Twinworld Game Reviews

Archive for March, 2024

12th March 2024: Indie publisher Ratalaika Games and Viridino Studios & Forsteri Studios are pleased to announce the release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch on 15th March for ’Orion Haste’.  With its fast  paced action, prioritising intense run-and-gun gameplay it’s a must-play for both seasoned R&G enthusiasts and newcomers to the genre. Orion Haste blends classic elements reminiscent of titles like Contra with contemporary quality of life improvements.

Setting the Scene

Orion Haste, the game, transports the player to a distant future, casting them as a human soldier stationed at the Beta-Orionis Military Base (BOMB). Situated within the gravitational pull of the blue supergiant star Rigel, in the constellation of Orion, the base serves as humanity’s stronghold in the area.

Upon arrival at the station, the player discovers that it serves as the primary oxygen facility in Orion — an essential resource for human survival in the constellation. However, the station is under attack by the Ximpeti, an alien species residing on a rogue planet known as Xim.

The Ximpeti seek to sever humanity’s lifeline by destroying the oxygen supply, thereby eliminating humans from Orion. Aware of their inferior military capabilities compared to humans, the Ximpeti resort to underhanded tactics in their bid to claim the constellation’s riches. Their ultimate goal is to conquer Orion’s resources and subjugate the Aethra, forcing them into servitude.

Thus, the game unfolds as the player embarks on a mission to eradicate the Ximpeti threat from both the Aethra station and their home planet of Xim. Only by neutralising this threat can the future of humanity in Orion be secured.

Who me?

The player assumes the role of an unnamed elite human soldier stationed at the Beta-Orionis Military Base. Their mission is to eliminate the Ximpeti forces both from the Aethra space station and the rogue planet Xim. This action is necessary to ensure the continued prosperity of humanity within the Orion constellation.

On the Level

There are 7 levels on offer all presenting a variety of game objectives and challenges, from the landing site through to the refinery, onto the main facility, space ship and the games climatic finale, the castle.

The developer gave an insight into one of the levels – Landing Site,“ This marks the beginning of the player’s journey, serving as the designated landing point for spacecraft authorised to access the Aethra space station. The level presents a mix of outdoor and indoor segments, predominantly featuring an industrial aesthetic characterised by exhaust vents, pipelines, metallic beams, and crates. While designed to acquaint players with the core mechanics, it includes challenges such as navigating a pool of boiling liquid metal that periodically launches fiery projectiles, testing their platforming and combat skills.”

Haste Not – Get in there!

Orion Haste presents boss fights creating memorable gaming experiences. Each of the many bosses features an opening animation, unique design, taylor-made arena, and present the player with distinct challenges. Players must leverage all their skills to navigate through a barrage of projectiles, explosions, enemy spawns, and environmental threats unleashed by these adversaries. As bosses near defeat, they unveil new and more powerful attacks to catch the player off guard.

Weapons Galore

A neat array of weapons is on hand to utilise from plasma handguns to electro coils, laser rifles and rocket launchers so you will always have a powerful kick to retaliate and win the day.

Go Play!

Orion Haste offers a challenging experience without the frustration of limited credits or restarting from the beginning. For instance, players have the flexibility to postpone the completion of certain levels and revisit them later to progress further into the game. The game was also crafted with modern hardware in mind, delivering levels and boss fights optimised for widescreen resolutions.

Additionally, players can expect action-packed segments, featuring hoverbikes and even a shmup sequence aboard their B.O.M.B spacecraft as they travel to the planet Xim. With over 20 common enemy types, 2 mini-bosses, 7 formidable bosses, and environmental hazards, not forgetting speed run mode and a lot more to feast your eyes and ears!

A dynamic gaming experience that encourages the player to adapt and strategize to overcome each challenge that awaits!

Source: PR Email

March 11th – Warsaw, Poland | QubicGames has announced that Infantry Attack by Voodoo will be released for the Nintendo Switch on March 15.

Enemy troops, such as infantry, helicopters, tanks, warplanes, and drones, are coming for you! Jump on the machine gun and shoot them all!

You’re not doing war alone. Your squad is here to help you:

• Explosive Expert with an RPG rocket launcher to deal tremendous damage to military vehicles
• Rifleman who will shoot at a high range on the open battlefield
• Grenadier who specializes in fighting all ground units.

You are in charge of the machine gun to clear the battlefield, which is highly addictive and enjoyable!

Missions will take place in different warzones, and you will need to adapt your shooting strategy depending on the battlefield: city, desert, jungle, forest, airport, and many more! Be on the frontline of the battleground or take to the air to shoot enemies from the helicopter!

Beware! Combat will be challenging, and enemies will become stronger over time, so upgrading your guns won’t be enough. Level up teammates and prepare your military crew for shooting waves of soldiers!

Features:

• Defend the country against enemy soldiers
• Fight along your military crew and defeat the opponent’s army on multiple warzones
• Upgrade your loadout to win the war
• Use modern war weapons: machine guns, rocket launchers and drones
• Fight and kill bosses!
• Easy controls and realistic graphics for intense action

Do you have what it takes to free your country from invaders and win the war?

Source: PR Email

Los Angeles, USA – 8th March 2024 –  Burst2Flame are pleased to announce that their simultaneous turn-based tactical RPG, Stolen Realm, is available now on PC, Xbox and Switch. Stolen Realm takes the core of the RPG experience and distills it down into a fast-paced experience free of RPG-bloat so that you can focus on making important choices. That includes strategic decisions in combat, how to take advantage of a highly flexible class system that lets you build everything from spell-slinging assassins to shadow-infused knights, and the opportunity to make dubious deals with demons in just one example of the attribute-altering events you might encounter on your journey.

Play Stolen Realm solo, or in co-op with up to six heroes, as you build a unique hero from a pool of over 300 skills in 10 distinct skill trees and arm yourself with over 700 unique lootable items, each fully customisable with modifiers. Frictionless drop-in/drop-out systems give players the flexibility to join or leave mid-quest, with the game automatically scaling difficulty based on the number of players currently active.

Stolen Realm takes the deep tactical systems of RPGs like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin and gives it a unique twist. Simultaneous turns allows all members of the player and enemy team to take their actions at once, creating the kinds of fast-paced encounters you’d typically find in action RPGs, without sacrificing the strategic richness you’d expect from a turn-based RPG.

As you explore procedurally generated dungeons that range from frosty peaks to overgrown jungles, picking your path between battles, story events, resource gathering, shops and treasure rooms on your way to the final boss, you can discover and customise awesome gear that can radically change the way you play. Wield Abbadon the Soul Crusher, a mythic mace that raises slain enemies as skeletal warriors to fight for you, or unsheath the Bloodletter, a cursed sword that grants additional power at the cost of your lifeblood. D&D-like attribute based rolls that have permanent effects on your character in special events add further variety and intrigue to your adventure.

Stolen Realm features a full story-based campaign, a roguelike mode, hardcore mode and a streamer mode that allows viewers of a stream to step onto the role of dungeon master, voting and deciding on the enemies and events the streamer will face.

“We can’t thank our community enough for all their feedback on Stolen Realm during a fantastic Early Access period,” said developer Jason Jolley. “We’re really excited that the release version is now complete and available for everyone on PC, Xbox and Switch.”

Source: PR Email

8th March 2024: Indie publisher Ratalaika Games is pleased to announce the release today of Xatrom Command on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam PC and Nintendo Switch.

Xatrom Command, with its unusual stylized look, unfolds with a military experiment gone awry, releasing an onslaught of alien monstrosities within the confines of a once-secure military base. The player’s mission is to contain this catastrophic breach, eliminating the alien threat and destroying their eggs to prevent any further contamination.

Assuming the role of a highly trained military operative, players embody courage, strategy, and resilience. Their character is the last line of defence against the alien incursion, making them pivotal in the game’s narrative of defence and survival.

Homage

Inspired by classic top-down shooters and the gripping narratives of science fiction, Xatrom Command pays homage to both the golden era of arcade games and the timeless allure of military versus alien showdowns. Its design evokes fond childhood memories of enacting epic battlegrounds with your toys, blending creativity with the thrill of combat.

Weapon up!

Players will have access to an arsenal of weapons ranging from standard-issue military firearms to experimental energy weapons. As they progress through the game, they’ll encounter an array of alien species with distinct behaviour patterns, including the skittering Spider Troopers and the formidable Scorpions, challenging players to constantly evolve their strategies to survive.

Single / Co-op Multiplayer Modes

Xatrom Command offers a dynamic single-player experience and an engaging cooperative multiplayer mode. Playing co-op allows friends to join forces, strategize together, and provides a shared gaming experience that enhances the fun and complexity of the missions.

A linear progression weaves through the military base, propelling players from one confrontation to the next. The initial levels introduce players to the mechanics of combat and enemy patterns, setting the stage for more complex encounters.

Xatrom Command evolves with the player’s progress, unlocking intense modes like Survival where players fend off endless waves of adversaries, testing their endurance and skill. Boss Rush mode pits players against a relentless sequence of bosses, offering high-stakes challenges that require quick reflexes and tactical prowess.

Xatrom Command presents 50 levels traversing environments from the confines of the military base to a sprawling forest and a harsh desert-like expanse in the surrounding area and more. Your objective is simple – destroy all the aliens you see!

A Nostalgic, Yet Fresh, Top-Down Shooter!

Source: PR Email

Create the perfect game with RPG MAKER WITH, coming Fall/Autumn 2024 to Nintendo Switch and in 2025 for PS4 and PS5!

Make games for and with everyone! No programming knowledge is required to make your perfect game when using RPG MAKER WITH’s robust yet easy to learn tools and intuitive controls.

Utilize premade sample games and tons of assets, or make your own from scratch. Then post your creations online and play other creators’ games to gain inspiration, feedback, and inspire others!

Source: PR Email

Between law and chaos lies the dawn of adventure in The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak, coming July 5, 2024 to Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC!

Follow the spriggan Van Arkride as he takes on a case that will change the fate of the Calvard Republic…as well as his own. Will forces from the shadowy organization known as Almata bring chaos to the nation, or do Van and his allies have what it takes to stop them?

Source: PR Email

March 4th – Warsaw, Poland | QubicGames has announced that Neon On! by CrazyLabs will be released for the Nintendo Switch on March 8th.

Neon On! by CrazyLabs:

Get your neon cables out of knots and connect them to the right light sources to create amazing neon masterpieces!

In Neon On, the colors are the key to each puzzle. Every box needs to be connected to the socket of the same color otherwise it won’t work. Some boxes even require combining a couple of hues to create a different color.

Challenge yourself to complete many levels where you will find various obstacles, from laser gates that can cut your cables to moving light sources or rotating boxes. Besides, be careful while moving the wires because they can easily get tangled, disconnected, and fall to the ground!

Features:

• Solve puzzles by matching the colorful light sources to the correct boxes
• Combine different hues to create entirely new colors
• Connect the cables if the wire is too short, but be careful – the more you move them, the more they can get tangled!
• Avoid pulling wires through laser walls – they will cut everything in half
• Complete all stages of a level to light up a large animated neon sign!
• Collect coins and buy skins for power boxes, cables, and themes

Source: PR Email

29th February 2024, London, UK – Today indie developer Onion Soup Interactive, and publisher WhisperGames, announce a double dose of delight for gamers. The first being by community and fan base request, the addition of couch multiplayer to their WarioWare-style minigame PC Steam collection. Now SUPER 56 players will be able to take on their friends as they battle their way through fast-paced and chaotic stages that parody their all-time favorite games. Secondly, work is underway on the Nintendo Switch version of the game which to fans of this handheld console is the perfect platform for this fun-packed title!

The new multiplayer feature allows 2 – 8 people to challenge each other in pass-the-controller play. Like in the main game, each minigame only requires one button. Game rules such as speed, stage types, and the number of rounds can be changed to suit.

SUPER 56 was also featured recently Steam’s Remote Play Together Fest, and the developers are excited to see gamers try this new feature;

“We always thought SUPER 56 would make an excellent party game, and we hope the addition of multiplayer allows for our game to enter that genre”, developer Amy Madin explains, “Since adding the update, SUPER 56 has become a party-game staple at our house alongside the usual faves”.

Along with the addition of multiplayer, SUPER 56 has received plenty of new content, such as the Trials which are popular stages that have been expanded to give players more of a unique challenge and gameplay improvements to dozens of stages. These come with their leaderboards, goals, and even achievements and more will be added in future updates. SUPER 56 has also included mic mode; an experimental feature that uses your microphone input to control the entire game.

Features:

• 56 fast-paced games to master, with each game full of unique references, homages, and ridiculous humour
• A vast range of genres that includes karting, fishing, archery, typing, photography, dating sims, monster catching, and many more
• One button to control the entire game; yes, that includes the menu. Easy for everyone, challenging for all!
• New microphone mode for noise/voice control of the game for players with mobility impairments or those who prefer not to use a button
• Daily Challenges that keep the game fresh with customised stage playlists and unique rule configurations
• Steam leaderboard integration lets players compare their scores with the world or their Steam friends
• Over 80 achievements to unlock, each more surprising than the last!
• Trials add an additional layer of challenge to the gameplay
• Local Multiplayer 2 – 8 players
• Fully customizable character profiles and Mod Stones are displayed next to scores in the leaderboard for players to fully express themselves
• Collect “instruction manual style pages” for each stage. Gotta collect ’em all!
• A dynamic soundtrack that shifts in genre to match the stages and tempo of the game

Source: PR Email

Denver, USA – February 29th, 2024 – Yarrow Games are proud to reveal that their turn-based dice-oriented deck-building roguelike Tamarak Trail is out today on PC, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox Series consoles for $14.99, with a 10% discount available on Steam during launch week.

To commemorate this launch, Tamarak Trail has received an all new Dev Diary, ‘It’s Time to Roll’, that focuses on the depth of its dice-based combat. Learn how to customize your dice, swapping sides to match your playstyle.

In Tamarak Trail there are a multitude of modifiers in place to create your own combat dice. Status effects enhance your abilities, and bounce modifiers allow you to knock your dice together to amplify your powers. Be forewarned though, that bounces will also increase your resolve cost, so use them wisely. Dice can be further modified with flips, allowing you to spin a die in a specific direction to create combos. You can even customize your dice in the Dice Forge to craft your own “infinite combo”! That’s not all, as dice can be modified with Dice Cores, which add passive buffs like added defense. Find a play style that suits you!

“With Tamarak Trail we wanted to combine our love of roguelikes’ randomization, tabletop gaming’s tactile dice, and the haunting beauty of Ontario’s forests,” said Piotr Lipert, Lead Designer at Yarrow Games. “This has been a very personal project from all of us at Yarrow Games, as it marks our first game together since founding the studio – even though we’d worked together before. We’ve been playing Tamarak Trail for years, yet the game has so much depth that we’re beyond curious to see what strategies the community employs. We hope that you enjoy the game!”

More about Tamarak Trail

As a member of a secret society named the Sturgeon Lodge, it’s up to you to piece together the mystery of a decaying earth, hunt down the source of this corruption and put a stop to it at all costs. Embarking on this adventure, you can choose one of three characters: The Magician, the Tracker or the Detective, each with their own unique abilities and traits. Depending on your preferred playstyle, the character’s different skills and attributes allow you to craft a unique strategy for your character as they navigate the ominous trail. Procedurally generated paths create a myriad of possibilities where you can encounter events, monsters, campsites, treasure and more. Every new discovery reveals new bonuses and strategies to explore.

To combat the monsters and nefarious foes you’ll encounter, you’ll have to be tactical in your dice-building, as each face could mean the difference between victory or defeat. Different dice sides can be used to attack directly, apply buffs and debuffs, inflict damage over time, defend yourself, or flip your dice to another side for combo-extending awesomeness. You can even apply “dice cores” to secure passive abilities.

You’re given direct control of your physics-based dice rolls, allowing you to smack them together to create killer combo attacks. In true deck-builder fashion, dice faces can be customized with more abilities after each victory, adding new attacks, defenses and combinations to take forward into future battles. Modify your dice to find a play style that suits you!

Features:

• Craft fully customizable dice!
• Use dice sets with physics-based rolls and infinite combos
• Play as one of three character classes with distinctive gameplay
• Immerse yourself into a meticulously hand-drawn, randomly generated trail full of mysteries and challenges
• Discover eldritch artifacts that drastically change your battle style and strategy

Source: PR Email