News by Lindsay M.
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 Artful Escape launching for PlayStation, Switch later this month
I’m so thrilled that I get to write this: The Artful Escape, a game about music, will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch later this month. The game is already available on other platforms, but it’s such an amazing experience (yep, it’s not just a plaything, it’s a full-out experience) that it shouldn’t be limited to certain people depending on what they use to play. The Artful Escape is so good, it won bronze at the 2021 DDnet GOTY Awards for Best A/NZ game. Here’s a new trailer:
The game follows Francis Vendetti on the day before his first musical performance. Francis happens to be related to a super-famous, now-dead musician and he’s basically expected to only play the dead dude’s song. Aliens get involved, he goes to outer space and rocks out, and in the meantime Francis discovers his own stage persona. The gameplay itself involves music by playing notes to make things happen. The press release describes it as being “as if the world itself were in instrument.” The voice acting talent really game through here, too, with names such as Lena Headey and Jason Schwartzman playing characters.
Developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by Annapurna Interactive, The Artful Escape will be released for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on January 25. It originally launched in September 2021, and is currently available for PC via Steam, Xbox Series, and Xbox One.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition now available for PC, Xbox
Danganronpa came up recently on the DDnet Slack channel, and I revealed that while I say DDnet loves it as a whole, I am yet to play it. So I bought 1-2 Reload and PlayStation 4 and have started that. Coincidentally, the same day I finally started the game, it also released for PC and Xbox. Of course, the Anniversary Edition includes extra content versus the original, including improved gameplay systems, an Intimacy Gallery, a Character Gallery, and an Ultimate Gallery. Here’s the PC/Xbox launch trailer:
I can finally say from experience that Danganronpa is one hell of a ride. The player is a perfectly average teenage boy who got “lucky” enough to be chosen to attend the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy. This is a school where only the best of the best can go, so they’re all considered “ultimate” in their fields. Other students include a pop star, a model, a fanfic writer, and a mixed martial artist. Turns out, it’s less of a school and more of prison, and a morally troubling one at that (though aren’t they all). A crazy bear, Monokuma, runs the place, and nobody will be able to escape unless certain events occur. For a student to graduate, they must kill one of their own and get away with it during a trial. If the students guess incorrectly at the trial, though, they’ll all die while the murderer gets of scot free.
Developed and published by Spike Chunsoft, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition launched this week for PC via the Microsoft Store and Xbox One. This edition of the game originally launched for mobile devices in May 2020 and Nintendo Switch in later 2021. The original game first launched in November 2010, and has since spawned a series.
Can’t get enough of witchy games? Songs of Glimmerwick might be for you!
I’m obsessed with games where I get to play as a witch, and Songs of Glimmerwick has really caught my attention. The story-driven witch academy RPG was announced today. The university of magic is well-known, and guess what: you’re enrolled! In a new twist, casting spells involved playing music. Players will make friends, garden, uncover mysteries, enjoy festivals, and more. Of course, there’s witchy hijinx galore. Here’s the announcement trailer:
Narrative quests will move the story forward, and feature unique characters and story. Using music, you can speak with trees, enchant tools to work on their own, raise the earth, create rain clouds, and more. There does seem to be a skill tree involved as there is character progression; as experience is gained, choose from skills to help you garden, trade, and acquire special abilities. There’s loads to do outside of class, including exploration (it’s set on an island!), trying out for the mothracing team, diving for seashells, and going on forest expeditions.
Developed by Eastshade Studios, Songs of Glimmerwick will be released for PC via Steams and consoles in 2023. What consoles remains a mystery, which isn’t surprising with the launch still being a good chunk of time away.
The Hundred Year Kingdom coming next month
The Hundred Year Kingdom is a turn-based strategy RPG where only a young goddess is the only person to exist. She’ll need to guide the world to where she wants it to be. The game lets players build and care for a civilisation from the ground up. The world can also be altered with realms, covering the terrain in mountains, seas, or savanna. Here’s a new Nintendo Switch trailer:
Players will construct buildings, cultivate lands, and nurture the civilisation with the help of the goddess, who calls herself an arcade. The world is free of complications: no need for diplomacy, war, calamities, invasions, or attacks. Past that, what the world becomes is entirely up to the player.
Developed by Kaeru-san Games and published by Waku Waku Games (a new indie publishing label under Chorus Worldwide), The Hundred Year Kingdom will be released for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch on February 3.
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
