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The rich and mysterious story buried in 'Dead Cells'
There's a story in Dead Cells. Motion Twin's glossy, pixelated platformer is known for offering brutal battles and rich customization options in a sprawling, neon castle ravaged by bloodthirsty beasts, but there's also a plotline lurking below the constant threat of death. Far below. Like, so far that it even surprised the people who created Dead Cells. "The story and the lore in this game was really, like, chaotic. Really chaotic," lead designer Sébastien Bénard said. "Really, really a mess," marketing manager Steve Filby added. "At the beginning we did not want to have any kind of story, at least not too much," Bénard continued. "We knew that the loop between dying and getting back into action should be as short as possible and lore was just getting in the way."
After Math: To all the games we loved before
Now that GDC 2019 has wrapped, it's time to take a quick look back at all the week's gaming news you might have missed.
'Overwatch' endorsements reduced toxic behavior by 40 percent
Blizzard has been waging a war against toxic players for a while, but how is it faring, exactly? Quite well, it seems. The company's Natasha Miller has revealed that the number of matches with "negative behavior" has dropped 40 percent since the addition of endorsements, the "looking for group" feature and penalties for prematurely quitting matches. Players were not only encouraged to play as a team and stick through the entirety of matches, but could find teammates who were more likely to complement their skills and gameplay styles.
Scream your head off to survive in 'Supermarket Shriek'
Getting through the grocery store with your sanity intact can be tough -- what with the legions of shelf stockers, geriatric Rascal riders and bawling basket babies blocking you at seemingly every aisle. But that's a walk in the park compared to the challenges you'll face in Supermarket Shriek by UK-based studio, BillyGoat Entertainment. The premise of the game is simple. You're a man, stuck in a shopping cart, with a goat. Firmly wedged into the lorry, your only means of mobility is your shrieks of terror propelling you through maze-like markets riddled with boobie traps. With 30 levels available at launch later this summer, that adds up to a lot of hollering. The controls are delightfully straightforward. In single-player mode, you can control the man and the goat independently using the left and right triggers -- having one yell turns you left, having the other yell turns you right, have them scream simultaneously to move forward. There is no reverse. But, like most games, Supermarket Shriek even better with a friend. Plug a microphone into each of your XBox or Playstation controllers and have each person start yelling. The louder you are, the harder you turn and the faster you go. The effect is similar to the classic NES game, Marble Madness, but each person has control of just half the avatar's movement. It's a challenge, and be sure to keep plenty of lozenges on hand. It becomes even more challenging when you begin to encounter the various obstacles littered around each level. From giant guillotine blades to water hazards, flame pits, and springboards, there are more than enough ways for you to fail at every turn. However if you can complete the level quickly enough, you'll earn 3 Stars (like Angry Birds) and unlock the ghost racer of whoever is currently sitting atop to global leaderboards, allowing you to rerace levels against the best screamers on the planet. Supermarket Shriek is slated for release on the Xbox, Playstation and Switch later this summer. It's expected to retail for around $10-15.
Steam's redesigned library will show what's happening with your games
Steam's ages-old game library screen is getting a much-needed overhaul. Valve has previewed a redesign that keeps the familiar column of games on the left, but shakes up seemingly everything else. You'll see rows for your recently played games and, crucially, game updates -- if there's a new character or an important upgrade, you'll know it right away. Your friends list will also appear directly in the library to help you leap into their multiplayer matches.
The Oculus Rift S is impressive but unnecessary
VR technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past few years with optics and capabilities steadily improving even as hardware prices continue to decrease. Leading this revolution is the newly revealed Rift S from Oculus, the company's first headset released in nearly three years.
'Hamsterdam' is the rhythmic rodent brawler we've been waiting for
Big fun sometimes comes in small packages. Hamsterdam from Muse Games is one such example.
Four players fight for undersea supremacy in 'Swimsanity'
If you've ever watched The Little Mermaid and thought to yourself, "dang, that'd be some good hunting," have I got the game for you. Swimsanity is a four-player adventure shooter set at the bottom of the sea that offers a surprisingly wide variety of co-op and competitive gameplay styles.
Google is convinced it can get game streaming right
Phil Harrison won't budge. As a vice president and general manager at Google, he's spent the past 15 minutes explaining why Stadia, the company's freshly announced game-streaming service, will actually work on the existing internet infrastructure across North America and Europe. He's focused on the investments Google has made over the past 20 years in cloud networks, talking up the company's 7,500 server nodes, custom CPUs and partnerships with major internet service providers.
'Speaking Simulator' uses your gift of gab for world domination
Everybody wants to rule the world, even AI-controlled alien robots. And in Speaking Simulator from Affable Games, you absolutely can -- you'll just first have to convince the rest of humanity to let you.
'Nuclear Throne' and other Vlambeer games come to the Switch
Vlambeer hasn't really had a presence on the Switch, but it's rectifying that in very short order. The indie studio is bringing three titles to Nintendo's current console, starting immediately with Nuclear Throne. While the top-down wasteland shooter is largely unchanged from what you've seen before, that's not a bad thing if you like its Robotron-meets-post-apocalypse vibe.
'Detroit', 'Heavy Rain' and 'Beyond' will hit the Epic Games Store
Detroit: Become Human, Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain are all making their way to PC for the first time in 2019 through the Epic Games Store. To date, the games have only been available on PlayStation 3 and/or PS4. The Quantic Dream titles are a bit of a coup for Epic as it takes aim at the likes of Steam, though Epic had plenty of other news about its store at GDC, including a Humble Bundle partnership and deals for upcoming games.
Epic Games has 250 million 'Fortnite' players and a lot of plans
When Tim Sweeney built ZZT in 1991, he didn't know how to program graphics. Instead of coding actual characters and objects into his game, he used text symbols, and the main character was simply a smiley face trailing across the screen. "That included both a game goal, and just running through levels and shooting monsters," Sweeney told Engadget at the Game Developers Conference. "It also included an editor so everybody could build their own levels."
'Cadence of Hyrule' for Switch puts a Zelda spin on an indie classic
Hyrule is about to get down. Cadence of Hyrule - Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda (what a mouthful) is heading to the Nintendo Switch this spring. It's a top-down 2D roguelike that infuses the universe of The Legend of Zelda into the rhythmic world of beloved 2015 indie game Crypt of the NecroDancer.
Double Fine's radioactive adventure 'Rad' arrives this summer
Tim Schafer and Lee Petty of Double Fine Productions made a short appearance on Nintendo's Nindies Showcase today to help introduce a new rock-flavored action game. And no, it's not Brutal Legend 2. Instead, it's a new property titled Rad, which follows a young man as he swings a baseball bat through an irradiated wasteland.
'Cuphead' hits Nintendo Switch on April 18th
The delightfully difficult game Cuphead is making its way to the Switch this Spring, Nintendo announced at GDC 2019 on Wednesday. The game will be ported with the same hand-drawn cell animation and jazzy soundtrack by Kristofer Maddigan that endeared fans to the original console version.
The new Oculus Rift S arrives this spring for $399
Oculus announced at GDC today that an updated version of its Rift virtual reality headset is on the way this spring. Oculus Rift S will cost $399, an increase of $50 from the Rift, while it's set to offer improved resolution and the same integrated audio system as the Quest (which is also debuting in the spring) and Go headsets.
Leaked memo promises major Xbox streaming news at E3
Google had some major news on the gaming front Tuesday when it announced Stadia, its game-streaming service. Microsoft's Xbox chief Phil Spencer was among those who paid attention to Google's event, and he was quick to remind his team Stadia wasn't the only big-name upcoming game streaming project. "Google went big today and we have a couple of months until E3 when we will go big," he wrote in an internal email obtained by Thurrott.
Watch Google's GDC 2019 event in 14 minutes
Earlier today at GDC 2019, Google officially revealed Stadia, a game-streaming service that will be available later this year in US, Canada, the UK and Europe. There's a lot Google didn't cover -- like pricing and an exact launch date -- but the company did show off a custom-built controller for the service that has a dedicated button for Google Assistant. It also demoed fancy style transfer tech that can use AI to change the look of a game in real time. Don't rely on my terse summary though, we've condensed all the highlights down to a 14-minute clip to get you caught up in a flash. And be sure to follow all of the latest news from GDC in San Francisco right here.
Google Stadia can use AI to change a game's art in real-time
Google's Stadia game streaming service isn't just using the cloud to make games playable anywhere -- it's also using the technology for some clever artistic tricks. A Style Transfer feature uses machine learning to apply art styles to the game world in real time, turning even a drab landscape into a colorful display. If you'd like to play in a realm that resembles Van Gogh's Starry Night, you can.
