Tag Archives: region|US

Simpler Times, the coziest game of Summer Game Fest 2023, is available now

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Simpler Times, the game that’s sweet like honey on a summer’s day, is out right now. Simpler Times is a soft and slow exploration game set in a supremely cozy bedroom, featuring a lifetime of memories to uncover and a soundtrack of soothing lo-fi music. Simpler Times is available on Steam.

The game takes place over four seasons, as the protagonist, Tania, clears out her childhood bedroom and looks back on her life. Her room is compact, with a wide bay window, a desk, a bed and a record player, which controls the game’s soundtrack. Players have to physically swap out the vinyl to keep the lo-fi beats going: remove the record, select a new one, slide the arm back and forth, drop the needle down. The process is meditative and rewarding, just like the rest of the game.

Indie studio stoneskip and publisher iam8bit announced Simpler Times’ surprise launch during the Day of the Devs showcase, which is part of Summer Game Fest. We played the demo at last year’s SGF and found it to be the coziest game of the show.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/simpler-times-the-coziest-game-of-summer-game-fest-2023-is-available-now-225927580.html?src=rss

Alan Wake 2’s first expansion brings Remedy’s other heroes to Night Springs

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Alan Wake 2 is getting its first DLC package, which will consist of three separate chapters letting players explore the weird world of Alan Wake 2 with three new, if familiar, characters. The DLC itself is called Night Springs, and it’ll be available to download and play tomorrow.

Night Springs is a TV show that appears in the Alan Wake universe and if we followed that show’s Twilight Zone theme, these spin-off chapters could be ‘episodes’ of this series, existing in “parallel realities”. 

Think of it as Remedy’s take on Marvel’s What If…, because you’ll get to play as Alan Wake’s biggest fan, Rose Marigold, Quantum Break’s Jack Joyce and Control’s Jesse Faden, in each chapter, respectively. 

It's a fun idea for DLC and it seems like Remedy is looking to get silly. Sinister voices tell Jesse to “try the coffee.” We get a jump cut to Shawn Ashmore's ‘acting’ as Quantum Break’s Jack Joyce and a talking Billy Bass for fair measure. As mentioned alongside the full reveal, the DLC will be downloadable starting June 8.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alan-wake-2s-first-expansion-brings-remedys-other-heroes-to-night-springs-225204575.html?src=rss

Valorant is coming to Xbox Series X/S and PS5 in a limited beta on June 14

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The massively popular free-to-play tactical shooter Valorant is finally coming to consoles, as announced on-stage at Summer Game Fest. The game will be available for both Xbox Series X/S and PS5 as a limited beta starting on June 14. Once the beta concludes and Riot Games works out all of the bugs based on player feedback, it’ll be available globally to all users.

There are some caveats. You have to sign up for the beta right here and it will initially only be available in the US, Canada, Europe, the UK and Japan, with more regions to follow. Riot has also stated that there will be no crossplay between PC and console players, so as “to maintain Valorant’s renowned standard for competitive integrity.”

To that end, the game has been redesigned specifically for console controllers, with the company teasing “custom-built” gameplay. This won’t allow for crossplay, but will allow for a connected inventory and shared gameplay progression. Riot has also promised that both console and PC players will receive simultaneous updates, so patches, agents, maps and premium content will drop at the same time.

“We knew we had to be able to offer the same uncompromising, competitive experience that we’ve provided to PC players for years: a precise, team-based, tactical shooter,” said Arnar Gylfason, production director at Riot Games. “We hope we nailed it, but ultimately, our players will have the final say.”

For the uninitiated, Valorant has made a name for itself by focusing on precision and strategy, a rarity in the free-to-play FPS space. If you go in guns blazing without some serious tactical planning and some check-ins with your team, you’ll lose every single time. It’s more about outsmarting your opponents than shooting. It’s also a major player in the esports scene.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valorant-is-coming-to-xbox-series-xs-and-ps5-in-a-limited-beta-on-june-14-230016116.html?src=rss

Innersloth is spending all its Among Us money on indie games

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The massive success of Among Us changed the lives of the developers at Innersloth. Now, the team is paying that forward by helping to fund a bunch of other indie games under its new label Outersloth (perfect name, zero notes).

Among the projects that Outersloth has backed so far are Mars First Logistics (a Mars rover building sim that went into early access last year), card battler RPG Battle Suit Aces, exploration game Mossfield Archives, single-button boss rush title One Btn Bosses and space dog fighting roguelike Rogue Eclipse. Strange Scaffold (An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs) and Visai Games (the fantastic Venba) are getting a hand from Outersloth too.

Outersloth is also funding the next project from Outerloop Games, the team behind the acclaimed Thirsty Suitors. It's in the very early stages of development and it's called Project Dosa. It will see you exploring the world in an upgradable mech, cooking for a community, fending off bad guys and much more.

It's very cool to see Outersloth giving indie developers another way to finance their games beyond the traditional publisher approach, relying on crowdfunding or going into early access. Meanwhile, Summer Game Fest Live included the first peek at the Among Us animated TV show.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/innersloth-is-spending-all-its-among-us-money-on-indie-games-224010763.html?src=rss

Silent Hill creator’s new game, Slitterhead, lands November 8

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Slitterhead, the new, twisted title from Silent Hill series director Keiichiro Toyama, is due to hit PC and consoles on November 8. A new trailer debuted today during the Summer Game Fest kickoff event, showcasing slightly more information (and blood) than the original teaser we saw in December 2021.

Slitterhead is a third-person action and horror experience with possession mechanics and a cast of giant, bug-like enemies to hack and slash. There seem to be hints of a detective storyline here, but most of the new trailer is concerned with punching, kicking, slicing, clawing and shooting a bunch of hulking monsters on dense city streets. It looks strange, spooky and incredibly satisfying.

Slitterhead comes from Bokeh Studio, which was formed by Toyama and other Sony veterans in 2020. Devil May Cry character designer Tatsuya Yoshikawa, Gravity Rush lead designer Junya Okura and Puppeteer lead designer Kazunobu Sato are working on the project as well. 

The November 8 release date for Slitterhead puts it in close proximity to the Silent Hill 2 remake, which is due to come out on October 8 from Bloober Team and Konami. It's a real Dead Space and Callisto Protocol situation.

Slitterhead will land on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PS5, Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/silent-hill-creators-new-game-slitterhead-lands-november-8-222731843.html?src=rss

The Game Bakers’ Cairn turns mountain climbing into a boss rush

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The team behind Furi and Haven is back with something completely different and seriously intense: Cairn. It’s a rock-climbing simulator set on the face of a lethally steep mountain, starring an alpinist who’s determined to be the first person to reach its summit. Players can climb literally everywhere in Cairn, and the challenge lies in maintaining balance and stamina moment-to-moment. If you don’t, the climber falls and dangles on their tether, expelling a scream of frustration. It’s kind of like GIRP, but incredibly elegant and super hardcore.

Cairn is a “survival climber,” according to The Game Bakers, and it includes moments of slow mundanity among the extreme physical exertion. As they ascend, players are able to establish a limited number of checkpoints by screwing pitons into the rock, and choosing where to place these is a critical aspect of the game’s strategy.

The Game Bakers debuted Cairn during the Summer Game Fest opening show. Its development team includes sound designer Lukas Julian Lentz, who worked on Cocoon, and audio director Martin Stig Andersen, whose previous projects include Limbo, Inside and Control. It's currently scheduled for a 2025 release on PC and consoles.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-game-bakers-cairn-turns-mountain-climbing-into-a-boss-rush-220638117.html?src=rss

Civilization 7 is coming in 2025

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The historical turn-based strategy series Civilization is getting another mainline sequel—and it's been a long time coming. Civilization VI came out back in 2016, and while we've seen a lot of DLC in the interim, there's been no word on sequels until now. 

Civilization VII was officially revealed (well, teased) at the Summer Game Fest live showcase, although we didn't learn much more about what direction the series is going. The legend that is Sid Meier briefly appeared at the end of the trailer, adding that he was "incredibly excited for Civ fans to see Civilization VII, a game that represents the culmination of three decades of strategy innovation and refinement." he added that a full reveal, gameplay and all, will happen sometime in August. It's coming to Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, and, apparently, the Switch. 

Catch up on all the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/civilization-7-is-coming-in-2025-213656473.html?src=rss

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions arrives on September 3

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The Hogwarts sports game Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions now has a release date. The multiplayer title, announced last year, will arrive on PC and consoles on September 3.

The game, a companion to last year’s Hogwarts Legacy, is “a complete, standalone Quidditch experience” that “engages players in the sport of Quidditch and other broomstick adventures alongside friends in a competitive, multiplayer setting.” The game is developed by Unbroken Studios, known for supporting work on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and published by WB Games.

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions will be available on PS5 / PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One and PC. You’ll need an online connection to play. It will be available at no extra charge for PlayStation Plus members from September 3 to 30. Otherwise, the game will cost $30.

You can check out the release date trailer below. It showcases familiar Harry Potter characters, from Harry, Ron, Hermione and the Weasley twins to smaller roles like Viktor Krum:

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/harry-potter-quidditch-champions-arrives-on-september-3-212932083.html?src=rss

Aloy is getting the Lego treatment in Horizon Adventures

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The Summer Game Fest Live showcase started with a bang — depending on how much you enjoy both Aloy and Lego games. Lego Horizon Adventures, a spinoff of Guerrilla Games' Horizon series, is coming to PS5 and PC this holiday season. Oh, and it'll be available on Nintendo Switch too.

For the first time, you'll be able to play a Horizon game in co-op, either locally or online. It seems that this version will retell some of the story of the mainline games too, albeit with lots of digital bricks. While Aloy is often funny in the two mainline Horizon series, she's usually deadpan. It'll be interesting to see how that squares with the typically offbeat humor of Lego games.

Lego stalwart Traveller's Tales isn't involved here. Instead, Guerilla is working on Horizon Adventures with Studio Gobo, a team that's helped out on games as varied as Hogwarts Legacy and For Honor. 

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/aloy-is-getting-the-lego-treatment-in-horizon-adventures-212512320.html?src=rss

Slapstick platformer Thank Goodness You’re Here! arrives August 1

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Thank Goodness You're Here! was perhaps the highlight of Untitled Goose Game publisher Panic's first-ever game show last year. It's described as a "slapformer" or slapstick platformer, and it's set in a fictional Northern English town called Barnsworth. With a Cartoon Network aesthetic and a very English sense of humor, it captured a lot of peoples' hearts.

Today, developer Coal Supper announced the game's voice cast, with Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) headlining and a lot of UK talent that will be familiar to those in the know, including Chris Cantrill of Icklewick FM. Expect a lot of accents that would be subtitled on US TV. 

Also new is a release date of August 1, which Coal Supper says is also Yorkshire Day. My somewhat northern colleague Mat Smith informs me this is a real thing. Either way, this all looks like a lot of fun — it's coming to PC, Switch and PlayStation, and you can catch a bunch of cute GIFs on the game's official site.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/slapstick-platformer-thank-goodness-youre-here-arrives-august-1-205215490.html?src=rss