Twinworld Game Reviews

Archive for March, 2023

Montreal, Canada, March 30th, 2023 – Hey Buddies! Fresh out the oven, indie developer WildArts, in partnership with Dear Villagers, has revealed its upcoming RPG Born of Bread will be coming to PC, Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series platforms in Summer 2023. Born of Bread is a home-cooked retro throwback to classic cartoony RPGs full of fun characters and charming stories for children and adults alike.

This latest trailer shows our hero, the flour golem Loaf, as he goes about trying to help his buddies and rescue the land. Behold the colorful cast of unique buddies using their special abilities to help Loaf on his journey. Witness the vast array of attacks and mini-games in Born of Bread’s bespoke battle system. And take a gander at the colorful, varied environments Loaf and his pals will encounter in their epic adventure!

“With this extended look at Born of Bread‘s gameplay we wanted to showcase the world, characters, and tone of the game. That this is a lovable adventure taking an adorable cast on an unforgettable adventure,” said WildArts Lead Designer and Programmer Nicolas Lamarche. “Of course there’s also a variety of engaging mechanics in the game, with its combat system that merges turn-based tactics with real-time reflexive mini-games, while Loaf’s doughy form allows him to change shape to solve a variety of puzzles. We look forward to showing you more as Born of Bread launches later this summer!”

To bake Born of Bread, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• One flour golem who possesses a never-ending childlike wonder and a set of odd abilities
• A wonderful world ripe with mysteries
• An eclectic cast of fleshed-out characters
• A wacky storyline
• A pinch of light puzzles
• Turn-based battles with a dash of real-time minigames
• Bright, colorful 2.5D graphics
• Side-missions (add to taste)
• A captive audience granting you bonuses in battle

To start with, you’ll want your flour golem, Loaf. Put him in a mystical land where he can mingle with his friends and local folk. Although he may not look like much, Loaf might be the hero this land kneads!

Stir in a story of beings from another age causing havoc across the land. And with their mischief comes a great threat to everyone!

Mold an eclectic cast of endearing characters, 2.5D illustrated setting, environmental puzzles, and unique turn-based /real-time hybrid battles. Be sure you know what your enemy is weak or resistant against, as it will take brains and reflexes to thwart Born of Bread’s throngs of foes.

Ensure that each battle in Born of Bread is live-streamed.​ If the player’s actions entertain the audience enough, they’ll be rewarded with bonuses. Additionally, permanent viewers can offer further objectives to complete for even more rewards.

Piece of cake! Now leave in the oven until Summer 2023 and enjoy the results!

Source: PR Email

Bergen, Norway – March 30th, 2023 – To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their debut title, Savant – Ascent,  D-Pad Studio are pleased to announce that a remastered version titled Savant – Ascent Anniversary Edition is coming to PC, consoles and mobile this summer. Taking the shoot-em-up platformer to new heights, this remastered edition boasts a host of brand new content, stages, bosses, powerups and an entire original soundtrack created by the acclaimed Norwegian musician Savant.

In Savant – Ascent Anniversary Edition, you play as the Alchemist, who’s been cast down from his tower by an unknown force. Your goal is to ascend back to the top, with your movement limited at all times to two platforms, be they moving elevators or space debris. By using rapid volleys of magic missiles to take out attacking enemies and precise dashes and jumps to move between the two platforms, you must try to survive the deadly journey back to the summit.

This remastered version of Savant – Ascent enhances the game in every way. Unlock new dashing abilities to outsmart enemies, take on epic new bosses created especially for this anniversary edition and encounter enemies that amass in greater numbers than before in the brand new ‘Survival Mode’. In Survival Mode, fearsome bosses appear of their own volition while you scramble to survive in the Endless Elevator.

Savant – Ascent Anniversary Edition is the ultimate way to experience a musical artist’s persona as you’ve never done before! The game is based on the universe of Savant – developed in collaboration with Simon S. Andersen of D-Pad Studio (Owlboy/Vikings On Trampolines). Hear Savant’s unrivaled genre bending in action as you obtain new pieces of the soundtrack and remixes. The game even gives you the option to customise your own playlist as you play.

“Our studio is well-known for creating Owlboy, but I think a lot of people don’t realise that we released a game before that,” said D-Pad Studio’s Simon Stafsnes Andersen. “Savant – Ascent Anniversary Edition is a fantastic way to introduce that title to a new audience and offer a completely revamped experience for fans of the old title. I hope everyone enjoys trying out the game that birthed D-Pad Studio when it launches this summer.”

Source: PR Email

Gothenburg, Sweden – March 28th, 2023 – Developer GameAtomic and publisher Elden Pixels are pleased to announce that the ghoul-filled retro action platformer Kraino Origins launches today on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $11.99 / €11.99 / £10.79. Kraino Origins will test players with its fast-paced melee combat, magic abilities, and hidden power-ups!

This eerie adventure takes place in a world inhabited by ghouls, ghosts, skeletons, and all manner of monsters. In Kraino Origins, you will slash your way through swarms of enemies to overcome eight dark and dangerous levels, filled to the brim with well-kept secrets. Unlock a host of powerful weapons and upgrades to wreak havoc on your foes, but beware of hazards and treacherous traps along the way in order to make it to the epic final battle.

Kraino was created to aid the forces of evil, but all the dark magic and malice used to create him could not change who Kraino was – a force of good. Now it’s up to Kraino to use all the powers of evil to fight fire with fire. He will journey across the land to destroy the nefarious lords, uncover hidden weapons, and get his revenge on his maker, Dr. Batcula.

“We are very excited to launch our much loved retro action platformer, Kraino Origins, on Nintendo Switch today,” said Mikael, CEO & Creative Director at Elden Pixels. “Fans of our existing games (Alwa’s Awakening, Alwa’s Legacy and Cathedral) will definitely like this challenging retro title, jam-packed with creepy crawlies, monsters and ghouls.”

Kraino Origins is available to purchase now on Steam and Nintendo Switch.

Source: PR Email

Indie publisher Ratalaika Games, in partnership with Brazil Indie developer, Viridino Studios, is delighted to announce Steel Defier, a specially created stand alone title – a release spanning multiple platform – PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch is out now!

Steel Defier is primarily focused on fast-paced gameplay, and the overall backdrop story is that you play as the sole survivor of a disastrous malfunction in the defence system of a giant spaceship that works as a prison for all sorts of lawbreakers. It appears everyone has been killed aboard, except you!

To Boldly Go

The main objective is to locate the landing site, where the player can steal a smaller spaceship and escape from prison. However, the big spaceship is quite a maze with many rooms and a fully operational defence system that’s constantly hunting down the player with different traps, so it’s essential for the player to locate suit upgrades and increase survivability rate.

Big, Bigger and Wow!

The spaceship has exactly 40 rooms and each one of them has a different combination of traps. In some rooms the traps are faster or slower, in other rooms there might be a power outage that limits the player’s field of view, etc. In very special cases, the player might stumble upon a suit upgrade that will grant it a completely new and unique skill, like the ability of slowing down time for a short amount of time. In theory the suit upgrades are optional, but searching for and collecting them will make the player’s journey much easier. Exploring, finding, searching, seeking out is a pleasing experience as you progress through the challenging environment!

Features:

Every single room has a different combination of traps, with different speed multipliers and even environmental conditions, like the power outage that limits the player’s field of view and produces a quite scary alarm sound.

Each trap moves at a different speed, covers a different amount of walkable area and sometimes even follows the player or explodes after a short delay. To counter them, the player is advised to collect as many suit upgrades as possible, like the ability to slow down time, dash through traps and even double jump.

Every item in the game will grant a different ability to the player, allowing them to enhance their dodging capabilities in unique ways. Some suit upgrades even have “secret” usages, for example: the dash ability is mainly used to traverse the environment faster, but you can also use it to go through traps without being harmed.

The player isn’t able to directly fight the spaceship’s defence system, as he’s not equipped with a gun. However, the game is still packed with action, since the player will always be surrounded by increasingly more aggressive traps. Also, with every suit upgrade the player will become more powerful and capable of overcoming any challenge.

Plus lots more……………………

Steel Defier’s difficulty increases as the player gets further from their prison cell, with more and more traps showing up after each visited room. With clever designing of the spaceship exploring never becomes boring or a linear path but a rewarding and satisfying experience.

Viridino Studios,”We divided the spaceship’s interior into three interconnected lanes, allowing the player to explore in different ways or completely skipping rooms in case they’re performing a speedrun.”

A charming and functional presentation with a combination of low poly models and pixel art textures to achieve the final look makes seeing, finding and playing the game, more intuitive and easier to spot what you are looking for, plus giving a more open and non cluttered environment an important consideration adopted by the developer! Music is also delightfully managed with an “alien” feel to match the spaceship and environment.

Can You – the Last Survivor… Survive?

Source: PR Email

Hamburg, Germany, March 23rd, 2023 – Today Daedalic Entertainment and NACON announced that their highly anticipated adventure game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, will release to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on May 25th. A version for Nintendo Switch™ is planned for later this year. Based on the beloved The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, the fantasy game takes players on an epic journey across Middle-earth, starring one of the lore‘s most compelling characters: Sméagol— *Gollum, Gollum*.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a story-driven action adventure. Embark on a perilous journey as Gollum, chasing the only thing that is precious to you. Climb, leap, and sneak your way past dangers or into advantageous spots. Gollum is skillful and sly, and torn by a split personality. It is up to you to decide whether to yield to the darker side of Gollum or trust the kinder gentler hint of Sméagol.

Co-published by Daedalic Entertainment and NACON, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is developed by a small team of passionate Tolkienites at Daedalic Entertainment in partnership with Middle-earth Enterprises. The game will release on PC, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch™. A physical edition for consoles will also be available.

Source: PR Email

Stuttgart, Germany – March 23, 2023 – ININ Games, together with TAITO Corporation, is happy to reveal an additional feature of Bub and Bob’s new adventure, which will release on May 23rd 2023 for Nintendo Switch: Baron’s Tower.

Baron’s Tower:

The tower is an area that appears in the story mode, and it will require you to erase bubbles that are automatically added infinitely. Online ranking is available and divided into three difficulty levels and number of players, allowing you to compete with players from all over the world for high scores. By clearing a specific score, you will be able to progress through the storyline related to the Baron’s Tower.
*Online play requires a paid membership to Nintendo Switch Online.

A video featuring the actual gameplay of Baron’s Tower, game details, and a special message from the development staff and the title’s protagonist, Bub, will premiere on Bub’s YouTube channel, from 11:00 am (CET) on the 24th of March.

Before the premiere, an Opening Movie displaying the story behind Bub’s next adventure, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! can be enjoyed above!

The first-ever play session will be held at EVO Japan 2023, at Tokyo Big Sight from the 31st of March to the 2nd of April and in the first two days, Bub will be present to take pictures!

About Puzzle Bobble:

Puzzle Bobble (a.k.a. Bust-A-Move) is an action-puzzle game where the brothers Bub and Bob, who have been transformed into bubble dragons by a wizard’s spell, go on a bubble-bursting adventure. The classic gameplay formula is simple but addictive: using various items and gimmicks, connect three or more bubbles of the same color to remove them from the field and progress. A spin-off from the 1986 arcade hit Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move has seen over 20 series titles across countless platforms since its 1994 debut. As the sole owner of Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble’s worldwide IP including copyrights and trademarks, TAITO will continue to expand both properties going forward.

Source: PR Email

Paris – March 17th, 2023 – Microids is delighted to announce the game Front Mission 1st Remake Limited Edition, developed by Forever Entertainment, will be released on Nintendo Switch the 27th of June in North America. This announcement is supported by a new trailer showing the exclusive content of this limited edition. Designed by Microids, this edition features physical content from the artists behind the creation of the game.

The Limited Edition includes:

• The game Front Mission 1st Remake on Nintendo Switch
• An exclusive lenticular
• A printed game manual
• 2 lithographs

About Front Mission 1st Remake:

Play as a member of the O.C.U. or U.C.S., customize your Wanzer, strategize and use your firepower as well as the terrain to gain an advantage over your opponent.

In the year 2090, the world’s conflicts are fought using giant war machines called Wanzers. Huffman Island, the only place where the Oceania Cooperative Union (O.C.U.) and the Unified Continental States (U.C.S.) share a land border, is a hotbed of conflict.

An O.C.U. reconnaissance platoon led by Captain Royd Clive is assigned to investigate a U.C.S. munitions plant. They are ambushed by U.C.S. Wanzers, triggering a series of events that plunges the whole island into war.

Key features:

• Experience an adventure in a complex Geo-political universe and choose your side through two different campaigns.
• Customize every part of your Wanzer, improve its firepower, defense, speed and gain combat efficiency.
• Take into account your environment and develop the best possible strategy to quickly gain the upper hand over your opponent.
• Enjoy the remake in full 3D with enhanced graphics and effects. Play in modern mode with new features or experience the original gameplay.

Front Mission 1st Remake Limited edition will be available on Nintendo Switch on April 20th, 2023 in Europe. In North America, the Limited Edition will be available on June 27th, 2023.

Source: PR Email

Indie publisher Ratalaika Games,in conjunction with developer Rasul Mono today, March 17th, sees the release The Guise, a stylish and dark Metroidvania fairytale about a boy trapped in the body of a monster on Sony PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox consoles and Nintendo Switch.

The Guise is a distinguished looking game in which ‘evil’ has apparently already won the day. In the world, where the player is taken, there is almost no light and no hope for anything good.

Features/Elements and there is more…

• Beastly Abilities
• Cool Battles
• Great Challenges
• Monsters!
• Eye candy Graphics
• Atmospheric Music
• Exploring
• Delightful Story
• Combat
• Gorgeous settings
• Rewards
• Side Quests

Experience a really monster time in this eerie Metroidvania offering!

Source: PR Email

Edinburgh, Scotland – March 16th, 2023 – Firestoke and RageCure Games are pleased to unveil Goons: Legends & Mayhem and reveal that the game is skating its way to PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch in 2023. Following in the footsteps of titles like Mario Strikers and Windjammers, Goons: Legends & Mayhem brings cartoon brawling action to the sport of hockey, delivering fun multiplayer matches where outrageous special abilities are key to your goal of getting the puck into the net.

Supporting 1-6 players, Goons: Legends & Mayhem is a 3 vs 3 hockey action game with a variety of PvE and PvP modes, including a full story campaign. Players can choose from one of eight characters divided into 3 classes – the attack focused sharpshooter, the defense oriented enforcer and the wingman, a wildcard that can either focus on supporting their team, or act as a constant pain in the neck of the opponents. Each character has their own special ability, including explosive mines, freezing opponents in a cube of ice and teleportation, adding an element of cartoony brawling to this hockey title where teamwork is the key to success.

Goons: Legends & Mayhem story campaign takes players on a varied journey across ice rinks nestled in forests, to floating ice rinks sailing the sea on pirate ships as they try to stop the Great Mascoteer’s mission to ruin hockey for everyone. On this adventure, players will encounter bosses to defeat, collectibles, character upgrades, and cool cosmetic unlockables.

Alongside the fun hockey gameplay, class-based characters and chaotic brawling abilities, even more depth is added by six environments for you to play with, each of which has its own special mechanics, environmental hazards and a goaltender to defeat.

“Making a game that blends arcade hockey and beat ‘em up action, brings couch co-op nostalgia, compelling online play AND a great single-player campaign, has been far from easy, but that’s what we’re delivering,” said Francis Tremblay, Game Director. “We can’t wait for you and your friends to get on out onto the ice and try the game on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC this year”.

“It’s great to finally be able to announce Goons: Legends & Mayhem,” said Firestoke CEO Paul Farley. “We knew immediately that this was an ice hockey game like no other with appeal that goes well beyond just hockey fans. It’s rare in gaming that a game not only brings a truly fresh approach to an established genre, but also does so in a way that appeals to both new and established players. Goons does this. It’s been a joy partnering with RageCure games on this title. They are not only huge hockey and gaming fans, but a fun team to work with!”

Source: PR Email

The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is available now for Nintendo Switch, PS4 and PC!

It’s time to dive back into the world of Zemuria to fight alongside the SSS in this next chapter of the Crossbell series! The story of aspiring hero Lloyd Bannings continues as a temporary peace has settled over the land. However, the peace is soon broken with the rise of multiple organizations with ulterior motives.

Does the SSS have what it takes to stand against these looming fates? What lies in store for the state of Crossbell?

Check out the official website for more information.

Source: PR Email