Learn more about Enotria: The Last Song on IGN:

Enotria: The Last Song - Official 15-Minute Gameplay Overview

IGN shows a new Capes trailer:

Capes - Official Weathervane Overview Trailer

Mortismal Gaming reviewed The Witcher 3:

The Witcher 3 - Review After 100%

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Couchpotato spotted a VOIN preview on C4G:

VOIN - New First Person Open World RPG

The historical adventure RPG Assassin's Creed Shadows will be released on November 15:

Assassin's Creed Shadows - Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer

Experience an epic historical action-adventure story set in feudal Japan! Become a lethal shinobi Assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open world in a time of chaos. Switch seamlessly between two unlikely allies as you discover their common destiny and usher in a new era for Japan.

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Soola found this challenge on Rock Paper Shotgun:

Game dev challenges other devs to multiply something in their game by 1000, triggering landslide of chaotic videos

Quantity always wins

I think most would agree that the artist formerly known as Twitter has never been in more need of a thermonuclear cleansing. The Musk era has transformed what was already fondly known as a hellsite into something at once more obnoxious and sadder, whether you're talking about the web3 grifters or the resurgent debate-me cryptofascists or the recommendation algorithm's perceptibly greater enthusiasm for quote-tweet flamebait.

Still, there are lights in the darkness. Yesterday, Graham pointed us towards a thread started by The End Is Nigh developer Tyler Glaiel in which he challenged other developers to "take a short break, pick a number in your code or data files, multiply it by 1000, and post the results". Other developers have heeded the call. Here's a round-up of the results that doubles as a watery echo of Alice0's (RPS in peace) old Screenshot Saturday Monday features.

Let's kick off with this instance of senior citizen rage from Kirt Olson and the World's Worst Handyman.

[...]

Henriquejr spotted Starfield update 1.11.36:

Starfield’s latest update is here and it’s bringing several new features with it!

• Improved surface maps - We’ve heard your feedback, and we’ve made some big improvements to surface maps, so you’ll always know just where to go and no longer “get lost” on the way to your parents’ place (and they weren’t buying that excuse anyway, you should really go visit them).
• New gameplay options - For those of you who like a bit of an extra challenge or want to make some aspects of the game easier, you can customize your experience with brand new options in the Settings menu. Want to make ground combat harder but ship combat easier? You can do just that!
• Added Ship Decoration mode to the interior of Ships – now you can decorate your ships just like you can with Outposts!
• Added Tabs to Container menus to make managing your inventory easier.
• Added the ability to change Traits and appearance after entering the Unity.
• Added Dialogue camera toggle in the Settings.
• Added Display settings for Xbox Series X to prioritize Visuals or Performance, adjust Frame Rate Target, and toggle VSync (Series X).

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read on for a full list of fixes and improvements!

[...]

Henriquejr spotted a new update for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint:

Update #84: Cap Rising

Raised level cap to 25, +2 new Power Level 3 Armor options, improved Soldier's Blast Radius, improved Simstream Trainer

Exciting times ahead as we come roaring out of the major safehouse base building milestone and careening back into the regular order of updates, improvements, new content and more! With Update #84, we've raised the level cap by 5 levels, added 2 new Power Level 3 armors for sale from the newest contacts, improved Soldier's Blast Radius, and fixed a huge heap of F10s from the community!

A big thanks goes out to everyone reviewing, playing and posting. Hit F10 if you see anything odd, we are hard at work improving and fixing.

Level Cap Rises
With Update #84 and the big expansion of the safehouse, it is the right time to lift the level cap to 25. You'll gain an additional +1 Level Point per level. The next cap raise will include additional Talent LImit allowance.

For those players who have been grinding past the current cap, you will find that your XP is kept and used. You may suddenly find your mercs are Level 22 or even Level 25 if you've played out enough missions. Enjoy the new points!

[...]

Henriquejr spotted patch 1.4 for Dark Envoy:

Director's Cut is Live! The letter to our community.

Patch 1.4, also known as Dark Envoy Director's Cut, is available now along with the new trailer!

Dear Community, Players, Warriors, Sorcerers

We want to share an enormous thank you! We’re releasing Dark Envoy: Director’s Cut using each and every comment, report, and piece of feedback you’ve shared with us over the last six months.

Summary of most important Changes:

• Less shy about connections with Tower of Time universe, new main meta level voiced narration
• Major narrative changes, reworked main cutscenes, some VO reworked, creating a completely different experience, especially during the first few hours of the game.
• Balancing, polishing then reworking again, then repeating the process
• Improved Jaan map and unique boss items
• further optimization and QoL improvements

And we fixed one major sinister memory leak bug that made us all so miserable!

Instead of pushing the marketing for Dark Envoy, we gave this game 6 months of pure love and improvements. We’re still not done, but want to share this news with you.

If you’ve enjoyed your time with Dark Envoy, please leave us a review and share your thoughts with your fellow players! Tell your friends, sister, neighbor and maybe a hamster or two; HELP OUR LITTLE INDIE STUDIO COMPETE FOR VISIBILITY in this harsh AAA market.

Here is our Socially Awkward Zero Budget Launch Trailer:

Brutally honest one, but dire straits tend to create the best anecdotes.

The Director’s Cut update is coming, along with a 40% off Steam Daily Deal starting from Wednesday, May 15th, 2024, which will last for a week.

It was thanks to your immense support and belief in out team that we've managed to complete this enhanced version. We deeply appreciate your ongoing collaboration with us on this world that we love so dearly. We are committed to making this game as perfect as it can be.

Great THANK YOU from all 13 of us!

Henriquejr spotted that the strategy RPG Songs of Conquest will be released on May 20:

Farewell Early Access!

Two productive years are soon behind us...

Greetings Wielders,

In less than a week, the long-awaited release of Songs of Conquest will be upon us, and we couldn't be more thrilled. It's hard to believe that nearly two years have passed since we first embarked on this journey together, releasing our project into Early Access. And oh, what a journey it has been!

We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to spend this time in Early Access with you all. Together, we've forged an amazing Community, achieved a "very positive" rating on Steam, and delivered an average of one update per month – ranging from small tweaks to major updates.

But let's delve into the details a bit. What are some of the things we have accomplished during these past two years?

[...]

Couchpotato spotted a new patch for Valheim:

Patch 0.218.15 – Ashlands

The world is heating up and in the south something is stirring... The creatures of the Ashlands come to life as the biome update is here at last!

After three weeks in the Public Test Branch, we believe we have ironed out most of the wrinkles with the update already, but please keep in mind that hotfixes and such are still likely to happen within the near future! Feedback and bugs are best sent in via the support page on our website.

Before you dive into the game, please do take a look at our preparation guide. This guide touches important matters such as world generation and mods.

You will find the abbreviated patch notes further down, and the detailed patch notes (full of spoilers) below those. Please respect those who don't want to see spoilers before they play.

If you have missed out on our gameplay trailer, it's available on our YouTube channel, but right now we want to get your blood pumping with this animated release trailer!

[...]

Couchpotato spotted an update for Rogue Trader's Steam Workshop:

An update on Steam Workshop

Lord Captains!

We have important news regarding mods - unfortunately, we've rolled out the Steam Workshop support feature a bit too early, before all legal issues connected to it were fully settled. For now, we will have to take additional time and temporarily shut it down until everything is fully resolved on the legal side of things. We currently do not know how long it will take, but we will do our best to get this feature up and running again as soon as possible. Stay tuned for further updates.

We thank you a lot for understanding, and apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Couchpotato spotted a new dev diary for Zodiac Legion:

Dev Diary – Level Construction Process

Greetings and salutations, friends!

We’re hard at work on our procedural map generation system, and as we get nearer to having its fully functional first iteration, we figured we could give you a little glimpse behind the scenes and show what the entire process looks like. I’m Maciej, the level designer/loremaster on Zodiac Legion, and here’s my approach to this part of the game.

The whole thing begins with a pencil and paper. I try to think of an arrangement that either feels interesting to me or which we don’t yet have in the game, and then I draw it, keeping in mind the level design constraints and a few gameplay considerations. At this stage, my thinking is only: “is this layout a good point of departure?”, and not “what will this map be?”

[...]

The J-RPG ALZARA Radiant Echoes has been announced:

ALZARA Radiant Echoes

A VIBRANT TRIBUTE TO THE GOLDEN AGE OF JRPGs

Take control of four heroes as you embark on an epic journey inspired by classic JRPGs across the stunning world of ALZARA.

HARNESS THE ELEMENTS
Harness the elemental magic of Kayla and her allies to battle the invading forces of Vedores. Share the magic to overcome puzzles and obstacles during your adventure.

INTENSE & STRATEGIC TURN-BASED BATTLES
Swap between heroes to combine elemental magic and unleash spectacular attacks. Make offerings to gain favors and summon Legends to defeat your enemies.

A MATURE, RELATABLE STORY
Restore Peace to the vibrant world of ALZARA, where the mysterious elemental entities known as Zals answer to humans’ prayers. Lead the Resistance against the merciless invasion orchestrated by the neighboring nation of Vedores.

A COLLABORATION WITH JAPANESE ARTISTS
We are honored to partner with two esteemed Japanese artists for this project. Renowned composer Motoi Sakuraba, celebrated for his contributions to iconic titles like Golden Sun and Dark Souls, joins us alongside main character designer Yoshiro Ambe, recognized for his remarkable work on games such as Trials of Mana and Fire Emblem Heroes.

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Couchpotato spotted some info for backers of Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.

Game Developer talked with Jake Solomon about the combat system of Marvel's Midnight Suns:

Marvel's Midnight Suns director worries the card-based combat kept players away

Did a complex card system keep Marvel's Midnight Suns from being a hit?

At a Glance

• Firaxis' tactical role-playing game Marvel's Midnight Suns won praise from critics, but stumbled in sales.
• Midsummer Studios co-founder Jake Solomon admits the card-based combat system may have deterred players from trying the game.

Firaxis Games' 2022 game Marvel's Midnight Suns won praise from critics and dedicated players for its crunchy in-depth strategy (and surprisingly robust narrative design), but the quality of its gameplay wasn't enough to drive sales. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told Bloomberg in 2023 that the game wasn't living up to expectations, saying at the time that the game's December release window may not have been "perfect."

But if there's anyone who has reason to do a postmortem on Midnight Suns, it's Midsummer Studios cofounder Jake Solomon. Solomon, who departed Firaxis in 2023 after the game released, was the brain behind the game's card-based combat system.

[...]

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Mortismal Gaming checked out the Diablo 4 Loot Reborn Update:

Diablo 4 - Loot Reborn Update

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Tim comes up with a weird IP idea:

Another New IP Idea

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The Turn Based Lovers checked out Umbra - The Last Summoner:

CALL UPON 60 HEROES IN TURN-BASED RPG UMBRA THE LAST SUMMONER – OVERVIEW

Set for release in Q3 2024 on PC, Umbra – The Last Summoner is an adventure RPG crafted by EpiRPG, where players assume the role of the realm’s only summoner. This unique position charges them with the task of halting a demon invasion that threatens the mystical world of Umbra.

To fight this menace, players must strategically summon and command a diverse group of 60 heroes, each endowed with distinct abilities, to participate in intricate, turn-based combat against a legion of more than 160 demons and monsters.

The game unfolds across 15 expansive areas, rich with opportunities for exploration, combat, and narrative progression. Players will encounter over 100 side quests and face colossal boss fights, enhancing their summoner’s powers with soul energy gained from victories and discoveries. The sophisticated battle mechanics emphasize strategic management of action points and leverage elemental strengths and weaknesses to tilt skirmishes in the player’s favor.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted an announcement for a strategy RPG on Gamesradar:

Helldivers 2 veterans are making a Fire Emblem-style strategy RPG complete with "horny" romance thanks to Baldur's Gate 3 and Hades 2

A group of Helldivers 2 veterans has spun off into another company to make a "narrative heavy" strategy RPG like Fire Emblem, complete with romance because one developer wants "the game to be horny."

Talking to Inverse, former Helldivers 2 lead writer Russ Nickel talks about the inspirations that informed his approach to the popular co-op shooter, D&D, and more. As the interview comes to a close, the chat shifts to what's next for the former Arrowhead Game Studios staffer.

"We just decided to spin off into our own company and we're making a tactics strategy RPG like Fire Emblem," Nickel says. "But it's very narrative-heavy, so Fire Emblem if it were published by Annapurna. So a deeply indie, emotionally poignant tactics game, that's also of course very funny with character-based comedy."

Nickel goes on to say that the idea is that the medium reflects the narrative and vice versa. While Helldivers 2 does "a really good job of that," the team is considering what that looks like for a tactical RPG. 

[...]

Couchpotato spotted the spring update for Sacred Fire:

Spring Update

Act 3 testing and its impact on 1.0 release

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the latest update from the trenches of solo development.

First things first - the testing of what’ll be available of Act 3 will start at the end of spring, meaning by the end of June. Those waiting for the full release, will then have to wait a little bit longer, as the feedback and amount of bugs in the testing build will determine the 1.0 release date.

While our last update was marked by the joy of writing out the story to its full potential, the increased scope meant spending more resources on localization and voice-over, putting increased pressure on the development. It’s thanks to my publishing partner’s flexibility and my determination that we tackled all the hurdles and can now bring you the good news of the game moving towards the finish line in an uncompromised state.

I understand the wait is long, both for players who’ve experienced the game recently, and for those who’ve been waiting for a conclusion to the story for a long time. That, however, is the road we went down ever since releasing the first public demo - of expanding the scenes with more player choice and NPC reactions based on your feedback. With Act 3, we wanted to avoid the common ailment of games in this genre - diminishing player choices, unanswered plot threads and patch-on endings.

Instead we tried to create many satisfying moments for many different playthroughs, addressing truly rare game states.

So, we want to thank you. Thank you for your feedback, your support, and your patience over the years! It's thanks to you that Sacred Fire could grow into what’ll hopefully end up being a satisfying choice-driven experience for all of you.

P.S.: Oh, and yes, for those kindhearted players out there, don’t worry, we’ve heard you: there will be an option for non-lethal attacks to stop the dogs in Act 1 as well.

Mortismal Gaming provides some info about A Dance Of Masks:

Pathfinder: WotR - A Dance Of Masks DLC Details

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Couchpotato spotted a Behind the Scenes video about the Horus boss on IGN:

Horizon: Forbidden West Complete Edition - Official Horus Boss Behind the Scenes

A Kickstarter campaign for the tactical RPG Lost In The Open will be launched in July:

Lost In The Open - Kickstarter Gameplay Trailer

This is the gameplay trailer for our Kickstarter launching in early July.

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The adventure RPG Dread Delusion will be released today:

Dread Delusion

The world is broken. Its surface seethes with an undead curse, while humanity clings to flying continents in the sky. From mushroom forests to undead mausoleums, strange places and people await you. But will you find a way to heal this world - or seek power and profit for yourself?

With a beautiful retro 3D aesthetic, Dread Delusion is an open world RPG focused on player choice. Uncover a rich, interactive narrative through the game's quests, or pick a direction and explore by yourself.

Carve your own path. A keen mind or charming wit can prove just as useful as a sword; and your decisions will shape how the story unfolds.

Towns offer a needed respite for the weary traveller. Sleep through the night, trade goods, accept quests and speak with the locals.

Key Features:

• Embark on a central quest-line that will decide the fate of the land, or discover optional stories and challenges.
• With a varied skill system, there’s always an alternative to combat. Charm people, pick locks or use secret knowledge.
• Upgrade weapons - turn a rusty blade into a mastercrafted clockwork contraption.
• Amass a variety of powerful spells and potions to bend reality to your will. 

Available now:

• The Isle of Halloshire
• The Isle of the Endless Realm
• Leveling and Stats
• Basic smithing/alchemy
• Basic Factions AI for Enemies
• Questing 

Coming Soon:

• New Weapons, Armor, and Accessories
• The Clockwork Kingdom Isle
• The Forbidden Surface Ruins
• Constructible buildings
• Tweaks to Enemy AI
• Building on the Faction AI for Enemy Groups
• Further Fleshing out the Main Story Quest 

VG247 checked out the tactical RPG Prelude Dark Pain:

Prelude Dark Pain may look like isometric Darkest Dungeon, but its influences run deeper

So far, it's got the style and substance required to make a splash.

Last weekend, I spent far less time than I'd have liked checking out cool indie games at Guadalindie 2024, a little but hard-hitting event in Malaga, Spain, which I wholeheartedly recommend if more editions are happening in the future. Coming out of this celebration of indie games and devs, Prelude Dark Pain was by far the coolest, most impressive title I could play.

At first glance, Seville-based Quickfire Games' debut may look like a straightforward take on Darkest Dungeon and its sequel, and they're more than willing to admit that influence, yet the whole packs more ideas and sticks closer to classic tactical RPGs such as Final Fantasy Tactics. Beyond that playable core also lies a more ambitious structure tying it all together.

The preview build I was able to play featured two different missions, one designed to be a tutorial of sorts and another quest which was wave-based and took place on top of two moving carriages drawn by armored tusked beasts. Prelude knows how to make a first impression, that's for sure; the art style is familiar, but also packs a number of graphical peculiarities that mesh well with the isometric view and overall design of the levels I was able to conquer.

The fact it's a dark fantasy game through and through doesn't mean it's depressing to look at either. Much like in Darkest Dungeon, Prelude Dark Pain is full saturated colors and hard lines. A common mistake among indie games going for a grim aesthetic is turning the whole screen into a grey or brown sludge with few sparks of visual joy, but that's not the case here. Personally, I was also curious about how the visuals featured in the demo translated to the larger, non-linear open-world that serves as the overarching structure of Prelude, but I wasn't able to experience that layer of the game.

[...]

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Everyting turn-based:

EVERYTHING TURN-BASED – WEEKLY RPG NEWS & RELEASES – 12 MAY 2024

Weekly Recap RPG News And Releases

Even this week brings another edition of my Weekly RPG Recap. I said, “Even this week,” because lately, there’s no consistency in my daily routine; my schedule is packed, and I’ve been running around non-stop, trying to keep up with everything. While my day-to-day may be unpredictable, one thing that remains a constant is the steady flow of news, announcements, and weekly releases related to RPGs and strategy games.

I’ve rounded up plenty of news this week, and I’m eager to dive in, but before we get started, if you haven’t already, make sure to follow us on Google News. This way, you’ll always be in the loop with all our latest updates. Let’s kick off the weekly recap.

[...]

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Couchpotato spotted a new dev log for Prometheus Wept:

Prometheus Wept Dev Log Apr-May 24: Militia Finale Complete!

Couchpotato spotted a Dying Light 2 interview:

Discussing The Future of Dying Light 2 With Tymon Smektala || INTERVIEW

Fextralife summarizes last week's gaming news:

Gaming News - Shadow of the Erdtree Video Contest, No PSN for Ghost of Tsushima, Destiny 2 Free DLC

Timestamp
0:00 - Top RPG News of the Week
0:02 - Ghost of Tsushima PC will not require PSN to play
1:11 - Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Video Contest
2:40 - Hades 2 Top selling Early Access
3:48 - Microsoft Announces more Layoffs
5:09 - Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous A Dance of Mask Final DLC
6:07 - V Rising Ends Early Access
7:15 - Destiny 2 Giving Away 3 DLC
8:30 - Bloodstained Ritual of the Night Free Update
10:00 - The Rogue Prince of Persia

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We can check out Rain Tactics tomorrow:

Playtest Rain Tactics during Endless Replayability Fest (starting May 13)

Hello everyone,

Very excited to let you know that Rain Tactics will be taking part to the upcoming Endless Replayability Fest, from May 13 to May 20 ! This will be the first open playtest of the game's beta demo, so looking forward to all of your feedback !

The demo will bring you to the beginning of the game with a small tutorial and access to the first two levels of the Tower City of Shavanath (which can spawn in 5 different locations).

So join Winter in his quest to reach the Gate of Oblivion and make your way through the City with already 4 unique champions to join you !

The demo will be made available for the duration of the Fest. Full demo release will happen later this year (with even more features).

Cheers
Ervya

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Gamereactor checked out King Arthur: Legion IX:

Review: King Arthur: Legion IX

Neocore has returned to Avalon for a standalone expansion of the Knight's Tale format that revolves around an undying Roman legionnaire unit.

Very few games have managed to completely sell me on them with a cinematic video. More often than not, the glitzy non-gameplay presentation doesn't do much for me to develop excitement for a game, but that wasn't the case with King Arthur: Knight's Tale. The dark and gritty clip of England's most famous fictional monarch drew me in, and ever since I've been a big fan of NeocoreGames' strategy title. For all of its challenges and vices, King Arthur: Knight's Tale entertained me more than enough when I properly reviewed it two years ago, and now the time has come to effectively return to that game.

[...]

The best way to describe King Arthur: Legion IX is that it's just more Knight's Tale, because there's not enough truly unique and fresh elements to make this game stand out above or beyond its predecessor. That's not exactly a bad thing, because Knight's Tale is a pretty competent strategy game, but you can't help but wonder is Neocore could have taken a few extra risks in a gameplay or design sense with this follow-up to make it stand out and thrive instead of feeling like an extra appendage attached to the original game.

Score: 6/10

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The action adventure Dead Island 2 is one year old:

Celebrating a Year of Dead Island 2: A Message from Dambuster Studios

It’s just over one year since launch of Dead Island 2 and all of us at Dambuster Studios are humbled and thrilled by the outstanding response of our passionate slayers!

It’s been a truly memorable year for the Dead Island franchise.

We have had well over 7 million players enter Hell-A and a brain melting 24 BILLION zombies slayed! These are simply mind boggling numbers! We were also truly honoured to be nominated for Best Action Game at the Game Awards last year, and more recently for Best British Game at the esteemed BAFTA’s.

2024 has already got off to a flying start with the release of our second story expansion SoLA, and in bringing Dead Island 2 to Steam. Your passionate feedback means a huge amount to us, and we are dedicated to providing ongoing support for Dead Island 2 across all platforms.

To all our slayers – we read and value all your comments and wishes for the future! In the following months we’ll share some exciting and long awaited new game updates, so stay tuned for more Dead Island 2 content to come!

All the best, and thank you for slaying!

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Wccftech reports that State of Decay 3 is an ongoing project:

State of Decay 3 Is Reportedly Coming Along ‘Very, Very Well’

It's been a rough week for Xbox following multiple studio closures decided by Microsoft and the severe blowback from fans and fellow developers alike, not to mention reports of Perfect Dark having a rough time, but a new rumor suggests State of Decay 3, at least, might be coming along well.

The third installment in the open-world zombie survival series was originally announced during 2020's Xbox Games Showcase when developer Undead Labs revealed the new entry was early in the pre-production phase. To this day, that pre-rendered concept trailer is all we have of the game, and a report from 2022 suggested there were problems early on due to a lack of vision.

[...]

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The vampire RPG Nighthawks is still in development:

Overheard At Nighthawks

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Morstimal Gaming talks about the advamtages and disadvantages of Early Access titles:

The Pros & Cons Of Early Access Games

The Kickstarter campaign ended, with it being funded as well as reaching its 3 stretch goals:

Done and done! 

The campaign for Swordhaven: Iron Conspiracy is at an end, with results that surprised and humbled us all. 

The game we had planned initially will become even bigger and better thanks to your contributions, suggestions and overall support. 

We are extremely thankful! 

What comes next? To receive news about development please follow our socials and Steam page; To get us started working on interactive rewards such as the player portrait, please contact us via Kickstarter sending us the photo you wish our artist to paint; And of course, expect the Early Access release on PC, Mac and Linux as soon as Q4 2024. 

Thanks MaHAK!

RPGFan reviewed the action RPG SAND LAND:

Sand Land - Review 

May the eight-year-old nephews of the world rest easy tonight knowing there is an imminent uncle-gift-worthy videogame perfect for their summer gaming needs. Come along as we dip our toes in the sands of a game that gives “fun in the sun,” even if parts of it might leave you feeling burned.

Sand Land is a bit like a nostalgic summer road trip. Following a 2000 manga of the same name by Akira Toriyama, Sand Land follows Beelzebub, the Demon Prince, who sets out on a road trip to find the Legendary Spring, a fabled water source that could potentially quench the parched Sand Land residents. Water has become prohibitively expensive since the riverbeds dried up following a disastrous thermonuclear explosion from an “aquanium” (a rare and potent, though volatile, mineral in the world of Sand Land) facility disaster, so Beelz, his royal accomplice Thief, and the brooding Sheriff Rao hit the sandy, sunny road in search of the solution. And like a classic road trip tale, shenanigans, pitstops (side quests), hitchhiking, and idle chitchat fill their journey to hydro-fortune.

[...]

Earlier, I said that Sand Land would make a great gift for a young one, and despite my gripes I still mean that wholeheartedly. As a content note, there are a few “damn” and “hell” drops, but it is a game about a demon after all. There is weapon-based action, but no talking creature or person in the game is ever explicitly “killed” by your weapons. Also, your character and allies never use ballistic weapons on foot. When enemies are downed, they either run away and disappear or faint with stars above their heads. In short, I feel that Sand Land is appropriate for children despite its T rating, and its charm will likely override its flaws for young folks. Simply exploring the desert with fun vehicles and getting to know its cast of characters is sure to be a blast for kids with proficient (second-grade-ish maybe) reading comprehension. I know I would have gone nuts for this game when I was young, with its sand buggies, tanks, motorcycles, and so on, all with Toriyama’s rad art as its glue. I wager others will feel the same.

I also wager that ten years from now, Sand Land will be a slam dunk video game in “hidden gems” lists and “underrated games” essays. Once its price crawls below $25 and its bafflingly pointless “Deluxe Edition” content is packed in (or, better yet, deleted altogether), the game will be value caviar for hungry backloggers. Partially in honor of you future value seekers (hello from 2024, if so), I don’t want to outright pan the game for being an inconsistent and unnecessarily SaaS-ified jumble as it is now. It has plenty going for it, especially in its visuals and its vehicles. Just don’t give Bandai Namco your hard-earned ten extra dollars for shit they probably forced ILCA to shovel (the Deluxe Edition content) right as they were wrapping up development. Better yet, wait until Sand Land is on sale. That is, unless the 8 to 16-year-old in your life asks for it, in which case I guarantee they’d get sixty bucks worth out of the game.

Score: 75/100