Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 125

Final Day for Action Game Raji: An Ancient Epic on Kickstarter

Raji: An Ancient Epic is an action adventure game currently seeking funds through Kickstarter, and it’s currently the final day of the campaign.

Raji: An Ancient Epic follows a young girl named Raji who is chosen by the gods to fight against a demonic invasion, while also trying to rescue her brother. It is set in ancient India, with hand painted environments inspired by the medieval architecture of Rajasthan.

It’s an action adventure game that features melee combat and elemental attacks, with customization for your abilities. It also includes some puzzles.

Raji looks pretty good, but it’s still at only around 50% of its funding goal at the time that I’m writing this. Just over 24 hours remain in the Kickstarter campaign, so it will need a lot of support in the final day to meet its goal.

Since there is a demo available through Steam, I downloaded it to give it a try. In the trailer, Raji’s gameplay seemed like it might be slow, but it actually feels quite good. The customization is limited since it’s a demo, but I look forward to seeing what the options are in the full game.

Aside from one point where the demo glitched and I had to restart (from a very forgiving checkpoint, so I barely lost any progress), it played well and felt smooth.

I recorded it, but I had trouble uploading the video. If I ever get it ready, I’ll include it here.

Anyway, if you like the sounds of a demon-fighting action game set in ancient India, head over to the Kickstarter page for Raji: An Ancient Epic and take a look!

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Bayonetta 1 & 2 Ports, Bayonetta 3 Announced for Switch!

IT’S HAPPENING!!!

When PlatinumGames seemingly teased Bayonetta 1 and 2 for the Switch, along with previous actions that could have been Bayonetta 3 hints, we got our hopes up for Bayonetta on the Switch…

…and now it’s happening!

All of it is happening!

First, on February 16, Bayonetta 1 and 2 will be released for the Switch. Bayonetta 2 will be sold physically for $59.99, with a download code included for Bayonetta.

Similar to how the games were handled on the Wii U, you’ll be able to buy Bayonetta 2 on the eShop for $49.99 and then get Bayonetta at a discounted price of $9.99, or buy Bayonetta on the eShop for $29.99 and then get Bayonetta 2 at a discounted price of $29.99.

In short, the two games together cost $59.99 no matter how you do it. It’s disappointing that there’s no physical option for the first game, but this is still great!

Bayonetta 2 will also have both online and local co-op for Tag Climax, amiibo support, and video capture support.

So that’s pretty exciting, but the even more exciting news is that Bayonetta 3 is in development for the Switch!

The trailer doesn’t show much, but it’s enough to get fans theorizing and speculating. Bayonetta appears to have her design from the first game, but she’s wielding different guns, and the ending makes it look like she died (watch how her legs fall at around the 30 mark). One shot also shows that her face is bloody.

Some fans believe the person she’s fighting is Rodin.

This already raises all sorts of questions. Is this a future Bayonetta? Is it an impostor Bayonetta? (Someone noticed that she doesn’t have her beauty mark.) Or is Bayonetta dead? And if that’s Rodin, why are they fighting?

Whatever’s going on in this trailer, I can’t wait to learn more about Bayonetta 3!

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The Book at Dernier eBook is Now Available

When I published the reprint of The Book at Dernier back in September, I said the ebook version would be available shortly.

December isn’t as soon as I expected, but after overcoming some formatting difficulties, The Book at Dernier is now available for the Kindle!

The print and ebook versions haven’t been linked yet, but they should be soon. Once they’re linked, if you buy a print copy of The Book at Dernier from Amazon, you’ll be able to buy the ebook version for $0.99.

The beginning can also be read on Amazon as a free sample.

The Book at Dernier is a horror novella about a young man named Paul who visits a small town and uncovers a dark mystery about a string of horrifying murders, an enigmatic cult, and a book written in an indecipherable language.

If you’re familiar with my taste in horror, it’s probably not a surprise that this story has a Lovecraftian tone to it. Most of my horror is supernatural, but The Book at Dernier and It Came Back are the two that most reflect my Lovecraft inspirations.

Does that sound interesting to you? If so, head over to Amazon and take a look at the Kindle edition of The Book at Dernier.

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Muv-Luv Alternative: An Epic but Flawed Journey

Over the weekend, I finished Muv-Luv Alternative, a visual novel I’d been looking forward to ever since playing Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited last year.

Muv-Luv Alternative is considered by many fans to be one of the greatest visual novels of all time, and I definitely enjoyed my time with it, although it wasn’t perfect.

First, let’s talk about its good points. Muv-Luv Alternative is intense and exciting. I really grew to like the cast of Muv-Luv, and it was wonderful to watch them grow and change.

That applies to the main character more than anyone. In Muv-Luv Extra, Takeru wasn’t the most likable protagonist in the world, but Unlimited and Alternative really helped him shape up into a character I could root for.

Muv-Luv Alternative has a reputation for some hard-hitting scenes, and those scenes did hit very hard. There was one point in particular (you can probably guess which) when I had to take a break and told everyone who would listen to me that this visual novel had gotten very dark and upsetting.

Click for Muv-Luv Alternative spoilerWhile the actual “chomp” scene is the one people reference the most, the aftermath was more distressing to me. Everything that happened when Takeru tried to run away to his world felt like a punch in the stomach after an already traumatic scene.

Another thing Muv-Luv Alternative does well is handle discussions of responsibility, sacrifice, and human nature. It’s a grim world where people are still fighting each other even though humanity is on the brink of extinction. And you know, whenever someone claims an alien invasion would make everyone forget their differences and unite, I have to wonder if it would really be like that. Muv-Luv says no.

It’s not happy, but it’s realistic, and Muv-Luv Alternative deals with this idea well.

Overall, it was great. I felt some of the action scenes could drag on a little longer than they had to, but I always wanted to see what was coming next.

And that actually ties into the major thing I disliked about Muv-Luv Alternative: when I finished, I still wanted to see what was coming next. The ending felt abrupt, not a satisfactory conclusion so much as a story wrapped up before it was really over.

I didn’t mind the ending itself, like some fans do. It wasn’t perfect, but I thought it was a pretty good conclusion… it just didn’t feel like it was time yet.

To explain in a little more detail without any spoilers, if it had ended the way it did, but without the epilogue scene, it would have felt like perfect ending to lead into another sequel. With the epilogue, however, it’s clearly a conclusion, but without actually being done.

Click for Muv-Luv Alternative spoilerAnd now to explain WITH spoilers, I loved the stuff in the Original Hive. It was dark, it was sad, and the conversation with the BETA superordinate was so creepy and fascinating. Finally getting a glimpse into how the BETA think and trying to convince them that humans are life forms, and learning that the BETA were created by other beings… I was so excited to see where the story was going with this next!

But instead, it was over. When Takeru protested that he wasn’t ready to leave that world yet, I thought it would continue, but instead, he had to go home. That disappointed me.

Still, it’s pretty positive when the worst criticism you have a of a story is that there should have been more. I don’t consider Muv-Luv Alternative’s ending to be a satisfying conclusion to the saga, but I did enjoy my overall journey with this visual novel. Overall, I felt a lot like I did when I finished Steins;Gate 0: a great story that didn’t come together as tightly as I’d hoped.

If you’ve played/read Muv-Luv Alternative, how did you feel about the ending? Are there any side stories that expand on the part in my spoiler tags? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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Muv-Luv Alternative: Epic Journey, Abrupt Conclusion

Over the weekend, I finished Muv-Luv Alternative, a visual novel I’d been looking forward to ever since playing Muv-Luv Extra and Unlimited last year.

Muv-Luv Alternative is considered by many fans to be one of the greatest visual novels of all time, and I definitely enjoyed my time with it, although it wasn’t perfect.

First, let’s talk about its good points. Muv-Luv Alternative is intense and exciting. I really grew to like the cast of Muv-Luv, and it was wonderful to watch them grow and change.

That applies to the main character more than anyone. In Muv-Luv Extra, Takeru wasn’t the most likable protagonist in the world, but Unlimited and Alternative really helped him shape up into a character I could root for.

Muv-Luv Alternative has a reputation for some hard-hitting scenes, and those scenes did hit very hard. There was one point in particular (you can probably guess which) when I had to take a break and told everyone who would listen to me that this visual novel had gotten very dark and upsetting.

Click for Muv-Luv Alternative spoilerWhile the actual “chomp” scene is the one people reference the most, the aftermath was more distressing to me. Everything that happened when Takeru tried to run away to his world felt like a punch in the stomach after an already traumatic scene.

Overall, it was great. I felt some of the action scenes could drag on a little longer than they had to, but I always wanted to see what was coming next.

And that actually ties into the major thing I disliked about Muv-Luv Alternative: when I finished, I still wanted to see what was coming next. The ending felt abrupt, not a satisfactory conclusion so much as a story wrapped up before it was really over.

I didn’t mind the ending itself, like some fans do. It wasn’t perfect, but I thought it was a pretty good conclusion… it just didn’t feel like it was time yet.

To explain in a little more detail without any spoilers, if it had ended the way it did, but without the epilogue scene, it would have felt like perfect ending to lead into another sequel. With the epilogue, however, it’s clearly a conclusion, but without actually being done.

Click for Muv-Luv Alternative spoilerAnd now to explain WITH spoilers, I loved the stuff in the Original Hive. It was dark, it was sad, and the conversation with the BETA superordinate was so creepy and fascinating. Finally getting a glimpse into how the BETA think and trying to convince them that humans are life forms, and learning that the BETA were created by other beings… I was so excited to see where the story was going with this next!

But instead, it was over. When Takeru protested that he wasn’t ready to leave that world yet, I thought it would continue, but instead, he had to go home. That disappointed me.

Still, it’s pretty positive when the worst criticism you have a of a story is that there should have been more. I don’t consider Muv-Luv Alternative’s ending to be a satisfying conclusion to the saga, but I did enjoy my overall journey with this visual novel. Overall, I felt a lot like I did when I finished Steins;Gate 0: a great story that didn’t come together as tightly as I’d hoped.

If you’ve played/read Muv-Luv Alternative, how did you feel about the ending? Are there any side stories that expand on the part in my spoiler tags? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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Tales Broadcast Announced for December 16 (Switch Announcement?)

Bandai Namco has announced a “Tales Room” broadcast on December 16 to celebrate the series’ 22nd anniversary.

The broadcast will include a look back at 2017 as well as information about content currently in development.

This is exciting news, not only because we might get an announcement of the next Tales game, but also because we should find out what Tales game they’re bringing to the Switch.

Back in May, Bandai Namco announced that they were working on a Nintendo Switch Tales game for this fiscal year, but they haven’t said anything about it since. We don’t know if it will be a port, a remake, or the next mainline game.

On the other hand, they could use this broadcast to discuss the mobile games and nothing else. Still, if they plan to have a Tales game out for the Switch before the end of the fiscal year, you’d think they’d announce it soon.

What do you think? Will we learn what the Switch’s Tales game is on December 16? And what sort of game do you think it will be?

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Episode Ardyn Confirmed for Final Fantasy XV

During the latest Active Time Report about Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix announced its plans to continue FFXV support through 2018, starting with a new episode about Ardyn.

The way Ardyn’s backstory was handled was a big disappointment to me, so I’m excited that they’re taking steps to correct that.

They previously mentioned the possibility of a whole Ardyn game, but an Episode Ardyn is fine with me.

According to Tabata, they plan to release at least three “Episode” DLCs in 2018, and this new content won’t be released until it’s properly sufficient. Tabata hopes the new DLC will even get the interest of fans who lost interest after finishing the game.

He’s also aware that fans want to see an Episode Luna.

I’m happy that we’ll finally get more details about Ardyn, but I’m especially happy about the “properly sufficient” comment. Final Fantasy XV’s biggest problem was that it lacked important details and skipped over moments that should have been shown on-screen, so maybe the DLC will finally fill in those gaps.

In the meantime, Episode Ignis is due out on December 13, and it will include an alternate route you unlock once you clear the story.

And that’s not all! A December update will let you switch characters in FFXV, so you can finally play as Gladio, Ignis, or Prompto in the main story.

By the time they’re finished adding content and updating Final Fantasy XV, maybe it will be the way many of us envisioned it. What do you think of the latest news, and are you looking forward to Episode Ardyn?

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Favorite Cyber Monday Video Game Deals

For various reasons, I didn’t blog on Friday, but now it’s Cyber Monday and there are plenty of deals out there. Here are a few that stood out to me:

Nintendo eShop

First up, let’s take a look at Nintendo’s eShop Cyber Deals. These deals will be active until December 11, so you have plenty of time to decide.

Of particular note to me are the two Ace Attorney games on sale: Dual Destinies for $9.99 and Spirit of Justice for $14.99. If you haven’t played the latest Ace Attorney games yet, this is a perfect opportunity.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons are both on sale as well, for $2.99 each. I haven’t played the Oracle games yet, but it’s still a good deal.

Square Enix

Square Enix has both digital and physical games on sale through today (November 27), and there are some great ones. The biggest problem with physical sales at the Square Enix Store is that there’s a sizable shipping cost. However, if you buy multiple games, you can overcome that thanks to the sale (compare prices first).

Chrono Cross and some classic Final Fantasy games are on sale for pretty cheap, so be sure to take a look, and there are also some good Kingdom Hearts prices. And if you, like me, want to play the original Nier before Automata, it’s on sale for $13.38.

Best Buy

Best Buy has some great Cyber Monday deals, although some are no longer available to purchase online.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. stands out to me at $2.99. I wasn’t interested in the game after playing the demo, but at that price, maybe it’s worth a try?

Horizon: Zero Dawn, Knack 2, Yakuza Kiwami (SteelBook Edition), and many others are also on sale for $19.99.

Oh, and if you’re a GCU member, the discount stacks this year for even better prices.

Amazon

Amazon’s video game Holiday Deals feel a bit lacking this year, but Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is a decent game with its special edition available as a Lightning Deal for $23.99 (Vita) or $33.99 (PS4).

Bloodborne is also on sale for $16.16.

Steam

As usual, tons of games are on sale during Steam’s Autumn Sale, available until tomorrow afternoon.

So many good games are on sale, it’s hard to know where to begin, so I’ll point you toward Steins;Gate ($17.49), Tales of Symphonia ($4.99), and Hatoful Boyfriend ($2.49; at that price, you can give it a chance).

Conclusion

What fantastic deals did I miss? What games, if any, did you pick up this Cyber Monday? Let me know in the comments!

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The Lady of the Lake: An Epic Conclusion

Finally, we’ve reached the conclusion of the Witcher saga, the final novel before the events of the games take place, The Lake of the Lake.

This is the culmination of Ciri’s quest, Geralt & company’s search for her, and all the machinations that have been bubbling throughout the saga, and it’s an epic conclusion.

Like the previous novel, there’s a bit of a frame story here, although it takes a couple different forms. Ciri telling her story to Galahad is the larger frame, but there is also a fair amount of framing as the sorceresses Nimue and Condwiramurs attempt to piece together the truth of Ciri’s history.

There are so many good moments in this novel, and although I felt a couple parts went on a bit too long (specifically the war section and the ending), it’s a fantastic story.

The section in Toussaint is great (especially Regis giving advice on how to deal with vampires), I love the entire section with the elves (especially when Ciri makes her escape and learns the truth about their world), and the confrontations at the end are satisfying (if a bit heartbreaking).

Unfortunately, I’ve heard that The Witcher 3 doesn’t really do Eredin justice, which is a disappointment because he’s pretty cool in the novel. Are there other Eredin fans out there? He steals the scene whenever he’s on the page!

Click for Lady of the Lake spoilerAnd the revelation about Emhyr’s identity is one of the most unexpected twists I’ve ever seen. Before I first read The Lady of the Lake, I accidentally read a spoiler about his true identity… and dismissed it as the person who wrote it getting Emhyr and Duny confused.

When I reached that part of the novel, I was shocked. I just stared at the page in disbelief (and then started laughing over my earlier assumption when I saw the spoiler).

As I mentioned in my Tower of Swallows review, there is definite foreshadowing, which makes it the best sort of twist.

Anyway, if you’ve been enjoying the Witcher novels, The Lady of the Lake is where it all comes together.

And of course, the games pick up afterwards. We’ve already looked at The Witcher, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get to the other games this year after all. Next year, however, our journey through the Witcher series will resume!

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The World of Final Fantasy Series Will Continue!

When I finished World of Final Fantasy, the one thing I really wanted was a sequel.

Not only was it a fun, cute game (and a new turn-based RPG in the Final Fantasy series), but it also had tons of series potential, especially if you read the Who’s Who character bios.

Well, it looks like I’m getting my wish… although not quite what I want right away.

A mobile game called World of Final Fantasy: Meli-Melo has been announced. It will be out in Japan for iOS and Android later this year. It’s a casual take on World of Final Fantasy gameplay, but it’s unclear whether its story will be the same or not.

While I’m not crazy about a casual mobile game, the Famitsu announcement of World of Final Fantasy: Meli-Melo also said “the World of Final Fantasy series will continue to spread out in the future.”

I hope it spreads out to a full-fledged sequel or prequel next.

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