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Sunless Sea update goes 'steel' with major combat changes
Sunless Sea's "Steel" update is now live for all players, and brings a major change to the game's combat. The roguelike seafaring RPG previously featured turn-based combat, deemed "tiresome" in our time with the Early Access game in July. As demonstrated in a video provided by Failbetter Games after the break, the Steel update brings combat out of the game's menus and into the same top-down overworld in which players pilot their ship. The new real-time combat system still relies on players charging weapons and keeping enemies within range, though the latter is now represented by a red arc that circles their ship. Failbetter also "made some changes to the way the map is laid out in terms of balance and variety" and recommends that players start the game over with a new captain and chart to get the most out of the Steel update. The update entered a beta phase late last month. Sunless Sea is available through Steam Early Access and DRM-free on the developer's site for $18.99. [Image: Failbetter Games]
BioWare tease points to possible Shadow Realms reveal
BioWare may be set to unveil a new project shortly, that's if you go off the clues tied to a teaser the company posted on YouTube. The 44 seconds of footage are as vague as the developer's E3 video, but online sleuths have connected dots that may shed some light on something called "Shadow Realms." BioWare sent out a mass email today, linking to a "You've Been Chosen" site featuring the new video. The site's text reads, "The time is near. They are watching. Your power is rising. Cologne, Germany. You've Been Chosen." The timing would suggest Bioware will unveil the project at next month's Gamescom conference in the German city.
Early Access Review: Sunless Sea
This is an Early Access Review, in which we hope to help you decide whether or not it's worth jumping into a game before it's officially complete. When describing Sunless Sea, you might refer to its text-heavy visual novel elements, or its myriad of RPG-like, story-building choices. It's a top-down seafaring game with simple visuals, in which players set sail across a massive sea deep below the earth's surface. Alongside the straightforward sailing, the battle, dialogue and decision systems are governed by plain menus and text. It's a basic approach that complements the mythical atmosphere, leaving the bulk of Sunless Sea's vivid concepts up to the imagination of the player. The project is far from complete, as over half of the sea's map is empty. There's another kind of emptiness in Sunless Sea, though, as even the accessible regions feel endlessly dark at times. This other emptiness, the pervasive, creeping fear of the unknown as you sail mysterious waters, is what makes Sunless Sea stand out, even at this early stage of development.
