Blightbound set to charge into Early Access

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Blightbound set to charge into Early Access

I’ve always been a massive fan of dungeon crawlers. I’ve actually been trying to think back to the first one I played. I’m not doing very well with my memory as I’m getting older but I think Baldurs Gate is the first that’s really cemented in my head. There’s something really fun about taking a party of adventurers into a dungeon full of evil beasties and hoping they all get out alive. The more story-driven the game is the more fun the delve becomes. This is probably the D&D nerd in me but it’s absolutely true. So, take that format and make your party real people and it’s a living, breathing, gaming, role-playing session. Sound good? Well, that is exactly what Blightbound kind of is.

Blightbound invites you and three of your mates, be they real-life pals or online compatriots, to delve into dungeons dark and see whether you can all leave with your limbs. It’s due to hit Steam Early Access next week (July 29th) and it sounds rather good, actually.

There’s very much an emphasis on team play in Blightbound by the ladies and gentlemen at Ronimo Games. Three heroes (and or heroines) are tasked with leaving their mountain refuge and battling the monstrous minions of The Blight. This cursed fog is covering and corrupting everything beneath your home and, being the heroic types you are, you need to do something about it.

There are certain ingredients needed to make a good crawl into an epic adventure and Blightbound has them in spades. The dungeons which you will traverse are lovingly handcrafted. The monsters will be many and the loot plentiful. You can even recover fallen heroes and expand your roster of available characters, so what’s not to love about that?! This game is also already fairly long. You’ll be questing through three distinct lands, each with their own dungeons to conquer. Plenty to do if you’re looking for variety.

Each member of your team will have their own role to play. Will you be a warrior, assassin, or mage? You’ll need to master your given class if you are to overcome the fiendish puzzles and brutal bosses waiting for you in the darkness.

Something worth noting is in addition to an already expanding game currently featuring 20 playable characters, each with their own skill sets and play-styles to master and hundreds of items to collect, craft, and improve; you’ll be getting free content. We like the word free and even more so when we hear there are already planned free updates from the community. This says two things. The devs love the people playing their game enough to want them involved and they aren’t the types to lock everything behind expensive DLC. We like that, so one-up, devs!

It’s nice to be able to do something aside from the ever-present grind that appears to some extent in any title. In Blightbound you can build your own mountain refuge by recruiting artisans to craft new gear, train your warriors, and more. Something else to concentrate on other than creature killing.

If all of the above sounds like your thing, you might want to grab your Early Access copy of Blightbound on launch week. If you do you’ll be able to snag yourself a 10% discount from the £19.99 asking price. Always worth getting something good at a knockdown price if you can so keep those eyes peeled.

This is right up my street! I need to go and make some friends now so I can play, too. The last thing worth mentioning is the folks over at Devolver are publishing this. That fact alone makes me want to see more and if you love a good dungeon crawl I have a sneaking suspicion you might be joining me come the 29th.

 

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EA announces FIFA 21 and it’s coming with more options for co-op play

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EA announces FIFA 21 and it’s coming with more options for co-op play

Soccer fans rejoice! Most leagues will kick off their 2020-21 season at their normal dates despite the issues surrounding COVID-19, and for gamers, this can only mean another FIFA game is coming fast upon us. Yes, my soccer-loving friends, FIFA 21 is on its way and is slated to drop on October 9th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, with the next-gen versions made available once the systems come out. And if you’re anything like me, you probably want to hear about a reason you should go out and buy yet another edition of a FIFA game. Well, let me tell you now this year’s iteration of the long-running series is shaping up to be the definitive way to play FIFA together with your friends.

For starters, Volta makes its return as the newly dubbed Volta Squads and, besides the addition of a noun at the end of the title, will now include a cooperative mode that allows for you and up to four friends to join together and compete against other teams online. Volta Squads will come with more customization options available for you to style your avatars and new levels for you and your friends to demonstrate your skills on the field. EA also says on the gameplay side, Volta Squads has been tweaked in order to create faster-paced, intelligent squad movement, and more rewarding one on one situations.

Many of these same cooperative features will also be extended to FIFA Ultimate Team, which now has a new co-op functionality that finally allows for a friend to play alongside you on the pitch. Both you and a friend can compete in either Division Rivals and Squad Battles to earn weekly progress and rewards. FUT also comes with a bevy of new options, including some new ways to customize the look of your team on the field and your supporters in the stands. EA also notes players who purchase FIFA 21 on the current-gen consoles will be able to transfer their progress over to the new consoles if they choose to make the jump this holiday season.

The campaign mode returns with new additions that create additional depth in matches, transfers, and training to give you more control over your team. These new functionalities allow you greater insight into your team’s performance, including a new Interactive Match Sim that lets you monitor game data while giving you the option to jump in and out of key moments of each match. FIFA 21‘s career mode is said to give you greater options to simulate real-world experiences both on and off the pitch, such as new ways to sign and loan players. EA also enhanced the opposition’s AI to make both attacking and defending more challenging, keeping each game feeling fresh.

Gameplay-wise, FIFA 21 looks to switch the attention back to attacking after last year’s emphasis on defense. EA says they added a new agile dribbling system that gives you greater control and responsiveness in one-on-one situations. They also claim to have created greater positional awareness in the AI, meaning less probability of an offside call as you move up the pitch. Other additions include manual headers, more balanced blocking, and more intelligent passing options. But whether or not these additions truly impact the gameplay, only time will tell.

Stay tuned for the full reveal in August this year. For all other inquiries, visit EA’s dedicated FIFA 21 page here.

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King Of Seas sailing in for an autumn release

That VideoGame Blog
King Of Seas sailing in for an autumn release

The life of the pirate has been fantasized to no end and yet the reality of those sea-fairing men was harsh, smelly, and unforgiving. Lucky for us, we don’t have to leave the comfort of our homes to enjoy an adventure out on the sea. Italian developer 3DClouds has blessed our adventureless lives with King Of Seas, an action RPG that will throw players into the ferocity of a pirate’s life.

Releasing in autumn of this year for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, there’s really no excuse not to participate in the debauchery and thievery, unless, that’s not how quarantines should be spent.

Set sail to explore islands, dig up treasures, get rich, lay waste to the seas, and, on a more linear approach, avenge your father’s death. King Of Seas will pit players against harsh enemies, force them to navigate through dark and untrusting waters, and fight to become the pirate king–master of sails and saltwater.

As any RPG should have, King of Seas features intriguing characters that will help the player along the way, or not. These characters may lead players to hidden treasures or lure them to their untimely deaths in the black waters. If cautionary-trust wasn’t enough to deal with, players will also have to navigate the world itself. Adaptation is key as the world reacts to every choice the player makes. Routes may shift forcing players to look for new ways to seek out treasures and conquer settlements. Weather conditions might force new routs to be navigated when heading to the desired location. In order to do the trading players want to do or acquire the upgrades players want for their ships, strategizing will be key.

3DClouds couldn’t be more proud of their project and for good reason. This game will have all the thrills of being a pirate including the gorgeous scenery of islands, the ocean, and the expansive sky overhead. Francesco Bruschi, the founder and CEO of the developing company said, “We are thrilled that after a year of hard work, we are finally ready to unveil King Of Seas, our most ambitious project to date.“

He went on to say, “We have poured all our creative talent into creating this stunning pirate world and can’t wait to share more with you in the coming weeks.“

There is certainly a lot to look forward to and if you are a fan anything to do with pirates than this is a game to put on your wishlist.

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Rocket Arena is launching onto PS4, Xbox One and PC

That VideoGame Blog
Rocket Arena is launching onto PS4, Xbox One and PC

Prepare to lift off with Rocket Arena, a new 3 v 3 hero shooter developed by Final Strike Games that leverages rocket-fueled gameplay to create some fun and frantic combat situations. Choose from a colorful cast of heroes that each come equipped with their own unique rocket and special abilities. Learn to master your hero in order to blow away the competition and become the next arena champion.

 

 

As it says in the name, Rocket Arena is a game where two teams of three are pitted against one another with rocket launchers across small, arena-style maps. There are ten playable characters to choose from at launch, each with their own quirky playstyles that add a level of diversity and challenge to every match. Each character also comes with their own progression system that rewards players with things like cosmetic items to further customize their experience.

Speaking of customization, while players are currently unable to swap out their character’s abilities, the game does allow you to equip up to three special “artifacts” that grant additional bonuses, such as the ability to move faster, or reduce the damage taken from specific weapons. While these players will initially have to unlock them through social play, Final Strike Games has went ahead and unlocked them for competitive matchmaking sessions in order to level the playing field.

At launch, the game ships with ten playable heroes to choose from, ten dynamic maps, four competitive game modes, a co-op mode and a practice mode. Final Strike games has also stated that they plan to add a battlepass on July 28th, dubbed the “Blast Pass,” which will also mark the start of season one for the game. Season one will come with the inclusion of a new character, a new map, and a limited time game mode. Each season will last roughly three months, allowing players plenty of time to progress and earn unique items.

Post-launch, players can look forward to the addition of new content such as characters, maps, and new items to discover and collect. Final Strike Games has said they plan to add additional game modes and daily and weekly challenges to entice players into coming back week after week.

 

 

Rocket Arena is out now for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Origin; and supports crossplay between all three platforms. You can pick up the standard edition for $29.99, or the Mythic edition for $39.99, which comes packed with extra content.

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The Innsmouth Case summons a new mystery

That VideoGame Blog
The Innsmouth Case summons a new mystery

Who knows who H.P. Lovecraft is? All of you? Good! That makes my life a hell of a lot easier. As one of the founding fathers of the Cthulhu Mythos, Lovecraft’s works have been thrilling and frightening readers for generations. The other wonderful thing about a mythos is that it’s something that can be carried on and embellished over time. Now, not all of Lovecraft’s books had old squid-face as their villain; they were full of cults, elder things, and a whole menagerie of creepiness. History lesson over this is where the visual novel I’m going to be talking about today steps into the limelight. It’s called The Innsmouth Case and if you have a dark sense of humor and like your horror Lovecraftian, it might really float your proverbial boat.

 

 

The Innsmouth Case has magically appeared on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android and is coming from the folks over at Robot Pumpkin Games. Should you choose to join the story, you’ll be invited to the awesomely eerie town of Innsmouth for helpings of horror and hilarity in equal measure.

Take on the role of a detective investigating the disappearance of Tabitha Marsh. The child’s distraught parents have requested the best detective the department has to offer be put on her case. Sadly, he was busy, so they’ve sent you. This isn’t just a case of a missing little girl though; we’re following in Lovecraftian footsteps, after all. Innsmouth is a town crawling with nameless horrors so you’re going to need a strong stomach and eyes in the back of your head if you’re going to be anything but dead by the end of your time there.

“The long road to Innsmouth has been a fun one, to say the least.” Said publisher Assemble Entertainment CEO, Stefan Marcinek. “The Innsmouth case is full of surprises, offbeat humor, and enthralling mystery – a perfect addition to the Assemble Entertainment roster. We’re thrilled to give players this unique Lovecraftian gameplay experience!“

This isn’t just one of those text-based games where you plod from scenario to scenario. In the Innsmouth Case, your gray matter will be all-important. The choices you make will not only affect immediate decisions but also have a permanent effect on the story as a whole. This being said, there is also a lot of replayability here. Those choices will lead you to one of this title’s twenty-seven endings. Are you going to save the day, save the girl, or save the world? Alternatively, you could just get eaten; entirely your choice.

I think I might just be all over this like a hot rash. I love a bit of Lovecraft and if the humor is properly injected, it’ll create a nice mix with all the harrowing, heart-rending fear. This definitely sounds like a virtual book worth picking up for fans of the genre.

 

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