All is not well in RimWorld, the popular space colonist simulator released in July. Yesterday, a Rock, Paper, Shotgun writer opened up RimWorld’s code and published some surprising revelations about how sexuality factors into its gameplay. RimWorld’s developer, in response, has gone on a tear, denying that the game mirrors the “sexist expectations of romance” described in the recent article.
Today on Highlight Reel we have blistering Titanfall 2 gauntlet runs, self-nukes, Battlefield 1 moments, Dark Souls 3 meta, and much more!
Bundle Stars released a decent Steam key bundle package this week, featuring eight indie titles and a 10% off voucher for your next purchase. Buying all eight games at their full prices on Steam would add up to $132.92, but they're packaged for $3.49 at Bundle Stars -- a whopping 97% discount. (Does list price even mean anything when discounts get so high?).
All the titles are definitely what you'd classify as "indie games" but are all much cheaper in this package than you'd find during a Steam Winter sale. Just the Never Alone Arctic Collection alone on Steam right now is a $30 purchase, so if any of the following games might be on your agenda for the future, this is a good bundle to snag.
The bundle has some longevity to it and will run for two weeks. The last day it's available will be Wednesday, November 16.
Ubisoft is no stranger to producing poignant on the surface, but ultimately vapid marketing for its hacker-centric Watch Dogs series. And the latest example of that is a selfie analyzer for the upcoming sequel. The pitch is that your self-portraiture reveals a lot of hidden info about you, and uploading a picture to the web app will reveal it. Stuff like your age, what your picture says about you to employers, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, political organizations and police databases -- info based on details in your photos. That's in theory, of course. In practice the results don't pan out so well.
Via: Ubiblog
Source: Ubisoft
The latest glimpse of the upcoming Wonder Woman movie takes us back in time, to show how an Amazon princess becomes a hero capable of inspiring the whole world.
This week on Kotaku Splitscreen, we’ve got more games than we can even handle. Titanfall 2! Skyrim Special Edition! Final Fantasy XV! House of the Dying Sun! Mafia 3! And on, and on.
Red Hook Games has passed the one-million-copies-sold milestone for its spirit-crushing RPG Darkest Dungeon. I never would've predicted it would reach that level of success early on, but once it got going and hit its stride in Steam Early Access, it was clear the game was resonating with people.
According to the studio, Steam accounts for 94 percent of the copies sold so far, for a few reasons: a strong Early Access launch and full release on Windows and Mac, and the fact that the PS4 and Vita versions of Darkest Dungeon have only been out since September 27, 2016 (they've had "decent" sales at "approximately 50K copies [sold] worldwide). There's more yet to come, too.
Steam Workshop support for mods is in the pipeline, and ports well-suited to the game are also a priority. "Tablet immediately comes to mind; as it turns out, we accidentally designed a pretty cool touch interface from the beginning! Other console and handheld devices remain interesting as well, and we'd like to get the game to as many potential fans as possible."
While there's also the Crimson Court DLC coming up next year, Red Hook will eventually have to step away and settle into a new game. On that note, "'Game 2' hasn't begun production yet, and this in no way means that we are done supporting or adding to Darkest Dungeon. But as long as you keep supporting what we do, we want to keep making things for you! It is not hyperbole to say that we are doing our dream jobs, and we love what we do. We also specifically love Darkest Dungeon, despite the fact that we, too, sometimes lose our favorite heroes and want to destroy our keyboards."
1 Million Copies and the Road Ahead [Darkest Dungeon]
Here it is folks, the last Podtoid under sitting president Barack Obama. The first under the unholy reign of the Chicago Cubs. The world has gone topsy-turvy. Let our smooth voices and grating cackles be your stability, the ground underneath your feet. Heck, the wind beneath your wings, you Kentucky fried freak.
Our last Podtoid, timed perfectly to the Nintendo Switch and Red Dead Redemption 2, was fun as hell. Give it a listen if you haven't already.
Otherwise, we'll be fielding your questions later today on this week's show. Leave them in the comments, or write in to podtoid[@]destructoid.com. Same goes for a particularly fun anecdote you'd like to share, or death threats towards any of the main cast members.
Once you have sacrificed a small piece of yourself to appease the content gods, your reward is this New York Times feature on We Got It From Here, Thank You For Your Service the surprise new Tribe Called Quest album. Recorded before the recent, untimely death of Phife Dawg, it's the first new Tribe album in 18 years, and the final.
It's just the beginning of November, but we're starting to see the sort of price slashing and product bundling that typically comes closer to Thanksgiving. A good example comes from Amazon in the form of a new piece of hardware and a new piece of software.
Amazon is offering a new PlayStation 4 Slim with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare for $299.99. There's an extra pack-in too, as the PS4 ships with a copy of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The PS4 Slim usually retails for $299.99 so this ostensibly means a free copy of Infinite Warfare.
There's a slightly more expensive version of this bundle too. For $319.99, it'll come with the Legacy Edition of Infinite Warfare instead of the standard one. That means that you get the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare remaster with it. That's a reasonable markup for those people who balk at the idea of spending $80 for the Legacy Edition and have no real interest in Infinite Warfare.
PlayStation 4 Slim 500GB Uncharted 4 Bundle + Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Standard Edition [Amazon]
[Through the Polish Cultural Institute of New York City, Brett and I were flown to Poznań, Poland to attend Poznań Game Arena. We then took a train down to Warsaw to see 11 bit, CD Projekt Red, and Flying Wild Hog's studios. I apologize for the photo quality; I was using my broken-ass cell phone.]
The game developers of Poland are warm, welcoming, and entirely too insistent on making you drink vodka until you can feel your heartbeat in your eyes. This stands in stark contrast to the older generation that we passed by every day on the street, who will only offer you the briefest of glances, often of the annoyed variety. As this was my first international trip, I found it odd to be simultaneously accepted and maligned by my hosts, and I assumed it was because Americans weren't loved here.
Tadeusz Zielinski of Flying Wild Hog laughed at this while we ate breakfast at Poznan Game Arena: "It's not because you're American. It's because you're smiling. People don't smile often in Poland. They immediately know you're not from here, which leads to distrust." I promised I'd try to stop smiling. "No, no!" he pleaded, "Please do it. We want this to change here. The younger people are happier, and we want that to win." That's an easy demand for me to follow, but I was curious as to why he thought people here didn't trust others. "Communism, man! It only ended for us a little under thirty years ago. The older people on the streets lived in a time where your neighbor could be a spy. They still think with that mindset."
Living in America, remembering only small bits and pieces of my history books, I hadn't realized Poland's time with Communism was so recent. After Zielinski told me about this, I couldn't help stop thinking about it while we attended PGA. The people on the cold, damp streets that we walked through each day to reach the convention center didn't match up with the smiling, enthusiastic faces we saw on both developers and attendees at the show.
Hitman’s Episode 6, Hokkaido, is elegant, full of possibilities, and leaves players with more questions than answers. It’s a fitting finale to season one of Hitman, because it doesn’t feel like an ending at all.
Haven’t played Animal Crossing: New Leaf in and want to jump back in for the new update? You can now sell your town to Tom Nook and start over, money in tow. For some, this might present an attractive option, but many players are finding that Nook never shows up to negotiate, and their town gets deleted in the process.
Limbo is a game that you can play pretty much anywhere. Since its 2010 release, it has made its way to almost every imaginable platform. Limbo doubles down on that mindset by coming to Xbox One for the second time.
Today, Limbo was added to Xbox One's catalog of Xbox 360 games that are available to play via backward compatibility. That's a good get for the program, as it's one of the defining indie titles of the last generation and it was temporarily exclusive to Microsoft's console. A lot of people owned that game on Xbox 360.
But, backward compatibility isn't the only way to play Limbo on Xbox One. In December 2014, Playdead's platformer also released there -- free to early adopters of the console and $10 for everyone else. That means many people now have two options for how to play Limbo on Xbox One. Some will find it to be overkill, but others will appreciate being able to enjoy a game they already bought once.
@majornelson [Twitter]
When Owlboy first started making waves nine years ago, indie games were barely even A Thing. Games like Minecraft and League of Legends hadn’t even begun to take over the world. Netflix was still a DVD-by-mail service. There were, like, two memes, both spread via telegraph and the US postal service. Now, finally, Owlboy is here.
The Washington Post is reporting that Mafia III has shipped 4.5 million copies in its first week on sale. This breaks records set by previous 2K games like Borderlands, BioShock, and NBA 2K. This also makes Mafia III the fastest-selling game in 2K's history, a feat which is mighty impressive considering the lackluster review scores.
I'm not sure I understand how Mafia III is its best-selling title, considering 2K owns Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto V sold around $800 million worth of stock in a day, but this does represent something positive for game developers; don't always go the safe route. Mafia III may not be a good game, but it certainly gets props for trying something new (with regards to story).
We've long heard about how publishers are afraid of putting women on the box art or that putting anyone that isn't Caucasian in the lead role will result in less sales, but Mafia III shows that isn't true. If you take risks, explore real-world subjects, and treat your customers like human beings, you'll find that they'll return the favor in kind.
‘Mafia III’ took a risk by choosing a black protagonist, and it has really paid off [Washington Post]
House of the Dying Sun rushes ahead with furious focus and great urgency, and it’s hard not to get caught up in its dark current. It sweeps aside the space-opera trappings of modern sci-fi in favor of something more resolute and grim: You’re the bad guy. There are the good guys. Go make an example out of them.
While our Nintendo Direct yesterday for Animal Crossing: New Leaf focused solely on Nintendo's life simulator, Japanese gamers were treated to a short preview for the upcoming Miitopia game. Not a whole lot of details were unveiled, but the game will be releasing on December 8 in Japan for 4,700 ¥. There is also going to be a Japan-only Nintendo Direct to discuss more about the title at the end of the week (November 5).
A short preview demo was then released on the Japanese eShop that let people witness the video with their own Miis. From that, we can gather that you team up with three other Miis and do battle with an evil Mii. There is also some crazy romance subplot going on that makes me laugh a bit.
Games from the Xbox 360 library making their way to Xbox One isn't anything new at this point. Microsoft announced a backward compatibility program between the two platforms at E3 2015, and hundreds of titles have taken advantage of it since then. Bastion's soon coming to Xbox One but it's more advanced than backward compatibility.
Supergiant Games revealed today that it'll release a "faithful new adaption" of Bastion on Xbox One. According to the developer, the game was "re-built to feel native to the platform." Some changes include running at full 1080p, new Achievements, and the inclusion of the Stranger's Dream add-on.
While this is a beefed-up version of Bastion, legacy owner won't have to pay extra if they act quickly. The Xbox One adaption releases on December 12, and those who own the game on Xbox 360 can get this new one for free if they download it before January 1. For those looking to buy it for the first time, it'll run $14.99 on Xbox One. [The kid marks the date on his calendar. He's the thrifty type, always looking to save a buck or two when he can. You gotta be or else this world will eat you right up, Calamity or no Calamity.]
Bastion: Coming Soon to Xbox One! [Supergiant Games]
First person shooter and bad tweet generator Battlefield 1 is getting a few new updates. Additional modes, maps tweaks, and a week long community celebration are on the way.
Xbox Live Gold discounts don’t come around as often as they used to, so if your membership is due to expire in the near future, grab another year for $40 on eBay today.
Charged by Overwatch’s Reinhardt? You’re in for a wild ride, my friend.
As I made my way through the world of Skyrim last week, a familiar feeling set in -- my quest isn't as joyous when I'm taking the critical path.
No, like most Bethesda games, the stories that you create on your own by doing random dumb acts is where all the fun is. And if you're going the console route, mods don't hurt either.
So while I wouldn't really run out and tell anyone to get Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Special Edition, especially if you've played it already, it speaks to a certain crowd that will want to relive those tales all over again.
When I first met Aela, I could tell she was going to be trouble. I was a newcomer to the city of Whiterun. I wanted adventure. All I got was heartbreak.
With only a week until the PlayStation 4 Pro launches, Sony wants to make sure everyone knows exactly what they're going to get when the powerful console arrives. The company is starting with a list of over 30 games that have been optimized to take advantage of the Pro's 8-core x86-64 "Jaguar" AMD CPU and 4.2 teraflop AMD Radeon GPU. Some are new games, which were released with Pro assets already included, but developers of some more established titles have also worked hard to add new aesthetics and experiences.
Source: Playstation Europe Blog
We’ve discussed how much sleep you need (at least seven hours, for most people), but often our real question is the flip side: Can you get away with less than the optimal amount, or even replace your night’s sleep with a series of round-the-clock naps?
King Art Games just announced Iron Harvest, a real-time strategy game set in the mech-fueled “alternate reality of 1920+,” and it looks gorgeous. “You lead hero characters, mechs, and soldiers in to battle,” Iron Harvest’s website explains, referring to a Great War involving Saxony, Polania and Rusviet nations. It’s slated for 2018 and will be released on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
