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)!
Nippon Ichi is making a detective game!
Nippon Ichi Software plus detective work should make for a most excellent title. In the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, the developer announced Tantei Bokumetsu (Detective Elimination). Not a lot is known right now, although more information is imminent. It will be released in Japan on May 27 for both PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but it’s likely far too early to expect any news of a Western launch. There’s also a tiny teaser available to watch:
Fourteen detectives have gathered on a remote island to find a murderer. The problem is, the murderer is lurking among the detectives. There are two parts to the game: adventure that advances through dialogue, and investigation which involves the map. The detectives seem to each have a very specific specialty based on their titles. They include The Incompetent Detective, the Suffering Detectics, The Netherworld Detective, and The Gourmet Detective.
So, despite so little being known about the game so far, why do I trust Nippon Ichi Software so much? For the answer, simply look at its track record. Titles under its belt include the Disgaea series, Criminal Girls, The Witch and the Hundred Knight, Hero Must Die, A Rose in the Twilight, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, and dozens more.
Quantic Dream announces new Montreal studio
It just makes sense for developers from France to expand to North America via Montreal (or perhaps Quebec City), and Quantic Dream is the latest company to make that leap. Originally founded in and operated out of Paris, the developer is set to open Quantic Dream Montreal. This is Quantic Dream’s first international expansions, and as someone who lives down the highway from Montreal, thanks for choosing Canada/Montreal as your second home! Canada really does have some amazingly creative people, and I’m excited to see what they can do with this new opportunity.
Quantic Dream was founded in 1997, by David Cage, another big name (arguably one of the biggest) in gaming. The studio is best known for Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human. It hasn’t been without controversy. In 2018, French news outlets reported on harmful studio culture, including sexism and racism. However, past a couple lawsuits, it doesn’t seem to have had a lasting effect on the developer, or Cage himself. In an interview with IGN, Cage states that the new studio will have access to tools that foster a healthy working environment.
Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood has been delayed
Devespresso Games (best known for The Coma series) has announced that we will have to wait a little bit longer for its next title, Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood (which is a wicked good title, I might add). But before we get to that, here’s an updated trailer:
The title is described as a story-driven adventure game. Scarlet has to relive seven days of misfortune and make decisions to guide her Munchkin troupe out of the Wicked Wood. There is a branching narrative with multiple outcomes based on these choices. Solve puzzles, use Scarlet’s skills to avoid detective, and survive a time loop. Repeatedly, if you want to enjoy it all.
Originally planned for an Early Access (Steam) launch on February 10, which would include the first four chapters of the games before content updates, and a full launch in March, Scarlet Hood and the Wicked Wood is now slated to skip the Early Access phase entirely and get right to a full release. This will occur on April 10, for PC via Steam. A demo is, however, available now as part of the Steam Game Festival.
Are you ready to run a potions shop?
I have a bit of an obsession with management games. I find them soothing for some reason. I’ve played countless titles ranging from managing diners to hotels, but finally, it’s time to manage something new: a potion store. I may not be able to make and sell magic potions in real life, but I’ll now be able to live that dream in a virtual world. Potion Craft, developed by Niceplay Games and published by TinyBuild, is a medieval potion shop management game that will launch for PC via Steam sometime this year.
Play as an aspiring alchemist who wanders the land looking for a new home until they come upon an abandoned cottage. It seems as though a wizard used to live there many, many moon ago. The alchemist decides to stay, making the building into both a home and a potion shop.
The alchemist will meet the people of his new town, learn their needs from their stories, and sell them potions appropriate for each individual situation. Running the business includes buying and selling ingredients, as well as growing them in a garden. And of course, there’s potion-making itself! Potions can even be altered; for example, add a frost effect to a boring old poisonous potion for a bit of an added kick.
