News by Matt S.
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)!
Lovecraft fans rejoice! Conarium looks like the real deal
The unique blend of horror that is attributed to H.P Lovecraft is notoriously difficult to pull off. It’s meant to be more about terror of the mind, with audiences only seeing the impact that unfathomable cosmic horrors have on the victims. You’re not meant to be able to fight back, escape, or survive an encounter with one of Lovecraft’s monsters with your mind and body intact. That said, developers continue to try, because Lovecraft’s horror is appealing and intelligent, and worth doing in games, as we’ve seen with the likes of Eternal Darkness and Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth in the past. Conarium is the latest attempt to do Lovecraft justice in a game, and as you can see, it’s looking swell so far.
Related reading: A retro review of Call of Chulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.
Learn about the localisation of Yakuza 0
Yakuza games are mammoth localisation projects. Not only are they sprawling JRPGs, but the sheer amount of ambient stuff going on in them tasks a localisation team to look at every single element of the game all over again. That is, in part, why we need to wait so long for games like Yakuza 0 to make their way out west. SEGA has released a short video with the head of the localisation project to show fans a little about how they get on with their job.
Related reading: Matt’s review of Yakuza 5.
Styx sequel coming in early 2017
Cynaide Studios had a minor hit on its hands with its stealth action game, Styx: Master of Shadows. Channeling the classic Thief games better than the recent reboot of Thief was ever able to, the game is arguably the strongest pure stealth game on modern consoles, after Dishonored. We’ve known that a sequel (Styx: Shards of Darkness) has been in development for quite some time, but its release has been slightly delayed, to the first quarter of 2017.
In a statement, the CEO of Cyanide, Patrick Pligersdorffer, said “with this new episode of Styx we updated our engine from Unreal 3 to Unreal 4. This update has brought so much to the Styx series, from graphical enhancements to new gameplay mechanics and features. The engine transition has required some time for our team to adapt to. We’re dedicated to providing the best stealth experience possible for players, so in agreement with our publisher Focus, we are delaying the game until the first quarter of 2017.”
Cyanide isn’t known for delaying games, as it tends to work to tight budgets, so hopefully this is a sign that the team sees the real potential for this to become a top-flight franchise. As we wait, enjoy the trailer, because this game is looking superb.
505 Games picks up Bloodstained
Bloodstained is one of those Kickstarter darlings; the creator of Castlevania, liberated of Konami, has formed a new team to create a Castlevania game in all but name. That game, Bloodstained, managed to pick up $5.5 in pledges in its Kickstarter campaign.
Now the game has some extra investment. 505 Games has picked up worldwide distribution rights for the game, aside from any mobile versions. This is good. Contrary to popular belief, $5.5 million is not enough to do a really good game, and in finding a publisher, the developers will have the security and resources to build the game that the fans really want.
Here’s a video about the new partnership:
– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief
Find me on Twitter: @digitallydownld
