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)!
PlayStation Trophies are changing – here’s how
PlayStation announced today on its Blog that it would be making changes to its Trophy system. The differences include new trophy levels, a new calculation structure, and new trophy level icons.
Trophy levels are currently locked at 1-100. With this update, it will expand to 1-999. This means your current trophy level will change immediately after the update takes place on someone’s account. PlayStation gives the example of, if you’re currently at level 12, it will jump to somewhere in the low 200s. There is a new level calculation structure (see the above image) that is said to be more optimised, although how one optimises trophies I’m not entirely sure. The early levels can be progressed through more quickly, and levels will have more consistency when it comes to increases. Platinum trophies will count. The new level icons are also seen in the above image.
The changes should be starting to appear on announcements from North America, and should be active in Europe and Japan tomorrow. One last tidbit, though: PlayStation France posted a paragraph about trophy tracking and quickly took it down, but from what I’ve seen it appears valid. On PlayStation 5, players will be able to track individual trophy progress; so if there’s a trophy for collecting 100 weapons, it will tell you how many you have and how many you still need.
Bandai Namco is bringing Family Trailer to the Nintendo Switch
Remember the Family Trainer series? The games were released annually from 2000-1010, all for the Nintendo Wii (those were the days). North Americans knew the series as Active Life, but it’s all the same. Now developer h.a.nd. and publisher Bandai Namco are bringing the possibly forgotten series to the Nintendo Switch with a new game titled simply (or confusingly) Family Trainer. Here’s a trailer:
Family Trainer is a full-body athletics game that has players running, jumping, and moving. There are different training modes, including Overcome Inactivity and Five Minutes A Day Quick Training. The game includes 15 mini-games, which are: Canoe Downstream, Hop-Hop-Step, Hurdle Run, Jump Rope, Log Dodge, Log Jump, Mole Panic, Pipe Slider, Rail Car Adventure, Running, Seesaw Fight, Speed Roller, Stone Pillar Conveyer, Trick Boarder, Waterfall Climb, and Water Trampoline.
Family Trainer will launch for the Nintendo Switch on December 17 in Japan. Retail purchases include a leg strap accessory to strap a Joy-Con to your leg. The game will also be available, minus the strap, for purchase on the Nintendo eShop. (I have no idea how you’d play it without the leg strap, maybe duct tape?) There’s no word yet on a Western release, but since the past three games were all launched worldwide, I have hope!
Disc Room is mere weeks away from launch
Dying seems so bad, doesn’t it? Even in video games, dying tends to equal a long slog back from a checkpoint or losing a bunch of items on your person. Disc World changes that, though, as being killed actually makes you stronger. Intrigued? Here’s the launch date trailer:
In 2089, a giant disc has begun orbiting Jupiter. Scientists are desperate to discover its secrets, and an international crew is put together for a trek far into outer space. It turns out, the disc is basically a giant slaughterhouse. Gulp. Players will try to uncover what’s really happening while being relentlessly chased by alien saw blades. If killed by a blade, the player will absorb its abilities and use it for themselves. Invisibility, time manipulation, and cloning are all options.
Disc Room will be released for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch on October 22. It is developed by Terri Vellmann, Doseone, Kitty Calis, and Jan Willem Nijman; it is published by everyone’s favourite rebel company, Devolver Digital.
Sword of the Necromancer coming to PC, consoles
There are loads of dungeon crawlers out in the world, but there’s always room for one more. Sword of the Necromancer is a dungeon-crawling ARPG with roguelike elements (a definite trend these days). Turn your fallen foes into allies on your quest to bring someone beloved back from the dead. Here’s a trailer:
Tama, a former rogue, is sent to escort priestess Koko in a pilgrimage around the continent. But things get a bit messy when Koko ends up dead. Tama brings the corpse to the crypt of the Necromancer, rumoured to contain a power that can resurrect the dead. It’s not as easy as just marching right in, though, as dangers hide in every shadow. The sword mentioned in the title is what will revive enemies. Players will die. A lot. Each time, they won’t lose everything, but they will still lose all equipped weapons and monsters. Half of the level will be retained. There is also a co-op mode available.
Developed byGrimorio of Games and published by JanduSoft, Sword of the Necromancer will be released for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One sometime this December. It will later also launcher PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series whatever. A PC demo is currently available via Steam.
