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Joystiq Weekly: Battlefield delay, Dark Souls 2 DLC review, Dragon Age preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. This week hosted a smattering of high-profile release date changes. You thought you'd be playing Dragon Age: Inquisition in October? Nope! Figured you'd prowl through Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor on that same day? Wrooong. What about upholding the law in Battlefield: Hardline sometime in October? Sorry, criminals will go unchecked until next year. We suppose we'll persevere through the frightening uncertainty that is this dose of video game release dates, but we're not sure our frail hearts can handle any more excitement in this crazy life. Actually, we're fairly certain that frailty would combust into a five-story blaze if Destiny or Super Smash Bros. slip out of 2014. There was plenty more to this week than release-date musical chairs, though! There's details on how to get The Last Of Us: Remastered for cheap, when we can next expect Sonic Boom to break our hearts go fast, a review for Dark Souls 2's first bout of DLC, a video preview for DA: Inquisition and much more, all waiting for you after the break!
Wayward Manor review: More like Wayward Meh-nor
"Youth is no excuse for bad taste," the crotchety old house in Wayward Manor says as it watches a pair of gluttonous children chow down on sugary snacks within its creaking walls. If youth doesn't excuse poor taste, then certainly there's no excuse for Wayward Manor's bland appeal, not when it comes from a successful studio – The Odd Gentlemen – and a world-renowned author – Neil Gaiman. Wayward Manor seems as if it were a mobile game that somehow ended up on Steam for PC and Mac. Maybe it was put on Steam by mischievous poltergeists or vengeful spirits, but the fact remains that it doesn't feel, look or play like a desktop game. This doesn't automatically equate a terrible experience, but, as a puzzle game, Wayward Manor leaves much to be desired in terms of complexity, and as a showcase for the writing of Neil Gaiman, it just barely scratches the surface of the narrative depth he's proven he can provide in comics, books and online ramblings. Rather than the scritch-scritch of razorblade claws creeping out of your bedroom closet, Wayward Manor's scratches are more like the pawing of a feisty, yet de-clawed, cat.
Neil Gaiman's ghostly adventure Wayward Manor debuts in July
Developer The Odd Gentlemen have announced plans to launch Wayward Manor on July 15, 2014. Wayward Manor would be notable on its own, as the game's premise casts players as a ghost attempting to solve the mystery of his own death by scaring the current, living inhabitants of the old Victorian house where he once lived. However, Wayward Manor earns an extra level of notoriety thanks to a plot written by Sandman author and neo-goth icon Neil Gaiman. Though The Odd Gentlemen make no mention of a price point for Wayward Manor, the developer notes that the game will be available via Steam for both PC and Mac platforms. Additionally, Wayward Manor will appear on the Humble Store, where 10 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the game will be donated to charity. [Image: The Odd Gentlemen]
Sneak a peek at Neil Gaiman's Wayward Manor
Wayward Manor is a spooky adventure game written by best-selling author Neil Gaiman, with art by Eiser Award-winning artist Chuck BB and developed by PB Winterbottom's The Odd Gentlemen. If anyone needs more reason to be excited about this project, see the teaser above. If anyone is still on the fence, you're past our help. Go read The Sandman or something. Players of Wayward Manor inhabit the body (so to speak) of a ghost attempting to scare away visitors of his Victorian Gothic estate in the 1920s. Along the way, he learns more about his victims, his own death and a dangerous happenstance facing them all. Wayward Manor is due out this holiday season on Steam for PC and Mac, with pre-orders available on the game's official site, starting at $10.
Daily Update for July 26, 2013
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Author Neil Gaiman enters gaming with Wayward Manor
Award winning author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman, best known for his works The Sandman, Coraline, and (for better or worse) Beowulf, to name a few, has announced Wayward Manor, a new puzzle / adventure game for Mac and "tablets," to be released in the fall Wayward Manor is set in a 1920s Victorian pastoral estate. You, the protagonist, are a ghost trying to have a peaceful after-life. However, your slumber is interrupted by unruly, quirky, living intruders. Your goal is to get rid of them in ever increasing and imaginative ways. The game has been developed by indie outfit The Odd Gentleman (Flea Symphony). Wayward Manor is now available for pre-order as well as a selection of limited edition products and experiences (including dinner with Neil Gaiman himself for US$10,000) to raise funds for the next installment of the game) For more details check out the rather peculiar promo clip below or head to the Wayward Manor website for details and to pre-order.
Neil Gaiman enters gaming space with 'Wayward Manor'
Wayward Manor is the first game from acclaimed author Neil Gaiman, whose resume includes classics such as American Gods, The Sandman and Coraline, in addition to a myriad of other dark, whimsical sundries. Expected in the fall of this year on PC, Mac and "tablets," the game is being produced in conjunction with The Odd Gentlemen, a developer Gaiman chose for its ability to balance the cartoonish and the macabre. While no gameplay footage is shown in the introduction trailer, Gaiman does lay down Wayward Manor's premise: There is a house in 1920's New England, and it is the player's responsibility as its deceased occupant to frighten the Manor's new, still living tenants away. Pre-orders both physical and digital are available on the game's official site, in addition to various merchandise, tickets to Wayward Manor's launch party and a $10,000 dinner with Gaiman, which he describes as "the single spookiest dinner anybody has ever had ... in Los Angeles." We're keeping our fingers crossed for some heavy Amanda Palmer involvement in the game's soundtrack.
