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Best of the Rest: Danny'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. Fantasy Life Sometimes, you just wanna sidequest. For those times, there's Fantasy Life. Fantasy Life is fun in the way that checking off items on a checklist is fun. There's a solid action-RPG here from Professor Layton series creator Level-5, sure, but much of my time in Fantasy Life was spent completing sidequests, crafting equipment, and hunting down component items so that I could craft more equipment and complete more sidequests. You don't even have to kill anything to complete the game - you can smith, cook, sew, and alchemize your way to victory if that's the way you want to play it. Fantasy Life is an endless grind that remains compelling even after I've completed hundreds of its quests. If you don't fit into its niche, you'll be bored immediately. If you're a specific breed of completionist, Fantasy Life is impossible to put down. In either case, beware.
Race the Sun, Escape Goat 2 on PSN next week, says PS Blogcast [update]
The PlayStation Blogcast often quietly slips out a surprise or two in its weekly rundown of new releases, and this week is no exception. According to the podcast, Race the Sun and Escape Goat 2 hit PSN in North America next week, which would pin them for October 21 release dates. There's been no other official word on that and Blogcast details have been off the mark before, so we've reached out to devs Flippfly and MagicalTimeBean to confirm. [Update: Sony confirmed Race the Sun indeed hits PSN in North America on October 21, priced $10. Flippfly's Aaron San Filippo told Joystiq the team's working on confirming the date for Europe, and the game will be available there at a roughly equivalent price.] [Update 2: MagicalTimeBean's Ian Stocker confirmed to Joystiq that Escape Goat 2 will also reach North America on October 21, and while its European launch is yet to be set in stone, Stocker notes it "won't be far behind."] Race the Sun is already confirmed as a cross-buy game for PS4, PS3 and Vita, meaning if you buy the game on one PS platform you get it for free on the others. Cross-save is also supported to carry scores across systems.
Skulls of the Shogun, Nidhogg, Escape Goat 2 and more jumping to PS4
At a Sony event today, PlayStation VP of Publisher and Developer Relations Adam Boyes revealed a whole slate of new titles coming to the PlayStation 4. Escape Goat 2, Ironclad Tactics, Nidhogg, Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-a-Fide Edition, Apotheon and Starwhal: Just the Tip, Chasm, Jamestown Plus, Source, Drifter and Spelunky are all making the jump from PC to the PS4. No specific timeline for each release was revealed, but the laundry list of titles gives us plenty to look forward to. Sony's "Third Party Production" team will help bring a select number of the new titles to the PlayStation 4. The group had previously worked to bring Towerfall to the platform. Check out trailers and details for each upcoming game after the break. [Image: Nidhogg from Messhof]
Escape Goat 2 Review: Rube Goat-berg
When I was a freshman in high school, my science teacher had us complete a Rube Goldberg machine for our final class project. We needed a minimum of 10 steps, but the more complicated and more steps involved, the better. Bonus points were awarded if your steps were particularly eye-catching and fun to watch. With its focus on cause and effect, and creating chain reactions that lead to something as simple as opening a door, I think Escape Goat 2, from developer MagicalTimeBean, would have made my science teacher proud, or at least put a smile on her face. Escape Goat 2 doesn't beat around the bush with its concept: You are a goat – escape. Trapped in a tower full of traps and puzzles, you'll use your double-jump, dash ability and a helper mouse to navigate your way through nine areas, each with its own theme. One is filled with overgrown vines and lush forest, while another is steeped in ice. No matter where you are, however, your goal is to find the way out, which is sometimes easier said than done.
Double Fine to publish indie games, starting with Escape Goat 2
Double Fine may be known for creating games like Psychonauts, Brutal Legend and Broken Age, but it's expanding its efforts to add indie game publishing to its repertoire. Its first act as an indie publisher is to provide "promotional assistance and distribution" for MagicalTimeBean's Escape Goat 2, COO Justin Bailey told Game Informer. "Our goal is to help indies build their own community and empower them with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed on their own," Bailey said, adding that multiple indie developers have approached Double Fine to ask for publishing assistance. "They all had a unique request and that's where we started to see there was a real need for the knowledge we've gained over the last 14 years on how to prototype, fund, develop and publish our own games." Double Fine's publishing ambitions boil down to the efforts of two individuals: Bailey and senior publishing manager Greg Rice, who will offer advice for crowdfunding hopefuls as well as development feedback, platform porting advice and promotional assistance. "We're open to working with each developer and figuring out how we can help make them successful," Bailey added. Double Fine recently teamed up with MagicalTimeBean to create a quirky promotional video for Escape Goat 2. The game launched yesterday on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, GOG and the Humble Store for $10. [Image: MagicalTimeBean]
PSA: Escape Goat 2 goes on the loose today
Ne'er has a Goat faced an adventure so demanding, so puzzling, and of such extraordinary magnitude since... well, the first Escape Goat. MagicalTimeBean's Escape Goat 2 is the sequel to the 2011 puzzle-platformer, and it's breaking for freedom today on Windows PC, Mac and Linux via Steam, GOG and the Humble Store, priced at $10. Escape Goat 2 follows the formula of the first game: Our purple caprine hero has to make his way through rooms filled with environmental perils, lots of moving parts, and puzzles that require the help of his magical mouse companion. However, the sequel ups the ante with a graphical overhaul, a new, more interconnected map system, and just to ram it home, there are 100-plus rooms compared to the original's 50 or so. [Image: MagicalTimeBean]
Escape Goat absconds to Steam, celebrates with a sale
Pixelated puzzle platformer Escape Goat has rammed its way onto Steam. Available on Steam for 20% off its $5 asking price until October 16, Escape Goat is compatible with Windows PC, Mac and Linux. In Escape Goat, players assume the role of a goat imprisoned for using witchcraft. Players must navigate various rooms full of traps and enemies in an attempt to escape the Prison of Agnus. A sequel, aptly titled Escape Goat 2, from developer MagicalTimeBean is currently in the works, though it recently suffered a setback and had to be delayed from its intended September 10 launch date. Creator Ian Stocker has yet to announce the new release date.
Escape Goat 2 making a break for PC
Escape Goat, the premiere goat-based puzzle platformer of 2011, has a sequel in the works, developer MagicalTimeBean revealed to IndieStatik. The sequel will retain the single-screen puzzle level structure of the original, as well as its protagonists: a purple goat accused of witchcraft, and his mouse friend in a magic hat.The most notable change to the formula is the graphical style. Escape Goat 2 has a much richer, pixel-dense art style than the original, courtesy of artist Randy O'Connor. MagicalTimeBean also plans to integrate "some new gadgets and perhaps new creatures." The sequel will debut on PC; plans for an XBLIG release are currently undecided.If you're wondering just what Escape Goat is all about, we recommend trying the game's browser-based demo.
IndieGameStand open for business, pay what you want for Escape Goat
IndieGameStand takes the standard indie bundle formula and shoots it out of a cannon, hosting a new indie game for "pay what you want" every 96 hours. The first game to hit IndieGameStand launches today: Escape Goat from MagicalTimeBean.Escape Goat previously launched on XBLIG and PC, and tells the tale of slumbering sheep, a headstrong goat and his mouse companion as they solve puzzles to escape the Prison of Agnus. If that story does nothing for you, it's a retro-inspired puzzle platformer and it has a level editor, and it is redeemable for PC via Desura.MagicalTimeBean is giving 10 percent of its sales to the American Red Cross, and will hopefully spend the rest on extra spaces for its own name and IndieGameStand's. Escape Goat will be available for four days, with a new IndieGameStand game announced on September 30 at 12:01 a.m. ET.
Escape Goat makes a break for your browser this weekend
While Escape Goat has been available on the PC and Xbox Live Indie Games for quite a while now, the titular goat and his mousy companion are coming to a browser near you. This HTML5 port includes the full game, which centers around a goat and a mouse who are trying to escape from a prison full of ever-changing rooms. That old chestnut.No matter your browser or operating system, you can play Escape Goat this weekend through Sunday, September 9, after which point a demo version will remain. So, feel free to go play it right now. While we'll leave it up to speculation why the two were imprisoned in the first place, know their escape is a noble cause – we'd never throw our support behind two guilty convicts.
Goat try out Escape Goat on XBLIG
I'm not entirely sure why developer MagicalTimeBean singled me out by name in an email to Joystiq introducing its new game Escape Goat, about a goat and his mouse friend working to escape from a labyrinth of ever-shifting rooms. I'd like to think it's because I have a reputation for enjoying retro-style games, and platformers in particular; this one certainly has that kind of appeal. It's probably because I wrote about GoatUp, though. So now I'm the goat game guy at Joystiq. Which is fine, if it means stuff like this is going to be directed at me. Escape Goat is on the Xbox Live Marketplace now for 240 Microsoft Points.
