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Russian space dog Laika's 'The Sun at Night' launches Feb. 4
Laika Believes, the upcoming indie game from Minicore Studios, has a new name now: The Sun at Night. In addition to the new moniker, Minicore Studios has also announced a final launch date for the game: February 4, 2014. The Sun at Night is a 2D action-platformer about an alternate history for a very real dog named Laika. The Soviets had sent Laika off into space – the first animal in space, to be exact – back in the '50s and this game poses a very fantastical "what if...?" scenario for the long-lost pup's fate. Unfortunately, the Soviets never figured out a way to bring Laika back. The Sun at Night is also vying for votes on Steam Greenlight right now, if you'd like to help push for a Steam release.
Worms developer to publish stealthy PC game Light
Stealthy indie game Light will be published by Worms developers Team17, the publisher recently announced. Currently in development for PC, Mac and Linux by Just a Pixel, Light is a top-down 2D game in which players guide a square icon through a maze of doors and rooms, hacking terminals and avoiding guards along the way. This is Team17's first foray into publishing for almost two decades, as it once funded games like Super Stardust and Alien Breed on Amiga, but has since focused on games in the Worms series, including Worms: Clan Wars and Worms 2: Armageddon. The prototype video of the game above shows off its simple style and basic mechanics, which players can expect to see firsthand sometime in 2014. Light is currently seeking community approval via Greenlight to achieve distribution on Steam.
Gunman Clive, Grimind approved in Steam Greenlight's latest community picks
Steam announced its latest batch of games approved by community vote at Steam Greenlight, naming Bertil Horberg's 3DSWare hit Gunman Clive and Indie Games Uprising standout Smooth Operators among 40 new games set to join Steam's online catalog in the coming months. Other community-approved future releases include Nyu Media's doujin shoot-'em-up The Tale of ALLTYNEX, Pawel Mogila's horror-themed puzzle-platformer Grimind, and Milkstone Studios' overhead-view racing game Little Racers: Street. The update also approves a long-dormant remake of the classic arcade game Toki, which dropped off the radar after developer Golgoth revealed that it was struggling to find a publisher on Xbox Live Arcade in 2009. Golgoth notes in a recent Greenlight update that further details regarding the remake will be available soon.
Indie teleportation platformer Aaru's Awakening beams down a demo
Lumenox Games, an indie studio hailing from Iceland, has issued a free demo for Aaru's Awakening, its upcoming hand-drawn teleportation-based platformer. The story of Aaru's Awakening centers around Aaru, a gorilla-like creature who is on a quest to destroy an evil entity. Players must navigate through the world of Lumenox, which is comprised of Dawn, Day, Dusk and Night, in search of this evil force. Aaru's Awakening launches early next year for the PC and Mac, and is currently seeking votes through Steam Greenlight. You can pre-order the game now for $15.
Xsyon gets Steam Greenlight, plans PvE server
Xsyon has been Greenlit! After pitching its post-apocalyptic world to the Steam community, Notorious Games got the thumbs up for launching the game on that online platform. And in preparation of that launch, the game is planning some new updates, not the least of which is a PvE server! That's right, if you ever said to yourself you'd love to play Xsyon if only there was a PvE server, now you'll have the chance. A PvP server will still be an option for the more risk-oriented. Other plans in development include resetting abandoned terraformed land back to its original form, allowing players to farm by planting and tending crops, and adding cooking abilities where players can combine ingredients to create all-new recipes for dishes that provide buffs. There's no launch date set yet for Steam, but tell us: Would you play Xsyon on a PvE server, or would you prefer to remain on a PvP one? Tell us your thoughts! [Source: Notorious Games press release]%Poll-85422%
Probably Archery mixes QWOP-style controls with a deadly weapon
Move over, William Tell and Robin Hood, there's a new legendary archer in town. Or there will be, when you master the QWOP-like controls of Probably Archery, which require you to independently manipulate your avatar's wrists, elbows, shoulders, and of course, their bow and arrows. Originally an entry for the 7 Day FPS Game Jam, Probably Archery is aiming for a Steam release, and is up for voting on Greenlight. A free demo available for PC, Mac and Linux features eight scenarios to experience, including shooting an arrow to cut a hangman's rope, shooting arrows in zero gravity, and shooting arrows at apple-headed berserkers. Because archery. The game features native support for the Oculus Rift and multiplayer modes as well. If you pre-order Probably Archery through the game's official site, you'll get instant access to new demo versions as they become available, and will receive a Steam key should the Greenlight campaign be successful.
Steam Greenlights Neverending Nightmares, Fran Bow, Fotonica
Steam Greenlit 37 games and software titles today, and this batch has a distinctly eerie vibe that we'll attribute to our proximity to Halloween. Games include the crowdfunded insane asylum adventure Fran Bow, the similarly psychological Neverending Nightmares, the grim platformer Blood of the Werewolf, along with CastleMinerZ, The Fifth Day, Montague's Mount, Neighbors from Hell Compilation, Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart, (un)Lucky7 and Underhell. It's a lot of hells and bad dreams. There are more creep-neutral games in the mix, including Fotonica, The Fall, Hot Tin Roof, JULIA Enhanced Edition and RimWorld. See? Nice, friendly sounding games. We can't promise these ones are all rainbows and daisies, though. This marks the second round of Greenlight games for the month, with the first one hitting on October 2.
Deadly Premonition up for pre-purchase on Steam for 10 percent off
Did you hear that, Zach? Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut is up for pre-order at Steam for 10 percent off of its regular price. My coffee warned me about it this morning. Did you opt out of coffee-relayed push notifications? That's unwise, Zach. Originally launched as a budget Xbox 360 title in 2010, Deadly Premonition's off-kilter, Twin Peaks-inspired horror narrative won it cult classic status among players who were willing to overlook its technical shortcomings. A revised version, Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut, premiered for the PlayStation 3 earlier this year, and was recently Greenlit for a Steam release. Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut will launch on Steam on October 29, just in time for Halloween. Dressing up as the Raincoat Killer this holiday is optional, but recommended.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter - The super-tough PSN, PC game made by 'bastards'
"If there's one thing you have to know about this game and us, it's that we're bastards." So said Seaven Studio Producer Olivier Penot as I died again in his 2D platformer, Ethan: Meteor Hunter. Penot didn't seem a bastard as we chatted, smiley enough in the midst of a four-day public expo. Then again, his game looked friendly, too.
Ikaruga dances between light and dark on Steam Greenlight
Ikaruga, the iconic two-tone shmup from Japanese development studio Treasure, is looking for votes on Steam Greenlight right now. This proposed PC port is based on the latest version of the game, the Xbox Live Arcade remaster, with Xbox 360 controller support, local two-player co-op and compatibility with vertical screen set-ups. The gameplay of Ikaruga is that of a frenetic shoot-em-up experience married to a dual-color mechanic. Players, switching between two different polarities, must use light or dark weapons to destroy ships employing the opposite polarity, and may absorb similarly-colored bullets to power their special homing laser weapon. Treasure first launched Ikaruga in Japanese arcades in late 2001 before porting it to the Dreamcast there in late 2002. A GameCube port made its way outside of Japan to North America and Europe in 2003, preceding the Xbox Live Arcade version that launched years later in 2008. The most recent installment launched on Android in January of this year.
Steam Greenlights 31 games: Race the Sun, Mousecraft, Eldritch, Vox
The October 2 batch of games given the go-ahead on Steam Greenlight includes AdventurOS, Age of Wushu, Death Road to Canada, Eldritch, Hyper Light Drifter, McDROID, Mousecraft, Nihilumbra, Race the Sun, Vox and Zombies. (with the period as part of the name, of course). This Greenlight round includes 31 games and one piece of software, Mosaico: Tiling Window Manager. This batch is extra exciting because of the Not on Steam Sale, which also launched today and may now have to consider renaming itself. The Not on Steam Sale includes 35 games that are sold independently by their developers, many of which are also on Greenlight – including Race the Sun, Mousecraft and Vox. These three were all Greenlit in today's batch. Maybe they can change the name of the sale to "Not on Steam Sale, Now Featuring Games on Steam."
8BitMMO sticks a flag in PC desktops ahead of Steam launch
Following a successful run on Steam Greenlight and more than 75,000 registered players, 8BitMMO creator Robby Zinchak is ready to expand his game, and he has a Windows desktop version ready to roll. He also wants to upgrade the servers, build a Mac desktop version and add a new map – to do this, he's hosting an independent crowdfunding campaign during October, looking for $1,000. Spend at least $10 and get immediate access to the Windows desktop beta, while $25 grants early access to the new map, allowing players to pick out their favorite spots and set up shop before the real land rush begins. See all the reward tiers, including tickets to a 200,000 gold lottery, here. When 8BitMMO launches on Steam, current accounts will carry over and players will have access to their goods through any edition. 8BitMMO is technically still in development and it's free, so this is a chance for fans to show their support, and for future Steam players to get a head start.
Truck Stop brings destructive mayhem to Mac
Do you like your racing games better when there's less actual racing and more white-knuckle crashes? Then you'll feel right at home with Truck Stop, an in-progress crash-em-up being worked on by a former member of Criterion Games, the same studio responsible for the highly popular Burnout franchise. Some of the most fun you could have in the Burnout titles was in "Crash" mode, where you were tasked not with reaching a finish line, but with destroying as much of the game world as possible. Truck Stop appears to continue this tradition, and while the current, unfinished version of the game is only available for Windows, it is slated to hit Mac and Linux as it crashes it way toward a proper release. If you'd like to support the game's eventual launch on Steam, you can give it a "Yes" vote on Steam Greenlight now. [via Joystiq]
Steam Greenlight batch: Grimm, Next Car Game, Candle, U55
Steam gave the go-ahead to 24 more games and one piece of software on Greenlight today, including Bugbear Entertainment's Next Car Game, Kickstarter darling Candle (pictured above), Spicy Horse's Grimm, ex-STALKER developers' Humans Must Answer and Lovecraftian horror U55 – End of the Line. Next Car Game is a crowdfunded return to crash-em-up racing from Bugbear, the developer of FlatOut. Grimm also comes from a well-known studio, American McGee's Spicy Horse, and is already an established game: It launched for PC in 2008, telling twisted fairy tales in short bursts. Candle and Humans Must Answer both saw success on Kickstarter, while U55 is in the process of its own crowdfunding campaign, with $57,000 raised of a $115,000 goal and 23 days to go. Check out the entire list of Greenlit games right here.
Ghosts'n Goblins Online removed from Steam Greenlight after being 'wrongly posted'
Like steel-plated armor that melts away after a single touch from an enemy zombie, Ghosts'n Goblins Online has suddenly disappeared from the Steam Greenlight service after its unexpected debut yesterday. Speaking to Polygon, a Capcom representative notes that Ghosts'n Goblins Online was incorrectly submitted to Greenlight by its developer, and is not slated for release in North America or Europe. "The Steam Greeenlight page for Ghosts 'n Goblins Online that went live yesterday was wrongly posted by the game's Korean developer, Seed 9, and the page has now been removed," the representative told Polygon. "Ghosts 'n Goblins was released last year in Korea, China and Taiwan and currently there are no plans for the title to be released in Europe or North America."
Ghosts'n Goblins Online resurfaces at Steam Greenlight
Capcom's twice-canceled MMO Ghosts'n Goblins Online may soon rise from the dead as a free-to-play online action game, pending community approval after its recent appearance at Steam Greenlight. Ghosts'n Goblins Online was originally slated as a multiplatform release in 2003, though development ceased prior to its completion. A second attempt, originally titled Magyechon Online, was seemingly canned as well. Seed 9, creator of the canceled Magyechon Online, is also behind the newly-launched Steam Greenlight campaign. Seed 9 announced that the revitalized Ghosts'n Goblins Online will feature co-op platforming, PVP combat, and frequent updates that introduce new items and upgrades. Ghosts'n Goblins set a new standard for platformer difficulty back in 1985, taunting players with its cruel enemy patterns both in arcades and on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. The series continued with 1988's arcade and Sega Genesis sequel Ghouls'n Ghosts, then reached its apex with 1991's Super NES release Super Ghouls'n Ghosts. Seed 9 notes that series veterans will want to try Ghosts'n Goblins Online's "Demonic Dimension" mode, which retains the series' traditional two-hit-death mechanic. Capcom-licensed MMOs have faced difficulty in making it to market, as the Neowiz-developed Mega Man Online was canceled last year. If Ghosts'n Goblins Online proves successful, Steam Greenlight might be the Blue Bomber's next destination.
Claire scared in new horror game on Steam Greenlight
A girl and her dog are trapped and stalked in the nightmarish world of Claire, a 2D horror game currently looking for votes on Steam Greenlight and aiming to launch on PC, Mac and Linux. Claire follows the protagonist and her canine companion through several stages of life, in a tale that eventually uncovers her connection to a bizarre world. As a spooky story, Claire adheres to certain tenets of the survival-horror genre, like scrounging for items, managing supplies and helping others trapped in the environment. Enemies, which appear to be black clouds of evil, can be defeated by the light – flashlights and flashbang grenades are specifically mentioned on the Steam Greenlight page. The game, which is currently in alpha, also promises to have a built-in editor for creating and sharing custom levels. Hailstorm Games hopes to launch Claire in October or November of this year.
Timesplitters Rewind takes a second for Steam Greenlight Concepts
The fans developing Timesplitters Rewind are hoping for a launch on Steam Greenlight, probably to match the game's potential release on PS4. Timesplitters Rewind has a page on Greenlight's Concepts section, where developers can get feedback and cultivate a community prior to a full campaign on Greenlight. Timesplitters Rewind is a fan-made HD remix of all three Timesplitters games – 1, 2 and Future Perfect – with the blessing of the series' IP holder, Crytek. The team behind Rewind cautions that there are unofficial groups for Timesplitters Rewind on Steam and that the only official account can be found here. "We are perfectly comfortable with fan communities," Project Manager Michael Hubicka writes. As a group of fans remastering a game that doesn't belong to them, we figured they'd be cool with fan communities on Steam, but that's nice to know for sure.
Xsyon reaches the top 100 in Steam Greenlight
It's not surprising that a title as odd as Xsyon has had a hard time receiving much funding. The game has a dedicated community, but it launched a Kickstarter campaign last year that failed rather thoroughly. But the team at Notorious Games is still swinging for the fences, this time by putting together a pitch for Steam Greenlight in the hopes of getting on Valve's popular digital retail client. And as of this writing, that's going pretty well. Greenlight is Steam's process for vetting smaller games in the community, allowing new developers to submit a game and the community as a whole to vote it up or down based on whether or not they want to play it. Xsyon has made it into the top 100, ranked at #83 of over 1,000 games currently looking for approval. Players and fans who want to see the game succeed can head over to Steam and vote for the game now.
PAX Prime 2013: Exploring Wander with creator Loki Davison
Wander is an MMO that eschews the primary mechanics of traditional titles and instead relies on what creator Loki Davison refers to as "collaborative exploration." Designed to recreate the feeling you get when you discover something beautiful in real life and rush home to tell your friends, Wander has no maps, checkpoints, or objectives. The only ways to uncover the game's secrets are to discover them yourself or have another player show you the way. Our own Jasmine Hrushcak snagged some time with Wander and its creator at PAX Prime 2013 and managed to ask a few questions in between acrophobic Oculus Rift-induced panic attacks.
