FYI same studio that made Backpack Hero (which I own but have yet to play)
Oh really? I thought I'd dig Backpack Hero, but ended up bouncing off of it pretty fast. Some things just bugged me about it. BB is pretty cool so far though.
Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051 Steam ID Twitch Page
IanatorGaze upon my works, ye mightyand facepalm.Registered Userregular
Appropriate time of year for WORLD OF HORROR to get its 1.0 release!
The game's already been really good so far. Stir a bit of Lovecraftian cosmic horror into the works of Junji Ito as applied to 1980s computer graphics, all wrapped in an adventure not unlike the Arkham Horror board game.
Have a launch trailer! TRIGGER WARNING for genuinely disturbing content such as blood, suicide, disfigurement and more!
Fate Samurai Remnant completed, or at least one of the endings. Turns out I was right before the final fight when last I played a few weeks ago, so it was interesting trying to remember the buttons after completely forgetting in the interim. Debating whether or not to do NG+ run for the remaining two endings.
Overall was nice but didn't really wow me. The most fun was figuring out who all the Servants were, which would be the main reason I would do a NG+ run since I made the choice that locked out Rogue Saber so I have no idea who they are. At least NG+ retains basically everything except key items and has a fast forward for already-read text so it would go faster.
1- I don't know the difference anymore and I'm too afraid to ask
2- the Steam page says "more from [X]!" and lists backpack hero
1 - The Publisher markets and sometimes funds the Developer to make the game, they do stuff to help the Developer actually code, design, and make the game. The Developer is the one who is usually responsible for the design and mechanics focused, the Publisher usually adds stuff like monetization and more focused on "How will this game make money?".
2 - I think IndieArk is a pretty big publisher, they might share one there.
A feel good romp for all with Kate Beaton's Abby Howard's artwork.
And if you own their previous game, you can "buy" the bundle of both games and it costs less than buying individually, because the discount for the bundle is higher.
ETA: totals a 23% discount off on launch day if you own Scarlet Hollow. Which you should.
I realized today that I would be a terrible game dev. Mostly because I would demand that the game include an unlockable "T-Pose" mode where all the characters (or maybe just the main character) would move and act while stuck in the T-Pose. Combat would just be bonking/running into enemies. All cutscenes would have the same voice lines, so the more serious the story, the more absurd it would be.
Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051 Steam ID Twitch Page
I realized today that I would be a terrible game dev. Mostly because I would demand that the game include an unlockable "T-Pose" mode where all the characters (or maybe just the main character) would move and act while stuck in the T-Pose. Combat would just be bonking/running into enemies. All cutscenes would have the same voice lines, so the more serious the story, the more absurd it would be.
I realized today that I would be a terrible game dev. Mostly because I would demand that the game include an unlockable "T-Pose" mode where all the characters (or maybe just the main character) would move and act while stuck in the T-Pose. Combat would just be bonking/running into enemies. All cutscenes would have the same voice lines, so the more serious the story, the more absurd it would be.
No worse than when games had unlockable cheats with things like Big Head Mode or paintball or whatever. I approve!
I miss silly shit like big head modes. Now those would be DLC. ☹️
i remember when the first animal crossing game had actual entire NES games you could unlock
thats probably my favorite 'game content that would never be game content today'
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-Loki-Don't pee in my mouth and tell me it's raining.Registered Userregular
Cheats for things like big head mode were weird because they took actual development time. Now that games development is serious business, there's no time to spend on things like that.
Simpler cheats like all guns and god mode and no clipping are really just developer tools.
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Kai_SanCommonly known as Klineshrike!Registered Userregular
also no point in developing those when people will mod them in within a month.
Watches the dated-looking trailer
Reads the Mostly Negative reviews
Adds to Wishlist
Some highlights from the negative reviews:
"This game is peak PS2 era."
Stop, stop, I can only wishlist this game once!
"At no point during its incoherent gameplay, did it make any sense"
Well, I do love a game that takes me on a journey through the disordered mind of the developer. Have you met Mr. Fast?
Yeah, after playing devil's advocate here earlier, I've watched all I could handle of oboeshoes, who can make just about anything entertaining, playing Skull Island: Rise of Kong. And the comparisons with the Gollum game are unfair... to the Gollum game.
The '00s got me too used to bad games bringing something to the table. But this?
Watches the dated-looking trailer
Reads the Mostly Negative reviews
Adds to Wishlist
Some highlights from the negative reviews:
"This game is peak PS2 era."
Stop, stop, I can only wishlist this game once!
"At no point during its incoherent gameplay, did it make any sense"
Well, I do love a game that takes me on a journey through the disordered mind of the developer. Have you met Mr. Fast?
Yeah, after playing devil's advocate here earlier, I've watched all I could handle of oboeshoes, who can make just about anything entertaining, playing Skull Island: Rise of Kong. And the comparisons with the Gollum game are unfair... to the Gollum game.
The '00s got me too used to bad games bringing something to the table. But this?
It should warm your heart that I am finding a great many PSOne era visuals on youtube from upcoming games. Unsure if they're good but good lawd, the nostalgia
FYI same studio that made Backpack Hero (which I own but have yet to play)
Oh really? I thought I'd dig Backpack Hero, but ended up bouncing off of it pretty fast. Some things just bugged me about it. BB is pretty cool so far though.
Backpack hero had a solid core premise (Inventory tetris roguelike is a very good premise) that then... overcomitted and under comitted.
Gold, Curses and the relic equilvents all being items you had to fit into your inventory was really, really bad. Gold should have been it's own slotless thing. Relics and curses are good examples of where they simply didn't push the design far enough - think how much more interesting it'd have been had they been overlays over parts of your inventory.
Beyond that, it had really abysmal monster and boss design - people claim StS has hard counters (it doesn't, fight me), but Backpack Hero literally has (had? It's been a year+ since i played) a boss that gained Spikes (Hurt you for hitting it) every time you hit it. Built a multi-attack build, something the game really incentivized you to do? You're fucked with a boss that's mathmatically impossible to beat. Maybe you got lucky and got the relic that removes a boss's spikes with every hit, in which case you're... merely in immense trouble. Not great! Quite shitty in point of fact! And this is to say nothing of monsters that simply spam curses. What's that, the game incentives you to fill up all your inventory slots so you have no space to place curses? Boy! Hope you like stacking hp penalties that you can't do anyhting about unless you either: throw away items (You need these), or kill them real fast (see: win more)
In general it's method of handing out loot and the way the game worked pushed into a win-more/go big or go home combo territory, which is an issue that haunts a lot of these tactical roguelikes. Honestly at this point i think of all the ones i've played, Slay the Spire might be the only one that dosent push you to do go big or go home combos? They're just something that Can Happen and are very fun when they do, not mandatory.
So ultimately it's a cool idea that's a lot less than the sum of it's parts.
KoopahTroopahThe koopas, the troopas.Philadelphia, PARegistered Userregular
The donos just keep on rolling. Thank you @Jazz for their donation which pushed us over $400!
As a reminder for PA folks only, I'll be doing my standard two raffles. One of $100 in Steam dollars, and another of a game of the winner's choice (On any platform including console if we can make it work). Just gotta donate to the Extra-Life page with at least $5 and make sure you mark your PA name in the name/comments so I can keep track.
Watch out, the vampire hunter is establishing dominance!
Was it someone here that said they wanted a cheat/mod where they fought T-posers? Cause had this happen in Vampyr when a little too far from a vampire hunter and I couldn't help but giggle.
Paradox Studios dropped Harebrained Studios as a developer, citing bad sales of Lamplighters League.
With the big layoffs a few months before release and the state the game was released in its hard to feel like Paradox didn’t cut them off at the knees here.
I'm also curious what sort of sales figures they expected when the game is a Game Pass title on both platforms it released on.
Gamepass doesn't seem to be able to "save" bad games if that makes sense. Redfall, as a good example, failed to not only impress on gamepass but also managed to have "minimal sales" and has apparently sold *very* badly. Thankfully at least Arkane studios weren't mass fired, blamed for it and then left to the winds.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Lamplighters League was actually a good game. A genuinely good game. It got absolutely shafted by technical problems and if you think it's bad on PC, don't even get me started on how bad the Series X version has been.
I didn't mean that Game Pass could "save" it somehow. I just wonder how launching as a Game Pass does (and should) impact sales projections. I'd imagine they should go down quite a bit, especially when the game is not only launching on Game Pass but launching only on platforms where Game Pass exists. Granted, The Lamplighters League is available on Steam, but it's also available on PC via Game Pass. And you can buy it on Xbox, but you can also download it through Game Pass. As far as I know it didn't release on PlayStation or Switch. Seems like you should expect low sales in that case (unless Game Pass downloads count as a sale for some reason).
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
The publisher is called GameMill which seems a little on the nose.
They also cranked out that super shitty Cobra Kai game. Seems like they make a bunch of garbage, probably at a very low cost.
Cobra Kai was perfectly a cromulant beat 'em up.
It would be really neat to see a martial arts competition game. I don't mean yet another open world beat 'em up, but a game where you actually have to spar with an opponent, follow the rules, and memorize forms before competition, maybe like Unison.
And God no, I don't mean MMA format, just basic point sparring.
Redfall when it came out was Microsoft internal development, but it was started before MS bought Bethesda. And Bethesda told their acquired studio Arkane to make a GaaS game when everyone thought that's where the money was, and by the time it was halfway done that idea had vanished. Though no-one would ever make a public statement on it, I bet it was never considered good enough and has gotten minimal support to make true on what appeared in trailers and marketing. And now it got 1 big patch for nobody and it's dead. From the POV of Arkane you get a new boss who says that you must stop doing what you're good at, and then that new boss gets a new boss who doesn't believe in it. Which is why a lot of Arkane people left in 21/22, when the industry was hiring.
Lamplighters League is in some way the opposite and some ways similar, Paradox acquired HBS just as they launched Battletech. HBS wanted to make another tactical RPG which they could, but Paradox didn't want them to use any outside IP, because they were afraid whoever owned that IP would squeeze the profitability from the product. But they did get to make a game in the genre they're good at, with a Gamepass contract to limit the risk. When the product got close to release, Paradox didn't think it was good enough to make any money and fired most of the studio before the game even got out. Now they've split.
This more akin to the whole Embracer fiasco, where Paradox went and bought a ton of stuff when money was cheap but limply support everyone, so all of it ends up losing money. And now loaning money is expensive, so a lot of studios pay the price.
Meanwhile Gamepass is reportedly more stingy with contracts. It apparently was more or less a nobrainer a few years ago, but I guess because Gamepass hasn't grown like MS wanted too (And they're behind on their targets for Xbox sales too), less people get contracts, and those contracts are less good. And stuff like Lamplighters makes me wonder if stuff like Metacritic bonuses may get tied to Gamepass contracts, because otherwise underfunding a Gamepass game so you limit your losses may remain viable, even if it's bad for Gamepass, the people who work at the studio, and the industry in general.
The publisher is called GameMill which seems a little on the nose.
They also cranked out that super shitty Cobra Kai game. Seems like they make a bunch of garbage, probably at a very low cost.
Cobra Kai was perfectly a cromulant beat 'em up.
It would be really neat to see a martial arts competition game. I don't mean yet another open world beat 'em up, but a game where you actually have to spar with an opponent, follow the rules, and memorize forms before competition, maybe like Unison.
And God no, I don't mean MMA format, just basic point sparring.
The publisher is called GameMill which seems a little on the nose.
They also cranked out that super shitty Cobra Kai game. Seems like they make a bunch of garbage, probably at a very low cost.
Cobra Kai was perfectly a cromulant beat 'em up.
It would be really neat to see a martial arts competition game. I don't mean yet another open world beat 'em up, but a game where you actually have to spar with an opponent, follow the rules, and memorize forms before competition, maybe like Unison.
And God no, I don't mean MMA format, just basic point sparring.
Posts
FYI same studio that made Backpack Hero (which I own but have yet to play)
Oh really? I thought I'd dig Backpack Hero, but ended up bouncing off of it pretty fast. Some things just bugged me about it. BB is pretty cool so far though.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
It is not.
The game's already been really good so far. Stir a bit of Lovecraftian cosmic horror into the works of Junji Ito as applied to 1980s computer graphics, all wrapped in an adventure not unlike the Arkham Horror board game.
Have a launch trailer! TRIGGER WARNING for genuinely disturbing content such as blood, suicide, disfigurement and more!
Twitch | Blizzard: Ianator#1479 | 3DS: Ianator - 1779 2336 5317 | FFXIV: Iana Ateliere (NA Sarg)
Backlog Challenge List
https://imgur.com/t/rabbit
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Awesome!
I rescind my awesome.
Friends have been telling me about Backpack Battles for a bit now. They love the demo.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
Overall was nice but didn't really wow me. The most fun was figuring out who all the Servants were, which would be the main reason I would do a NG+ run since I made the choice that locked out Rogue Saber so I have no idea who they are. At least NG+ retains basically everything except key items and has a fast forward for already-read text so it would go faster.
Then the next one, and the final seal of the season were absolute meat grinders
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
1- I don't know the difference anymore and I'm too afraid to ask
2- the Steam page says "more from [X]!" and lists backpack hero
1 - The Publisher markets and sometimes funds the Developer to make the game, they do stuff to help the Developer actually code, design, and make the game. The Developer is the one who is usually responsible for the design and mechanics focused, the Publisher usually adds stuff like monetization and more focused on "How will this game make money?".
2 - I think IndieArk is a pretty big publisher, they might share one there.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
A feel good romp for all with Kate Beaton's Abby Howard's artwork.
You had me excited for a moment, but I guess you mean it's like Kate Beaton's artwork?
Uuuugh I messed up, I'm and idiot.
Why did I think Kate.
And if you own their previous game, you can "buy" the bundle of both games and it costs less than buying individually, because the discount for the bundle is higher.
ETA: totals a 23% discount off on launch day if you own Scarlet Hollow. Which you should.
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
Huh. I...expected it to look a lot better tbh
Please consider donating what you can to my Extra-Life to help sick kiddos at CHOP!
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Lies of Penguin
And the older Ys games
No worse than when games had unlockable cheats with things like Big Head Mode or paintball or whatever. I approve!
Steam | XBL
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
i remember when the first animal crossing game had actual entire NES games you could unlock
thats probably my favorite 'game content that would never be game content today'
Simpler cheats like all guns and god mode and no clipping are really just developer tools.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Yeah, after playing devil's advocate here earlier, I've watched all I could handle of oboeshoes, who can make just about anything entertaining, playing Skull Island: Rise of Kong. And the comparisons with the Gollum game are unfair... to the Gollum game.
The '00s got me too used to bad games bringing something to the table. But this?
It should warm your heart that I am finding a great many PSOne era visuals on youtube from upcoming games. Unsure if they're good but good lawd, the nostalgia
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Apparently, the publisher only gave the studio one year to make the game. Honestly kinda impressive that they were able to ship something at all.
The publisher is called GameMill which seems a little on the nose.
They also cranked out that super shitty Cobra Kai game. Seems like they make a bunch of garbage, probably at a very low cost.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
Steam ID
Twitch Page
Cobra Kai was perfectly a cromulant beat 'em up.
Steam ID: Good Life
Backpack hero had a solid core premise (Inventory tetris roguelike is a very good premise) that then... overcomitted and under comitted.
Gold, Curses and the relic equilvents all being items you had to fit into your inventory was really, really bad. Gold should have been it's own slotless thing. Relics and curses are good examples of where they simply didn't push the design far enough - think how much more interesting it'd have been had they been overlays over parts of your inventory.
Beyond that, it had really abysmal monster and boss design - people claim StS has hard counters (it doesn't, fight me), but Backpack Hero literally has (had? It's been a year+ since i played) a boss that gained Spikes (Hurt you for hitting it) every time you hit it. Built a multi-attack build, something the game really incentivized you to do? You're fucked with a boss that's mathmatically impossible to beat. Maybe you got lucky and got the relic that removes a boss's spikes with every hit, in which case you're... merely in immense trouble. Not great! Quite shitty in point of fact! And this is to say nothing of monsters that simply spam curses. What's that, the game incentives you to fill up all your inventory slots so you have no space to place curses? Boy! Hope you like stacking hp penalties that you can't do anyhting about unless you either: throw away items (You need these), or kill them real fast (see: win more)
In general it's method of handing out loot and the way the game worked pushed into a win-more/go big or go home combo territory, which is an issue that haunts a lot of these tactical roguelikes. Honestly at this point i think of all the ones i've played, Slay the Spire might be the only one that dosent push you to do go big or go home combos? They're just something that Can Happen and are very fun when they do, not mandatory.
So ultimately it's a cool idea that's a lot less than the sum of it's parts.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/id/TheZombiePenguin
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/thezombiepenguin/
Switch: 0293 6817 9891
As a reminder for PA folks only, I'll be doing my standard two raffles. One of $100 in Steam dollars, and another of a game of the winner's choice (On any platform including console if we can make it work). Just gotta donate to the Extra-Life page with at least $5 and make sure you mark your PA name in the name/comments so I can keep track.
Thanks again to all the donations so far!
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
Was it someone here that said they wanted a cheat/mod where they fought T-posers? Cause had this happen in Vampyr when a little too far from a vampire hunter and I couldn't help but giggle.
I didn't mean that Game Pass could "save" it somehow. I just wonder how launching as a Game Pass does (and should) impact sales projections. I'd imagine they should go down quite a bit, especially when the game is not only launching on Game Pass but launching only on platforms where Game Pass exists. Granted, The Lamplighters League is available on Steam, but it's also available on PC via Game Pass. And you can buy it on Xbox, but you can also download it through Game Pass. As far as I know it didn't release on PlayStation or Switch. Seems like you should expect low sales in that case (unless Game Pass downloads count as a sale for some reason).
It would be really neat to see a martial arts competition game. I don't mean yet another open world beat 'em up, but a game where you actually have to spar with an opponent, follow the rules, and memorize forms before competition, maybe like Unison.
And God no, I don't mean MMA format, just basic point sparring.
Lamplighters League is in some way the opposite and some ways similar, Paradox acquired HBS just as they launched Battletech. HBS wanted to make another tactical RPG which they could, but Paradox didn't want them to use any outside IP, because they were afraid whoever owned that IP would squeeze the profitability from the product. But they did get to make a game in the genre they're good at, with a Gamepass contract to limit the risk. When the product got close to release, Paradox didn't think it was good enough to make any money and fired most of the studio before the game even got out. Now they've split.
This more akin to the whole Embracer fiasco, where Paradox went and bought a ton of stuff when money was cheap but limply support everyone, so all of it ends up losing money. And now loaning money is expensive, so a lot of studios pay the price.
Meanwhile Gamepass is reportedly more stingy with contracts. It apparently was more or less a nobrainer a few years ago, but I guess because Gamepass hasn't grown like MS wanted too (And they're behind on their targets for Xbox sales too), less people get contracts, and those contracts are less good. And stuff like Lamplighters makes me wonder if stuff like Metacritic bonuses may get tied to Gamepass contracts, because otherwise underfunding a Gamepass game so you limit your losses may remain viable, even if it's bad for Gamepass, the people who work at the studio, and the industry in general.
Karate Master 2: Knockdown Blow
Reminds me of Budokan:Martial Spirit