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)!
Spiritfarer adds new platforms, new trailer available
It was already announced that Spiritfarer, a cozy management game about dying, will be released later this year for PC via Steam/GOG, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. The developer, Thunder Lotus Games, has also announced that the game will launch for PC via the Epic Games Store and Google Stadia. There’s also a new trailer released that shows off some new places and characters:
Stella is a ferrymaster for the dead, a Spiritmaster if you will. She’ll need to build a boat to explore before befriending, caring for, and eventually releasing spirits. Loads of simulation gameplay elements are available, including farming, mining, fishing, cooking, and crafting. The game also borrows from platforms, with levels constructed to jun, jump, and glide through. There’s even a co-op mode available where the second player takes on the role as Daffodil the cat.
The new teaser (above) definitely shows the progress the developer has made between it and the last trailer. “The new teaser certainly does accurately convey the forward momentum that our production has at this point!” says Spiritfarer Creative Director Nicolas Guérin in a press release. “The game has only grown grander and more varied over the past few months, and it’s great to finally be giving a spotlight to some of the awesome new levels and characters the team has been creating. We’re excited to be adding Stadia and Epic Games Store to our list of launch platforms as well, since we’ve had many requests for this from our fans.”
Darkestville Castle is coming to consoles
Originally launched for PC nearly three (!!!) years ago, developer Epic Llama and publisher Buka Entertainment are set to bring point-and-click adventure game Darkestville Castle to consoles. It will launch on August 13 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. A demo is currently available on all three platforms. Here’s a new trailer for the console announcement:
Being evil isn’t easy, but it sure is fun! Cid has been having a grand old time in Darkestville, tormenting the townsfolk, until someone with the incredible name of Dan Teapot hires a group of demon hunters to rid the town of Cid, likely because Cid burnt Dan’s house down a couple of times. But that was supposed to be funny! Join Cid on his adventure to rid himself of the demon hunters through classic point-and-click gameplay including dozens of puzzles. It should take about seven hours to play through the entirety of the game.
Darkestville Castle is inspire by the classic adventure games from Tim Schafer as well as filmmaker Tim Burton’s black humour. The developers definitely seem to have a thing for Tims! Anyway, if that’s anything to go from, expect some great gameplay and some super dark humour.
It’s finally time: Moon is coming West!
Ah, Moon. The legendary “anti-RPG” found its way into our minds waaaaay back in 1997, when it launched for the original PlayStation in Japan… but never in English, and never in the West. That’s some serious FOMO right there. Last October, lucky Japanese players were able to get their hands on a digital version for the Nintendo Switch (a physical edition is coming this October), and now that version is coming West, and in English for the first time ever! Moon will launch digitally for the Nintendo Switch in North America and Europe on August 27. Here’s a trailer:
The game starts a bit Poltergeist-y, as a boy is sucked through his TV and into a classic JRPG called Moon World. He follows behind the game’s hero, and begins recovering the world’s missing moonlight by collecting Love. The boy actually releases the soul of those monsters viciously hunted by the hero, collecting their Love as he goes. You don’t level up by fighting – Love is your experience points. There’s NPCs to spy on (or “observe”), and secrets to uncover.
Moon is described as anti-RPG because it takes classic tropes and turns them upside down; such tropes include things like it being okay to steal from people’s homes, or killing thousands of innocent monsters. What happens behind what you see in your favourite RPG games? We’re about to find out! Originally developed by Love-de-Lic, this new version comes from Onion Games, a company founded by Moon’s writer/designer Yoshiro Kimura.
Ever Forward set to launch this month
Developed by Panthea Games (who I grew to love through My Time At Portia), puzzle adventure game Ever Forward will be released on August 13 for PC via Steam. This (Northern) winter, it will also launch on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. The prologue is available as a demo via Steam now. Here’s a new gameplay video:
Maya is caught between realities. One is idyllic, with fields and costal retreats. The other, though, is far more harsh, containing a dream world of traps and puzzles, all in a geometric style. The player will help guide Maya through both worlds, unlocking her memories to discover a secret buried deep within her.
The developers have spent over three years designing puzzles for the “puzzle gamer.” Each should be challenging yet motivating, and some have more than one solution. The artwork is split between soothing pastels and futuristic tones, evoking the absurd nature of the dream world.
