PS4, Xbox, PC, Switch While I’ve never been a huge Munchkin fan, I see the appeal. A easy-to-grok, take-that card game that plays with RPG tropes and is illustrated by John Kovalic can’t be all that bad. While I haven’t played the tabletop version for years, today Asmodee Digital announced a new video game version ‘based on’ the Steve Jackson staple. I have to admit, it looks and sounds pretty cool.
PC/Mac, Xbox, PS4, Switch So, I haven’t pulled out my Switch much over the last month. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve played with it at all since July. This isn’t for a lack of want–I would love to be playing Slay the Spire on my handheld pretty much all day, every day–but a matter of logistics. Our house was struck by lightning at the end of July causing all sorts of issues. It blew up our Apple TVs, all of our routers, and, for some odd reason, the two Switch cords that were currently plugged in. That’s it. So, our three Switches are down to only one working cord and I just haven’t gotten around to buying more, thus my Switch sits powerless while my kids fight over who gets to charge theirs and when. News from last night, however, forced me onto Amazon and we now have two new cords in the mail. An incredible RPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2, just arrived on Switch and there’s no way I’m not spending the next few weeks in the world of Rivellon.
PC, Xbox, PS4 • Listen up, nuggets. You should all be familiar with Black Lab Games‘ dark horse tactical gem, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock. Quite possibly the best licensed game this side of, heck, Dark Forces. A terrific tactical starship game based on the paradigm-shifting show of the 2000s, one that I’d put in my top five — count ’em, five — games of all time. Well, there’s a new expansion coming out very soon, and it sounds all manner of tasty.
PC, Xbox, Playstation • Ex-Bioshock devs Uppercut Games have enjoyed a very warm reception to their Arabian-themed swashbuckler City of Brass. No tricks here, it’s magical. If you’re not already playing on PC, Xbone or Playstation, it’s worth rubbing the lamp on. Especially now they’ve unleashed two post-release updates, the latest of which is very tidy.
PC, PS4, XBox One • There’s an inbound Steam summer sale bearing six-two-two-carom-one-eight, Statelies. You know what that means? That means, with any luck, Battlestar Galactica Deadlock might be had at a lovely discount, alongside the most recent and most wonderful DLC, The Broken Alliance. That is, if you’ve not already played it. And if not, here’s impetus in the form of an internet-grade list as to why Deadlock is worth a punt.
iOS Universal, PC/Mac/Linux, PS4, Xbox One • Sorry I was AWOL yesterday, but unbeknownst to me (and for no reason I can ascertain) my two younger kids had off school yesterday. This allowed me to do real-life things with them like fix my attic stairs and teach them a slew of new curse words. Today’s a new day, however. The new attic ladder appears to be functional and I can’t wait to get a call from the school’s office today informing me that my kids decided to share their new vocabulary words. Oh, I also got a chance to play Armello on both my phone and iPad and it’s good. Very, very good.
PC, Consoles • The Surge is out, and by a piston’s hiss, is it grand. For good or ill, Deck13‘s futuristic brawler will be known as ‘that robot Dark Souls‘, and if it helps cut to the chase, then I’m all for it. FROM Software’s punitive dark fantasy has laid the groundwork for what has now been coined Soulslike, a tidy riff on the descendants and pretenders to Rogue. Soulslike it is. Industrial body horror Soulslike, even better.
Windows, Console • I’ve been exercising an increasing regime of self-control in regards to SMAC Games’ Tokyo 42. Isolated and insulated against everything bar the basics. All I really know so far is that it is going to be a Jolly Good Time.
PC/Mac, iOS (coming soon), PS4, Vita, Xbox One, Wii U • A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure! Scrub ‘colonies’, keep ‘off-world’ and underscore ‘adventure’. Forma.8 is here.