News by Lindsay M., News Editor
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)!
A new demo is available for this Steampunk RPG
We’ve published a few articles about Gataela, about three years ago. Don’t worry though, the game is absolutely still under development, and a new demo is available now! It can be downloaded via itch.io. Here’s a new trailer:
Gataela is described as a Victorian Steampunk RPG, with a developer based out of my hometown of Ottawa. We interviewed her back in 2016, which you can read here.The game has a two-battle system, comprised of classic RPG turn-based battles and debate battles, unique to the game. The debate battles have you interact with NPCs to make things go in your favour.
The story follows Zack, one of many victims of a devastating civil war. He is heading to the local Lord to request help, but his journey is led astray, bringing him to the capital city and fanning the flames of war. The goal isn’t to save the world its simply to make a difference for your home.
Wales Interactive is on an FMV roll, and I’m all in!
To count aloud the number of excellent FMV titles from publisher Wales Interactive would make me breathless, but a short list includes The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, Late Shift, and Headspun. Well, there’s another on the way, this time based around a found phone. It’s Simulacra, by Malasian developer Kaigan Games, and here’s trailer:
Kaigan games previously developed games for smartphones, including the critically applauded Sara Is Missing. Simulacra is its spiritual successor. If you want to play Sara Is Missing first, don’t worry, as it’s also available for PC and Nintendo Switch. Anyway, Simulacra is set in the lost phone of a woman named Anna. The deeper you dive, contacting her friends and digging through texts, emails, and photos, the stranger the phone behaves.
You’ll also have to recover lost files and piece corrupted data back together in order to trace her final steps, and hopefully find her before its too late. The game features five different endings, live videos, and extensive VO work.
Mosaic now available on Apple Arcade, coming to other platforms later
Mosaic is a surreal adventure game by Krillbite Studio (Among the Sleep) that explores the dreadful lonely adult life. Here’s a trailer from this year’s E3:
The protagonist lives a monotonous, repetitive, lonely life in a cold, overpopulated city. The phone will distract you as you move through crowds, displaying meaningless notifications. You have no sense of the world around you until strange things start happening on your way to work.
The game is now available on Apple Arcade (iPhone, iPad, Apple TV). It will launch for PC/Mac/Linux on December 5, with a console launch early next year.
Get groovy later this week
Get ready to get your groove on, as Groove Coaster: Wai Wai Party!!!! will be launching in Japan for Nintendo Switch via the eShop (it’s a digital exclusive) on November 7. While only available in the Japan shop for now, it does also support English. Here’s a new trailer:
Groove Coaster: Wai Wai Party!!!!, like the other titles in the series, combines a music game with a roller coaster. This is the series’ first time on Switch, although it’s made appearances on smartphones and Steam, as well as in arcades. This Switch version uses “Active Controls,” meaning you use the Joy-Con to perform. There’s also an “Everybody Play” modes with support for up to four players, via Wai Wai Battle when everyone plays regardless of skill level or Gachi Battle, when dedicated users can test their skills against one another.
There is a massive lineup of popular music, from J-POP hits to Vocaloid songs to original songs. Some titles are:
- Dramaturgy by Eve
- Lemon by Kenshi Yonezu
- U.S.A. by DA PUMP
- Jack-the-Ripper by Sasakure.UK
