Techland welcomes the Year of the Dragon with in-game activities and rewards
Wrocław, Poland – 8 Feb. 2024 – Techland says goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit and gets ready to bring in the new force. The Year of the Dragon Celebration in Dying Light 2 Stay Humanstarts today, Thursday, 8 Feb. at 3 am PT / 6 am ET / 12 pm CET, and comes to an end on Monday, 19 Feb. at 3 am PT / 6 am ET / 12 pm CET. During the in-game festivities, players can log on to experience different daily Dragon’s Blessings, yielding gameplay benefits. There will be Encounters spawning across the map, with PKs and Survivors in need of saving. By doing so, the players will receive Red Envelopes full of rewards.
Collecting Red Envelopes is also how players can complete goals and get items from the Dragon Warrior Bundle for free. This bundle will also be available for purchase at a later date for 500 DL Points. That’s not all – there will be additional free gear to be claimed on Pilgrim Outpost and via Twitch drop!
Celebrating the Year of the Dragon kick starts the month of the 2nd Anniversary of Dying Light 2 Stay Human fun – with more to follow soon! In the meantime, take a look at the video below from Franchise Director Tymon Smektała. More information can be also found on Pilgrim Outpost.
To help us create unforgettable experiences for all Dying Light 2 Stay Human players, we invite them to join the conversation on Discord, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube – we’ll be waiting!
For more information about Dying Light 2 Stay Human and Techland, head to www.dyinglight2.com
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About Techland
Techland is one of the biggest and best-known Polish game developers with studios in Wroclaw and Warsaw. For over 30 years, we’ve carried a tradition of providing gamers with unforgettable experiences. We’re an international team of over 400 highly-skilled professionals driven by a passion for gaming, always striving for the best quality.
We’re fueled by the support of our global community built on the foundation of successful AAA franchises such as Call of Juarez, Dead Island, or Dying Light. The gamers’ trust in our games has resulted in our newest project, Dying Light 2 Stay Human, selling more than 5 million copies across all platforms within the first month after release.
On top of continuously growing the world of Dying Light through a robust post- launch support plan for Dying Light 2 Stay Human, we’re also working on an unannounced AAA Open World Action RPG set in a brand new fantasy universe; our biggest project to date.
Techland’s mission strictly determines every aspect of our work: we want to create unforgettable experiences.
The latest content update introduces a transformative gadgets system, offering players total freedom in gadget placement and interaction, encouraging them to unleash their creativity across Rainbow Island – now available for Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC.
SAN MATEO, Calif. – February 8, 2024 – Monomi Park, creators of the highly popular Slime Rancher franchise, today announced “Gadgets My Way”, the latest content update for Slime Rancher 2. This significant release transforms every part of the world into a canvas for the player’s creativity and experimentation with an all new gadgets system, offering extended freedom in gadget placement and interaction. Now, players can rethink and rebuild their ranches in endlessly imaginative ways, engaging emotionally with the world and its delightful slimes. The update is free for existing owners of Slime Rancher 2, with new players able to join the adventure on Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC for $29.99.
Expanded Interaction with Slimes: The ‘Gadgets My Way’ update introduces imaginative and lively interactions with slimes. Imagine your slimes lounging on the beach, getting thrilled in homemade pinball machines, or playfully bouncing through fields of colorful pinwheels. This update offers a wide array of thematic settings – from serene to playful – allowing players to create memorable experiences with their slimes on Rainbow Island.
Comprehensive Building System Overhaul: Experience a transformative building system in Slime Rancher 2 with the latest update. Key features include a streamlined Gadget mode HUD, offering a more intuitive building experience, and an innovative collection review system integrated into the updated Slimepedia. This update not only enhances the ease of constructing your dream ranch but also enriches the process of discovering and cataloging your unique slime and gadget collections.
More Gadget Content and Exploration: Dive into a world of discovery with 36 new gadgets and treasures waiting in hidden nooks and crannies of Rainbow Island. The update invites players to uncover secret treasure pods, unveiling gadgets that enhance the immersive and interactive nature of the game. Explore new areas, unveil mysteries, and enrich your ranching experience with these exciting additions.
Slime Rancher 2 continues the award-winning legacy of its predecessor, offering an enchanting journey for Beatrix LeBeau on Rainbow Island. With “Gadgets My Way”, players are invited to engage in more repeatable gameplay, fostering a deeper connection with the game world and its inhabitants through enhanced gadget interaction and creative experimentation. Additionally, there’s a host of new user interface updates, including new resources spawned from weather, new land in various zones, HUD notifications, revamped icons, and optimized game performance for a smoother, more intuitive player experience.
About Monomi Park
Monomi Park is an independent game studio based out of sunny San Mateo, California. Founded in 2014 by Nick Popovich and Mike Thomas, Monomi Park is committed to creating inclusive and innovative gaming experiences that defy expectations. Its flagship title, Slime Rancher was released into Early Access in 2016 with an official release following in 2017. It is one of the highest-rated games on Steam of all time with a 98% positive average score and has sold over 6 million copies across all platforms with over 15 million players worldwide. Slime Rancher 2 launched into Early Access on September 22, 2022 and sold over 300,000 copies in the first week.
Wild Card Football Takes the Field for Today’s Star-Studded Twitch Rivals Streamer Bowl V: Tailgate Edition Tournament
Watch pro football stars and popular Twitch streamers compete in arcade football action with $50,000 for charity on the line
Get hyped for this weekend with a new custom Mega Ran track and free Wild Card Football trial for PlayStation®Plus Extra and Premium subscribers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Feb. 8, 2024 – Game day is here early! Wild Card Football, the over-the-top arcade football video game from Saber Interactive, in partnership with the NFL Players Association and OneTeam Partners, is starring in today’s Twitch Rivals Streamer Bowl V: Tailgate Edition! As one of the event’s featured challenges, pro football stars like Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Garrett Wilson, Alvin Kamara and DeAndre Hopkins are teaming up with some of your favorite streamers in an epic Wild Card Football tournament, with a $50,000 charity prize at stake. Tune in to the action as it kicks off at 2:40 p.m. PT today at twitch.tv/TwitchRivals.
Wild Card Football has also partnered with nerdcore rapper Mega Ran for an electrifying new song inspired by the game! With his signature lyrical prowess, Mega Ran brings the gridiron to life, making this track a must-listen. You can pre-save it now on Spotify.
Starting tomorrow, PlayStation®Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can download a free two-hour trial of Wild Card Football. Experience extreme, 7-on-7 action for yourself with bombastic moves, style and energy, and get started building your own legendary team!
Wild Card Football is an over-the-top, pick-up-and-play video game featuring an authentic roster of hundreds of pro football superstars, including Colin Kaepernick, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes II, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Watt, Joey Bosa, Ja’Marr Chase, Aaron Donald and many more. Mix and match players from your favorite teams to create the ultimate dream squad, customizing everything from logos, uniforms, playbooks and more.
The unique Wild Card system lets you change the course of the action in an instant with special power-ups and abilities across a variety of game modes, including Season play, local multiplayer, and online multiplayer with full crossplay. Summon walls, turn invisible, boost your stats at a crucial moment, or play a Rule-Breaker and flip the rules of the game completely.
Wild Card Football is available on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. For more information, visit PlaygroundsSports.com, and follow the latest updates on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
About Saber Interactive
An Embracer Group company headquartered in the U.S., Saber Interactive is a worldwide publisher and developer consisting of over 20 studios in the Americas and Europe. Creating games for all major platforms based on original and licensed IPs, Saber’s titles include Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, Jurassic Park: Survival, World War Z, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game and Evil Dead: The Game. Founded in 2001, Saber is known for two decades of development partnerships with AAA publishers, producing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Nintendo Switch, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Crysis Remastered, and many others.
About the NFLPA
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through the 2030 season. Learn more at www.nflpa.com.
About NFL Players Inc.
NFL Players Inc., the licensing and marketing arm of the NFLPA, connects businesses to the power of NFL players. NFL Players Inc. creates customized business solutions for partners, through licensing, marketing strategy and player activations. For more information, please visit nflpa.com/players-inc.
About OneTeam Partners
OneTeam Partners is a global sports licensing, marketing, media, and investment company representing the commercial interests of more than 10,000 players across various sports, including the NFLPA, MLBPA, MLSPA, U.S. Women’s National Team PA, WNBPA, NWSLPA, U.S. Rugby PA, and the LCSPA, as well as college athletes.
Dragon Pack Skins, Chinese VO & Roguerunner Expansion
Ghostrunner 2 the first-person cyberpunk-action thriller by leading video game publisher 505 Games and developer One More Level releases the long-awaited Dragon Pack Expansion today!
Watch the new Dragon Pack DLC Trailer below:
The deadly new Dragon pack contains cosmentic content, all themed around the Year of the Dragon. Although included in the Season Pass and Brutal Edition, the new content is also available as a standalone purchase at £3.99 and includes:
Design Qi Motorcycle Skin
QiFang Sword and Hand Skins
QiScaled Sword and Hand Skins
QiGalaxy Sword and Hand Skins
Plus, as a Lunar New Year Gift, all Ghostunner 2 gamer owners immediately received Free Chinese VO and an expansion of the current ‘Roguerunner.exe Mode’ that will require mastery of Jack’s wingsuit, more parkour elements, and vicious enemy encounters.
Nominated for Action Game Of The Year at the 2023 Game Awards, Ghostrunner 2 is bursting with new powers, upgradeable abilities, traversal mechanics, an expanded narrative, deeper world building, and devilish new enemies. Every kill is earned.
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, Ghostrunner 2, Gems of War, Journey to the Savage Planet, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. 505 Games has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, China and Japan.
Developers celebrate a remarkable milestone ahead of console launch
Bristol, United Kingdom — February 8, 2024 | Yogscast Games and It’s happening are delighted to share news of hitting an all-new milestone as co-op cooking roguelike, PlateUp!, reaches an astounding 1.5 million Steam copies sold – a week before it lands on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One and on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Since It’s happening’s debut title launched on PC in 2022, the game has gone on to achieve incredible popularity, boasting overwhelmingly positive feedback on Steam, which it has proudly maintained since launch. These triumphs have since seen It’s happening expand to a team of two, and they are thrilled to celebrate such a lofty milestone.
PlateUp! began as a Covid-19 passion project inspired by a myriad of co-op titles that the initial solo developer, Alastair Janse van Rensburg, played during lockdown. The commercial success it has since gone on to achieve has far surpassed all expectations, with Alastair completely dumbfounded upon receiving his first 1 million in royalties just one month after the game’s launch.
“I’m absolutely stunned that what started out as a labour of love project to enjoy with my friends has turned into such a huge global hit,” says Alastair Janse van Rensburg, creator, PlateUp! “It’s been genuinely humbling seeing such a consistent overwhelmingly positive reaction from PC players since launch. I cannot wait to welcome console players into the PlateUp! universe – and promise you there is still a lot more good stuff to come.”
An acclaimed Steam hit, PlateUp! is now a mere week away from launching console-wide, bringing all manner of culinary chaos to PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch on February 15. It will see a new wave of players — spatulas at the ready — managing restaurants of their very own, while also opening up all-new opportunities for couch co-op and online play.
For more on PlateUp!, you can visit Steam or the official website. PlateUp! is also available to pre-order now and is available from a number of retailers worldwide. Details about pre-orders in Europe can be found on the Numskull Games homepage. In North America the game can be pre-ordered from Amazon US, Best Buy, Gamestop and other popular retailers.
About Yogscast Games
Yogscast Games was established in 2017, with a simple goal: to work with small teams to develop and publish games which are as fun to watch as they are to play. Its recent releases have included poker-powered deckbuilding game ‘Aces & Adventures’, ‘Tales & Tactics’, the brilliant autobattler from Slay The Spire‘Downfall’ developers Table 9 Studio and the wildly successful restaurant management roguelike ‘PlateUp!’.
About It’s happening
It’s happening is a team of two developers based in Bristol, UK. Originally a one-man team, Alastair Janse van Rensburg produced PlateUp! on his own over lockdown – his first game and a smash hit.
Paw Print Games’ light-hearted simulation-puzzle VR game is out now on PlayStation®VR2, SteamVR, and Meta Quest 2.
Thursday, 8th February 2024 – Team17 Digital and Paw Print Games in association with vTime Games have today launched Border Bots VR, the light-hearted single-player VR simulation-puzzle game, on PlayStation®VR2, SteamVR, and Meta Quest 2. Transporting players to a robot-led future and placing them into the boots of a human border agent stationed within a futuristic megacity, Border Bots VR will task players with managing the flow of robots into the city after an incident sees them mysteriously malfunctioning. Players will need to examine documents and employ the use of a variety of quirky gadgets, including a 3D printer, barcode scanner, and contraband detector, to interact with a host of friendly assistant AI and mechanical denizens, ensuring they have the necessary clearance to enter the city, and aren’t concealing any unauthorised items.
Border Bots Key Features
Analyse: Check documents for discrepancies and robots for unauthorised modifications while confiscating forbidden items
Utilise: Ensure a hard day’s work with an array of handy gadgets such as a 3D Printer, Barcode Scanner, and Contraband Detector
Corporatise: Rise up the corporate ladder by purchasing upgrades, gadgets, and booth enhancements, and keep an eye on the competition with performance review leaderboards.
About Paw Print Games
Paw Print Games is a video games development studio formed in the UK in 2011 by passionate veterans of the games industry, Steven Craft and Antony White. Coming from a background of selling hundreds of millions of AAA video games, including the iconic LEGO games, the studio kick-started its journey with the multi-award winning and App Store Game of the Week, Kami Retro. After several years developing mobile games, it switched its focus back to PC and console titles whilst also dipping its toes into VR with the side-scrolling beat-em-up, Bloody Zombies. It is now focused on fully immersive, tactile, funny, story driven experiences, such as the upcoming Border Bots VR.
About vTime Games
Fusing a decade of experience in alternate realities with a rich AAA gaming heritage, vTime Games is a UK-based studio focused on delivering immersive cross-platform titles. With an extensive back catalogue of success in concepting and delivering hit titles, the team is led and staffed by industry veterans who have created some of the world’s most successful studios and critically acclaimed games, from platform launch titles to BAFTA and AIAS award winners. A division of vTime – the studio behind the first cross-reality social network, vTime XR – vTime Games merges world-beating industry talent with cutting-edge proprietary technologies and AI to develop groundbreaking gaming experiences, both through original IP and co-development with its partners.
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.
Watch the Steam Next Fest gameplay broadcast and learn more about the exciting new roguelite.
Guangzhou, China – February 8th 2024. With Steam Next Fest in full swing, the exciting new roguelite Realm of Ink has stormed up the Trending Upwards and Daily Active Demo Players charts on Steam with the exciting first-level playable demo.
As part of the Steam Next Fest, developers Leap Studio, Maple Leaf Studio and publisher 663 Games hosted a live broadcast walkthrough of the demo showcasing the gameplay mechanics and beautiful ink-style art direction as well as introducing the time-limited ‘Endless Challenge’ mode. With so many games being showcased, the team wanted to make the broadcast available to watch at any time on the Realm of InkYouTube channel. So join Dai, CEO of Leap Studio and Justin, community manager at 663 Games, as they take you on a journey through this highly anticipated roguelite coming to PC and consoles this year.
Watch the Realm of Ink developer Steam Broadcast below
Fans can still download the Realm of Ink Steam demo which reveals the full first level of the frigid Ape Kingdom and includes a thrilling boss battle at the finale. Additionally, the three major schools of combat—Scarlet Sword, Shadow Twin Blades and Azure Aura Blade—enable you to experience diverse fighting styles, ensuring each battle is a refreshing and engaging encounter.
The demo also introduces Ink Pets and adds an extra layer of excitement to your adventure, as these adorable companions become your loyal allies throughout the journey. Depending on various Ink Gem combinations, they have the ability to undergo a transformation, evolving into various distinct forms with unique moves to assist you in combat.
About Realm of Ink
During the hunt for a cunning Fox demon, the heroine and expert swordswoman Red, discovers that she is a fictional character within the short story collection called Realm of Ink. Only by unlocking the dark secrets of the Book Spirit will Red discover the truth of her existence and defy her fate.
The story unfolds in a virtual realm called “Realm of Ink”, where inhabitants unknowingly exist as mere fabrications within a fictional world. Controlled by the mysterious Book Spirit, they obediently follow predetermined fates, oblivious to their cyclical lives.
Realm of Ink will be released in 2024 for PC and consoles. Fans can download the PC demo and Wishlist the game on Steam now.
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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.
First instalment of the best-selling PC 3D puzzle adventure is out now for PlayStation and Xbox
Bratislava, Slovakia – February 8th, 2024. Global indie developer and publisher Blue Brain Games is excited to announce that the first instalment of the best-selling 3D puzzle adventure trilogy, The House of Da Vinci is now available for PlayStation and Xbox consoles via the digital stores. The second and third instalments will be released later in 2024.
As Da Vinci’s most promising apprentice, you must strive to solve the mystery of your master’s disappearance by solving mechanical puzzles, discovering hidden objects and escaping from rooms filled with Leonardo’s inventions. Dive into an authentic and beautifully recreated Renaissance world and use all your wits to uncover what’s behind your master’s disappearance.
Since its launch, The House of Da Vinci trilogy has sold over 400k copies for PC via Steam and over 3 million units for mobile devices, securing almost 5k ‘Very Positive’ ratings on Steam.
Watch the announcement trailer for The House of Da VInci below:
You are Da Vinci’s most promising apprentice. Your master, Leonardo, has disappeared and you have no idea where he’s gone or what has happened. So you begin your quest and your search for the truth. However, Leonardo’s workshop is full of puzzles, inventions, escape mechanisms and objects hidden in all corners of beautifully decorated rooms. You’ll need to use all of your brain cells to find out what’s really going on!
We’ve applied our own imagination to the story of the world’s greatest inventor, Leonardo da Vinci, providing players with unique special abilities throughout the gameplay. We allow you to warp back into your early days as a young apprentice, exploring the 16th century world around you, peeking into Leonardo’s mechanisms, puzzles and devices, as you eventually become powerful enough to control time itself and learn the secrets hidden in the past.
Many challenging puzzles are inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s real inventions and ideas. Mysterious locations were created based on original artworks and the wonderful city of Florence, Italy of 1506.
Solve mechanical puzzles – Brain twisters and baffling riddles are all based on Leonardo’s inventions.
Enjoy intuitive controls – Navigate Leonardo’s workshop intuitively. Playing the game couldn’t be more fun.
Experience the Renaissance – War machines, complex lockboxes, mechanical puzzles, room escapes will all test your skills.
Master unique mechanics – Detect hidden objects by seeing through the surfaces around you.
Peek into the past – An unusual gauntlet allows you to witness events that happened earlier and learn more of the story.
The House of Da Vinci is now available for PlayStation and Xbox consoles via the official digital stores. The second and third instalments will be released later in 2024.
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About Blue Brain Games
Blue Brain Games is an indie puzzle game studio from the heart of Europe. Our games focus on powerful storytelling and unique features to keep you, the player, having fun and coming back for more.
We strive to deliver incredible authenticity into every detail. With every new game, we aim for amazingly detailed and historically accurate storyline enhanced with our own layer of imagination. Our stories are built around real historical figures, who, even after several centuries, still have a strong aura of mystery around them: just like the great Nikola Tesla or Leonardo Da Vinci.
We’re masters of puzzles, brain twisters, baffling riddles and complex lockboxes hidden far beyond where any eye can see.
We’re a really small team of dedicated people, determined to approach multi-platform games in a different way: we want to provide our players a game environment rich in details, we want to submerge them into an amazingly realistic atmosphere, we want to set your brain ablaze trying to solve complex puzzles and mechanisms.
When it comes to gacha games, few IPs ever manage to branch out beyond their initial launch. Sure, many titles happen to be incredibly popular and have stood the test of time but an extremely small number of them have ever expanded into full blown games unless they were already based around an established property. That is part of what makes Granblue Fantasy such an interesting franchise. Despite releasing in 2014 and given an English translation, the franchise has never properly been released in Western mobile stores but has still seen immense popularity in the West and incredible popularity in Japan, so much so that it has been given a two season anime and a fighting game four years ago as well as an enhanced version of said fighting game that launched just a few months ago to far better acclaim. Now, after some time in development hell, Granblue Fantasy is finally getting its very own console RPG in the form of Granblue Fantasy: Relink. With so much lore to pull from and a fanbase eager to see a full experience featuring some of their favorite characters, does Cygames have another hit on their hands?
Story
Granblue Fantasy: Relink picks up near the beginning of Granblue Fantasy‘s main storyline, where either Gran or Djeeta (players can pick the gender of their captain and we chose Djeeta) have already started traveling on the airship the Grandcypher in their travels through the Sky Kingdoms. Those familiar with the larger story will find it a bit easier to place the beginning of this tale as it takes place shortly after Rosetta joins the crew permanently. The crew’s adventures are going smoothly as they approach a new set of sky islands only to be attacked by a group of flying monsters that, while not much of a threat on their own, begin to overwhelm the small crew. To ward off the foes, Lyria and Djeeta summon the Primal Bahamut to eliminate all of these foes with ease. Things quickly go wrong however when Lyria suddenly loses control over Bahamut and the Primal Beast starts running wild, attacking the ship and its summoners with abandon and forcing the ship to crash land, sending Lyria and Djeeta overboard and forcing them to regroup with the rest of the crew and search for a way to repair their airship.
After finding a suitable town to serve as a temporary base, Djeeta and the rest of the group learn that another Primal Beast has gone out of control. In an attempt to quell the beast, as the team has already proven they can in their previous exploits, they learn that a strange cult known as the Church of Avia is appearing everywhere that these Primal Beasts lose control. After a failed attempt to stop the church and being crushed by their overwhelming power, Djeeta and the crew must learn the truth about what is happening and try to put a stop to it in a completely original storyline set within the Granblue Fantasy universe.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink hits the ground running and already expects players to be at least somewhat familiar with the backstory of the game but newcomers should be able to quickly find their footing nonetheless. Part of this is thanks to how well-written the overarching narrative is as it moves at a brisk pace with intriguing plot points arriving alongside fittingly heightening tensions culminating in wonderful clashes before the next issue arises. It also helps that the cast of characters is absolutely wonderful and, especially for longtime fans of the series, seeing these characters interacting with one another in different ways, even commenting on each other and the environment when out on missions, is an absolute blast. This even includes brand new characters that have been created solely for this game as they fit perfectly in with the grander franchise even if this story is entirely self-contained.
Another reason that Granblue Fantasy: Relink feels rather welcoming to newcomers are the Fate Episodes. These episodes, which are usually simple text vignettes set against in-game artwork or featuring a small fight, help provide various bits of backstory for the chosen character including why they joined Djeeta’s crew or what events led to them meeting the members of the Grandcypher. Every character, including Djeeta herself, are given these episodes that unlock as players progress through the story and even characters that players unlock have episodes of their own. Each of these is a fun bit of supplemental backstory and also provides bonuses as well in the form of extra stats or bonus skills for a character. This works as both an incentive for newcomers to learn about the crew and longtime fans to get a refresher and a bit of a sampling of how Granblue Fantasy: Relink wants to classify certain character relationships including some of the more complicated characters like Cagliostro, Zeta, or even the knights such as Lancelot and Siegfried. All of this culminates in a more than welcoming storyline for newcomers all while letting longtime fans of the franchise see their favorite characters in a nicely paced story that may not be the most original as it pits the crew against a threat of a strange cult and rampaging Primals but is still highly entertaining thanks to strong writing and its lovely cast of characters.
Gameplay
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is an action RPG where players will spend some time in their current town and use it as a hub for their further adventures. In town they can take on various side-quests from villagers, purchase items from merchants, upgrade equipment at the blacksmith, and of course mingle with their allies and townsfolk for simple conversation. The bulk of the player’s time however will be spent on missions that come in the form of both plot based stages and guild missions. The former will, as it sounds, advance the storyline while placing the player’s selected party through a lengthy series of fights as they explore a larger stage and often face off against a powerful boss at the end while guild missions are simpler bite-sized missions meant for grinding purposes. These guild missions generally involve either challenging a mini-boss or even a boss again, surviving waves of monsters, and more while also giving players a chance to challenge them either solo with their team of three AI party members or online with a total of four actual players battling against the enemy.
Regardless of the mission players are on, they will find themselves selecting Djeeta and up to three allies that will battle alongside them with the AI controlling them. Interestingly enough, while the captain is required as a party member throughout the main story players are not stuck playing as them and can instead swap to any of their other party members at will. This means players can simply let the AI control Djeeta while they swap over to Katalina and use her powerful offensive moves and boosted Ares skills to crush a foe or deal increased stun damage to a boss in Overdrive or swap to Ferry and use her summons more effectively than the AI usually can. What makes combat in Relink so interesting is the fact that every single playable character fights differently and has their own unique toolset to compliment the team. Some characters are more supportive while others are better at tanking or dealing damage, but they can also be adjusted through Mastery Points and equipment to be just as unique as other characters as well. Rosetta for example may start as a more supportive character but can eventually be developed into a powerful witch whose mastery of plants makes her devastating in combat.
For the most part the game’s combat is simple to grasp and quite complicated at the same time. Players make use of standard combo attacks with most fighters and can utilize powerful strong attacks to serve as either combo finishers or extenders depending on the character used and every character has a slew of skills at their disposal that varies per fighter. As players battle a meter fills up allowing them to perform their devastating Skybound Art that players can either choose to allow their allies to use as they wish in single player or hold it until they choose, allowing them to perform a Full Burst of Skybound Arts for increased damage. Various other elements such as being able to pull off Link Strikes that, when triggered at 100% temporarily slows time and gives every party member a temporary boost in stats to dish out the damage.
Of course bosses have their own mechanics as well that make them more challenging than a standard foe with every boss having the aforementioned Overdrive gauge that fills up as they are damaged. When in Overdrive a boss will take less damage, gain access to new attacks, and depending on the opponent, even gain a new form. Players must continue to attack a boss in this state to drain it’s Overdrive gauge and force it into Break mode where it will be weakened immensely and take more damage, allowing players to really pile on the punishment and adding an extra layer of complexity to some fights as players will want to often time their specials accordingly, as a misused Skybound Art or Link Strike during an Overdrive can feel like a waste when Break mode is almost triggered.
This level of customization when it comes to characters is not only in-depth but also a bit on the overwhelming side as well, especially once players start to focus on building characters in specific ways. This isn’t helped much by the fact that players will not be able to unlock every single playable character simply by playing through the main storyline, requiring them to take on and often grind guild missions to obtain Character Tickets to unlock the extra characters. Meaning that players must prioritize unlocking their favorite characters first before anyone else as it will take quite a while to obtain the rest. Alongside this players also have weapon management and Sigils, both of which add an extra layer to customization and eventual grinding. Sigils are accessories that provide various buffs and abilities while the weapons themselves all can be upgraded through using materials obtained throughout missions. These weapons can be refined to maximum level and allow players to create even stronger weapons as well, giving players a lot of incentive to grind guild missions, especially in the post-game.
In fact, the post game is likely where players will eventually be spending most of their time as the title opens up a ton of new guild missions once players complete the main storyline. These post game missions are designed to be a time sink with over a hundred different missions available that all provide different drops used for upgrades, challenging missions for aforementioned Character Tickets, rewards that include the Mastery Points required to unlock a character’s skills and various buffs, and more. These missions are also where the aforementioned multiplayer aspect heavily comes into play as players can join three others on a mission should they choose or simply fight as their own character with the standard three AI controlled allies. This grind can be excessive, even for a game such as this and is something that is infamous with the gacha game itself but players can ease it a little by taking advantage of the game’s accessibility options. There are two levels of “assist” that will make combat easier for newcomers to the genre but can also be used to basically let the AI take over entirely and while turning on the most advanced assist option takes away a lot of the fun of the combat system for normal play, especially since the computer will basically control everything, it can be used to complete missions that would need to be grinded out otherwise. This is a decent middle-ground but it is still something a bit odd to see in a full blown game such as Granblue Fantasy: Relink when a mechanic like this would generally be found in its gacha origins.
Audio & Visuals
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a very colorful and bright game with some gorgeous character designs that match exactly as fans would hope from a character’s original 2D artwork. The characters are wonderful looking in cutscenes and are even better looking in action as players explore the decently varied environments and take down the wide-range of enemies they encounter. Skills are animated nicely with some really impressive looking Skybound Arts and it must be said that some of the boss encounters, especially against larger Primal enemies, are quite epic in scale and feel, making nearly every boss feel like a memorable experience especially since the game’s action flows incredibly smoothly without a hint of slowdown even during Full Bursts.
The title appears to feature the same English voice actors reprise their roles from the fighting game, creating a consistent English dub for Western fans to enjoy should they be following the franchise’s other entries. The voice actors handle their roles excellently here including a few characters that have never been given English voice work before such as Io. It also must be said that the game deserves a lot of credit for giving Djeeta (or Gran) full voice work so the Captain feels right at home with the rest of the characters when talking during cutscenes or even out in the field. Of course, the Japanese voice track is also readily available for those who prefer that option and features the original actors for every character from the gacha game. The soundtrack features a wonderful collection of background music that works both during exploration and during battle. This includes some excellent tracks during most boss battles and the more intense multiplayer missions.
Overall
Granblue Fantasy: Relink traveled a long and difficult road to finally arrive on shelves and despite the developmental issues and shift in studios throughout the years, Cygames has managed to take their most popular gacha franchise and translate it quite successfully into a full game. Featuring a mostly standalone storyline welcoming to newcomers but steeped in lore and featuring some fan favorite characters from the franchise for longtime fans, Granblue Fantasy: Relink has a little something for everyone in its highly enjoyable combat and smooth multiplayer missions. There does come an issue when the end of the game begins to revolve almost solely around grinding for resources simply to boost a character’s stats or unlock a new character for use in combat, but this is a small issue when compared to just how robust and enjoyable the story is, making it one that even newcomers will enjoy while longtime fans will relish the opportunity to join their favorite Skyfarers in a full-blown game.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Acclaimed futuristic VR sports game C-Smash VRS expanding across the galaxy to Meta Quest and PICO VR platforms on 4th April 2024.
Producer and publisher RapidEyeMovers and developer Wolf & Wood have expanded their acclaimed VR hit C-Smash VRS, with new game modes and features and are excited to announce the game’s arrival on Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3 and PICO 4 headsets worldwide on 4th April 2024.
C-Smash VRS, a true love letter to SEGA’s console and arcade icon Cosmic Smash, has been resonating with many fans worldwide, garnering award nominations and GOTY nods across the industry, with live events and partnerships spreading the joy of this uniquely physical and exciting game.
C-Smash VRS combines the very best of racket sports with block breaking, with 140+ stylish levels, iconic graphic design and hypnotic original music. Players move, dash and duck, performing intense shots and power smashes while racing against time, either solo or with a friend. With a variety of modes, players can journey to the edge of space and time in single player or make a cosmic connection with a friend and take part in versus and co-op fun.
C-Smash VRS is also expanding with Cross-Platform Global-Leaderboards, allowing players to challenge one another’s top positions, with cross-platform multiplayer on the future roadmap.
C-Smash VRS includes several modes to enhance solo and multiplayer, including Head-to-Head, Firewall and Quickshot, Zen and Training and an unforgiving AI BOT.
Infinity challenges players to dodge and smash oncoming hazards. A thrilling mode that takes work out of the workout. In Co-Op, Infinity partners you with a friend side-by-side to try and reach the highest score.
An innovative Emote system allows players to communicate online using their rackets as wordless projectors. Leaderboards, player stats, a music player, stage select menus with over 140 levels, multi-ball, portals and more add infinite replay value.
Driven by music, C-Smash VRS features original tracks by DJ Ken Ishii (Rez Infinite), synth master Danalogue (The Comet is Coming) and UK music legends UNKLE, adding a hypnotic pulse to the game’s striking environments.
C-Smash VRS is produced and published by RapidEyeMovers and developed by Wolf & Wood together with a team of top international designers and artists, bringing a uniquely stylised and physical experience to gaming.
RapidEyeMovers is a brand-new entertainment studio and publisher based in London, England, founded by film and game writer, director and producer Jörg Tittel. C-Smash VRS is their first game, with their next projects already in active internal development. Launching in summer 2024, their Humanise Festival of Play will present a new kind of event, putting people at the centre of games culture.
About Wolf & Wood
Wolf & Wood are an independent games studio based in the North-East of England. The small but multi-talented team have written, designed and developed a number of first-person titles including The Exorcist: Legion VR, which expands on the Oscar-winning horror franchise, along with their own award-winning games, A Chair in a Room: Greenwater and the rock’n’roll riot, Hotel R’n’R. 2023 has seen the launch of C-Smash VRS and The Last Worker which is available on VR platforms, PC and consoles.
