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Time-traveling detective game 'D4' hits PC on June 5th
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die is a wonderfully strange detective game with a twist: There's a bullet lodged in your skull that allows you to touch certain objects and travel back in their timelines, to places and events pivotal to their existence. As a hardened Boston investigator, you're searching for the people who brutally killed your wife a few years ago, and along the way you run into a foul, potentially supernatural criminal organization. When D4 launched in 2014, it was exclusive to Xbox One and was a surprisingly successful Kinect game, using voice and motion controls in fun and immersive ways. Now, it's heading to PC on June 5th, priced at $15 on Steam, GOG, Playism and the Humble Store.
Studio Pixel's Kero Blaster finally hops to it in May
Goats are so last season and frogs are the new hotness: Kero Blaster, the long-delayed platformer from the maker of Cave Story, is coming to Windows PC and iOS on May 11. The game stars Kaeru, a bipdeal frog who looks a bit like Kermit, but unlike The Muppets star he's armed to the teeth* with some powerful-looking weaponry. More like Kermit, he's in interspecial love with his feline girlfriend, who he's running and gunning to rescue. Studio Pixel AKA Daisuke Amaya originally intended to bring the game to iPhone last May, back when it was known as Gero Blaster. He delayed it to add some improvements, and in the interim it seems Japan-friendly distributor of indie games Playism got involved, and now there's a PC version on the way too. If you're interested in an early look at Kero Blaster, Playism says it's showcasing the game at next week's PAX East conference in Boston. [Image: Playism] *Turns out frogs do have teeth
La-Mulana sequel funded with five days to go [update: demo!]
Update: You can now download a free demo of La-Mulana 2, based on what was shown behind closed doors at last year's Tokyo Game Show. Head to Playism's site to check it out. Like any half-decent adventuring archaeologist, La-Mulana 2 left it to the last minute to whip past its $200,000 Kickstarter goal. That means Nigoro's platforming sequel, starring new protagonist Lumisa Kosugi, is definitely coming to PC. Although it may take its time to get there, with its estimated delivery listed on Kickstarter as "December 2015." With five days on the funding clock, Nigoro and publishing partner Playism will now look towards stretch goals. Even though Mac & Linux ports are down from $500,000 to $400,000, they and console ports further up the list look unrealistic. Instead, a retrospective Father's Diary mode at $230,000, and a monster guide at $260,000 are much more attainable. [Image: Playism]
La-Mulana 2 ventures onto Kickstarter, $200K funding goal
La-Mulana 2 is seeking $200,000 in Kickstarter funding to be made for Windows PC, a turn of events as unexpected as one of the spelunking plaformer's traps. Publisher Playism and developer Nigoro first announced the sequel to the WiiWare and PC game at last year's Tokyo Game Show, and now the two studios have a month to raise $200,000 and greenlight the game. Going by the this morning's rapid funding, they won't need the time. As for what we know about La-Mulana 2, it stars a new hero in Lumisa Kosugi, the possibly illegitimate daughter of the first game's protagonist. If her legitimacy is in question, the sequel's gameplay doesn't look to be. As we saw at TGS, players will once again scavenge for clues in the 2D caves and tombs of La-Mulana 2, and carefully dissect the riddles they find there to avoid falling victim to the many lurking deathtraps. For those willing to stump up the cash for La-Mulana 2, a $15 pledge earns you a Steam and DRM-free copy of the game upon release. With funding accumulating quickly, Playism and Nigoro will already be looking to the stretch goals they've outlined: Highlights include Mac and Linux versions at $500K, a 3DS or Vita version at $1.15 million, Wii U, PS4, or Xbox One versions at $1.65 million, and Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360 versions all the way up at $2.35 million. The stretch goal platforms are "subject to negotiation," indicating Playism and Nigoro can't guarantee more than one for each stretch goal. In the campaign video, Nigoro Director Takumi Namamura said his studio wants to take original game's system and evolve it into something that can push "2D games further than they have ever been before."
Project EF-12 is a free, fully customizable 3D fighting game engine
Tucked away inside of the densely-packed Tokyo Game Show Indie Game Area was Project EF-12, which at first glance appeared to be a prototype 3D fighter along the lines of SoulCalibur or Tekken. After being introduced to designer/Quad Arrow CEO Masahiro Onoguchi, however, I learned that the game is in fact a free, totally customizable 3D fighting game engine. Through modifying what essentially amounts to a collection of spreadsheets, users can change virtually everything about Project EF-12, from its characters, to their abilities and stages, all the way down to the appearance of the UI. The version I played had a selection of characters that had been modified into familiar archetypes: Virtua Fighter-esque, Tekken-like – there was even a character that played with 2D-style controls, despite this being a 3D engine. Players can also insert new character models they've built from scratch, assuming the models were constructed in either Soft Image or Maya. Trading/sharing new characters is as simple as downloading a zip and extracting the spreadsheet and models into the correct folder. Project EF-12 is currently available with a mountain of Japanese-language tutorial material through Playism's Japanese website, with an English release expected on Playism's English site before the end of the year. In related news, expect Style Guide: Journalism Hyper Fighting from Joystiq Publishing almost immediately afterwards.
La-Mulana explores Steam on April 15
After making it through the Steam Greenlight gauntlet back in January, the remake of La-Mulana is finally ready to launch through Steam on April 15. The punishing cave-em-up – not to be confused with that other one – will set wannabe adventurers back $15, but if you pre-order through Steam they can knock 10 percent off that price.The Steam version of La-Mulana is based on the WiiWare remake, which took an inordinate amount of time to make its way onto Nintendo's digital distribution service, even being totally scrapped at one point. The Steam version also includes the WiiWare version DLC "Hell Temple" and supports USB game pads, including Xbox 360 controllers.%Gallery-183618%
La-Mulana returns to PC, now available through Playism
Have you suddenly developed a taste for cave-based, retro-inspired, super-difficult platformers after playing Spelunky? Good news!The remake of La-Mulana, despite not making it to WiiWare, is available on PC through the new game distribution service Playism, which features primarily localized Japanese games. Developer Nigoro celebrated this new release with an overview trailer – featuring dance. To celebrate the start of the service, Playism is randomly giving away t-shirts, La-Mulana music, and a signed replica of the notebook from the game.Speaking of that WiiWare version, it hasn't worked out so far, but Nigoro believes "there is a possibility to release WiiWare version." It won't have the planned DLC, and it's not a sure thing, but it may still happen.
Q.U.B.E. review: Questionable Understanding of Block Extrusion
If someone had told me I'd be spending a peaceful night this week in a stark white room playing with bright blocks, I'd have run before they could wrap the straightjacket around my shoulders and throw me into the back of a windowless van. Instead, I spent a few hours positioning primary-colored cubes around a vast test chamber from the comfort of my own home -- with full mobility of all my extremities -- and I enjoyed my time immensely. Toxic Games' Q.U.B.E. (Quick Understanding of Block Extrusion) joins other puzzlers as the crossword of the plugged-in generation, stimulating spatial, physics and reasoning skills in a direct way that shooters can't touch (or shoot).
Q.U.B.E. enters our space December 16
Toxic Games will be the first to get an Indie Fund-backed game out, when its abstract first-person puzzle game Q.U.B.E. is released on December 16. It'll be available for PC on Steam, Desura, and Playism for $14.99. A Mac version will follow "shortly after PC." Q.U.B.E. asks players to navigate a series of puzzles by manipulating colored cubes they find in the environment, all with their own unique properties. You may have played it at our last Joystiq meetup! It was the one with the cubes.
