News by Lindsay M.
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly news feature, Catch-up coffee Monday. Each Monday we will bring you the best news from the previous week that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
Chernobyl VR Project releases 360-degree video, announces a portion of sales will go to charity
Virtual Reality can be a tool for far more than just video games, as proved by the upcoming VR documentary titled the Chernobyl VR Project. This week, commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the disaster, The Farm 51 (the film’s developer, which is an incredibly odd statement in itself) released a 360-degree video from the upcoming documentary. The film isn’t a normal one, as it combines video games with education and film narrative software. The amount that will be donated to charities supporting victims of the disaster varies by version: 20% of a $19.99 purchase, 30% of a $29.99 purchase, and 60% of a $49.99 purchase will be donated to organizations including Global Ukraine, The Human Rights Information Centre, and the Ukraine Image Agency, among others. The Chernobyl VR Project is the first virtual tour around Chernobyl and Pripyat, and will be compatible with multiple headsets including PlayStation VR. It is scheduled for a June release.
Sekai Project releases first episode of Selenon Rising
Sekai Project has partnered with Fastermind games to bring us Selenon Rising, and episodic noir sci-fi visual novel. In the game, it has been hundreds of years since Earth lost a war against the Selenon, an alien race living on the dark side of the moon (cue Pink Floyd). The Selenon have kept one city intact and enforce but a single law upon it: any advanced technology must be destroyed. Players become Agent Violet, who is part of the Bureau of Human Protection. Her job is simple; she must protect humanity by ensuring complete obedience. Okay, that’s maybe not so simple after all. Agent Violet and her partner Blye set out to find a murderer linked to the New Moon Resistance, but of course it’s never that simple. Selenon Rising’s first episode is available now via Steam for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
Total War: Warhammer’s pre-order bonus DLC is no longer limited to pre-orders
Warhammer fans were up in arms this week about pre-order DLC bonus not being made available to the masses. The Chaos Warriors race was set to only be pre-order DLC, but someone at Sega decided to make the “exclusive” free DLC available to anyone who purchases the game within its first week (which is going on now). Normally I like to keep my opinion out of the catch-up, but I’d briefly like to voice it on this subject: Sega shouldn’t have caved. Pre-order bonuses mean you need to pre-order. It isn’t like people didn’t know the game was coming out. Letting players dictate a game developer’s choices is an extremely slippery slope. You don’t hear about mobile companies like TinyCo. changing their minds about releasing characters from limited-time events players missed out on, and a company like Sega especially shouldn’t cater to the whiny “fans” who were too lazy to pre-order. Removing the “limited time” from “available for a limited time” means all those who did pre-order actually did so without purpose, and that is unfair. Okay, maybe that wasn’t so brief — but I stand by it.
Fire Emblem Fates getting a new series of maps
Nintendo and Intelligent Systems are bringing even more new content to Fire Emblem Fates. Beginning 5 May, players can purchase and download a new map each week up until mid-June. Maps can be purchased individually or together as Map Pack 2. Map release dates are: May 5 (I: In Endless Dreams), May 12 (II: Realms Collide), May 19 (III: The Changing Tide), May 26 (IV: Light’s Sacrifice), June 2 (V: Endless Dawn), and June 9 (End: The Lost Waves). Map Pack 2 is different than Map Pack 1 in that it tells an ongoing story where other (Deeprealms) versions of the Hoshidan and Nohrian children are under attack. Units levelled up in the main game are no help, and cannot lend their support. As of 5 May there is also a free bonus available for those who already own either Birthright or Conquest; Another Gift from Anna will provide players with the Boots and Paragon items.
Does any of this news tickle your fancy or make you steaming mad? Let us know in the comments! And meet us again next week for a new edition of Catch-up coffee Monday.
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
