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Joystiq Weekly: NPD sales data, Trials: Fusion review, A Realm Reborn tips and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. It seems like there are two brands of Trials riders - those who try the series and bail, seeing it for the inevitable, rage-induced heart attack it is, and those that persevere and conquer every track. We're not sure where we fit just yet - some of Trials Fusion's stages give us flashbacks to Super Meat Boy, and our patience is finite. Still, the triumph in each small victory reminds us that we can get the best of gravity, that we can guide motorbikes over ridiculous terrain with the best of them ... until we reach the next stage and the cycle of emotions renews. We've got plenty of resources for anyone that needs a sanity break from Fusion, though! You can brush up on this month's NPD data, read our verdict on Atlus' baby-making RPG, Conception 2: Children of the Seven Stars, or gain some insight on what's next for GaymerX's future. All that and more is laid out in tidy little bulletpoints for you after the break!
Secrets of Raetikon review: Learning to fly
In Secrets of Raetikon, from developer Broken Rules, you play as a bird. Really, that about sums up most of the experience. You soar through the air, riding the wind like a bird. You swoop and dive, snatching up teeny bunnies and fallen tree fruit like a bird. You collect shiny slivers, using them to activate ancient ruins and power up a massive, ominous device like a bird. Okay, so maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch. Indiana Jones-esque tomb raiding aside, Secrets of Raetikon is a simple game with a simple premise: You are a bird. Go forth and do bird stuff. Just, you know, don't forget to dig up a long-lost civilization while you're at it.
Secrets of Raetikon soaring out of Early Access for full launch
Secrets of Raetikon is like a flight sim with vectors, except instead of flying like a bird you literally are a bird, and the vectors aren't co-ordinates but vibrant graphics that comprise the Alpine setting. The game's been on Steam Early Access for a few months but next week sees it launch in full, meaning the early birds finally get to see the game's "grand finale." Indie dev Broken Rules describes Secrets of Raetikon as a "story-based sandbox in an open world." By exploring the game's uncharted 2D landscape you find mysterious machines that are powered by glowing shards that you can collect, as you start to unlock the Secrets. That's all well and good, but according to Joystiq's Jess Conditt, the true joy in Secrets of Raetikon lies in interacting with the wildlife around you. "The environments are filled with animals, plants and hidden passageways, and it's possible to directly interact with most things," Jess wrote in her alpha preview. "Some birds will divebomb you, draining health and impeding your journey, while others flit around trees and bushes, content to live their own lives. Unless you grab one and hurl it across the map, of course. It's possible to grab pretty much anything – hostile and adorable birds, bunny rabbits, foxes, trees, bushes and branches. Grabbing an animal allows you to fling it away or into strategic locations, whether it be a defensive throw to distract an angry animal from attacking you, or placing two bunnies next to each other to make them mate. They're nothing but mammals, after all." You can channel those discoveries in full when Secrets of Raetikon flies onto Windows PC, Mac, and Linux on April 17. The regular price is $10, but it'll be $9 across the launch sale. [Image: Broken Rules]
Steam Early Access adds Secrets of Raetikon on January 7
Secrets of Raetikon, an adorably vectorized indie game focused on the joy of flight and the horrors of life in the animal kingdom, joins Steam Early Access on January 7. If you've missed our earlier coverage of Secrets of Raetikon, know that it's an exploratory game first and foremost. You play the role of bird capable of flying all over the game world, but only by interacting with objects on the ground can you discover those titular secrets. That's not as simple as landing and tapping an object though, as the world of Secrets of Raetikon is populated by other critters who interact with you and one another according to their real-world behaviors. "Hostile animals protect their habitats and interact with the player as well as each other, forming a complex ecosystem: drag a bird of prey to another predator and they attack each other; grab a robin and feed it to a buzzard – it will attack the poor bird instead of you; defend yourself by wielding spiked plants or by pushing foes into thornbushes," reads the game's description. While not yet complete, the version of Secrets of Raetikon that enters Steam Early Access will include the game's campaign and level editor, though not its "grand finale." Given that the level editor offers Steam Workshop support you should be able to find ample user-created maps to tide you over until developer Broken Rules unveils the game's ending during the first part of 2014.
Hacker cracks indie's PayPal account, orders PS4s with crowdfunded cash
With three days left in the Secrets of Rætikon Indiegogo campaign, developer Broken Rules discovered its PayPal account had been hacked and someone had spent $2,500, in part to order three PS4 consoles, studio co-founder Martin Pichlmair told Joystiq. Broken Rules contacted PayPal and put a stop to the spending, and PayPal assured the studio that all of its money would be returned. Pichlmair said he believed the account's password was cracked. Broken Rules since regained full control over its own account, making it safe for backers to continue donating. "This feels like someone breaking into your house and we were super-stressed out for a whole day," Pichlmair says. "We're on the last stretch of our crowdfunding campaign and this incident is really taxing .... Gladly there wasn't too much money on our PayPal account at that point." Secrets of Rætikon has a $40,000 campaign on Indiegogo and has raised $10,900 with three days to go – but it's a Flexible Funding project, meaning Broken Rules gets to keep whatever money it makes, regardless of reaching its goal. Secrets of Rætikon was a stylish exploration and puzzle game that we dug at GDC Europe this year. All that Broken Rules had to identify the hacker was a "dodgy Gmail address," so there wasn't much chance of catching anyone, Pichlrmair said. As for the return of its stolen money, he said he'd believe it when he saw it. Pichlmair planned to update backers no matter how the hack shook out. "We try to be honest even if it is to our detriment," he said. "That's us."
Soar as a free, vectorized bird in Secrets of Rætikon right now
Secrets of Rætikon is out now in alpha for PC and Mac (Linux incoming), with keys set free by contributing to the game's Indiegogo campaign, which seeks $40,000 over the next 30 days. Secrets of Rætikon comes from Broken Rules, the developers behind And Yet it Moves and Chasing Aurora. Secrets of Rætikon puts players in control of a bird that must rebuild ancient machines whose parts are scattered across the surrounding forests, caves and mountainsides. Besides finding secrets and picking up parts, players can interact with other animals and plants, fighting and helping various creatures. We got to try out an early version at GDC Europe and were absolutely blown away by the game's ethereal beauty and surprising challenges. Broken Rules chose Indiegogo over Kickstarter because the competition is less fierce and Kickstarter doesn't yet support companies from its home in Austria, studio co-founder Martin Pichlmair says. "Yet even more important is the fact that we deem it more honest to launch a flexible funding campaign than going the traditional Kickstarter-style fixed funding route," he says. "Flexible funding means: Funders get the game and we get their money no matter if the campaign goal is reached or not. We are simply selling alpha access to the game via a more popular platform than our own website."
Seen@PAX Prime: Secrets of Rætikon's Rune Translation 101
There are many secrets within Secrets of Raetikon, but at least the lost language of runes has been translated. The above sign at developer Broken Rules' section of the Indie Mega Booth at PAX Prime not only helps you translate in-game messages, it lets you insult friends in a made-up language!
Secrets of Rætikon soars above the clouds and into our hearts
We all dream differently: The ocean is green to Bob and purple to Jane; Dave's teeth fall out and Carol's hair sheds from her head; Felix flies by flapping his arms and Martin floats above the ground effortlessly. That last example is a real-world tale from two friends, Broken Rules co-founders Felix Bohatsch and Martin Pichlmair, and it's the difference that sparked their coming title, Secrets of Rætikon. It's a single-player exploration game set in a flattened, vectorized landscape, starring a bird as it searches for glowing slivers that revitalize ancient machinery scattered around the mountainside. At Broken Rules, if there was a debate about which form of dream flight was more correct, it looks like Bohatsch won. The aerial mechanics in Secrets of Rætikon embody a sense of controlled chaos inherent in the natural flight of most birds. It's a balance of pressing one button to flap the bird's wings and gain speed and power, or pressing another to immediately curve down and dive, and then simply guiding the bird along wind streams or behind cave walls to find all of the shiny objects littering the world. The alpha version of Secrets of Rætikon already demonstrates a dreamlike quality with its art, gameplay and story, perhaps inspired by that initial spark. It's soothing and surprising, with the opportunity to be immensely challenging. While playing Secrets of Rætikon at GDC Europe, I was on cloud nine.
Secrets of Rætikon dev: Console launch titles are too risky
Broken Rules doesn't want to develop another launch title for any console. Its most recent game, Chasing Aurora, debuted with the Wii U last year and that experience colored the studio's approach to developing its next game, Secrets of Rætikon. "We just won't risk another console launch," Broken Rules co-founder Martin Pichlmair told Joystiq at GDC Europe. "PS3 and Xbox 360 are not interesting anymore – when we launch, the new consoles are going to come out, and it's just too much of a risk. After the Wii U launch, we just don't want to risk another console launch. I think both of them will be fairly successful; I just don't want to bet the whole company on one of them succeeding. We can't do three ports at the same time and I don't want to make it a betting game." Secrets of Rætikon is a PC, Mac and Linux game in three chapters. The first chapter is due out this year; Broken Rules recently pushed back its internal launch window, bumping it to "after September" but before the holiday release rush, Pichlmair said. It may still hit the new consoles – after they launch – and Broken Rules is already in talks with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. The studio's first game, And Yet It Moves, launched on PC, Mac, Linux and Wii, and has so far sold 500,000 copies. It's keeping the company afloat financially – with the help of a $200,000 grant from the Vienna government – while Chasing Aurora was more successful in terms of PR, not sales. Nintendo won't allow Broken Rules to share Chasing Aurora sales numbers, possibly because they're embarrassing, Pichlmair said.
Secrets of Rætikon flies to PC, Mac, Linux this year
Broken Rules' new aerial exploration game, Secrets of Rætikon, will start trekking through the low-poly forest on PC, Mac and Linux this year. Its previous game, Chasing Aurora, was a Wii U exclusive, but its first title, And Yet It Moves, launched on PC, Mac, Linux, WiiWare and iOS. Broken Rules says Secrets of Rætikon may "possibly" come to consoles, too. Secrets of Rætikon is "a game for anyone who has ever dreamed of flying," where players soar through a mountainous landscape filled with wild animals on a quest to restore pieces of ancient machinery. As demonstrated in the trailer, it's not only a exploration game, but a puzzle game as well. It also looks gorgeous so far.
And Yet it Moves dev unleashes new game, Secrets of Rætikon
Broken Rules, the studio behind And Yet it Moves and Chasing Aurora, announced a new game called Secrets of Rætikon, due out for unspecified platforms sometime in 2013. Rætikon is a third-person, aerial exploration game set in a landscape similar to (and perhaps more beautiful than) Chasing Aurora, the Wii U game that launched in November. Broken Rules has been working on Rætikon since 2011, and the team describes it as "a game for anyone who has ever dreamed of flying." Its story is told in three parts, with players uncovering mysteries in the environment and interacting with animals as they see fit: "Lure them, feed them, tease them or let them loose on each other. We don't recommend fooling around with a lynx, though." Broken Rules is adamant that Wii U isn't a confirmed platform, but hopefully we'll unlock that mystery before the game comes out this year.%Gallery-193412%
