gameplay elements that the franchise has been known and cherished for, making battles even more spectacular, faster, impressive and authentic to the anime. Evolved features such as “Skill Count”, “Revenge Counter” and “Vanishing Assaults” have been added, giving chances for players to counterattack their foes, and add more strategy to their fights.
A new trailer also unveils 11 new characters joining DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO’s roster, this time centered on the constant discussion of Speed vs. Power:
Super Trunks
Master Roshi, Max Power
Nappa
Burter
Jeice
Super Saiyan Broly (Full Power)
Hit
Super Saiyan Kale (Berserk)
Toppo
Dyspo
Kakunsa
Also watch the ‘Gameplay Showcase’ here:
DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO is developed by Spike Chunsoft for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Pros of the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and today take to the court decked out in an array of the hottest apparel brands in the sport
Today, 2K announced the official TopSpin 2K25 roster and list of apparel brands that will be available when the game launches in April 2024. In addition to Standard Edition and digital-only Grand Slam® Edition cover icons Roger Federer and Serena Williams, and Deluxe Edition cover stars Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Świątek, and Francis Tiafoe, a who’s who of past and present titans of the court make up a roster of 25 playable pros at launch, with additional post-launch pros to be announced. Players can relive historic battles between legends like John McEnroe and Andre Agassi, or pit the greats of the past, such as Steffi Graff and Pete Sampras, against rising stars of today, like Paula Badosa and Matteo Berrettini, to determine who really are the all-time kings and queens of the court.
The TopSpin 2K25 roster at launch includes:
Roger Federer;
Serena Williams;
Carlos Alcaraz;
Iga Świątek;
Frances Tiafoe;
Andre Agassi;
Andy Murray;
Belinda Bencic;
Ben Shelton;
Caroline Wozniacki;
Coco Gauff;
Daniil Medvedev;
Emma Raducanu;
John McEnroe;
Karolina Pliskova;
Leylah Fernandez;
Madison Keys;
Maria Sharapova;
Matteo Berrettini;
Naomi Osaka;
Paula Badosa;
Pete Sampras;
Sloane Stephens;
Steffi Graf;
Taylor Fritz;
And more to come.
In addition to a star-studded roster, TopSpin 2K25 features an array of licensed apparel brands, offering a true-to-life presentation of pros’ on-court uniforms, as well as a variety of customization options for unique MyPLAYERs. From the all-white Wimbledon kits, to 1980s and 1990s fashion statements (not to mention hairstyles), to the colourful costumes of modern pros, a wide range of options are available.
Apparel brands available in TopSpin 2K25 at launch include:
adidas;
Asics;
Babolat;
Castore;
Fila;
Free People Movement;
Goodr;
Head;
Hugo Boss;
Lacoste;
Lululemon;
Market;
New Balance;
Nike;
On;
Original Penguin;
Prince;
Tecnifibre;
Uniqlo;
Wilson;
Yonex;
And more to come.
The TopSpin 2K25Deluxe Edition and Grand Slam® Edition will be available starting on April 23, 2024 –up to three days ahead of Standard and Cross-Gen Editions! TopSpin 2K25 Standard and Cross-Gen Editions will be available Friday, April 26, 2024.*Additional information on the TopSpin 2K25 arenas, gameplay, Centre Court Pass, and more will be shared soon.
Developed by Hangar 13, TopSpin 2K25 is rated G. For more information on TopSpin 2K25, please visit https://topspin.2k.com/. Follow TopSpin 2K on TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, and Facebook for the latest TopSpin 2K25 news.
Hangar 13 is a 2K studio. 2K is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
Internet connection and online Account (minimum age varies) required to access online features and redeem and use bonus content, including MyCareer, MyPlayer, 2K Tour and World Tour. See www.take2games.com/legal and www.take2games.com/privacy for additional details. Some in-game content may require online gameplay to unlock. Online console play may require separate paid platform subscription and account registration. Terms apply.
*Early Access available for Deluxe and Grand Slam® Editions only. Early Access for physical copies of TopSpin 2K25 Deluxe Edition only available at participating retailers and stores in select territories while stocks last. See TopSpin2K.com for more details.
Play as Emily or Edward, portrayed by the brilliant actors Jodie Comer and David Harbour, to uncover the secrets of Derceto Manor.
Sydney, Australia – 21 March, 2024: THQ Nordic and Pieces Interactive have released horror-survival game Alone in the Dark, a faithful love letter to the original. Watch the release trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO7epH7HS6c
Set in the haunting Derceto Manor, players take on the roles of Emily Hardwood and Edward Carnby, portrayed by the talented actors Jodie Comer (Free Guy, Killing Eve) and David Harbour (Stranger Things). Together, they must unravel the disappearance of Emily’s uncle, delving deep into the secrets that shroud the manor’s dark past. Alone in the Dark challenges players to solve puzzles and to confront terrifying entities along the way to uncover the truth.
To bring the chilling atmosphere of Alone in the Dark to life, content creators were invited to experience a real-life haunted house, mirroring the horrors found within the game. Armed with GoPros and CCTV cameras, they embarked on 60 to 90 minute runs, capturing spine-tingling moments. Watch the Alone in the Dark In Real Life video [here] or all runs at https://hauntedhouse.aloneinthedark.com.
Alone in the Dark, developed by Pieces Interactive in Sweden and published by THQ Nordic, is available now on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation®5!
Explore Derceto Manor in this reimagination of Alone in the Dark, a love letter to the 90’s cult classic horror game! Set in the gothic American south in the 1920’s, Alone in the Dark features a noir-setting with classical Lovecraftian horror-elements, where the familiar meets the surreal.
Return to the roots of psychological horror and experience an atmospheric journey worthy of the game that started the genre.
Dive into a world full of sounds that make your skin crawl with a haunting, yet mesmerising doom jazz soundtrack.
Enjoy the thrill of desperate survival in a world where reality starts to crumble, evil lurks in every shadow and ammunition is scarce.
Experience this nightmare from either Emily Hartwood’s or Edward Carnby’s perspective and unearth the dark secrets of a gothic mansion.
Immerse yourself in a deep psychological story that goes beyond the realms of the imaginable, by Mikael Hedberg, cult horror writer of SOMA and Amnesia.
This week via Xbox Wire, Microsoft Game Dev blog and Xbox Podcast, we shared a few announcements from Xbox as part of GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2024.
There are currently more than 3,500 titles in more than 100 countries in active development for Xbox.
More than 100 titles in development for Xbox consoles via the ID@Xbox program from Southeast Asia, Africa and India.
This January was the highest engagement ever on Xbox consoles measured by play time including ID@Xbox program member Pocket Pair, whose Xbox Game Preview title, Palworld, has more than 10,000,000 players on Xbox so far.
Today, Xbox shared publicly for the first time The Gaming for Everyone Product Inclusion Framework, a set of actionable resources meant to help game developers – and the wider games industry – weave intentionality and inclusion into the products they make via four key areas or doorways: Approachability, Representation, Globalization and Accessibility.
Together, we call these the Inclusive Growth Doorways.
To help developers get started – and use the Framework in action – Xbox created a central Resource Hub, accessible via https://aka.ms/ProductInclusion, which includes tangible examples, best practices, case studies and more.
Xbox has been using and evolving this framework internally since 2019 and is thrilled to offer it for anyone to use starting today.
Lori Wright shared more about her role at Xbox, how her team is committed to supporting game creators of all sizes reach more players from around the world, and what she will be focused on in the future via a special interview segment on Xbox Podcast.
10 years in the making, Old School RuneScape’s biggest ever area expansion is now available
Wednesday, 20 March 2024, Cambridge, UK. Jagex is thrilled to announce the long-awaited release of Varlamore Part One, the first part in a major new area expansion for the beloved MMORPG Old School RuneScape, available to Old School RuneScape members today.
Step into the Shining Kingdom of Varlamore and experience unparalleled new adventures in Old School RuneScape’s most expansive update yet. Embark on epic quests, face formidable foes, overcome new challenges, discover unique skilling activities, and unlock the secrets of a vast, new land in Old School RuneScape’s biggest ever area expansion.
Experience a rich new area steeped in history and lore, where you’ll be able to play solo or together with other players to discover its secrets and overcome new challenges. Compete in the Fortis Colosseum, an epic new arena for PvM veterans, where you will encounter menacing foes in an innovative new combat trial. Set off on a quest to explore the Perilous Moons, the home of three legendary bosses, in a new dungeon designed for both solo players and groups seeking thrilling combat experiences and unique rewards.
Discover The Hunter Guild and embark on quests to hunt classic creatures and brand new critters roaming the Kingdom of Varlamore with the all-new Hunters’ Rumours system. Find diverse skilling opportunities and expand your Mining, Prayer, and Thieving skills with the new Bone Shard Mining, Offerings to Ralos, and Pickpocketing, Breaking & Entering training activities.
Watch the Old School RuneScape: Varlamore– Official Cinematic Trailer below:
The Varlamore Part One Update Includes:
The Shining Kingdom of Varlamore – A vast new highly-anticipated area steeped in rich lore, history, and areas to explore.
New challenges to conquer and foes to face – Venture into the Perilous Moons dungeon to encounter new bosses, or compete in the Fortis Colosseum in an innovative new wave-based PvM challenge, complete with modifier-systems to allow customisation of each encounter.
The Hunter Guild – Featuring new Hunter’s Rumours challenges and diverse new skilling opportunities.
Play solo or team up with other players to conquer this mysterious land in Old School RuneScape’s most expansive update yet.
Old School RuneScape is available now on PC, Steam, iOS, and Android, complete with cross-platform progression and play on PC and mobile.
About Old School RuneScape
Old School RuneScape is the industry-defining collaboration between the community and developers. Embracing its nostalgic heritage, hundreds of thousands of active players control the direction of the game with an in-game polling system. Featuring adventures for solo play through to 100-player strong raids, Old School RuneScape caters for every brave adventurer. Old School RuneScape continues to innovate, introducing its first ever new skill in 2023 to commemorate its 10th anniversary, arriving later this year.
A leader in creating deep and engaging forever games that empower our communities across PC, mobile and consoles. Jagex’s flagship MMORPG, RuneScape, has welcomed over 300 million player accounts to its world and is a $1billion + 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.
In 2022, Jagex 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 & other unannounced titles. Jagex employs more than 600 people globally, and is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
After over a decade since it was last given any form of new content, outside of a doomed Japanese exclusive MMO, fans of Dragon’s Dogma were still hanging onto the hope that this unique take on an action RPG set in a low-fantasy world built around an allied Pawn system and focused around the Arisen and their Dragon enemy would still continue in some form despite being rough around the edges. Thankfully, their hopes were finally rewarded when it was announced that Capcom would indeed be bringing Dragon’s Dogma II out and with a variety of upgrades. Featuring refinements to classes as well as some new ones, an entirely new storyline, and far more polish than the original was ever given a chance to benefit from, has Dragon’s Dogma II managed to meet expectations? No. It in fact surpasses them in pretty much every way.
Story
Players take on the role of the Arisen, only there is a problem. Rather than kicking things off by fighting and failing against the dragon only to have your heart stolen, you are a slave in the mines with no memories of who you are, what you are,, or even what happened to you. Working alongside Pawns that the country players treat generally like trash, the player manages to escape using a unique opportunity and finds themselves landing in the far more benevolent land of Vernworth where the capital is preparing to crown the brand new Arisen as Sovran of the land. The problem here is, rather than it being the player, it is someone else entirely. So once the player arrives at their very first town and finds that not only has their very own Pawn appeared to swear allegiance to them, the Pawns of the world bend the knee and swear their loyalty to adventure by their side.
Thus kicks off a journey of intrigue and political backstabbing, mysteries upon who the false Arisen might be, why they are in such a position of power, what gives them the capabilities that should be exclusive to an Arisen, and so much more. Dragon’s Dogma II takes the previous game’s oft criticized storyline and manages to improve upon it immensely by taking and creating an interesting narrative that constantly has players stumbling upon something new and finding their own way to try and solve things. Sure, some quests are as simple as they say, and Pawns can once again provide guidance if they’ve done the quest before alongside another Arisen that has borrowed them online, but many have quite a few different outcomes.The narrative throughout Dragon’s Dogma II is highly entertaining and, while we cannot go into specifics about various elements, still holds true to the franchise’s staples even as players learn more and more about this unique take on the world and the many people that populate it, including the humans, Elves, and Beastren. This includes many of the fantastical elements that surrounded the first game as well, though many of these are more plainly laid out and better explained. There are also persistent NPCs, a world that changes the more players interact with it, and even some affection that is a bit easier to manage this time around compared to its predecessor.
Dragon’s Dogma II provides a rather unique take on side-content. As some may have heard, some side-quests are time limited and that is indeed the case, however rather than story limited (in my experience) they are actually day limited. Quests with a timer are indicated via an hourglass and players should prioritize them over others, as spending too long may result in the death of an individual, loss of information, or something else entirely. Now, as mentioned before, while nearly every story quest is generally clearly marked, the side-content in Dragon’s Dogma II is far more subtle at times and these quests often have a shockingly high amount of variety and outcomes to them. Since players are encouraged to travel on foot nearly everywhere with oxcarts only traveling during the day and between set locations and the removal of the “Eternal Ferrystone” from Dark Arisen, players must now make use of either the expensive consumable Ferrystones to travel between the limited Port Crystals (including the limited ones players can find and move around at will) should they need to fast travel.
This means that it is entirely possible to wander aimlessly through the wilderness, uncovering caves filled with treasure and monsters, obtaining items that seemingly have unique purposes, and even some quests along the way that may be far more surprising than one may expect. This can include simply heading through locations players were clearly not meant to go yet. In fact, taking on one side-quest saw my party traveling through an entire location through a tunnel system that was clearly meant to be an alternate route through what would otherwise likely be a story event at a later time. This saw my group facing down challenging foes that we overcame through a bit of luck and trickery, eventually made it to our destination far earlier than expected and finished off the singular side-quest in that location. Though, now given our lack of a Port Crystal in the area and none in our inventory, meant a use of a Ferrystone and eventual trek back sometime in the future.
This organic style of adventuring is something rarely found in RPGs, even if the travel system remains a bit troublesome from time to time. Of course, the lack of such a system does allow for players to experience some truly ridiculous situations with monsters, allies, and more with the game doing its best to make every encounter feel as immersive as possible, including taking advantage of a dull-witted enemy to bridge a gap or target a hazard. It is also worth noting that, unlike most RPGs, the variety in the types of side-quests that players can undertake is shockingly high. Sure, some are still as simple as going somewhere to slay a monster or gathering items, but others can involve investigating NPCs, stalking characters as they go about their day, using appearances to locate a suspect, and more. This means that while the majority of quests can be a bit straightforward, a lot of them have unique permutations that players may not expect.
That being said, it is worth noting that a few of these quests are a bit more annoying than others, with two in particular standing out as annoying through either bugs or simply poor design. One required having an “extended” battle with a griffon only for our party to battle it out against the winged beast for some time, only for it to fly off halfway through the fight and the quest resulting in a half-finished result while another required a poison-obsessed NPC to be poisoned by a Chimera’s snake tail, only for the beast to literally never use its poison attack a single time throughout the entire encounter. Once again, resulting in a failure and ending the questline potentially early. It is worth noting that Dragon’s Dogma II does make use of only a single save file, though the option does exist to load from a save the last time players “Slept at an Inn” so players can use this as a last resort should something go terribly wrong and their last safe sleep wasn’t hours prior. Oh, and be wary of the Sphinx, the rumors were certainly true and her riddles are far more numerous than one may expect and definitely more than meets the eye.
Often a number of side-quests have different outcomes depending on what players do. Sure, there is a “forgery” option for some items but players may not find it until a certain point, forfeiting an item of which there is only a single one in the entire world and potentially changing the fate of one party entirely. Along these same lines, turning one item into one NPC instead of another or listening to one and taking sides may lead to horrible consequences down the line. This can potentially close off entire side-quests, lead to certain NPCs not even appearing in story cutscenes, and more. This level of variety is shockingly high and surprising given the design of Dragon’s Dogma II, giving some story developments an almost organic feel to them,and encouraging replayability or taking advantage of the game’s New Game+ system.
Gameplay
The core of Dragon’s Dogma II‘s gameplay still revolves around an action RPG style of sorts where players will make use of their vocation (class) skills to take on whatever enemy they encounter and it is just as thrilling as the original, though a number of refinements have been made. Players will start with a base list of vocations such as Archer, Fighter, Mage, and Thief with the Sorcerer and Warrior enhanced classes being limited behind a simple quest to unlock. Most of the classes will play in a similar enough manner as how one would expect, with mages being able to cast spells, heal, and provide elemental buffs to their allies, archers firing arrows at a distance and targeting flying foes, fighter’s drawing attention and serving as a tank of sorts, and the thief darting around the battlefield, clambering up larger foes to strike weak points, and making chaos on the field for the enemies. Every class has their own skills, core abilities, and augments that once unlocked remain unlocked even should players change Vocations. In fact, any augment can be applied to any class, allowing for plenty of customization options.
What has been changed a bit this time around is that there are now four Arisen exclusive vocations. This includes the Mystic Spearhand capable of wielding combining melee with a spear and magical spells that boost their allied pawns abilities and shield them from danger, a magick archer that is capable of long-range attacks that utilize elements to their advantage, the Trickster that is… an odd class that focuses on confusing enemies and tanking attacks using a smoke illusion, and finally the Wayfarer. The Wayfarer is an interesting class as it allows for the use of literally every ability the Arisen has unlocked through the game but also limits them to only three actual skills. The Wayfarer can equip any armor and weapon and swap between their weapons of choice but can only use a skill depending on the weapon type they have equipped, meaning a thief still can’t use spells but can use levitate to reach distant locations or hunt down an annoying Seeker Token.
The player’s Pawn can be assigned any of the base Vocations including the two more advanced ones and any of the skills they unlock and equip on their Pawn can then be carried over into other worlds, by players who hire them to help them on their journey. Similarly, players will be able to bring two other Pawns with them in their adventures to help best round-out their party and target a foe’s weaknesses. Pawns at the same level or lower can be hired for free while those who are stronger than the player will require Rift Crystals (RC) to hire. Players earn Rift Crystals from having their own Pawn used by other players or obtained from certain monsters and chests throughout the world. Depending on the Pawn hired or if the player’s own Pawn has been taken on a quest in another world, they can provide hints and even lead the player to a target location for quests and, in a new twist, there are personality types players can assign and even extra little skills players can give their Pawn, such as having them automatically craft items using gathered ingredients, heal the player using potions, or even speak the Elven language.
As mentioned before, exploring the world in Dragon’s Dogma II is a big part of the game. Fast travel options are kept at a minimum, even late game once players have obtained extra port crystals and start gathering plenty of Ferrystones, so exploring and finding little hidden caves filled with enemies and maybe treasure is part of the charm of the game. It is worth noting that the “loss” gauge does return as the party takes damage their total overall health will decrease until they get a proper rest but now players don’t need to return to town, instead they can choose to camp out if they come across a campsite. As long as players have a camping kit, they can rest at a camping site and even cook meat, featuring a hyper-realistic cinematic, for some temporary stat buffs to restore their loss gauge to full. Of course, players always run the potential of getting ambushed during camp and exploring during the night can be quite dangerous for a number of reasons. Not only is the lantern light rather dim, but new foes arise in the darkness including a few larger more powerful bosses as well.
Once in combat Dragon’s Dogma II continues to shine as players take advantage of their Vocations strengths to best take down their targets. While I swapped around heavily to get a feel for most classes, even maxing out the troublesome Trickster Vocation, most of my time was spent as a Thief. this meant that battles saw my fighter grappling foes into the ground, striking at their vitals once they were open and pilfering them of valuable items that don’t often drop otherwise. Larger foes, boss style encounters like the aforementioned Cyclops, Ogres, etc. can be climbed up and have their weak points targeted, and the thief is perfect for that, especially with Archer augments that allow for the easier climbing of foes. This led to my thief easily able to slip up a Griffin’s back and slash at its wings, setting them aflame to prevent it from running before setting a charge on its back and blasting away at it. Along these same lines, partnering with my Warrior Pawn my character could Esnare a Golem’s legs and hold it in place, giving my pawn ample opportunity to shatter it apart and allow the party to target its medallions. Crafting these types of strategies or simply overpowering foes is what makes Dragon’s Dogma II so exciting and every combat encounter can feel new and unique, especially with how things can escalate as we will mention a bit later and what makes it all the better is that nearly every one of these encounters with foes is entirely natural, with only a few scripted encounters set throughout the game. Rather instead players will find their own bosses to take down simply by exploring the world, and seeing what secrets could possibly be around the next corner.
Audio & Visuals
Dragon’s Dogma II still carries with it much of the aesthetic that fans will remember only given a significant upgrade over their original versions. For the most part, returning monsters will all appear similar in nature with various improvements, such as the Cyclops, Ogre, Chimera, and Griffin but the new large type monsters and even the smaller foes that players will need to contend with have undergone some new graphical upgrades as well. Alongside the designs of the monsters, the world itself is lavishly created with each of the game’s main locations having a unique aesthetic to them, be it the forest and hills that make up the Vernsworth region or the desert and mountainous rock-filled lands of the Beastran kingdom of Bakbatahl, taking clear inspiration from an middle-eastern/oriental design, to the forest filled lands of the North where the Elves hide away from the rest of the world. Each of these regions and their NPCs respectively dress and have their own unique patterns and make-up to them, giving the game a wonderful feeling during exploration, especially when you stumble upon a cave and decide to take the risk of seeing whether it leads to treasure, a new route, or a powerful foe.Even in combat, trees can be shattered and broken by large spells or monsters slamming around, smaller bridges can be torn asunder, breaking away paths for days until they are fixed. All of this combat feels like it has weight and impact, something few games can offer.
The game’s frame rate does hold up solidly throughout my time with Dragon’s Dogma II, including some rather outrageous looking events that took place. Part of the charm of Dragon’s Dogma has always been its potential for chaos and that is only enhanced in its sequel. Players and their pawns can unleash powerful abilities on their foes or have spells cast as they clamber around on top of a large enemy, and playing mostly as a thief to tear away at enemy weak points, that was my go to when not dabbling in the newer vocations mentioned earlier. This level of chaos can mean that players may venture along a pathway only to be beset by a group of hobgoblins, attracting the attention of a griffin flying overhead, whose shadow had already been visible as it was circling nearby oxen, that leads to a massive battle that players may find themselves unprepared for. Then, perhaps finally thinking they have won, a drake may land as well and call upon the Arisen to test their mettle against them. This chaotic event that unfolds can be rare but does happen. Heck, on multiple occasions simply venturing through one of the capital towns in Dragon’s Dogma II saw a Minotaur in one town and a Griffin in another tear through the gates, forcing my party into battle right in the center of the city streets as civilians scattered and the city guard and other nearby Pawns did their best to defeat the invading foe. These random events and the unpredictable way they can unfold make Dragon’s Dogma II truly special and gorgeous in a way other games can rarely offer.
The voice work throughout Dragon’s Dogma II is handled decently though there is a bit of a lack of certain lines, though thankfully Pawns dialogue has seen a significant increase in variety, and that is with only the pre-release Pawns available through Capcom’s own creations and other reviewers. This means that there are far fewer repeated lines from Pawns during exploration, and the voice acting for primary NPCs is handled quite well with story scenes handled spectacularly. It is also worth noting that the game still makes use of some old-English style speak, meaning players will need aught learn some of the turns of phrase. The background music is handled nicely, with towns given their own tracks and exploration generally quiet outside of audio cues for enemies and during combat, including during highly dangerous combat, making it a solid offering for a soundtrack.
Overall
The depth to Dragon’s Dogma II is staggering combined with its variety and few could honestly have expected to see such an amazing feeling RPG like this, despite how promising the original release was. Not only does it take and improve upon literally every aspect of the original game, it manages to create an organic feeling storyline that players can pursue at their leisure while getting lost in an adventure all their own. Travel issues remain a bit of an issue and some bugs arise here and there, but with countless ways to play through the varied Vocation system, numerous quest outcomes, and a far more refined structure, Dragon’s Dogma II is a triumph in nearly every way. Let’s just hope it won’t take another decade to see more of this.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Manage your own iconic open-wheel racing team and blow your rivals away!
Vancouver, Canada — March 20, 2024 — Go back in time with Funselektor’s new racing strategy game Golden Lap — developed together with indie studio Strelka Games — and become Team Principal of a racing team in the tumultuous Golden Era of Open-Wheel Racing. Manage your team in style and oversee thrilling races to pave the road to victory season after season — available on Steam later this year!
Relive the legacy of Open-Wheel Racing’s Golden Era
In this strategy-driven motorsport management game you’ll step into the fashionable shoes of a legend in the making — although this time you’ll stay behind the scenes instead of sliding behind the wheel yourself. Golden Lap offers sleek, minimalistic visuals and an intuitive design as it hands you the reins to your very own iconic racing team during the golden era of open-wheel racing. This is your chance to prove your worth as a strategic mastermind by making pivotal decisions and shaping the destiny of your team to leave your opponents in the dust!
Dune Casu, founder of Funselektor, can’t wait to reveal more of his team’s take on the motorsport management genre. “After two releases with Absolute Drift and art of rally, we wanted to try something different while staying true to our passion for racing. We’re taking that opportunity with Golden Lap, which serves as a throwback to one of the most iconic eras of motorsport when it was exciting and dangerous in equal measure, teams were experimenting with designs, and drivers were notorious both on and off the track.”
Lights out and away we go!
Just like in real life, you’ll have to allocate your budget across your drivers, staff, cars and sponsors at the beginning of every season. Each year, a number of races take place that give you the chance to perfect your strategy during both qualifying rounds and major races, from tuning your cars to timing your pit stops. And when your team is not racing, you’ll be responsible for the crucial task of managing and improving your cars as well as your team’s overall standing. Can you maintain a winning streak throughout the years, or will you have to make an epic comeback?
Later this year, start climbing the ranks within the fast-paced motorsport world in this deeply engaging, minimalistic simulation on Steam! After the launch of Absolute Drift in 2015 and art of rally in 2020, this will be the third game for Funselektor and founder Dune Casu, and the first to be co-developed with the Italian studio Strelka Games. With both previous racing games becoming beloved indie titles with a total of more than 15 million downloads across all available platforms, Golden Lap is sure to race its way into people’s hearts as well!
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About Funselektor
Funselektor was founded in 2014 when Dune Casu developed the prototype of what would later become Funselektor’s debut title at a game jam: Absolute Drift! After the release of his first game in 2015 and with the drive to apply his passion for rally in a new game, Dune immediately began development on Funselektor’s second title, art of rally, while continuing support for Absolute Drift.
Now, in 2024, Funselektor is back with another racing game, this time delving into the management simulator side of things with Golden Lap!
About Strelka Games Strelka Games is a game production company that builds games from scratch and is dedicated to delivering memorable gaming experiences. The team frequently collaborates with other developers, both leading projects from start to finish and adapting to the partnered company’s direction. With a group of producers and developers specialized in delivering high quality games and a large network of amazing professionals, Strelka Games offers whatever is necessary for the project at hand!
