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Respawns won't save you in 'Weird West'
“The same way Dishonored was a bit of our own take on steampunk, this is our own take on the weird west." - Raphael Colantonio
'Fall Guys' brings mini-game battle royale to PS4 and Steam on August 4th
'Fall Guys' is coming to PS4 and Steam on August 4th, bringing the battle royale concept to kid-friendly mini-games.
Devolver made a free game about a canceled game convention
Devolver is trying an unusual approach to pitching its games: it made a game about a cancelled convention.
Indie history: How shareware helped build Epic Games
"When [Epic] popped up and said, ‘We're redefining the publishing deal,’ it made me chuckle." - Mike Wilson, co-founder of Devolver Digital
'Serious Sam 4' arrives on PC and Stadia in August
'Serious Sam 4' is coming to PC and Stadia this August, although console players will have to wait.
Gladiatorial brawler 'Gorn' comes to PlayStation VR on May 19th
One of the PC's better VR showcases is making its way to PlayStation VR on May 19th.
Black-and-white adventure 'Minit' lands on iOS and Android
Indie adventure game Minit caught the attention of many when it landed on consoles and PC last year, through a combination of its monochrome pixelated art style and bite-sized gameplay. As of today, mobile gamers can check out Minit too, as it's available on iOS and Android for $5.
Weed is worse than murder, if you're selling a video game
Developers at Polish studio Vile Monarch had never made a tycoon game before Devolver Digital tapped them to build Weedcraft Inc. -- a business-simulation title about the legal cannabis market. Weedcraft Inc.'s gameplay mechanics fell well outside of Vile Monarch's wheelhouse, whose past releases included Oh...Sir!! The Insult Simulator and a sequel, both of which were fighting games where players battled with rude words. So, Devolver sent a legendary tycoon-game creator to consult with Vile Monarch on Weedcraft Inc. However, the developer had one condition. "He let us know from the beginning that he didn't want his name in any way associated or to be credited," Devolver founder Mike Wilson told Engadget.
Avian dating sim 'Hatoful Boyfriend' makes its mobile debut
Visual novels and dating sims run the gamut from benign to completely out there. Hatoful Boyfriend, a dating sim all about birds, is quirky but not totally unapproachable. It's just cute enough to pique your interest and then reel you in. It's also finally made its way to the App Store.
Breach and Clear: Deadline brings tactical thinking to zombie slaughter
A zombie apocalypse is no excuse for sloppy tactics. That's the thinking behind Breach and Clear: Deadline, an undead twist on the top-down strategy genre and offshoot of the iOS/Android game Breach and Clear. In Deadline, ransacked interiors and mangled streets are home to various forms of infected; parasitic worms capable of "hyper-evolution" have invaded the soft, squishy bodies of the former humans that once lived here. Okay, so they're not technically undead zombies, but the upside is that Mighty Rabbit is using the hyper-evolving worms as justification for a new campaign, a wide variety of enemies and a fresh gameplay experience.
How to make top down horror like Noct scary? Ditch zombies
Noct, a new survival horror shooter by Chris Eskins, shouldn't be scary. Outwardly simplistic, Noct borrows the top down perspective of Devolver label-mate Hotline Miami as well 360-degree style shooting but ditches the color and detail. Dark, drab, and obscure, the black and white action is filtered through the ambient light of satellite night vision. Your blob of a character so easily killed is glimpsed through snaky sharp brambles and wandering down empty streets and detail-less warehouses. Noct should feel isolating but not scary. It's too distant, both in fidelity and in action. Yet it got me to yell, "Nope!" just like its characters do before they're run down by the blurry outline of a giant arachnid or wandering, ravenous, ill-defined bovine beast.
'Just pirate it,' Hotline Miami 2 dev tells Australian fan
While most developers are staunch opponents of piracy, Hotline Miami 2 designer Jonatan Söderström recently encouraged one Australian fan to pirate the game if censors keep it from his local retailers. Following the Australian Classification Board's recent decision to withhold a rating from Hotline Miami 2 (effectively banning the game from the country), designer Jonatan Söderström was asked by an eager Australian fan how he might obtain a copy. The fan even offered to send money directly to the developer. Söderström politely turned down the offer, instead telling the fan, "If it ends up not being released in Australia, just pirate it after release." Söderström's response was posted to Reddit where it was immediately cheered, though some questioned its authenticity. At least until Fork Parker, fictional CFO (yet very real mouthpiece) of Hotline Miami 2 publisher Devolver Digital, confirmed the events in question with a succinct, "That was him." [Image: Devolver Digital]
Hotline Miami 2 refused classification in Australia [update]
Hotline Miami 2 is effectively banned from sale in Australia, following the Australian Classification Board's decision to refuse classification. According to Kotaku and Player Attack, the legislative body's report describes an implicit rape scene featuring "visual depiction of implied sexual violence" as part of the offending content. On its website, the ACB says the ruling is accordance with National Classification Code that refuses classification to games featuring "matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena" that offend accepted standards. The site's listing doesn't note the scene specified in the report obtained by Kotaku and Player Attack. According to both publications, the report notes that it doesn't include a complete list of the content that contributed to the ACB's decision. [Update: Devolver Digital published a response to the ruling this morning, which you can read in full below the break. The publisher says it's "concerned and disappointed that a board of professionals tasked with evaluating and judging games fairly and honestly would stretch the facts to such a degree..." Devolver added it has no plans to officially challenge the decision.]
The Talos Principle review: God in the machine
Mac, PC, Linux Often, performing routine tasks can provide unexpected clarity: You think of the perfect ending for your short story while in the shower, or realize the best comeback while riding your bike down a familiar street – three hours after the actual argument. Or, you finally understand the true nature of consciousness while angling a laser beam into a portal beside a door. The Talos Principle takes advantage of this vague phenomenon, presenting a series of straightforward physics- and tetromino-based puzzles within a deeply introspective, proddingly philosophical narrative. It could have easily been a puzzle game and nothing else – and its intricate puzzles could sustain it on their own – but The Talos Principle offers an intelligent story packed with history and the quiet questions we ask ourselves just before falling asleep. It's mysterious and haunting, creative and beautiful – and loads of fun.
Hear a new song from Hotline Miami 2's soundtrack
Dennaton Games' Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number has quite the name to live up to; the developer's original 2012 twin stick shooter of the same name is well-regarded for its musical tastes alone. While we've spun Hotline Miami's soundtrack on Steam many times, electronic music artist Magic Sword recently provided a new jam to listen to called "The Way Home," and it happens to be part of Hotline Miami 2's soundtrack. Head past the break to hear the song, courtesy of Magic Sword's SoundCloud page. Magic Sword told The Guardian that the musical duo was "excited to get involved with the sequel" by providing music for the game. "Hotline Miami has a lot in common with 80s movies like Thief and Blade Runner," the group said. "Movies like that and their synth-heavy soundtracks have always been big inspirations for us." Those that really dig the series' tunes can pick up a special collector's edition of Hotline Miami 2 that includes the games's soundtrack on vinyl, featuring music from artists such as El Huervo and Jasper Byrne. Following its October delay, Hotline Miami 2 is expected to launch early this year. [Image: Devolver Digital]
Best of the Rest: Jessica's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Threes Threes is ingenious. Its simplistic presentation belies beautiful, thoughtful design and butter-smooth mechanics. Threes isn't a matter of "less is more," it's fully encapsulated and pushed to the limits of what it intends to do, providing hours upon hours of repeated gameplay on that four-by-four tiled screen. On top of the brain-teasing numbers game, writer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend and composer Jimmy Hinson infuse Threes with personality, giving the numbers voices and faces, and tipping Threes from "Fun" to "Absolutely adorable. And, of course, fun."
The Talos Principle traps pirates in an elevator
Claustrophobic pirates, beware: Anyone who illegally downloads The Talos Principle will be trapped in an elevator early in the game, with no way to progress. Developer Croteam and publisher Devolver Digital tweeted links to a NeoGAF thread featuring a screencap of a post titled "Elevator doesn't work!" on The Talos Principle's Steam forum. The first response to the thread reads, "Congratulations you must be the first one to show to the internet world what Croteam did this time to punish pirates :) You should be proud of yourself, it will be all over the internet in about 30 minutes I'd say." Well played, @Croteam. Well played. http://t.co/jHO3BiQoPN pic.twitter.com/UYfYXPlbrH - Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) December 28, 2014 Croteam previously deterred pirates from fully enjoying Serious Sam 3: BFE with an immortal, speedy, rifle-wielding, giant scorpion. The elevator trick, while more subtle, appears to be similarly effective. We discussed The Talos Principle's surprisingly emotive philosophy on episode 126 of the Super Joystiq Podcast. [Image: Devolver Digital]
I only play Hotline Miami 2 on vinyl
There's this game coming out called Hotline Miami 2. You probably haven't heard of it. Anyway, I found out you can get this sweet collector's edition with the soundtrack on vinyl. It's, like, sixty bucks and comes with three discs – all of them 180 gram, colored vinyl, of course – and it features 28 different tracks from the game. You also get a Steam download code for the game, printed on a special "phone card," which is, like, what old people used before smartphones or something. You probably haven't pre-ordered it yet. I mean, I heard about it months ago, but it's cool if you like it now, or whatever. [image: Devolver Digital]
Devolver serves up Fork Parker's Holiday Profit Hike for free on Steam
If the ongoing Steam Holiday Sale has you strapped for cash, Devolver Digital's faux CFO Fork Parker wants to cut you a deal in Fork Parker's Holiday Profit Hike, a freeware platformer released today on Steam. Developed by Enter the Gungeon creator Dodge Roll Games, Holiday Profit Hike is a vertically scrolling action game that blends gameplay mechanics from Nintendo's Ice Climber and the classic arcade game Roc'n Rope. Players ascend an icy mountain using an infinite supply of ropes and pulleys, grabbing any cash they find along the way to fill Parker's pocketbook. Be careful, though -- the climb is perilous, and each death deducts cash from Parker's savings to cover medical costs. It's a short game (there's an achievement for players who can climb the mountain in under 12 minutes), but the platforming within is surprisingly complex, and it'll take you a while to fully grasp how the rope mechanics work. Good luck, and try not to bankrupt Devolver Digital. Think of the indies! [Image: Devolver Digital)
Enter the Gungeon, Orcs Must Die! Unchained and more coming to PS4 in 2015
The PlayStation Experience keynote helped flesh out the Vita's horizon, but PS4 owners were given plenty to look forward to next year as well. Enter the Gungeon, Orcs Must Die! Unchained, Skytorn, Darkest Dungeon and The Forest are all due to arrive on PS4 within 2015, though Sony's home console won't be the only platform hosting the aforementioned titles. Enter the Gungeon, the game in the above trailer that features a gun capable of killing the past, will also arrive on PC, Mac and Linux. The 5v5 MOBA-style Orcs Must Die! Unchained will fight on PC. Skytorn, a procedurally-generated, combat-focused adventure that unfolds in the skies above a post-apocalyptic world, will launch on PC, Mac and Linux. Darkest Dungeon, an RPG that deals afflictions to a player's party based on their stress levels, will explore the PC and Mac. Finally, The Forest's mutated predators are already stalking prey in an Early Access version on PC. You can find additional PS4-flavored trailers for the rest of the above games after the break.
