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)!
New Neptunia Virtual Stars character coming this week
Neptunia Virtual Stars was released earlier this year for PlayStation 4 in Japan. It’s an action RPG, from what I can tell very hack-n-slash-y. It also features loads of characters from Neptunia games from the past ten years. A new person is set to join the action, as Towa Kiseki will be available in Japan on November 19. She is the first of two playable guest Virtual YouTubers coming to the game, the other appearing later will be Kizuna AI. Take a peek at the DLC trailer:
The title is set in Virtualand, a dimension containing virtual planets that produce an incredibly important commodity: content. That’s right, Compile Heart is going the honest route and calling content a commodity, which it has in fact become. One Planet, EMO, is in the sight of a rather nefarious group that wants to destroy any content created by these virtual planets. Popular live-streamer for earth are transported to the dimension and become targets for Anti, who turns them in data pockets. Enter the group of people we know and love. The Virtual Goddess sends out a distress signal, and who answers? The Goddesses of Gamindustry, of course. Neptune, Noir, Blanc, and Vert are on the way to save the day.
If you’re outside Japan and wondering when you can play, it shouldn’t be too much longer. It will be released for Western PlayStation 4 consoles sometime next year (I’d wager sometime in the first half, but it’s hard to know these days).
Coffee Talk creator’s next title is coming to console
Coffee Talk was a great game, and its creator has veered into an entirely different director with When The Past Was Around. The point-and-click puzzle adventure launched for PC via Steam this September, and is now set to come to PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One sometime in mid-December. Take a look at a new trailer:
Eda is early into adulthood, and feels as though she got lost on her way to her dreams, and on her way to find love. The surreal world is made up of disjointed rooms from memories and time. Eda can find her way by gather clues, solving puzzles, and unlocking doors. Mysteries are hidden in everyday objects, so Eda will do things like laundry and drinking tea.
The game is sweet and whimsical, personal and ubiquitous all at the same time. The settings are all hand-drawn, and violin music will play through every moment. She meets The Owl, a man that makes her passion ignite and also teaches her about heartbreak.
There is no such thing as too much Picross
I have fond memories of playing Jupiter’s Picross titles on the 3DS for years, but also haven’t done that for years. I’ve tried to find something comparable for iPad, but it doesn’t exist; the best I’ve got is MIKULOGI but it has such limited puzzles that I’ve played through, deleted the title (it doesn’t have an erase data option), and reinstalled to begin again more times than I can count… maybe 50? Anyway, for those with a Nintendo Switch, a much better option for you is the Picross S series. Picross S5 has just been announced and will launch via the Nintendo eShop on November 26. Take a look at the trailer:
Obviously, this game is the fifth in the S series. All four game modes are there: Picross, Mega Picross, Colour Picross, and Clip Picross. There’s also now an Extra section that includes new large puzzles. There are a whopping 485 puzzles total. That includes 300 Picross and Mega Picross puzzles, 150 Clip Picross piece puzzles, 30 Color Picross puzzles, and five Extra puzzles. You’ll need to have played Picross S, Picross S2, and Picross S3 in order the unlock the third Extra puzzle, though. Oh well, more reason for more puzzles if you haven’t done that yet!
The game logs your time in each puzzle, and that along with the total time (after you finish everything) in all the puzzles will be displayed. It promises high-contrast colours, and the option to change colours to something easier to tell apart in Colour Picross.
Root Double: Before Crime After Days Xtend Edition coming to Switch
Another visual novel with multiple past releases is heading to Nintendo Switch. Root Double: Before Crime After Days originally launched in 2012, with the Xtend Edition coming to PC via Steam in April 2016. Now Root Double: Before Crime After Days Xtend Edition will be released for Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop on November 26. Pre-order now for a discount. And of course, here’s a trailer:
The game takes place after a nuclear meltdown at a research facility. It is show from two different points of view. A rescue team is sent to hopefully save the lives of people stuck inside a reactor that is about to explode. The team’s leader has amnesia, so doesn’t really know what’s going on. It’s a crime thriller, and using multiple points of view will help discover the full picture of how the meltdown happened. This edition has two storylines, one from before the crime and one from afterwards.
Root Double: Before Crime After Days Xtend Edition boasts 40 endings and 50 hours of gameplay. Between 2012 and 2016, the art was reworked and is high-definition. There is a unique Senses Sympathy System that makes it unique compared to other visual novels. It’s also fully voiced in Japanese.
