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It takes two thumbsticks to Tango Fiesta, a shooter inspired by your favorite '80s movies
Grab your boomstick, die hard terminators. Tango Fiesta, a game that invites players to blast their way through the "true stories" behind some of the biggest '80s action films, is coming your way. Featuring characters parodying Commando, Predator, Army of Darkness, Robocop and more, the game is a top-down, twin-stick shooter from developer Spilt Milk Studios and publisher Mastertronic. Up to four players can attempt to out-Rambo one another as they tear through enemies with various lethal weapons; an associated press release boasts assault rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers and "sonic electronic ball breakers" among the game's instruments of destruction. Provided the CIA hasn't got you pushing too many pencils, we're sure you'll be able to handle them well. Tango Fiesta will make big trouble in little screens (or whatever size screen you've got your computer hooked up to) via Steam Early Access on June 4. Stick around. [Image: Mastertronic]
The Stomping Land's dinosaur survival MMO is coming to Steam this month
The Stomping Land, a survival MMO with a generous heaping of dinosaurs, is set to arrive on Steam Early Access on May 23rd for backers and May 30th for everyone else. The cost will be $24.99 for non-backers. The MMO was successfully funded through Kickstarter last year and is being developed by Alex Fundora. The Stomping Land challenges players to survive as a human in harsh environments that include rather ravenous dinos. Hunger and thirst are issues that must be dealt with, and these are made all the more challenging by a lack of internal inventory (everything must be carried in hand or stored on the map). The game encourages players to form tribes for survival and allows them to capture, tame, and even ride dinosaurs. The Early Access version will launch with one island, and you can check out the trailer for the release after the break.
Double Fine's Hack 'n' Slash GOTO Steam, PRINT now
Hackers of the world unite, 'cos Double Fine's Hack 'n' Slash is available now on Steam Early Access. It'll cost you $20 to hack the planet early, or $25 if you want the soundtrack too. The Early Access game may star a familiar-looking elf hero and his sprite friend, but Hack 'n' Slash looks to twist that trope with its code-breaking gameplay. While the basic idea is to alter in-game variables and make your through puzzles, Double Fine says players have enough freedom to genuinely break the game. "You're hacking the game for real!" exclaims the store page (perhaps from the back of a police car). "You can totally break it. Roll back in time to change the rules so the bugs don't cause the world to fall apart, whether they're yours or ours!" [Image: Double Fine]
Worms dev flings Lemmings-inspired Flockers onto Steam
Worms developer Team 17 is trying its hand at a new IP, even if it's borrowing some victims from an old one. Flockers is the studio's sheep-ish twist on puzzling classic Lemmings, and it's out now on Steam Early Access. Like in Lemmings, your job is to guide your animal minions to safety through a 2D level of obstacles and traps. You've got a variety of tools to help you get through each of the 25 Early Access levels, including turning your fluffy flock into jumping, flying and exploding solution-makers. Unlike Lemmings, Flockers takes places in a grisly steampunk factory, complete with axe blades, spiked wheels, and the profusion of blood those things provide. If you fancy saving the Flockers from some mutton-mashing, Team 17's offering the Early Access version at the discounted price of $15 in the US, and £12/14 euros over the ocean. The UK dev plans to pump more levels into the game before the final release, and add "physics object" creation to the level editor, which is already available. [Image: Team 17]
Steam removes Early Access game Earth: Year 2066 over dishonest marketing
Steam removed an Early Access game from sale after it received fervent criticism for being something of a disaster. Muxwell's Earth: Year 2066 went up on the marketplace in April priced at $20, but it's come under severe fire from fans and critics alike, with some calling it "broken," "a scam," and "early access at its most literal." According to a GameSpot review, the build that was on Steam was a "barely functional disaster" that featured "a road, a junkyard village, some hills, a radar tower, some robots - and that's about it." The Escapist's Jim Sterling showcased that in a gameplay video, in which the game appears to feature a small, genuinely desolate, lo-fi wasteland map, as well as its fair share of bugs. Valve stepped in to remove Earth: Year 2066 this week, but not because of quality issues; Early Access games are understood to be works in progress, and the level of finish can vary radically from one entry to the next. However, misleading marketing is another thing, and Valve clearly felt the game's portrayal on Steam didn't align with reality. "On Steam, developers make their own decisions about promotion, features, pricing and publication," wrote Valve's Chris Douglass on the Steam forums. "However, Steam does require honesty from developers in the marketing of their games. We have removed Earth: Year 2066 from Early Access on Steam. Customers who purchased the game will be able to get a refund on the store page until Monday May 19th." [Image: Muxwell]
DayZ's Dean Hall says Steam removes the need for publishers
Steam's ubiquitous nature as a digital distribution platform has really changed the landscape of PC gaming. It's changed it so much that according to DayZ creator Dean Hall, companies don't really need to worry about a publisher any longer. Hall went on the record recently saying that the Early Access service offered via Steam essentially lets players take over the role of publisher, paying to finish development and providing marketing via word-of-mouth. The strategy has obviously worked quite well for DayZ, which has sold an impressive number of copies even in its very early and unfinished state. Hall also pontificates that it remains up to publishers to see where they fit into the new paradigm, since Early Access gives smaller studios an option that they wouldn't have otherwise.
Darkwood brings roguelike survival horror to Steam Early Access
Following a successful crowdfunding campaign, developer Acid Wizard Studio has announced plans to bring its unorthodox survival horror game Darkwood to Steam Early Access. As Richard mentioned, Darkwood differentiates itself from the legions of other spooky games via procedurally generated horror. Each time you step into the gloomy, Soviet Bloc landscape, the world around you is created anew, offering more replayability than one would expect from simply glancing at Darkwood's relatively rudimentary top-down, pixel art graphics. What's more, Darkwood also features RPG-esque character progression and crafting mechanics, which lend additional layers of complexity to the superficially simple frightfest. Unfortunately lacking from Acid Wizard's announcement is any word on when exactly Darkwood might reach Steam Early Access. The developer claims it simply wanted to keep would-be players abreast of the situation - plus, the announcement provides a handy excuse to debut the teaser you see above. [Image: Acid Wizard Studio]
Endless Legend available now on Steam Early Access
Endless Space developer Amplitude has released its newest game, Endless Legend, on Steam Early Access today. The two games occupy the same universe, but Legend is a 4X fantasy strategy game, whereas its sibling is built around creating a space colony. Since it is an early access game, it features half the playable factions, with the additions of advanced AI for diplomacy, economics and combat coming in the future. There are many more details on what's included (and missing) on the game's steam page. [Image: Amplitude]
Wasteland 2 gains Linux support on Steam Early Access
The beta version of Wasteland 2 is now available on Linux via Steam's Early Access program, developer InXile Entertainment announced. The sequel to the 1988 Interplay-created RPG first launched in alpha form in December. The project found success on Kickstarter in April 2012, raising $2.9 million to fund the turn-based, isometric strategy game. InXile also recently added "roughly 400" changes to Wasteland 2's beta, including another large portion of Arizona in the game. The update notes mention reduced loading times, a redesigned vendor screen and added tutorials among all the bug fixes and balance corrections in the patch. The Early Access price for the game is $60, though it includes a copy of the first game, two digital novellas from the Wasteland universe, and a digital art book and sound track. [Image: InXile Entertainment]
Revolutionary War platformer Children of Liberty hits Steam Early Access
Lantana Games' American Revolutionary War-era platformer Children of Liberty is out now on Steam Early Access, giving players a preliminary look at its stealth-focused gameplay. Children of Liberty puts players in control of a band of kids who join up with Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and the Sons of Liberty to subvert the Redcoats' authority in 18th-century America. The game in its current state features a single playable level, though additional stages and playable characters will be introduced as development progresses. Lantana Games expects to complete Children of Liberty by late 2014 or early 2015. [Image: Lantana Games]
Cybernetic sports FPS Epigenesis gets new map, singleplayer mode
We're not sure at what exact point in time humanity will decide that sports could be spiced up with a few laser guns and death traps, but judging from years of pop culture, we know it's bound to happen. And when it does, you're going to want to be prepared. Thankfully, Epigenesis, a futuristic first-person sportsball simulator, has just added a new singleplayer mode so that you can practice your moves before being sent to the game grid. The game's most recent update also includes a new map, called the Legacy Arena. This level is more vertically-oriented than most of Epigenesis' existing content, featuring a mineshaft that helps divide battling players into upper and lower playing fields. Because everything in the world, no matter how practical or unassuming, is always cooler when people with cybernetic augments fight around it. Epigenesis won the Make Something Unreal 2013 competition, as well as Game of the Year at the 2013 Swedish Games Awards. It has been on Steam Early Access since November of last year. [Image: Dead Shark Triplepunch]
Hands-on with Windborne's early access
The breakout success of Minecraft has inspired a slew of creative sandbox games since its release in 2011, and the trend has shown no signs of dying down given the ever-increasing number of sandbox titles hitting the market. Hidden Path Entertainment's in-development title Windborne is certainly one such game, and at first glance one might be tempted to write it off as a clone of Mojang's golden child, but that would be more than a little disingenuous. The folks at Hidden Path were generous enough to provide me with a key to get some hands-on experience with Windborne, but I'd like to make special mention of the fact that the game is currently part of Steam's Early Release program, which of course means that it's still unfinished and under constant development. With that in mind, I dived into Windborne's world of mystical floating islands, and I've got more than a few thoughts about the game, where it's going, and where it needs to be.
Reprogram your surroundings in Glitchspace, now on Early Access
First-person puzzler Glitchspace is now available through Steam's Early Access service for PC, Mac and Linux. The alpha version of the game from developer Space Budgie is available for $6.99 on Early Access and $6.49 through the game's official site. Described as a "first-person programming" game, Glitchspace has players navigating a cyberspace-style world to locate a place that is a "by-product of cyberspace and its various glitches" known, appropriately enough, as Glitchspace. Space Budgie focused on emergent mechanics for the game, as players can identify glitches in the game and "exploit them in various different ways." Objects in the game are both programmable and non-programmable thanks to the "Null" programming system in the game created by the developer. Programmable objects include a "canvas" in which players can add functions to affect them, such as forces to move them, scale them, duplicate them and a myriad of other possibilities. The game includes a sandbox mode for players to toy around with as well as Oculus Rift support for those that want to immerse themselves in the matrix-like world. Space Budgie expects to launch the full version of Glitchspace in Q2 2014. [Image: Space Budgie]
Double Fine's Hack 'n' Slash gearing up for Early Access soon
Double Fine's Hack 'n' Slash, the developer's code-breaking puzzler, is "just weeks away" from its release on Steam Early Access, the Broken Age and Psychonauts developer announced. The game is in development for PC, Mac and Linux and will cost $14.99. The developer also issued a funky new trailer that shows some of the game's hacking options. First announced in December, Hack 'n' Slash has players guiding a young elf and modifying the game by toggling options in its menus, affecting the environment to their benefit to advance the story. The game came about during one of Double Fine's internal game jams, Amnesia Fortnight, and was funded thanks to a collaborative effort between a slew of parties, including Indie Fund and Humble Bundle. [Image: Double Fine]
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]
Viscera Cleanup Detail gets squeaky clean thanks to Steam Early Access
Viscera Cleanup Detail is now on Steam Early Access, allowing intrepid would-be space janitors the chance to shine (and polish, and scrub, and mop). Being an Early Access game, it has its share of issues and warnings. Developer RuneStorm cautions potential buyers that the game has network troubles and that everything is subject to change, and no feature is safe from the chopping block. If that doesn't scare you away however, you can buy Viscera Cleanup Detail for $7.99. RuneStorm notes that the price will increase down the road, so if you want to save some money and go for the metaphorical fixer-upper car over the shiny new one, Early Access may be for you. It's true, nothing cleans up blood and viscera off your floors, walls and PC quite like steam. Erm, not that we would know, officers. [Image: RuneStorm]
Broforce fistbumps Steam Early Access on April 7
A true conversation between my inner bros: "Bro, for real, Broforce is out April 7." "That game is gonna crush it." "Crush it hard, yo." "Fasho, it's so sick! What's it about?" "Don't worry about it." "BROFORCE!" I hate my beautiful mind. [Image: Devolver Digital]
Shadowrun Online is on Steam Early Access, 30% off this week
Cliffhanger Productions has launched its turn-based tactical multiplayer RPG Shadowrun Online via Steam Early Access, giving wannabe deckers and samurai a preliminary look at their dystopian cyberpunk future. The result of a successful Kickstarter campaign, Shadowrun Online is set 20 years after the events of last year's Shadowrun Returns, building on the previous game's storyline with new settings, characters, and missions. The final version will deliver co-op gameplay and an in-depth PvP component, along with an array of item and character customization options. Cliffhanger Productions notes that the current Steam version lacks many features that are planned for the finished product, however. "This is the most basic early access version - it contains four missions and a 1 vs 1 player PvP, but no character creation, progression or anything else yet - this will all come in time," the developer warns. "We want to make sure the basic combat gameplay works well before we pile more features on it." Shadowrun Online is regularly priced at $29.99, but is available for $20.99 during its debut week. [Video: Cliffhanger Productions]
Carmageddon: Reincarnation plows into Steam Early Access
Just when you thought it was safe to use a crosswalk, Carmageddon: Reincarnation appears on Steam Early Access to crush your pedestrian dreams like so many actual pedestrians. A latter-day sequel to the controversial, 1997 PC hit, Carmageddon: Reincarnation once again sees players engaged in rolling combat with other, likewise heavily-armed vehicles while also running down hapless civilians for kicks. The Early Access release is a pre-alpha build of the game, but it boasts three stages, six vehicles and a "plethora of mad power-ups" to aid players in their bloody quest. Developer Stainless Games hopes to expand Carmageddon: Reincarnation with periodic updates that will add new vehicles, maps, and gameplay modes. The price tag attached to the Early Access release of Carmageddon: Reincarnation reads $30, but as with all Early Access games, those who purchase the gory racer will gain access to the final version of the game once it debuts at no additional charge. [Image: Stainless Games]
TUG is now available through Steam Early Access [Updated]
Do you have $9.99, a yearning for a unique open-world sandbox, and a tolerance for a not-quite-ready-for-primetime experience? If so, TUG is ready and waiting for you to explore it. Nerd Kingdom's MMO is now available through Steam Early Access for 10 bucks. The low introductory cost is due to the "unfinished nature of the game" and will be raised as time goes by. TUG currently features two modes, creative and survival, for players to enjoy. Developer Peter Salinas said that the title has made great strides through its alpha testing: "We've had such tremendous feedback and support from our players in our early alpha, and we can't wait to see all the amazing and creative things players will continue to do with the game. By looking at our community's play patterns and listening to their feedback, we can keep our development focused on what our players want." Massively has a hands-on look at TUG coming to you later this afternoon, so stay tuned! [Update: A message sent to Kickstarter backers assures everyone that the official launch date for the game is still January 2015 and that all backers will receive Steam keys early next week.] [Source: Nerd Kingdom press release]
