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)!
The Magnificent Trufflepigs announced
There are very few times that I look at the title of a game and decide I absolutely cannot miss it, and now is one of those times. The Magnificent Trufflepigs is, alas, not actually about truffle-hunting pigs. While that would be fun (free game idea!), this game looks like it could be an even better idea. It’s a first-person, romantic, metal-detecting game developed by Thunkd. If it feels kind of… familiar… that might be because it’s made by the lead designer of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture. Take a look at its first trailer:
The game puts the players in Adam’s shoes; he is a compassionate and sometimes sharp-witted man. He’s returned to his childhood village, where he helps Beth’s attempt to find a local treasure. She found a single earring at a farm a long time ago, bringing her brief fame, but she never found its match. The farm is weeks away from being turned into a solar farm, so now is the only time remaining to look for it. Things begin to fall apart, and Adam will discover that everything isn’t as straightforward as it once seemed. The player will choose how Adam responds to Beth as she faces her own demons. The gameplay is based heavily in the metal detecting, although most of what turns up will be rubbish. Adam talks to Beth via a walkie-talkie (remember those?!) while exploring the English farm.
The Magnificent Trufflepigs will launch this (Northern) summer for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. If you’re interested, Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture is available for PC and PlayStation 4; it’s the spiritual successor to another wonderful title, Dear Esther, which is available for PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
A Musical Story combines music with, well, story
The game is what the title suggests: a rhythmic narrative, basically. There is no text. There is no dialogue. There is simply music and animated art. However, it’s not nearly the same as the musical games we’ve come to know. “In most musical games, there’s a visual timeline, showing exactly when to play the notes, said Charles Bardin, the game’s designer and co-composer, via a press release. “We’ve focused instead on creating an experience that relies on the listening skills of the player, so they must feel the music, understand it, to progress and unveil the story.” Here’s the announcement trailer:
Set in the 1970s, A Musical Story feels groovy from the start – the title is even in a retro-styled font. Gabriel awakes in a hospital bed, remembering nothing of his life to that point. He connects with his musical memories, with each correctly played melody revealing a chapter from his past. There are 26 original songs, and a hidden chapter will unlock if all are played perfectly.
A Musical Story is developed by Glee-Cheese Studio and published by Digerati. A free demo containing the first ten chapters will be available for PC via Steam on March 19. The game will received a full launch for iOS, PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One later this year.
Poe-inspired Black Witchcraft launches for PC next month
Black Witchcraft is a side-scrolling action RPG inspired by the works of gothic horror master Edgar Allan Poe. The most powerful of the last witch hunters, Lenore, has been locked away permanently. Well, hopefully permanently. She influenced the head of the family to the point he was about to kill his little sister, who is rescued by the Raven and led to a woman possessing the power of Black Witchcraft (Ligeia). The player takes on the roll of the witch, who slaughters enemies with a demonic suitcase. She must enter the cursed home and end the man’s madness, at the same time stopping Lenore from escaping captivity. Here’s the trailer:
The suitcase is key to battles. It can transform into a variety of weapons to help Ligeia. As she destroys the demons in her path, she will receive essences that can be used to craft potions. She’ll also earn Stat Points, which can be distributed to her stats based on the player’s wishes. Her magic skills will also increase thanks to trait points, by acquiring magic objects and defeating demons. She collects Stigma, an ability born from the ancient witches. There are 30 skills to be combined into three slots to refine combat style. It’s not all fighting, though, as she also meets various characters and has to save them from danger and converse with them to learn secrets.
Black Witchcraft will launch for PC via Steam in April, supporting English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean language options. It is expected to also be released for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One; however, console launch dates are yet to be revealed.
Paradise Lost launches in two weeks
If you’re looking for a story-driven game, Paradise Lost may be what you need. It’s set in an alternate universe that mirrors our own, at least until World War II. Here, the war had no winner – although do wars really have winners and losers, or are we not all losers in the end to some capacity? But I’m off topic. In this world, the war continued for another 20 years until the Nazis launched nuclear missiles at the better part of Europe, creating vast areas of devastation and radiation that survivors cannot enter. Here’s the release date announcement trailer:
I know that trailer doesn’t really show a lot of what the game really is, but there is also a new 13-minute gameplay trailer available here that showcases more of the action. The game follows a 12-year-old, Szymon, whose mother has died. He wanders through Poland’s nuclear wasteland, looking for a man in a photograph that meant a lot to his mother. He stumbles upon a Nazi bunker, where advanced technology is side-by-side with Slavic pagan imagery. The goal becomes to uncover the story of the bunker, which will help Szymon locate a mystery girl who may have the answers he is looking for.
Paradise Lost will be released for PC (via Steam/GOG), PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 24. it is developed by PolyAmorous and published by All In! Games. It’s also got a low to reasonable price point, set at US$14.99.
