From Friday through to Sunday, PAX South took place at San Antonio, Texas. Many developers took the time to release information about the titles that gamers could play while they were there; this included announcements, upcoming content and plenty of screenshots.
Embers of MirrimIn
This “adventure-platformer” players assume the role of a creature called Mirrim. He has a unique ability — he can split himself into two entities known as Embers, light and dark, each of which is controlled by a different joystick. These Embers allow him to jump, split, collect and reconnect to evade obstacles and solve puzzles. The aim is to save the world from an alien threat that is corrupting and infecting Mirrim’s planet.
Ghost Blade HD
Next month, players will be able to push their reflexes to the limit in this “intense bullet-hell shoot 'em up game” that has been inspired by shmups of the 1990s. Blending old memories with modern techniques, the game has a modern graphic style and special effects but comes with 2-player co-op, an old-school soundtrack and TATE mode. The Earth Defense Force fleet has defended Mars from from an evil AI known as Shira, but it has escaped. Now taking refuge at an abandoned space station on the outskirts of the solar system, you are tasked with finally destroying Shira once and for all.
Immortal Redneck
There are several things that do not go together in the same sentence. Two of those would be “Ancient Egypt” and “Redneck”, yet here we are. The titular redneck is on holiday in Egypt when he suffers an accident. When he wakes up, he has been mummified in a sarcophagus and transported back in time to Ancient Egypt. He needs to discover what’s happening by dealing with the whole incident in typical redneck style — break into the three huge and danger filled pyramids of Giza and shoot everything in sight. Blending old-school FPS mechanics with roguelike elements, the layout of the pyramids will be procedurally generated so that no two playthroughs are the same. You’ll be able to play the ultimate mashup when the game is released on Xbox One later this year.
In The Shadows
This title was successfully Kickstarted back in May but flew under the radar until its appearance at PAX South. The puzzle platformer pits players against their fears. A man revisits his childhood imaginary world to try to make sense of his life. He must use light sources to scare away monsters and transform them into different objects to help with your journey.
Indivisible
Whereas the last title took to Kickstarter, this one used IndieGoGo for its successful funding campaign. Made by the same team behind Skullgirls, Indivisible is a side-scrolling Action RPG that draws inspiration from titles like Valkyrie Profile and the Metroid series. Protagonist Ajna is a tomboy whose father trained her in martial arts to be able to defend her home. When her town is attacked by warlords, Ajna discovers that she has the power to absorb individuals into her being. Not only do these individuals grant new weapons and abilities, she can also summon them into battle. Will she be able to stop the warlords?
KONA
Developer Parabole and publisher Ravenscourt have joined forces to bring the “survival-adventure horror title” to consoles. It is 1970. The village of Atamipek Lake in Northern Canada is being ravaged by a strange blizzard. You are detective Carl Faubert, who must explore the village, take on the elements and investigate all of the surreal events that are taking place during the storm. Everything seems eerily quiet… too quiet.
MXGP3 – The Official Motocross Videogame
Milestone’s motocross racing simulation franchise returns for its third iteration, arriving this spring. Having moved onto the Unreal Engine 4, the game offers better graphics and gameplay techniques. Based on the 2016 season, players will have to race through unpredictable and dynamic weather conditions and deforming terrain as they conquer the career mode and a variety of offline and online modes. All official MXGP and MX2 2016 riders, and the official tracks, including the MXoN, will be available in-game.
Tale of Ronin
Unlike all of the other titles above, Tale of Ronin has not been specifically confirmed for Xbox One. Coming to “consoles”, the title is developed by the same studio that is behind Shadow Blade: Reload, meaning that there is a decent chance of it coming to our favourite console. The RPG title tells a tale of “camaraderie and betrayal”, “war and peace, and above all honor”. You’ll assume the role of a ronin whose choices determine your success in a world that is full of turmoil and violence.
Updates and Game Patches
Gigantic’s Exile In The North update brought more content this week in the form of a couple of creatures. First there’s the Yeti Cyclops, who can create a protective wall near its location, unleash a shockwave that weakens enemies, rupture the ground beneath enemies so that they’re thrown into the air and frozen, and attack using a powerful melee combo. Secondly, we have the Winter Bloomer who can create healing frost blooms and shielding frost orbs (the latter of which also freezes foes for a short time), and attacks using his entangling roots that slow enemies down.
Meanwhile, Titanfall 2’s upcoming update will add Live Fire mode to the game. The mode’s designer, Griffin Dean, answered some commonly asked questions about the mode. You can read all about it here. He also confirmed that Live Fire will be just the first of many content updates that will arrive throughout 2017. Upcoming content also includes, new Prime Titans, cosmetics, Pilot execution, a new weapon and the return of a fan favourite map from the original title: Colony. Live Fire will be available next month while Colony will arrive in March.
Take a look:
Trailers
While the Steam version of Days of War may have just been released in Early Access, the console version of the title still has a way to go. Heading back to World War II, players can choose to battle as either the Americans, British, Russians or Germans in teams of up to 32 players. Each of the battles are objective based with modes like Domination, where players fight over five flags in a specific order, and Detonation, where one side has to place explosives at certain locations to add time to the game clock. There will be a variety of classes, each with their own unique weapons, strengths and weaknesses. To celebrate the game’s release on Steam, developer Driven Arts released a new trailer:
Screenshots
Hitchhiker (Win 10) is slowly heading towards release on Windows 10. Recently, developer
MatthewHall3d gave the cars a graphical overhaul. Take a look at the new images below:
The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk is the sequel to The Inner World, both of which will be arriving on Xbox One this year. This weekend brought along the first screenshots for the sequel, which sees players taking on Emil, a trader who has led the flute nosed creatures of Asposia astray. The only person who can save the Asposians is the last Wind monk and only RObert, the heir to the flute nose throne, can find him.
We Happy Few is still evolving while the title is in Game Preview. This week we were treated to a look at some new encounters. The first is the Murderhouse, where “Cheap knockoff drugs = psychosis”. There’s every chance that the layout for the house may later be used in other locations. The second is the Hoard House where the lady inhabitants “like to collect crap… lots of crap”. The Church of Simon Says has also been given a makeover. Finally, the Love Birds encounter will be redesigned. The aim is to “make it a scene out of Cyrano de Bergerac, where Arthur needs to hide in the bushes and feed lines to a romantic guy to say to his girlfriend, but if she spots you, the jig is up”. While the layout is still to be finalised, you can take a look at its current form in the final screenshot:
Miscellaneous
Finally for this week, developer En House Studios released a lot of details about GLITCHED’s combat system. Whenever a conflict occurs between two characters, they must try to resolve it verbally. If this doesn’t happen, the characters engage in a Battle of FATE, a card-based battle system. You can read the detailed explanation in this blog post.