New week, new videogames! When will it end, etc. There aren't many obvious headliners out in the next few days, but there are a lot of tantalisingly bleak games. Let's see here, we've got a survival shooter that's essentially set in Black Mesa, a sardonical adventure about questing Russian Orthodox nuns, a game about running the company that starts the zombie apocalypse, and a cosy village grower with an atypical emphasis on disease and death. Lovely!
Here are the games in question, plus a few more we have in our eye: Stardew-with-malaria Echoes Of The Plum Grove (29th April); sidescrolling cyberpunk adventure Let Bions Be Bygones (30th April); Half-Lifey open world survival FPS Abiotic Factor (early access, 2nd May); bioweapons management sim Undead Inc (2nd May); US elect 'em up The Political Machine 2024 (2nd May); alt-Russia theological fantasy Indika (2nd May); Fall-Guys-with-boids Feather Party (3rd May, early access).
As ever, this week's videogames are sponsored by that gluttonous Old One we call the Maw, which we must try eternally to satisfy with helpings of videogame news to stop it breaking into our reality like a chestburster. Will the Maw be happy with the above releases? I'm dubious - the Maw generally prefers sequels and things we can liken to The Witcher. But thankfully, I think it still has its mouth full with last week's Manor Lords, which was explosively popular over the weekend. Anyway, you can follow and, if you must, contribute to our weekly newsgatherings by means of the liveblog below, with its unsightly comments thread appendage.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Key points- 07:57 am 05/03/2024 FRIDAY AGAIN
- 07:56 am 05/02/2024 BEHOLD THURSDAY
- 08:05 am 05/01/2024 WEDNESDAY IS HERE
- 07:42 am 04/30/2024 IT IS TUESDAY
- 08:27 am 04/29/2024 AARGH MONDAY
AARGH MONDAY
Why do they vex us so? Oh well, time to hand-crank the power armour again and buff that chainsword. FEED THE MAW.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:13 am UTCHere's a new Helldivers 2 patch. It makes some sweeping changes to the weapons and Stratagems, plus "minor level generation improvements to how we distribute locations throughout the mission map" and what's this, "shots that ricochet from heavy armored enemies will now properly hit the Helldiver who fired them"? Savage!
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:22 am UTCGreg the Manor Lords dev is working on the game's first proper patches.
Main points for the planned next patch:
-Fix all the weird homeless bugs
-Tune the archer damage
-Tune the trade oversupply mechanics (it's too harsh and punishes regional specialization)
-Slow down the rate of the AI claiming territories
Hold the phone, Returnal developers Housemarque are teasing something. I really liked Returnal. Pls let it not be a f2p mobile port.
pic.twitter.com/F4R6TYFyZ1
— Housemarque (@Housemarque) April 29, 2024 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 11:16 am UTCThomas Mahler of No Rest For The Wicked devs Moon Game Studios says they'll be working on the new ARPG for another 5-10 years - as such, don't expect an Ori 3 "anytime soon".
Judging by the questions I'm getting, it looks like some people think that we'll release 1.0 and then we're done? 🤔
Folks, we're nowhere near done with No Rest for the Wicked. There is so much that we've already built that none of you even know about and we want to deliver this…
Baldur’s Gate 3 companions are being modded into Stardew Valley, so you can romance Astarion all over again.
Matt Jarvis 17:06 pm UTCAs Edwin shared earlier, Moon Studios have said not to expect Ori 3 anytime soon, as the devs reckon they’ll be working on No Rest for the Wicked - "our Lord of the Rings" - for up to a decade.
Matt Jarvis 17:48 pm UTCGame of Thrones reportedly has an MMO in the works, nearly a decade after the last one was cancelled. Its story will apparently take place around the fourth and fifth seasons of the show; or, Before It Got Bad.
Matt Jarvis 18:09 pm UTCDungeons of Hinterberg, Zelda meets Persona in the Alps, will run a playtest next month ahead of its fresh July release date.
Matt Jarvis 07:42 am UTCIT IS TUESDAY
Sunny blue skies in London today - we stand on the cusp of spring. The Maw gains +5 Photosynthesis and +10 Nostalgia. FEED IT.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:45 am UTCStarfield's Shattered Space expansion launches in the fall, as reported by Kinda Funny via VGC. According to Todd Howard, there's also a free update coming "really soon" that will have new city maps and ship-building features.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:47 am UTCPromise Mascot Agency is the new game from the Paradise Killer crew, Kaizen Game Works, who are calling it the "world's first (and best) open-world mascot management crime drama".
Promise Mascot Agency - Announcement Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:49 am UTCVampire Survivors has a new Laborratory update, featuring such "industry-defining innovations" as "fully rendered running animations, mind-blowing train physics, go-cart racing, and... doors that open??" Read more on Steam.
Vampire Survivors - v1.10 Laborratory - Free Update Out Now on Nintendo Switch, Steam, Xbox & Mobile Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:51 am UTCNew Pals for the Palgods! They're coming in Palworld's summer update.
Palworld | New Pals Announcement | IGN Showcase Trailer | Pocketpair Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:51 am UTCSeekerX says: "the Maw generally prefers sequels" -- well, one for The Maw, then: the Front Mission 2 remaster comes out tomorrow. I wasn't totally sold on the first remaster, which was maybe a bit too faithful to the clunkiness of the original game, but I remember really liking this series by the time of FM3 and 4, so maybe #2 will be a step up?
The demo is still up on Steam if anyone's curious.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:54 am UTCAs reported by the dogmatic dragons of VG247, Dragon's Dogma 2 has an unfinished path-tracing renderer hidden away in the graphics settings, unearthed by modders. James? James! What the hell is path-tracing? What are graphics?
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:59 am UTCArrowhead have not-very-subtly taken the piss out of Escape From Tarkov's $250 Unheard edition exclusive PvE mode controversy on ye socials.
Be sure to check out the deals in the Acquisition Center today, with prices so low, they're practically Unheard of.
True Believers can grab the CM-21 Trench Paramedic for only 250 SC, featuring increased pocket size and extra stims!
(Not available for free to Super Citizens.) pic.twitter.com/9JmJbLSmaB
A new trailer for Keylocker - "a Cyberpunk turn-based rhythm JRPG inspired by the Mario&Luigi RPG series and Chrono Trigger" - which I played a bit of a while ago and thought was fairly excellent. It's now coming in summer 2024. There's still a demo on the Steam page.
Keylocker - Announcement Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:47 am UTCBig fan of the demon catphone in the just-trailered Centum.
Centum [XSX/PC] Debut Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:46 am UTCBeyond Galaxyland is a lavishly pixel-arted sci-fi RPG. One of your party members is a hamster. Here's a tray-tray (trying out 'tray-tray' for trailers lmk if you like it.)
Nic Reuben 12:12 pm UTCManor Lords can be played in VR now. Cower before me, peasants!
Manor Lords VR Mod Available Now!
7 years in development, Manor Lords was the most wish-listed Steam game & released in EA this past week. It has the highest concurrent user counts ever on a city builder. Thankfully, it works perfectly in 6DOF VR with Praydog's UEVR!
Currently… pic.twitter.com/6WxIGWxwiQ
Yesterday's Returnal teaser was for a three-year anniversary artbook and graphic novel, the first part of which has been animated. The books are handsome creations, but I'm sure most of us were hungry for something a bit... gamier, or at least DLCier.
Returnal: Fallen Asteria - Animated Comic Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 14:26 pm UTC That there Total Warhammer DLC is out now. I've played it all and reckon it's the best Warhammer 3 has been thus far, especially the dwarf. Nic Reuben 14:37 pm UTCDeliver Us Mars developers Keoken Interactive have laid off the majority of their staff, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 15:02 pm UTCDread Delusion - King's Field: Morrowind, sort of - is out of early access on 14th May. The 1.0 build includes a new realm, the Underlands, together with new towns, dungeons, quests and endgame stuff. Here's a trailer.
Dread Delusion 1.0 Release Date Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 21:57 pm UTCThere are five new games headed to Game Pass in the first batch of May, including Little Kitty, Big City.
Graham Smith 21:58 pm UTCAs Edwin mentioned this afternoon, KeokeN, the developers of Deliver Us Mars, have laid off their entire team after failing to secure funding for a new project. Its founders vow to rebuild the company.
Graham Smith 22:00 pm UTCSquare Enix have announced £112 million in "content abandonment losses", as the publisher seeks to be more selective and focused in how they deploy development resources. It is unknown what if any in-development projects might have been impacted by this change.
Graham Smith 22:01 pm UTCA Difficult Game About Climbing is like Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy, but without Bennett Foddy, and you use your arms rather than climbing using a pickaxe. It launched last month but I've only just stumbled across it, and it's good, infuriating fun.
Graham Smith 07:56 am UTC Blizzard have shared details on Diablo 4's Season 4: Loot Reborn , which promises big changes to itemisation. Bliz say they're "overhauling many core game systems to refresh how items are earned, how they function, and how they improve as you level through World Tiers during the season." Full details here. Nic Reuben 07:59 am UTC Via Kotaku, Call Of Duty doesn't reckon you need that $40 anyway, so why not spend it on a single Dune skin? That's over half the price of the base game, or, as is the standard currency these days, one entire Helldivers 2. Nic Reuben 08:03 am UTC The Land Beneath Us is a turn-based sci-fi roguelite based on, hang on, Welsh mythology? Yaki da! It's got a new trailer (below) and free demo on Steam. The Land Beneath Us - Gameplay Teaser Watch on YouTube Nic Reuben 08:05 am UTCWEDNESDAY IS HERE
What fell deeds await? FEED THE MAW.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:12 am UTCCracking first-person climb 'em up Lorn's Lure is "very close" to launch, according to its developer. Things still to do: localisation, Easter eggs, various visual tune-ups, and Steam Deck testing.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:14 am UTCDiggergun "is an atmospheric life-sim, platformer with a rich narrative featuring player choice and multiple endings". I've had my eye on it mostly for the monochrome dungeony aesthetic. Here's a dev post about how it handles upgrades.
DIGGERGUN - Announcement Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:18 am UTCThe Verge claim that we can expect a new Gears of War game announcement during Summer Games Fest in June, together with a deep dive on the next Call of Duty and release dates for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Avowed and Indiana Jones And the Great Circle.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:18 am UTCA few of the people who worked on LEGO videogame adaptations for Traveller's Tales are trying to repeat the feat with Funko Pops in the shape of Funko Fusion. Trailer below. Were you expecting over-the-shoulder shooting? I was not expecting over-the-shoulder shooting.
Funko Fusion - Official Reveal Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:24 am UTCThere's a new Fallout 76 update, weighing in at around 12GB and spanning balancing changes, quality of life updates and bugfixes.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:27 am UTCHere's a free prologue version of minimalist city-builder Mini Settlers.
MINI SETTLERS - Prologue Out | Minimalist City Builder Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 10:20 am UTCI'm not one of your filthy Smurf lovers but the just-announced The Smurfs - Dreams looks like a nice co-op game, a tiny bit reminiscent of Trine though I guess Super Mario 3D Land is the more obvious comparison?
The Smurfs – Dreams – Reveal Teaser Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 12:11 pm UTCDead By Daylight bods Behaviour Interactive are partnering with Haenir Studio on Blight: Survival, which was announced a few years ago - here's the 2022 trailer. I think it could be fun, if by "fun" you mean full of swords, muck, disease and screaming.
Blight: Survival – Gameplay Reveal Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 14:11 pm UTCA "spiritual successor to SSX", you say.
Check out the sleek new HUD and enhanced post-processing in my SSX spiritual successor.#gamedev #indiegamedev #indiedev #indiegame pic.twitter.com/pM00zit7uS
— TrickyMadness (@_Tricky_Madness) April 30, 2024 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 15:25 pm UTCTake-Two appear to have made substantial layoffs at their Seattle offices, where Intercept Games are located. As reported by Eurogamer, it's possible that the latter's Kerbal Space Program 2 has been cancelled.
Looks like they might have laid off the entire KSP 2 dev team. Intercept Games are the only team in the Take-Two offices in Seattle and they had around 70 employees. Lots of LinkedIn profiles saying looking for work. Kerbal Space Program 2 might be dead. pic.twitter.com/Q9SqBwEyeK
— GiantWaffle (@GiantWaffle) May 1, 2024 To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 16:29 pm UTCD&D (and Magic: The Gathering, and Monopoly, and GI Joe, and Transformers...) makers Hasbro are spending $1 billion on their own video games, ambitiously promising they’ll be ‘quality and authentic’ like Baldur’s Gate 3.
Matt Jarvis 17:11 pm UTCFunko Pop's first video game, co-op shooter Funko Fusion, will let you blast the heads off dead-eyed dolls from Jurassic World, Battlestar Galactica and even the likes of characters from Nope, Megan and Hot Fuzz when it releases this September. As per the trailer shared earlier by Edwin, it looks... surprisingly fun?
Matt Jarvis 17:41 pm UTCSurprise! The next Batman: Arkham game after Kill the Justice League is a VR title exclusive to the Meta Quest, with a full reveal planned for Summer Games Fest.
Matt Jarvis 18:11 pm UTCStarfield’s biggest update yet fixes its rubbish maps, adds custom difficulty and expands ship decoration. It's live via Steam beta now, with a full rollout on May 15th.
Matt Jarvis 07:56 am UTCBEHOLD THURSDAY
The weekend glimmers in the darkness near at hand, like bioluminescent plankton. FEED THE MAW. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 07:58 am UTCFollowing yesterday's news of Take-Two layoffs in Seattle, Bloomberg report that both Kerbal Space Program 2 developers Intercept Games and London-based OlliOlli developers Roll7 are to be closed.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:04 am UTCRabbit & Steel "is a co-op action roguelike that recreates the essence of high-level MMO raiding in a randomized, simplified, bunny-sized package." Quite keen on the concept, not least because I don't really have the patience for full-blown MMOs these days.
RABBIT & STEEL - Release Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:05 am UTCWell well, it's "the firsty meaty balance patch" for Balatro.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:07 am UTCBizarro-nun adventure Indika is out today. Here's the launch trailer.
INDIKA – "Fair/Unfair" | Official Trailer Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:09 am UTCHere's an overview trailer for new stuff coming in season 12 of piratical chillaxer Sea Of Thieves. You can read more in this Steam post.
Sea of Thieves Season 12: Official Content Update Video Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:12 am UTCVery good abstract actioner Death Of A Wish has a Randomizer update that scrambles enemy and item distributions.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:15 am UTC In case it wasn't clear already, looks there's no chance Sony are going to slow down on keeping PC players in mind with their releases. According to analyst Mat Piscatella, the addition of PC sales makes Helldivers 2 the "7th highest grossing Sony published game in history. Without PC it wouldn't currently rank among the top 20." Something Bloodborne something when something Sony plz Nic Reuben 13:08 pm UTCHere's a new trailer for the remaster of Commandos, the tactics game that taught juvenile me the extreme importance of lying down. There's a closed beta coming this summer.
Commandos: Origins | Gameplay Teaser (UK) Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 14:34 pm UTC Steamworld Heist 2 is getting its first "Gameplay Deep Dive" trailer tommorow at 4pm. It's still set for release August 8th this year. Nic Reuben 14:38 pm UTC Cheery nun-core adventure INDIKA is out now, with a 10% Steam discount. I should be playing it right now for some words tommorow, but I think Brendy is using the RPS account. I outrank you now, Brendy. Let me play videogames, serf. Nic Reuben 19:43 pm UTCAs Nic mentioned earlier, nunventure Indika is out now - and here's a fuller post declaring so.
Graham Smith 19:44 pm UTCHelldivers 2's next premium warbond features winter weather capes and armour, and several new weapons and grenades including an incendiary impact grenade and a Purifier primary weapon you can charge-up for more powerful shots. It's not enough to make me pay real money for it, mind.
Graham Smith 19:46 pm UTCThirteen-year-old MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic was transferred last year from creators BioWare to MMO maintenance specialists Broadsword. The new operators have continued to add to the game, and update 7.5 is coming soon with new story quests, a visual update, and cosy activities like pie-baking and seed collecting.
Graham Smith 19:47 pm UTCAnnounced last year with a cinematic trailer, co-op survival shooter The Forever Winter now has its first gameplay reveal. It's about scavenging from the battlefields of a never-ending mech war with your stealthy squad, and death means losing all your gear.
Graham Smith 07:57 am UTCFRIDAY AGAIN
Why is London giving off so much lens flare today? Ugh, somebody's been making the Maw eat old Mass Effect games again. FEED IT.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:00 am UTCMedieval colony sim Norland has been pushed back from May to June release, according to a dev post which also details a lot of changes to such systems as crime, the world ecology and trading.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:05 am UTCUbisoft's 6v6 tactical headpopper XDefiant has been given a release date - 21st May. Or at least, that's when the preseason begins, with 14 maps, five factions and five modes.
Image credit: Ubisoft Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:07 am UTCIf you're playing Helldivers 2 on Steam, you'll soon be required to link it to a PlayStation Network account for security purposes.
Helldivers! An important message from our partner Playstation about account linking for PC players and its significance in providing player safety features.
Read the full message here: https://t.co/L1A9jv8yBf pic.twitter.com/q3eXKbtoNB
A big update for horror co-op streamer sim Content Warning, introducing a new map, monsters, items and progression elements such as MetaCoins for purchasing island upgrades and hats.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 08:20 am UTCOne of Neversoft's founders has filed for the Neversoft trademark (Neversoft, if you've forgotten, was folded into Infinity Ward back in 2014). A new lease of life for the Tony Hawk makers?
On February 5, 2024, Former Neversoft President & Co-Founder Joel Jewett applied for the trademark "NEVERSOFT". The filing was made by Neversoft Entertainment, LLC.
Could the band be getting back together just in time for the 25th Anniversary of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater? 🧐#THPS pic.twitter.com/7omyVNjGBQ
Smite 2 is having an alpha this weekend - here's an overview trailer. People who signed up for the alpha test and purchasers of the Founder’s Edition will be able to play till May 5th.
SMITE 2 - Alpha Weekend starts May 2nd, 2024 Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 09:08 am UTC Here's a "booty physics" game called Spanky. *Looks into camera smiling wanly*. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 11:55 am UTCCarceri is kind of a first-person Short Hike featuring a magic camera and imprisoned sentient computer programs. I quite like the looks of it.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 15:28 pm UTCA deep dive trailer for Steamworld Heist 2, including an overview of its new job system.
SteamWorld Heist II | Gameplay Deep Dive Watch on YouTube Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 15:32 pm UTCThe highly Hadesy action-RPG Realms Of Ink launches into early access on 17th May with the first playable character, four stages, eight boss battles and approximately 30% of the storyline.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 15:36 pm UTCBlizzard are giving Overwatch 2's tanks a rework in response to feedback "that tanks can either feel like they get taken down too quickly in a fight or that they’re impossible to take down," to quote game director Aaron Keller.
Edwin Evans-Thirlwell 15:51 pm UTCFortnite is now a Lego Star Wars game, with a whole new world for its survival mode in time for May the Fourth - along with plenty of other bits for Battle Royale, Rocket Racing and even Fortnite Festival (yes, that includes the Cantina Band song).
Matt Jarvis 16:31 pm UTCLeague of Legends’ anti-cheat won't brick your PC, Riot have insisted, after adding Valorant’s controversial system to the MOBA - only to spark claims of crashes, file tampering and more.
Matt Jarvis 17:00 pm UTCHere's a closer peek at SteamWorld Heist 2’s new job system, which looks to bring a whole scrapheap of customisation to the charming 2D XCOM-a-like, as shared by Edwin earlier.
Matt Jarvis 17:24 pm UTCBloodstained’s final update arrives next week, adding Chaos and Versus modes originally planned for 2020. There'll be a final paid expansion after that - and perhaps that sequel we've heard nothing about for a few years now?
Matt Jarvis 11:55 am UTCHelldivers 2 has received over 100,000 negative Steam reviews in two days after announcing that Steam players must link the game to a PSN account. Arrowhead's CEO says the negative reviews are "warranted" and that Sony are the originator of the policy.
Graham Smith 11:56 am UTCThe UK government has responded to a petition asking them to regulate publishers who shut down games. The petition was prompted by the closure of The Crew, Ubisoft's racing game, back in March.
Graham Smith 11:57 am UTCFall Guys is getting a bunch of Star Wars skins this week, alongside major changes to bean physics. Perhaps it will stop being the most frustrating game ever made? I hope so; my keyboard has precious few uncracked keycaps left.
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