Stately Play

Category: News

Blizzard reveals plan to get me playing Diablo III again. Put in on Switch

August 20, 2018 David Neumann 9

Switch • While the original Diablo and its much-lauded sequel are two of my favorite digital experiences, I have more of a love/hate relationship with the third installment. I bought it eagerly when it arrived, even taking a day off work to really sink my teeth into it. Within a week or so I was done. While the graphics were great and the mouse-destroying clicking was at the correct level, the ridiculous story, killing of the only character you give a shit about, and lack of any high-level content made it a bust. A couple years later the (only) expansion was released and I reluctantly crawled back in. Again I stopped after going through the new areas and leveling up a new Crusader. Eventually, however, Blizzard stumbled on the Season model where you could start a new character every few months, race to level up, with new and awesome loot to discover on the way. This hooked me pretty good and had me playing for a month or so at a time, then wait until the next season and start again. I had been doing this for quite a while until last winter when I’d had enough. Blizzard must have sensed my apathy and in a successful bid to get me playing again are going to offer Diablo 3 on Switch starting this fall.

Space Hulk is coming to digital. Again.

August 20, 2018 David Neumann 3

PS4, Xbox, PC • While trudging through the usual Stately spam this morning, I stumbled on a press release proclaiming that Space Hulk: Tactics gets a release date. I was confused. First of all, there’s already a couple digital versions of Space Hulk out there and, secondly, what the hell is with that subtitle, “tactics”? Turns out that there’s a new version of Space Hulk (yes, the same board game that’s been around since the 80s) coming to digital and they added “Tactics” to the end to differentiate it from the versions that already exist. What differentiates Tactics from the other versions on Steam? Cards.

Wondering about tomorrow’s release of Exodus: Proxima Centauri? Here’s an hour of gameplay

August 16, 2018 David Neumann 0

PC/Mac (tomorrow), iOS/Android (later in 2018) • Tomorrow sees the long-awaited release of board game Exodus: Proxima Centauri for PC/Mac on Steam. While I haven’t played the cardboard version, I can’t help but get more and more excited for this one. First of all, it’s a 4X sci-fi game which is awesome. Secondly, it was developed by Offworld Games and the screenshots so far look really promising. If you’re in the same boat, you’ll be happy to know that Offworld released over an hour of video showing a game of Exodus: PC in action. Head past the break and take a gander just to see what we’re in for tomorrow.

What the hell is The Colonists and how do I start playing it?

August 14, 2018 David Neumann 5

PC (Coming to Early Access) • This morning I woke up and went through my morning routine: Brush teeth Shower Pray that death takes me before I wake up the kids As of this post, #3 hasn’t gotten me anything so I’m considering replacing it with “3. Search Twitter” instead. I usually don’t look at social media until after I’ve had either coffee or a Diet Pepsi (better than Coke, fight me!) and feel somewhat like a human. Today, I spotted a Tweet that included a trailer to a game I hadn’t heard about, but now can’t stop thinking about: The Colonists.

Exodus: Proxima Centauri set for a Friday reentry

August 14, 2018 David Neumann 5

PC/Mac (Friday), iOS/Android (later this year) • Okay, so I had this story late Sunday night assuming I would post it yesterday only to suddenly realize that working a full time job really sucks when it comes to making time for a blog. I should clarify, it’s not the job that sucks, it’s the fact that I’m actually working on something that I find very interesting and, incredibly, am having a hard time pulling myself away from. I’m learning Python at work now and I’ve gotten to the point where I can actually write scripts that do things and it’s fairly mesmerizing. It’s been four years since I’ve coded with an end goal in mind (TIS-100P doesn’t count) and I’m kind of digging it. Anyway, I couldn’t stay away from the Stately Players [I thought we had stopped doing this -ed.] for long, which brings us to the board game port of the week, Exodus: Proxima Centauri.

Asmodee can’t take a week off, sneak-releases Kings and Assassins

August 10, 2018 David Neumann 1

iOS, Android, PC • A week ago Asmodee Digital surprised us all with the announcement of Gloomhaven and other games coming out later this year and in 2019. I was at the press conference and took pictures of all the games they listed for the next 2 years and nowhere did they list Kings and Assassins. So, it makes perfect sense that, this week, they released Kings and Assassins. [insert head banging into wall gif here]

Handelabra (kind of) announces their next two projects: Aeon’s End and Spirit Island

August 8, 2018 David Neumann 4

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • Fresh off the success of One Deck Dungeon you’d think the folks at Handelabra would rest on their laurels and, perhaps, slow down and enjoy the, I’m sure, millions of dollars that come along with being a successful indie developer of niche board games. As you can probably guess from the headline, however, that’s not the case. Instead, Handelabra have announced two new ports that will be heading our way in 2019, Indie Boards & Cards‘ Aeon’s End and Greater Than Games‘ Spirit Island.

80s cardboard/electronic mashup, Dark Tower, being brought back to life

August 7, 2018 David Neumann 6

Tabletop • Deep down in my soul I know that, mechanically, Dark Tower isn’t a great game, and yet few games have stuck with me the way Dark Tower has. I was 10 years old when Milton Bradley unleashed this cardboard and plastic monstrosity upon the world, and I remember it occupying my every thought as 1981 crawled towards Christmas. I didn’t get a copy of the game that year, but my cousins did, and it didn’t disappoint. A game with little plastic, sword-sporting figures, 3D plastic buildings and awesome art of kingdoms in decline, and, of course, the massive black monolith standing at the hub of this strange fantasy world? I loved the game, eventually getting a second hand copy a year or two later and then forgetting about it when my tower, like so many others, stopped working. It’s the one grail game that I’ve considered spending $300 or more via Ebay to get a working copy to play with my kids only to realize that I’d then be divorced and probably wouldn’t be spending much time with my kids. Luckily, Restoration Games has picked up the mantle and announced a re-imagining of Dark Tower set to release in 2020.

Forest of Shadows arrives in One Deck Dungeon

August 6, 2018 David Neumann 1

iPad, Android Tablets, PC/Mac/Linux • One thing I look forward to every year is a Jeremy Handel sighting at Gen Con. He’s incredibly hard to find, but when you do you won’t be disappointed because he’ll be dressed as someone else. Sure, there’s a lot of cosplay at Gen Con, but not many people cosplay as characters from Sentinels of the Multiverse. This year, my son and I ended up getting sick on Saturday and our time in the convention center was nil from Saturday morning on, so I didn’t get a chance to find Jeremy this year [for the record, we did meet up with Jean-Marc Giffin of Handelabra who was affable as always -ed.], but I did get a chance to play a ton of his latest game, One Deck Dungeon. That’s because Handelabra released the major expansion, Forest of Shadows, the Wednesday night before the Con opened.

The Trese Brothers are back with Star Traders: Frontiers

August 6, 2018 David Neumann 6

PC/Mac/Linux • There’s something a little less exciting about a game releasing when it’s been available on Steam Early Access for a long time prior to going “live”. I mean, I’ve been playing Factorio for so long now that if they took it out of EA and into actual release, I doubt I’d really notice. That said, Star Traders: Frontiers is a Trese Brothers game and we kind of love those around these parts. If you need reminding, they’re the dynamic duo behind the oft-overlooked but much-loved Templar Battleforce. Star Traders: Frontiers went live while I was at Gen Con and I’m dying to dive into it.

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