Nicalis has released first details and screenshots of its newly announced fighting game Blade Strangers developed by Studio Saizensen, which is due out in the fourth quarter of 2017 for PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC.
The stunning character animation in Blade Strangers is created using a proprietary process. 3D character models are used to render individual animation frames, which are then rasterized into sprites and manually touched up by experienced 2D artists. The result is smooth and realistic animation in which every single frame looks like a gorgeous anime illustration.
The game uses a four-button control scheme in which all attacks are triggered by various combinations of action buttons. By avoiding the use of traditional quarter-circle and half-circle input commands, Nicalis and Studio Saizensen hope that the less complex controls of Blade Strangers will allow new players to get into the fighting game genre. The development team’s goal is to revitalize a once-mighty fan community that has the potential to grow even larger.
Another benefit of the simplified controls in Blade Strangers is reduced lag in online multiplayer competition, since there’s less data to transmit between opponents. The finished game will combine the excitement and subtle dynamics of a classic one-on-one brawler with the polish and features that a current-gen fighting game deserves.
Paradox Interactive and Obsidian Entertainment are bringing Pillars of Eternity to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 29 in the form of Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition, the companies announced. 505 Games will distribute a physical version of the game.
Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition includes the full game in addition to the expansions “The White March – Parts I & II.”
Here’s an overview of the game, via Paradox Interactive:
About
Pillars of Eternity is an RPG inspired by classic titles such as Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment, which features an original world and game system that evokes and improves upon the traditional computer RPG experience. The Complete Edition, adapted for consoles by Paradox Arctic and distributed at physical retail by 505 Games, features an enhanced UI and redesigned controls to provide a superb experience on the big screen, navigated easily and intuitively using game controllers.
Key Features
Award-winning writing, story and artwork of Pillars of Eternity, along with the expanded world and content of The White March: Parts I & II.
Countless character creation options, from races and classes to character backgrounds which drive your personal story.
An epic universe to explore, filled with intriguing party members and companions, a variety of in-game factions, and a lovingly rendered world to traverse.
New UI and controls designed from the ground up, presenting the Pillars of Eternity experience like never before.
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School for PC launches August 22, PS4 release delayed to match
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School will launch for PC via Steam on August 22, publisher PQube announced.
The previously announced release dates for the PlayStation 4 version—August 1 in North America and August 4 in Europe—have also been pushed back to launch the game simultaneously on console and PC. The PlayStation 4 version will now launch both physically and digitally on August 22 in North America and August 25 in Europe.
Here’s a brief overview of the game, via PQube:
The bone-chilling horror game, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School, is widely considered a hidden gem in the survival horror genre. With a skin-crawling atmosphere, bloodcurdling scares, dynamically changing puzzles and multiple endings, this horror classic is being completely remade with expanded gameplay features and new storylines. Both old fans and new players alike will find plenty to love and fear in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School.
Bloober Team Breaks Down the Psychology of ‘Hidden Horror’ in New Video for Observer
Bloober Team are no strangers to zeroing in on the unnerving and fear-inducing. Taking everything they learned from the horror hit, Layers of Fear, this Polish indie crew have refined their technique for the upcoming cyberpunk release, Observer. The developers have broken down their terrifying process in a gameplay video full of in-depth commentary.
Catharsis is the goal of Bloober Team; to allow you to release of your own fears by experiencing them second hand. Check out the video for a full breakdown of their process and what you can expect from Observer, launching later this year on Steam, PS4 and Xbox One.
Story
Observer introduces players to a frightening concept: How would it feel if your fears could be weaponized against you? Det. Daniel Lazarski is an “Observer”; part of a corporate-funded, specialized police unit with full legal clearance to tap directly into a target’s mind via neural implant. A cryptic message from your estranged son sets you on a journey to the drug-ridden Class C slums of Krakow, Poland. As you hack into the minds of criminals and victims alike to uncover the truth of the mysterious communique, you are forced into a surreal landscape of the resident’s darkest fears.
Observer holds the same fantastic pacing of Layers Of Fear, using modern themes to illustrate a society where hacking people's nightmares is a reality. The game questions the moral implications of using people’s most guarded memories as weapons. Delve into people’s most disturbing internal struggles to find the answers you seek.
Seek and solve clues to help rid the city of its seedy underbelly in a futuristic, Blade Runner-esque narrative.
Key Features
• Hack into the twisted minds of criminals and their victims as you traverse a surreal landscape, uncovering meaning behind imagery
• Unique cyberpunk setting, as players find themselves in 2084 AD, Krakow, Poland
• Genre-defining "hidden horror" gameplay in an unsettling, dark atmosphere, placing an emphasis on deeper primal terror over jump scares
Super CloudBuilt coming to PC and consoles in 4 weeks!
Swedish developers Coilworks and UK-based publisher Double Eleven are thrilled to confirm the release dates of Super Cloudbuilt on PS4, Xbox One and PC, as well as pre-orders for PlayStation Europe.
July 25th 2017
PS4 (Europe, Americas) - Steam (PC)
July 28th 2017
Xbox One (global)
Pre-orders for PS4 Europe are live now, with details of pre-orders for PS4 US and Xbox One to follow over the next fortnight.
PS4 Europe pre-order details:
Pre-ordering players will gain exclusive access to a practice demo that includes the tutorial, three full levels and a practice area called ‘Playground’. With over 200 individual leaderboards every advantage counts, so players who pre-order can master some levels early, while others are still figuring out how to run up walls. The PS4 pre-orders also include four free outfits to wear in the full release of the game, as well as a 10% discount for PS Plus members and a free dynamic Super Cloudbuilt theme.
Super Cloudbuilt puts you in the role of Demi, a young soldier who wakes up in the empty shell of a ruined building, in the center of a strange new world, disconnected from her old life and physical body. Confused and isolated, Demi pushes herself physically and mentally to overcome the obstacles of her new reality. Complete incredible feats of free-running and sharp shooting, using Demi’s rocket-powered exo-suit to leap and run through expansive worlds floating above a vast abyss. With each new challenge she overcomes Demi learns more, pushing her to piece together the future now laid out before her. Demi persists, traversing levels, allowing her to experience multiple endings: will Demi learn to understand and accept her new world, or question her reality and learn to defy it?
Featuring lightning-fast, action-packed speedrunning gameplay and bold hand-crafted environments, Super Cloudbuilt appeals to players who value skill, challenge and improvement. Speedrunners will vie for top dog in the rankings and extensive leaderboards, and players can also experience three gameplay modes (Story, Ranked and Rush mode) with a total of 177 challenges between the Time Trial, No Ammo, Fragile, Supercharge, Beacon, and Pathfinder options. Super Cloudbuilt combines all previous DLC levels into the base game and features enhanced graphics, UI and optimized gameplay offering more opportunities for players to experience the game with greater depth and variation.
Dino Patti, the former CEO and co-founder of Limbo and Inside developer Playdead, and Chris Olsen, an animator and previsualization artist based in the U.K., have founded Jumpship, an independent game studio based in Guildford, and announced Somerville, the studio’s first game.
Jumpship is currently building a team of experienced developers to work on Somerville. Its job listings include a gameplay designer, generalist programmer, character controller programmer, and character animator.
Somerville began work as a personal side project for Olsen in 2014, and by 2016, he had built a proof of concept trailer, playable prototype, a small online presence from documenting the development process. Further details about the game were not shared, but a short teaser trailer was. Watch that below.
The Swords of Ditto E3 2017 extended gameplay walkthrough
Devolver Digital and One Bit Beyond has released a 12-minute gameplay walkthrough of its recently announced The Swords of Ditto from E3 2017.
The co-op action RPG creates a unique adventure for each new “hero of legend” in the fight to defeat the evil Mormo. It will see players explore a “delightful but dangerous overworld” and “brave menacing dungeons,” as well as improve the village, wield a number of weapons, and take on side quests in addition to the main story.
The Swords of Ditto is due out for PlayStation 4 and PC in early 2018.
Free-to-play Orcs Must Die! Unchained for PS4 Launches July 18
Orcs Must Die! Unchained Releases July 18 on PlayStation 4
Robot Entertainment today announced that its hilarious free-to-play action tower defense game, Orcs Must Die! Unchained, will release on July 18, 2017 on PlayStation 4.
In Orcs Must Die! Unchained gamers play as the powerful War Mage, magical Sorceress, or brutal Blackpaw, and can unlock a lineup of other awesome heroes; each with unique powers and abilities. The key to protecting your fortress is to build an impenetrable gauntlet of traps to hack, grind, flatten, gibletize, and incinerate foes. Players may go at it alone or in teams of three, all the while ensuring that the ugly, greedy, vicious Orcs don’t make it into the Rift.
Players battle enemies across multiple game types and difficulty levels, including the classic Survival mode and Sabotage, a head-to-head party mode. Either way, players decide whether they will roast orcs in pits of lava, pound them flat with ceiling traps, or freeze and shatter them with a slash. No matter the weapons and traps players choose, it’s sure to be an orc-killing blast!
The Orcs Must Die! Series
Orcs Must Die! is an action-strategy game series that challenges players and their friends to team up and defend a world constantly under siege. The original Orcs Must Die! released to critical acclaim in October 2011, winning the AIAS Strategy Game of the Year. It was followed in 2012 by the co-operative sequel, Orcs Must Die! 2. In 2016, Orcs Must Die! Unchained will take the award-winning Orcs Must Die! action tower defense gameplay to a whole new level with team-based gameplay! The stakes are higher, the traps are bloodier, and the invaders are even more ravenous. For more information about Orcs Must Die! Unchained, visit OrcsMustDie.com, or follow OMD! on Facebook and Twitter.