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)!
There’s a Voez update for the Switch
We love rhythm game Voez, available for mobile as well (with micro transactions instead of a one-time purchase), but the Nintendo Switch version rings superior. In his review of the game, Matt S. concludes, “it really is a simply beautiful example of minimalistic elegance and functionality, refined to a near perfect degree.” Now the developer – Rayark – and publisher – Flyhigh Works – have announced that version 1.8 is now available for the only console port of the game.
Voez is set in a fictional town, modeled after a real-life town in Taiwan. Six high school students form a band and achieve international superstardom. Players tap vertical notes as the fall down the screen. Sometimes to screen will “dance” along with the music by having the lanes shift from side to side. There are three difficulty levels, Easy, Hard, and Special. The title began with just over 100 songs, but has now doubled that number.
The update adds seven new songs, bringing the game’s total to a whopping 223. The songs that fall under “hard” difficulty are: Kawattenai yo, Kawaranai yo by the hoshizora project, Be Smile by Shi Kuang Lee & Pico, Hyper Square by Air Carrier, and Lamune by Hitori feat. Yukino Kina. The “Special” songs added are: Stay by Night Keepers, Frontier by sugarmosaic feat. Kumi, and It’s been a long long by Sobrem.
Death Come True is finally coming to the PS4
It absolutely kills me when an FMV title I’ve been looking forward to launches on a platform I can’t use, with promise of a PlayStation 4 version “soon” that is rarely soon at all. I’m currently experiencing this with a prequel to The Shapeshifting Detective, as well as Death Come True… but one of those FOMO moments will end soon enough! The publisher of Death Come True has announced that we’re two months away from the game’s PlayStation launch! (Your turn, D’Avekki, don’t make me wait any longer!)
【デスカムトゥルー PS4パッケージ版 10月15日発売】 早期購入スペシャル特典としてゲーム未収録の映像が見られる「特典映像 Blu-ray Disc」付き。 ダウンロード版も同日発売予定です。 大変お待たせ致しまして申し訳ございません。— Death Come True Official （デスカムトゥルー公式） (@DeathComeTrue) August 7, 2020
Death Come True will launch digitally for PlayStation 4 on October 15, presumably worldwide. In Japan, a physical edition (pre-orders are now open) will be released that same day. The game originally launched for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android on June 25. The PC version followed on July 17.
In the game, your fate is determined by your choices. Described as a “new wave interactive movie game” (although nothing really stands out as new to me), the narrative is by Danganronpa series creator Kazutaka Kodaka. A man wakes up in a hotel room to a ringing phone. He doesn’t know why he’s there. He actually doesn’t remember anything. Looking around, he notices a woman, bound and unconscious. Then the TV news shows a picture of the man, claiming he’s a serial killer. In a scene, swipe around to look and tap to interact. You’ll make choices for the protagonist during each scene.
Looking forward to Temtem? Hopefully you weren’t planning on using one of these platforms
Despite promising, from the Kickstarter forward, an Xbox One and PlayStation 4 version of Temtem, the developer and publisher have made the questionable move to yank the game from those platforms in favour of versions for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. I’m only a lowly games journalist, but really, I think it’s a mistake; the game will now be limited to PC, Nintendo Switch, or next-gen systems that haven’t even sold yet. Putting it on one current gen system (Nintendo Switch) and not others is just… questionable. Weird. And kind of unfair to those waiting patiently for those versions while supporting the developer any way they could. Anyway, here’s the PlayStation 5 announcement trailer:
Temtem is a massively multiplayer creature-collecting adventure. The game launched on Steam Early Access this January. DDnet took a gander at an alpha version in late 2018, and you can read about that here. The game is very clearly heavily influenced by Pokémon (a series that releases on its promised platforms). Become a Temtem tamer (not trainers, but let’s be real, they’re the exact same thing), explore islands, make friends, enjoy an adventure, defeat an evil clan… I don’t understand the point of playing this over Pokémon from an inconsistent developer instead of just playing Pokémon, but loads of people seem very excited. I just hope they weren’t planning on playing on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4.
The game features a story campaign, but you’ll never be alone thanks to the online world. You can also team up with a friend and work together. In addition to the collecting and “banning” (it’s just fighting), players can buy a house and decorate as they choose, as well as customise their trainer – sorry, tamer – using hats, shirts, pants, or full costumes.
Atelier Ryza 2’s release date has been announced
We damn near lost our minds when a Nintendo Direct Mini revealed the sequel to Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, and we’re in about the same state over the announcement of its release date. Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy will launch for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan on December 3. The PC version will come next year. As for the Western world, there’s no official launch date as of yet, but you can be reassured by the fact it’s still set for “this winter” and the Western dates tend to be not far behind the Japanese launches in the past. Here’s the trailer for last month’s Nintendo Direct Mini that revealed the title:
Ryza is back for a brand new adventure, with new and old friends alike. Follow her as she journeys to the Royal Capital, exploring ancient ruins while seeking the truth behind the lost legends. New skills will help her along the way, including swimming. Yes, she will swim! You know what the means: underwater dungeons!
Gust and Koei Tecmo details three of the aforementioned friends on the official website. Tao Mongarten is Ryza’s friend from childhood, and is currently a rather tall scholar. He spends more time outdoors now than he ever did before. Serri Glaus seems reminiscent of former companion Lila, as she is the same Oren species. Serri is on a journey to collect various plant seeds, and offers to join Ryza on her adventure. Bos Brunnen was a trio with Ryza and Tao as children, and no longer feels any ill will towards Ryza. He’s studious yet foul-mouthed.
