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After a year of Epic Games exclusivity, ‘Hades’ heads to Steam Early Access
Hades, the next game from Bastion and Pyre developer Supergiant Games, is coming to Steam Early Access on December 10. The game has been available in early access on the Epic Games Store since December of last year.
Some of the best indie games ever are coming to Switch
It's clearer than ever that the Nintendo Switch is becoming the go-to console for indie game developers. Nintendo has unveiled launch plans for a spate of well-known indies in addition to launching a dedicated Indie Channel for news. You can expect classics like Undertale (September 18th), Supergiant's Bastion (Sept. 13th) and Transistor (November), the mobile hit Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP (October), and the multiplayer chaos of TowerFall (September 27th, complete with characters from Celeste). And those are the more established games -- there are other hits on the way.
'Bastion' studio's 'Pyre' will be exclusive to PS4 and PC July 25th
Last we'd heard of the next game from Bastion and Transistor studio Supergiant Games, Pyre, there wasn't much to report in terms of concrete info. Today we have a bit more information, including when you'll finally be able to play it: July 25th exclusively on PC and PlayStation 4 and you can pre-order it right now for $20. The party-based role-playing game has some lofty narrative ambitions, too. Creative director Greg Kasavin writes on the PlayStation Blog that failure won't stop your progress through the game's story.
Nautical horror game 'Sunless Sea' heads to iPad
Aquatic RPG Sunless Sea has been a big win for British indie developer Failbetter Games. The well-reviewed game has sold half a million copies since its 2015 PC release, and soon, iPad users will be able to get in on the Victorian Gothic adventure. Not long after sequel Sunless Skies very quickly exceeded its Kickstarter funding goal, Failbetter Games announced that Sunless Sea is headed to iPad on March 23rd.
Indie darling 'Bastion' comes to Xbox One next month
Bastion's dream-like watercolor visuals and deep, satisfying RPG mechanics won it plenty of praise back in 2011. Since its launch on PC and Xbox 360, the game has been ported to a range of platforms including Mac, PS4 and Android. Now, developer Supergiant Games is bringing its debut adventure to Xbox One. The new, "faithful adaptation" arrives on December 12th and will be free until the New Year for people who purchased the Xbox 360 version. Otherwise, you'll need to fork out $14.99 to brawl as "the Kid" and listen to the narrator's gruff, dulcet tones.
'Bastion' studio's third game, 'Pyre,' prepares to party in 2017
Pyre tells the story of three wanderers living in exile in a vast purgatory called the Downside, fighting for the chance to rejoin their homeland. They travel and battle in the Rites, a secret competition for those in exile who wish to be absolved, fighting together with a blend of magic and dexterity. While much of the game remains cloaked in mystery, it's due to hit PlayStation 4 and Steam simultaneously in 2017.
Hey, Kid: 'Bastion' is out on Vita today
It's a good day to be a Vita owner. Bastion, the gorgeous 2011 isometric adventure from Supergiant Games, is out today on Sony's handheld console. The company announced Bastion's latest launch during its PlayStation Experience keynote this morning. This brings Bastion's platforms up to seven: PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, iOS, Chrome, PlayStation 4 and, now, Vita. It's a Cross-Buy game on Sony's platforms, meaning if you own it on PS4, you automatically get it on Vita, and vice versa. Score!
These are your favorite video game soundtracks
Not that long ago we published a list of the Engadget crew's favorite game soundtracks. But, of course, we left some of your favorites out. Well, we listened. What you'll find below are a selection of soundtracks that y'all made impassioned pleas for in the comments and on Facebook and Twitter. The big takeaway? You gals and guys really like the music from Eastern-developed games like Chrono Trigger and Shadow of the Colossus. You'll find those along with other, perhaps more modern, examples as well.
Transistor get() 600,000+ sales, Bastion breach() 3 million
Transistor carved its way to more than 600,000 sales in 2014, Supergiant Games revealed this week. The PS4 and PC action-RPG looks set to become the dev's second million-seller, though it's still way off the "more than 3 million" copies sold to date by Bastion. In this week's announcement, Supergiant's Greg Kasavin noted the majority of Bastion's sales arrived "many months after the game first came out on Xbox 360 and PC. So we were very happy to see Transistor selling even faster relative to Bastion during the first couple of months after its launch." Kasavin's talked about that long sales tail before. Speaking at E3 2013 about future Transistor ports, he said, "For us, it's really important to not be tied down for the long haul, because Bastion's success was not made on any one platform. That being said, our focus is absolutely on a successful PS4 launch and also our Steam PC launch, because if that does not go well, there will not be other versions of the game, most likely and so forth."
Bastion rebuilding worlds on PlayStation 4, Vita
Supergiant Games' Bastion has already conquered plenty of platforms, but why not add the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 to that list? Sony announced that the much-loved game about a kid - sorry, The Kid - rebuilding his world will be coming to Vita and PS4 as part of their PlayStation Experience keynote today. A teaser trailer is also viewable above. [Image: Supergiant Games]
Overwatch hands-on gameplay impressions
It's almost standard for us to say a Blizzard title feels ready for launch immediately after its debut. The company rarely shows off a title prematurely, waiting until the game feels good before they even publicly announce the project. Overwatch feels much the same. If it launched today, it would be received as a fun, solid game, if small in scope. The UI feels complete, a simplistic approach that works well for this sort of game. All necessary information is provided in a clean, slick HUD that draws no attention to itself. In my (admittedly brief) play session, the gunplay and ability usage felt intuitive, taking me only a few moments to get a feel for the controls. The only hitch came from my lack of map knowledge, something that can't be gleaned in its entirety in just a few frenetic matches. However, the playable maps were small -- surprisingly small, even -- and it's unlikely hundreds of hours of play will be necessary to understand every hiding spot and back alley of the game.
Bastion senior programmer leaves Supergiant Games for Oculus
Oculus VR continues to snap up talent from other games industry fixtures, as Supergiant Games loses senior programmer Chris Jurney. "I'm joining @Oculus at the end of the month to help make VR awesome," Jurney wrote in a brief Twitter announcement. As senior programmer at Supergiant Games, Jurney's most famous work can be found in critical darling Bastion, and the more recent, yet no less beloved, Transistor. Despite the success of Transistor, Jurney's departure comes as little surprise. He's only the latest in an ever-growing line of games industry professionals to join Oculus VR. The virtual reality firm previously attracted Valve employees Jason Holtman, Tom Forsyth, Steve Lavalle, Atman Binstock and Michael Abrash. Of course, for sheer name recognition, none of those hires hold a candle to DOOM creator John Carmack, who left id Software to assume the role of Chief Technology Officer at the burgeoning virtual reality firm. [Image: Supergiant Games]
Play It On A Mac: Transistor
In this weekly series I'll show you how to get your favorite Windows-exclusive PC games running on OS X. For more information on the programs used, check out the Play It On A Mac explainer. For suggestions and/or questions about any game, feel free to contact me on Twitter. If you're a fan of the gorgeous indie RPG Bastion, there's a really good chance you've been looking forward to the next game from developer Supergiant Games. It's called Transistor, and it just came out for Windows and PlayStation 4 earlier this week. I've played the game on both PS4 and on my Windows gaming PC, but now it's time to get it running on my beloved Mac mini. Let's do this! CrossOver The game is brand new, and as such it has not appeared on the official CrossOver compatibility list yet. I attempted to install it using the default settings in CrossOver, but was met with simply a black screen. There may well be a way to get it running with more customized settings, but as of yet a custom bottle has not been released. Parallels Transistor isn't a particularly graphically intensive game. It's very pretty, but it consists of mostly 2D art with 3D models on top. Because of this, I wasn't anticipating having any issue running the game in Parallels. I mean, if I could get Dark Souls to boot up, Transistor should be no problem, right? Wrong. Very, very wrong. It installed through Steam as planned, using the highest Parallels virtual machine settings I had available, but upon first start-up, it seemingly froze. I was left with a full black screen for several minutes, and eventually hit ESC to back out. I was met with an error telling me Transistor had stopped working... yeah, no kidding. I restarted the virtual machine, but that didn't change anything. I ran the game directly from the executable file, tweaked some Steam launch settings, and tried some other light troubleshooting before venturing online in search of a solution. I found many, many Steam threads complaining about Transistor failing to run even on high-end gaming PCs. Nobody complained of it not running through Parallels -- probably because I'm the first to try it -- but the fact that the game was having issues on the machines on which it was meant to run wasn't a good sign. Some users were able to get the game running through compatibility mode, so I tried launching it with settings for XP SP2, XP SP3, and Vista, to no avail. Things weren't looking too good. Boot Camp My last hope was Boot Camp. I installed it once again, and clicked "Play" with very little hope. To my surprise it started immediately, and played decently right from the start. At 1080p resolution, I get about 25 frames per second. That's not bad for a game like this, as it doesn't often require twitch reflexes, but it's not ideal. Bumping the resolution down to 1280 by 800 -- which still looks fantastic, given the game's 2D nature -- and I can reach 50fps with little issue. This is the prime way to play it on the Mac mini test computer I use, and the game is just as epic as it is on its native platforms. Verdict For the first time we found a game that didn't agree with Parallels whatsoever. I have no idea why it wouldn't work, and you may have better luck with different Mac hardware, but if you don't want to mess around with troubleshooting, install it via Boot Camp for a smooth experience from start to finish. Pick up Transistor on Steam for US$19.99.
Humble Indie Bundle 9 adds Limbo, Bastion and more
The Humble Indie Bundle 9 just added a quintet of new games. Limbo, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, Bastion and A Virus Named Tom are now available to would-be purchasers and those who've already coughed up dough for the collection alike. This latest Humble Bundle launched just last week and is headlined by FTL, Fez and Mark of the Ninja, in addition to Brutal Legend, Trine 2: Complete Story and a special beta version of Eets: Munchies. This latest grouping of games has little over six days left on its run, at which point it'll be retired for the next insanely tempting Humble Indie Bundle collection.
Transistor narration forges 'symbiotic' relationship with sword
When normal people lose their voice, they pick up cough drops. When Transistor heroine Red loses hers, she picks up a talking sword that acts as the game's narrator. Narration plays a large part in Transistor, but the philosophy behind the voice-over isn't one of exposition like in Supergiants' previous game, Bastion, it's one of relationships. Being a voice trapped in an inert object makes the relationship between player and narrator "symbiotic," according to a report from Polygon. The narrator in Transistor isn't an omniscient storyteller; he has feelings, and exists in the present, alongside Red. "I hope that what comes across is he really cares about Red the protagonist," creative director Greg Kasavin said. "If you get nothing else out of it, I hope you get that - that he cares about what happens to her and he doesn't want her to come to harm." Of course, being a sword, the Transistor is dang good at making sure Red is protected.
Bastion narrator lending his voice to Codename Cygnus radio drama
Logan Cunningham, known as the voice behind Bastion narrator Rucks, is lending his pipes to an interactive radio drama for iOS, Codename Cygnus. Developed by Reactive Studios, the project is seeking $11,000 on Kickstarter by August 11 to fund more episodes in its story arc. Cunningham's role in the story is that of the "first spy nemesis," and will deliver a "villainous speech" in the first episode, slated to launch this month. Each episode is expected to run between 15 and 20 minutes, "although the total playable content will be a lot more," the project page notes. Sarah Elmaleh (Skulls of the Shogun, Gone Home, Resonance) and Chris Ciulla (Fallout: New Vegas) are two of the 25+ voice actors that are also involved in the project. Codename Cygnus offers a simple UI and voice recognition for listeners to audibly direct how each episode plays out. The project is currently sitting at $7,388 in funding with nine days left in the campaign.
Bastion, Scribblenauts Remix for a buck during WBIE mobile sale
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment flicked its magical money wand this morning, exclaiming "MOBILIUM DISCOUNTIOSUM," and now all its mobile games on the iOS App Store are priced at $0.99 for the week. There's also a discounted selection of games similarly priced on Google Play. The iOS sale includes Bastion, Scribblenauts Remix, Baman Arkham City Lockdown, Man of Steel, LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7, LEGO Batman DC Superheroes and Midway Arcade. If you've somehow missed out on Bastion, at a dollar it's a must. We're surprised iOS devices around the world didn't spring to life for a second and download it themselves. The Google Play sale includes Man of Steel, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown and Scribblenauts Remix for the same price. You're still reading? Have you not yet downloaded Bastion?
Bastion sales surpass 2 million
During a Transistor demo session at E3, Supergiant Games' Greg Kasavin confirmed that the studio's first game, Bastion, has sold over two million copies. "Bastion has done really well for us; it's sold over two million copies across all platforms," Kasavin said. "That puts us in a position to make games on our own terms and take the time needed to get it right." Part of that success was the seven-man team's pursuit of creating something "worth a damn" and not disappointing each other, Kasavin added. "Games take a lot of time and a lot of money, so we just wanted to make something that made people feel like they didn't waste their time or money playing it." Back at DICE in February, Supergiant founder Amir Rao said Bastion had reached 1.7 million sales.
Bastion is $3.75 today, more deals in GamersGate 'Spring Sale'
The Spring Sale over at Gamersgate continues with a nice daily deal on Bastion, Supergiant Games' wonderful action-RPG, for $3.75. Other deals today include Endless Space for $17.48 and half-off the Double Fine bundle, a collection of Brutal Legend, Costume Quest, Psychonauts and Stacking for $22.50.This sale is bolstered by ongoing weekly deals, such as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Collection for $12, Sine Mora for $4.98, Trine 2 for $3.75, Legend of Grimrock for $5.10 and Sonic Spinball for $1.70 – the full nine-page list is available through the source link below.
Humble Bundle game sales now coming weekly, starting with Bastion
Who would've thought that letting consumers pay what they think is fair for quality games would prove popular? That's the concept behind Humble Bundle, and so far, it's been rather good to developers and charities alike. Now, deals from the company are set to get a whole lot more frequent, as it's just announced weekly game sales that'll supplement the monthly bundle offers. You'll find a new game from Humble Bundle go up for sale each Tuesday, and to kick things off, the company is starting with Bastion, an RPG from Supergiant Games. Just $1 nets you a Steam key to the game, but if common decency isn't enough of a reason to pay more, you'll find bonus content and merchandise up for grabs, too. This week's charities include the EFF and Child's Play, but you've only got seven days to act before another game takes its place. Best start checking it out, and you can start with a demo of Bastion after the break.
