And a couple of years after (or so) the Swedish house Coffee Stain Studios whose roots go back to the 2009 edition of “Make Something Unreal“, have finally released their sequel to the highly praised Sanctum FPS & defense tower hybrid…
S2 ads quite a few changes to the first title, new campaigns, towers and it seems this time it will make it to some other gaming platforms such as XBLA & PSN… hopefully not compromising graphic quality. $15 though, but we would pay anything for a good hybrid. More info this way.
Our friends @ AcidWizard are working hard to get their survival title “Darwood” finished, but they firstly need some financial support. Regardless of your support / no support decision you’ll have to agree on the great artwork and unique atmospheres they’ve created for the game…
With some aesthetic similarities to Thomas Was Alone, 140 is Limbo’s Jeppe Carlsen personal project on which he’s been involved for the past couple of years with Niels Fyrst and Andreas Peitersen (for shapes & colors) and that great musical atmosphere from Jakob Schimd.
Minimalistic in design & gameplay 140 may appeal more to music fas with “rhythmic awareness” than to traditional platformer lovers … unfortunately we’ll still have to wait a few months until its release. More info this way.
Riding on the success of his IGF-nominated & flashy Kentucky Route Zero (read our interview with CBC founder here) Jake Elliott & Tomas Kemenczy had this little jewel prepared … “just in case” or did they plan it way back with the KRZ design?
Limits and Demonstrations still
Just released, “Limits & Demonstrations” is Cardboard’s computer mini-mini episode embedded in their KRZ universe but not quite. L&D is, simply, a digital retrospective of some of Lula Chamberlain’s artworks, a complete stranger to 99% of us, but in this digital showroom we’ll find “a diagonal slice through time, space and form”. Is Lula a hint of upcoming characters, situations, maybe a key for future Acts?
Ahhh very few people know, only 2 in fact, but much like KRZ it’s a great piece of artwork to experiment and talk to for a few minutes… it can be downloaded this way.
A few days ago I heard in a TV doc that “success” in our “advanced” modern societies was now measured purely on what we produced. Humans have become production units, as simple as that. As sad as this affirmation may look like, there’s a couple of good things we could deduct in that sentece: a) our behaviours and minds live in a permanent “optimization” state, which is great for the following game: and b) we’re (again) so good at “multitasking” that we’ll find the time to play …. “Factorio”.
Described as “a game about mining resources, planning and building factories, automating production and fighting alien enemies”, Factorio looks like one of the most-promising and optimisation-oriented titles we’ve come across. It’s not only about harvesting super-rare minerals while avoiding massive worms (like in Dune) or playing the always complicated politics’ game (like in Civilization). It’s all about designing the perfect assembly line while fighting other species. Not even Warcraft had that.
Factorio artwork
The thing is that the Czech team responsible for the game development (with the help of 2D and pixel-artist Albert) have just launched a crowdfunding campaign on IGG to reach a 17K goal and share a polished version of the current Alpha version of the game (which btw will be released next month).
Factorio screenshot
If the funding is complete then we should see a first version with improved graphics by May… so you better share a or a £ with them. More info this way.
Unique … or freaky? The proliferation of low-budget and DIY horror game titles is quite astonishing these days. We’re getting an announcement pretty much each week of a new piggy mod or a Slenderman contender, and it gets scarier each month.
Today Nameless’ EVIL got released via Desura and while after having a good play at it we can honestly say it’s not the scariest title of all, a good walk through its surreal and infernal rooms could do your day.
“You’re in the evil’s mind. There’s no escape. You’re not sure what to do. You have to fight your fears, to your hell and to the evil itself. You’re dead”.
Evil is filled with plenty of references to other horror titles and while it looks like Mr J.P. could improve the story and interactivity substantially, we hope upcoming parts will keep the insane and “perturbed” artwork style he’s developed in this first title. More info and downloading links (it’s free after all) this way.
In 2011 we fell in love with LUME, State of Play‘s cardboard creation which grabbed much media & critic attention (IGF finalist) for its hand-made sets and lightning effects, and today we learned that Luke & Katherine are polishing the sequel to their puzzly adventure …. “Lumino City”.
Details are still sparse, and much like Bendito Machine yesterday’s teaser, we know little about the London studio’s new title, besides the size of that waterwheel appearing at the end of the teaser and their decision to introduce mechanic elements that make all background elements feel more natural. Expect the game by late Spring, more details on IG’s website.
Next week, there’s a pretty good reason to be in Berlin, Transmediale will be taking place throughout the whole week (and we’ll be there to cover it of course), at the same time CTM Fest runs a parallel program. But then… there’s all these small events happening here and there, like Marco Mendeni‘s “I’m not playing” on Tuesday @ Altes Finanzamat.
“I’m not playing” is Mendeni’s latest collaborative piece with musician Bob Meanza and the also musician and founding-member of Altes Finanzamt Filipe Dias De; an audiovisual performance for hacked videogame and real-time sampler which sits perfectly within the transmedia context the German capital will experiment next week.
Im not playing invite
A little proposal filled with contaminated games and social experiments, more info on how to get there this way.
With a dark and somehow magic underground toying atmosphere we instantly thought “Amanita!”. Voodoo’s trailer certainly looks, at first sight, to be taking the direction of new point & click adventures with extremely rich & detailed backgrounds with a heavy baroque touch.
It’s not Amanita’s new adventure but the first production from Seville-based gaming studio Ayramen (aka Abraham Rojo, Flavio Díaz y Miguel García) who’ve decided to develop their first p&c title for release later this year (initially iOS-only).
“Player must help the doll to solve puzzles and riddles to move through the different levels, avoiding deadly dangers”, an apparently simple task & description for what it looks like a great proposal for this 2013, more info and stills on their page.
Harry Purvis sat down by the White Hart’s darts corner another Wednesday with his unmistakable composure…. and ready to give his devoted audience one of those stories which made of him the most famous London sci-fi storyteller from the 60s. That rainy evening he went on about “Proyect Clausewitz”, a 50s’ mysterious super-secret governmental project no-one had heard about before. Apparently, “PC” concentrated some of the best American scientists at that time, and tons of electronic equipment under the Kentucky National park… in a certain cave.
What truly happened under the surface between General “Smith”, “Milquetoast” and “Karl the computer” is something only Harry, his audience and the readers of “Tales from the White Hart” know.
Still from KRZ – courtesy of Carboard Computer
The mysteries the Kentucky cave system holds are still today, a big source of inspiration for many writers, storytellers and gamemakers; and much like Arthur C. Clarke back in the 50s or Will Crowther in the 70s, Jake Elliott is willing to invite us all for some subterranean exploration, and many underground conversations.
Mixing the best retro-futuristic architectural elements of the best sci-fi movie classics & games we end up with this upcoming NaisanceE game whose details are still quite vague although its French creator Mavros Sedeño yesterday posted a few details on IndieDB suggesting a 2013 potential release date.
NaissanceE is an adventure taking place in a primitive mysterious structure. The game mainly consists to explore and feel the deep and strong ambiance of this atemporal world but platforming and puzzles areas will also enrich the experience.
NaissanceE Screenshot (images via IndieDB)
The game continues where his 2007 mod “Naissance Jeux d’ombre” left, with a first person adventure style conceived as a visual and sensory experience in an imaginary universe and presented like a metaphor of birth. Built on the FarCry engine, Mavros’ inspirations (Fritz Lang, Frank Miller… even Jim Henson) may seem obvious but the final result looks psychedelically rich. The 2007 mod can be downloaded here, and hopefully NaissanceE will be available soon…
“Snake Remix” while it still hasn’t been developed as a full game (it was made in 30 hours during last October’s Unity MIT Game Jam 2012 in Hong Kong) may hopefully join the ranks of Warm Runner and make it to one of those mobile appstores we all love.
Simply put, Snake Remix is a revision of the 70s classic adding some new interactive elements like those falling blocks which destroy the snake’s playground creating deadly craters… and hopefully we’ll see a more complete version of the game in the coming months.
Like Joseph Berstein reports on KS, it is a discovery indeed. After 3 years in the making and a highly praised public beta last October, the team @ Teleglitch finally released their dark sci-fi story a couple of weeks ago…
Johann, Mihkel & Edvin have managed to come up with this top-down shooter which shall teleport all of us into the future of humanity, you know… one of those cold worlds where big bad corporations control our world and exploit most human beings.
In Teleglitch that big bad corp is called Miliary Technology Incorporated (aka Militech), who happen to be specialized in necrotic tissue reactivation and nonhuman combatants (zombies, cloned battle organisms, robots etc) and have one of those outer space colonies where they experiment with forbidden things, and logically, things go bad …. and you have to survive.
Teleglitch
And while the story may not seem like a novelty… the gameplay and variety of choices throughout the 10 randomly-generated maps is extremely fun, so besides being able to download the demo for free with the first 4 levels, there’s a much juicier option to get the last other 6… and that’s to pay 10€. More info this way.
There is a lot about The Official which makes it an extremely appealing game. Not only because of its paranoiac script, or because of all those subtle subliminal stimuli, but because like any other unreleased game (especially the ones that never make it after the announcement) it’s generating some decent hype during this “teasing” phase without even having a playable demo.
T.O. is a game with puzzles and exploration which has that minimalistic & bold 3D touch we love so much and admired on Blendo Games’ titles. Although T.O. seems to take the story in a much more serious way and goes deep into the analysis of human dissatisfaction with our daily routines, the cruel corporate world…. and a few other existentialish questions.
The Official still
We’re anxiously willing to play with it, and if mother fortune is generous with Tymon, she will not only make him finish it next year, but also give him a little award right Miss? More info & stills on the creator’s webpage.
Vibrations have always been the essence of human excitation, sex toy makers know it very well, and so do contemporary game makers. Swiss media artist Martin Bircher knows it too and by adapting sixties erotic classic “Je t’aime moi non plus” into an Atari-like console he gives players the possibility to manipulate the human excitement part of the song with a joystick. (we’re still doubting if it’s Gainsbourg’s version with Jane Birkin or Brigitte Bardot… there’s quite a difference).
“…moi non plus is an interpretation of Serge Gainsbourg’s song “Je t’aime moi non plus” in the form of an audio game. By operating the joystick, the human components of the song can be controlled according to selected preferences.”
Most women won’t be have to complain as there’s also a male erotic voice for their choice. “…moi non plus” has everyone covered, maybe adding a synthetic machine voice too for upcoming public?
One week to go go! The latest trailer for Hotline Miami just aired last Friday… an extremely seductive invitation to that psychotic world that Mats Ek, Dennis Wedin & Jonatan Söderström (aka Dennaton) have prepared for us, that donkey-piggy fashionable catwalk of flying katanas and neon lights.
Carmaggedon was the best senseless killing game of the 90s, and Hotline Miami could be the best vicious senseless and nasty utraviolent title of this decade, and there’s hardly any other way to play it, because stealth simply won’t work.
Hotline Miami screencapture
Hotline Miami is a high-octane action game overflowing with raw brutality, hard-boiled gunplay and skull crushing close combat. Set in an alternative 1989 Miami, you will assume the role of a mysterious antihero on a murderous rampage against the shady underworld at the behest of voices on your answering machine. Soon you’ll find yourself struggling to get a grip of what is going on and why you are prone to these acts of violence.
“Anti-hero” or psycho we don’t mind, nor should you, but beware because the 20 surreal levels of the game aren’t that easy, you’ll need some great balance, some finger dancing skills, precision and fast reflexes. Such fancy brutality arrives October 23rd (next week) on Steam & Get games Go & GoG. More info this way sadists, and remember, pig masks are the new black.
How many twisted versions of snake have we already seen? Countless, but we never have enough, last year for example we were amazed by the visual approach of Spilt Milk’s Hard Lines, and this week we’re getting this new refresh update by Canadian game creator Alexander Szpakowski.
His uptake on the 70s classic was released yesterday on Desura for $4.99 although right now it’s on sale for less than 3$. Basically Snayke much like the original Snake proposes a puzzly game where you’ll have to guide your own snake in a pixelated world to consume every food block you see while avoiding the usual obstacles… and yourself. The fun comes when you advance in the game as you encounter bizarre blocks like teleporters, bombs, sequentials, reversals… etc.
Snakey Screenshot
On top of adding the multiplayer option and over 100 levels the game comes in 3 flavors (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux) and maybe also worth mentioning the soundtrack by veteran game composer Anton Riehl. More info on the game website.
