Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 129

What Happened to Routine, the Survival Horror Game?

With fall approaching, I took a look at some of my survival horror games… and then I remembered one that still hasn’t appeared.

In 2014, I included a sci-fi game called Routine on my list of top upcoming survival horror games.

I’d previously mentioned it a year earlier, in my Alien review.

Routine is a survival horror game set on the moon, with an aesthetic designed to mimic 1980s science fiction. It had already been Greenlit on Steam, so all seemed well.

But what happened to it?

Throughout 2015 and 2016, updates showed Routine well on the way to a successful launch. Last Halloween, the developers announced a release window of March 2017.

March 2017 came… and with it, a delay. The team felt they needed to keep working on Routine to make it the best experience possible, and didn’t expect it to be “more than a month or two” before the game was ready.

Far more than a month or two has passed since March, and there have been no new updates on Routine.

However, it’s not dead yet! A mod from the Routine subreddit got in touch with the developers and learned that the game is still being developed. It hasn’t been cancelled, and they intend to finish it.

What do you think? Will we ever see Routine? And if so, when?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post What Happened to Routine, the Survival Horror Game? appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Current Backlog Completion Progress

At the start of the year, I declared Round 2 of Operation Backlog Completion, my determination to finally break my video game backlog.

I set a goal of 40 games for this year.

Since it’s now September, we’ve fully completed 8 months of the year. If I want to be on track for my goal, I should be roughly 67% finished. That’s around 27 games.

So far, I’ve completed 29 games in 2017, so I’m slightly ahead of where I should be.

And what about my specific backlog goals?

I intended to play:

Cosmic Star Heroine
Batman: Arkham Knight
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (after playing The Witcher 2 first)
Yooka-Laylee
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
Tales of Berseria
Finding Paradise
Muv-Luv Alternative
Aviary Attorney
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan

(And maybe, but probably not, Mighty No. 9.)

Two more games I crowd-funded, Dies Irae and Shadows of Adam, also game out this year, with A Hat in Time on its way.

Of these, I have played… Kingdom Hearts 2.8 and Tales of Berseria. I’ve started Muv-Luv Alternative, and I wanted to wait for the Switch version of Yooka-Laylee.

That leaves me with 4 months left in the year to play the rest! Plus I want to make a special effort to play horror games for October… and my overall backlog seems to be growing.

Well, that’s the current state of my backlog completion project. How do you handle your video game backlogs?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Current Backlog Completion Progress appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

A Hat in Time is Almost Here!

I’ve been excited for A Hat in Time ever since I first saw it on Kickstarter, and the full release is almost here!

The void of 3D platformers has been filled somewhat since A Hat in Time was announced, but it still looks like one of the best!

The developers officially announced that A Hat in Time will be out on October 5, not only for the PC but also for the PS4 and Xbox One.

It will also feature mod support, including a full level editor. They also announced official mods, such as Raz’s helmet from Psychonauts.

Their list of mod partners also includes Gurumin, which I enjoyed a lot, so I’m interested to see what that will be.

They initially announced a fee to upgrade to the PS4 or Xbox One version, but later apologized and said it was a mistake due to their inexperience with consoles. They’re working on a solution.

Meanwhile, they’ve been posting comparisons on Twitter to show how far the game has come along since it was first announced.

Here's a comparison between our Kickstarter video & our latest trailer! We release Oct 5th 2017! LOOK AT ALL THAT PROGRESS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA pic.twitter.com/lx9xQF6jzQ

— A Hat in Time (@HatInTime) September 3, 2017

A Hat in Time is estimated to take around 8-9 hours to play straight through, and over 30 hours for 100% completion. I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

Are you going to play A Hat in Time?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post A Hat in Time is Almost Here! appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Sunless Sea Creative Director Announces Cultist Simulator

A while ago, the game Sunless Sea had a free weekend on Steam.

I tried it and found it to be delightfully weird and somewhat Lovecraftian. I eventually bought the game, although I haven’t gotten back to it yet.

Sunless Sea, as well as the rest of the Fallen London franchise, was developed by Failbetter Games. Their founder, Alexis Kennedy, left in 2016 to work on his own projects. Now he has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new game called Cultist Simulator.

According to an article he wrote about the title, he stuck with the name Cultist Simulator despite some negative feedback about the “simulator” part, because the title “suggests you’re going to be playing as, approximately, the antagonist from a Lovecraft story. That’s only half the story, but it’s the hook.”

All right, you have my attention.

Cultist Simulator is “a game of apocalypse and yearning” and a narrative-driven crafting digital card game. Although it definitely features Lovecraftian themes, it has “less cosmic nihilism than Lovecraft, and more perilous longing.”

If you (like me) are a bit confused about what exactly it is, there’s an early prototype available here.

Backing Cultist Simulator on Kickstarter will give you the Perpetual Edition of the game, which means you’ll have access to all early builds and get any eventual DLC/expansions for free.

Sound interesting? Did you enjoy Sunless Sea? Then it’s probably worth taking a look at Cultist Simulator to see what you think. (And I really need to get back into Sunless Sea.)

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Sunless Sea Creative Director Announces Cultist Simulator appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

New Lost Sphear Trailer Shows Improvements (and Mechs)

I’m looking forward to Lost Sphear, the next game from Square Enix’s Tokyo RPG Factory, and the new trailer made me even more excited.

When I played their previous game, I Am Setsuna, I was delighted to have a new turn-based JRPG in a traditional style (complete with a world map), but the story ultimately fell short of its potential.

Other players disliked the repetitive environments, lack of inns, and familiar story premise.

However, I wanted to see Tokyo RPG Factory’s next game, because I felt they could really make something fantastic if given another chance. So far, it looks like Lost Sphear might be that fantastic follow-up I hoped for.

Everything they’ve said about it shows that they’ve made improvements based on feedback about I Am Setsuna, and the trailer shows several of these changes and additions.

Changes from I Am Setsuna

Inns – After a brief scene between two characters and a glimpse of the airship flying across the world map, we see the party running past a building clearly labeled “Inn.” Inns are definitely in Lost Sphear after their absence from I Am Setsuna.
Varied Environments – The entire world of I Am Setsuna was covered in snow, which was pretty but also repetitive. This trailer alone shows several different environments.
New Premise – Lost Sphear’s story revolves around restoring a disappearing world, and we see that in action in this trailer. It seems as though you can restore parts of the world both in towns and on the world map, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Combat Movement – Lost Sphear still features a turn-based/ATB combat system, but you can move on your turn. Since I Am Setsuna’s attacks were affected by your positioning, it was frustrating that you couldn’t choose your position. This should be a welcome change.
Mechs – In this trailer, we can see the characters use mech-like “Vulcosuits” both in the field and in battle. Their full purpose is still unclear, but they look powerful.

Lost Sphear will be out on January 23 for the PC, PS4, and Switch, and I’m confident that it will be an improvement over I Am Setsuna while hopefully retaining its nostalgic charm. Are you interested in playing Lost Sphear?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post New Lost Sphear Trailer Shows Improvements (and Mechs) appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Square Enix Might Make an Ardyn Game

Back in March, I was excited to learn that Tabata planned to give fans a better look at Ardyn Izunia’s past, because that was one of the areas where I found Final Fantasy XV’s story lacking.

While it wasn’t clear what he meant, I was hoping for Ardyn DLC.

Later, in May, Final Fantasy XV was updated to include a survey about what fans wanted to see from future content, including Ardyn’s backstory.

That option was a big favorite. At a recent fan event in Cologne, members of the Square Enix staff answered questions about Final Fantasy XV. When asked about the survey, they said:

It was Ardyn’s backstory that the majority voted for – so we clearly got the message he’s the person fans want to know more about. We’re not sure as of yet how we’ll do it though – it’s a lot of story, and telling a character’s story is always the most difficult and detailed part of a game. So, we don’t know yet whether we’ll make it another game, no DLC though, it would be a full game, or a movie, comic, etc. We really want to tell his story, though. Second in the survey was Luna’s story, by the way.”

I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, great! More Ardyn. Ardyn’s backstory. That’s what I wanted!

On the other hand, it won’t be future Final Fantasy XV content, but its own separate thing? It still feels like something that should have been stronger in the game itself. If it’s just something small like a comic, that’s not quite what I hoped for.

But who am I kidding? If they announce an Ardyn prequel game, I’d play it.

This is no guarantee, and Square Enix might decide that this isn’t in its best interests. However, this shows us what the Final Fantasy XV team is thinking about when it comes to Ardyn’s past.

How would you feel about a prequel game focused on Ardyn?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Square Enix Might Make an Ardyn Game appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

New Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Gameplay from Gamescom

I was unsure about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 when it was first announced, but the gameplay shown during E3 won me over.

This morning, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was also shown at Gamescom, and it really looks fantastic.

As we saw at E3, the battle system is a little different from the previous Xenoblade games. It still has the blend of action and selecting special attacks, but instead of having Arts on a hotbar, they’re tied to your Blades and mapped to specific buttons.

This is a streamlined system, but it still looks complex. The Gamescom footage shows us a bit more of what to expect from the combat, including chain attacks, along with a look at some of its beautiful locations.

(Note: people have said that the quality is better live than it looks in the stream.)

Some people dislike the character designs (and ages) of the main protagonists, but I love what I’ve seen so far.

The gameplay seems fun, the environments are beautiful, and after the first two (especially since this is a return to the more story-driven nature of the first Xenoblade) I’m confident that the story will be exciting.

What do you think of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 so far?

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post New Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Gameplay from Gamescom appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Muv-Luv Alternative is Out Now for Backers, Coming Soon for Everyone

Muv-Luv Alternative is out now for Kickstarter backers!

The Steam page will be up soon, and the game is planned for a September release for everyone else.

I enjoyed the original Muv-Luv (Extra and Unlimited) quite a bit, so I’m excited to finally experience what people say is one of the best visual novels ever.

Muv-Luv Alternative was one of my most-anticipated games of this year, and it’s one I definitely intend to play this year… even though I haven’t done such a good job on my other backlog goals.

(I’ve played 2 of the games on that list.)

According to the update, the team will now turn its attention to the Vita versions of the Muv-Luv games.

Once the Vita versions are complete, they’ll work on Photonflowers, Photonmelodies, and finally the Android version.

Are you going to play/read Muv-Luv Alternative? I’m excited to begin!

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post Muv-Luv Alternative is Out Now for Backers, Coming Soon for Everyone appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

What Caused Life Is Strange’s Anomalies?

Today is a total solar eclipse!

Not only that, but this is the eclipse that some fans speculated was the eclipse in Life Is Strange, displaced from time.

Warning: This post will include Life Is Strange spoilers. Continue reading at your own risk.

What’s that? Oh, just an unscheduled solar eclipse, no worries.

Of course, now we know that wasn’t the case. It was…

Uh…

Chaos theory…?

If you’ve read my review of Life Is Strange, you know I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of explanation for some of the more supernatural events.

The game gradually shows more and more things going wrong with the world:

Early snowstorm
Unscheduled eclipse
Dead birds and beached whales
Two moons
Massive storm/tornado

It all culminates in the appearance of the storm (which Max has an unexplained vision of before getting her powers), and the game finally suggests it’s due to chaos theory. Basically, tiny changes have major effects.

All right, I can see that with the unusual weather and dead animals… but the eclipse? Two moons in the sky?!

How did one girl not dying on a specific day cause the moon to change positions and a second moon to briefly appear? When I first saw the second moon, I thought it was evidence of two different timelines overlapping somehow, but the game gives a rushed explanation of chaos theory to say this is all because of Max’s decision to save Chloe.

And it really does seem linked to Chloe’s death rather than to Max’s powers. Rewinding time and saving Chloe leads to the tornado. Rewinding time and not saving Chloe prevents the tornado.

Some people have argued that saving Chloe put you on a path where you had to use your powers over and over, so all those changes add up. However, the Polarized timeline shows this isn’t necessarily true. Max can save Chloe, give David the information he needs, and never need to use her powers… but the tornado still occurs.

I kind of prefer the thinking that led to the theory that their eclipse was this eclipse, that Max’s powers were messing with time on a larger scale and causing time-based anomalies in Arcadia Bay. Snow appeared out of season. An eclipse occurred several years too early.

Would that mean a giant tornado awaits in Arcadia Bay’s future, and sacrificing Chloe just delayed it?

(Talk about depressing.)

Then there’s the other theory, that Dontnod originally intended more supernatural origin for the storm.

Evidence for this includes the early references to Native American lore and spirit animals, Max’s vision occurring before she gains her powers, unresolved build-up about Sean Prescott and the Prescott family, and unused audio files in which Nathan knew about the storm.

Will Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, due out at the end of the month, shed any further light on this? Will the sequel, which will feature a new location and cast of characters, tie into this at all? That’s hard to say. And it’s not that I think Life Is Strange was bad… but when I look back on this, it makes me think that the final ending could have been so much more interesting.

What do you think caused the weather and meteorological anomalies in Life Is Strange? Was it just chaos theory? Do you believe there was a different explanation that was removed?

And for those of you in the path of the eclipse, enjoy!

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post What Caused Life Is Strange’s Anomalies? appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

New Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon Details Hint at Story

New Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon details have been revealed, and this time it’s a bit more substantial than a new Pokémon form.

More than anything, I’ve been hoping to learn whether these games are upgrades or sequels to Sun and Moon, so let’s take a look at the official description and see what it says.

Ultra Sun and Moon have “new additions to the story and features” of their predecessors.

Story-wise this includes “ominous dark clouds” above Alola, new buildings and landscapes, and a story about Necrozma.

In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon, a story unfolds on a grand scale, with the Legendary Pokémon Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma at its center. Secrets about Necrozma and the Alola region—undisclosed in the previous games—will come to light.”

All of this sounds to me like it’s leaning much more toward upgrade than sequel. The new story sounds like an addition in the style of Pokémon Platinum (or the OR/AS Delta Episode), not Black/White 2.

However, the website also discusses the new character customization outfits by saying “The look of the main characters’ outfits has changed from the first trip through the Alola region—just in time for them to begin a new adventure!”

First trip? New adventure? That sounds like the sort of language that would be used for a sequel.

Meanwhile, fans have noticed some interesting details, including:

an area that strongly resembles Lt. Surge’s Gym
a glowing white figure appears both in the trailer and on the website, with half of its face pictured on Ultra Sun and half on Ultra Moon in the official box art
the new map includes a mysterious vortex that resembles the Distortion World vortex from Platinum

Did you notice anything else unusual in the trailer? What are your thoughts on the latest Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon details? Is it an upgrade or a sequel? As for me… I need to get back to playing Moon.

Like this post? Tell your friends!







And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!

Did you enjoy this post? Be sure to share it with your social networks!

The post New Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon Details Hint at Story appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.