News by Lindsay M.
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news 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)!
First title from French indie devs promises conspiracies and whistleblowers
Based in Rouen, France, Norseman Interactive is poised to launch its freshman title with publisher Playdius. And it looks good, and right up my alley. Somewhere: The Vault Papers is a real-time narrative game (which means notifications pop up on your phone in real time — if you haven’t played one yet, they can be really well done!) promising whistleblowers, conspiracies, and manhunts.
A journalist, Cat, has accidentally reached out to you via text; she’s begging for your help in her investigation and to help her stay alive. The story takes several days to play out and can end in one of many endings — and that means many replays spanning many weeks. A bargain for $2.99. Cat will ask for you to find clues on the internet, guide her, and help her make decisions. Once you’ve reached one ending, you can jump back in time to change what you did and alter the path the story takes.
Somewhere: The Vault Papers will be coming to iOS and Android next month. The iOS version, scheduled for March 8, is a premium title with a price of $2.99 USD. The Android version, coming soon after, is a freemium title with a $2.99 in-app purchase to unlock full content.
Detective Pikachu is set to crack the case!
I’m not going to waste any time here: there is a new trailer for Detective Pikachu and you have to see it:
Set in Ryme City, Detective Pikachu is on the search for his friend’s father when he stumbles into a far deeper mystery: why friendly Pokemon are behaving… oddly. And Mewtwo is connected, although nobody can imagine how at this point. In a city where humans and Pokemon live side-by-side in peace, what will happen if the Pokemon start acting differently? I’m willing to be Detective Pikachu is the only one who can solve the case!
A demo for Detective Pikachu will be available in Japan early next month. The title will be fully released worldwide for the 3DS on March 23.
The first full-length trailer for The Caligula Effect: Overdose is here — and a teaser for the anime!
So much Caligula Effect, so little time! First up is the first full-length trailer for The Caligula Effect: Overdose, an Unreal Engine 4 remake of the original Vita title:
Overdose promises upgrades across the board: direction and visuals are just a start. The Forbidden Musician Route is twice the volume of the main scenario. There’s now multiple endings, a female protagonist option, and new songs. The Caligula Effect: Overdose is out for PlayStation 4 in Japan on May 17.
And now on to the anime! Yes, that’s right, The Caligula Effect is becoming an anime. Here is the new teaser trailer. The anime features the same voice cast as the original title as well as Overdose, which I love! In the game, the player names the character — but in the anime, he is named Ritsu Shikishima. The Caligula Effect anime will begin airing on Tokyo MX this April.
Papers, Please becomes a short film
Remember Papers, Please? The title puts you in the position of a border guard in Arstotzka, where you spend long days checking the documents of people trying to enter your country.
Some decisions are obvious and easy. But others are more difficult. You may need to decide to split up a family because their documents are partially incorrect, changing the course of their lives forever. Each decision carries heavy consequences that haunt you even after you put the game down — or in this case, after the film ends.
Papers, Please, the short film, is now available to watch for free on YouTube. It’s about ten minutes long, and you’ll want to remember subtitles! I know you’re in a rush to see it, so I won’t even make you leave this page:
