Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 46

Game Awards 2022 Announcement Highlights

The Game Awards were last night, and while there was no Ace Attorney news or clarification on Beyond the Dawn, we have several exciting announcements to discuss.

The highlight for me was the surprise announcement of Hades II.

I loved Hades, so I was interested when I saw Supergiant was announcing something new, but I never expected a sequel. (Shout-out to the friend who realized what it was first and kept saying, “Sam, look, look,” while I was going, “What? What? I don’t get it!” during the trailer.)

The official website provides some more details about the game, including that we’ll be playing as Melinoe, Zagreus’s sister, and fighting against Chronos (who is here interpreted as the same god as Cronus).

If Hades II has the same level of story as the original Hades, this could easily become another favorite. Like the original, though, Hades II will launch in Early Access first, so I’ll wait until the full release.

As we move on to the next big highlight for me, I want to talk briefly about Bayonetta 3. We haven’t discussed Bayonetta 3 much here since I reviewed it at MonsterVine and had mixed feelings because of the story, but one thing that stood out was a tiny unlockable secret chapter that let you play a young Cereza in a storybook-like world. I thought it was a teaser for DLC.

But no, it was a teaser for a whole spin-off game! PlatinumGames announced Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, an entire game done in that style. It will be out on March 17 and is getting both a physical and digital release, which makes me wonder if this will be the length of a regular Bayonetta game after all.

It looks extremely different from regular Bayonetta games (it’s even rated T), and according to the eShop page, you’ll control Cereza with one stick and Cheshire with the other to fight fairies and solve puzzles. For as different as it is, it’s also beautiful, and I’m pretty interested. I don’t mind the series experimenting with other styles for what seems to be a spin-off, and the “Cereza and the Lost Demon” subtitle makes me wonder if they could make more “Bayonetta Origins” games if it does well.

So that was pretty unexpected, but a welcome surprise.

Moving on, Forspoken now has a demo out, which I’m mildly interested in. We also got a new trailer for The Lords of the Fallen, not to be confused with its predecessor, Lords of the Fallen.

And the long-awaited new Armored Core came was announced. While I’m not enough of a mech game fan to normally include something like that in my highlights, the trailer for Armored Core VI is so cool I’m going to share it anyway.

Finally, the last trailer of the show was the one I was most excited for going into it, Final Fantasy XVI.

Final Fantasy XVI will be out on June 22, which gives me a date for when I want to have a PS5 by. In addition to the standard edition, a deluxe edition, digital deluxe edition, and collector’s edition were also announced. The deluxe edition comes with a steelbook case and a cloth map, which I don’t think is worth it for me. The digital deluxe edition, meanwhile, comes with a digital mini art book and digital mini soundtrack.

Meanwhile, the collector’s edition has the steelbook case and cloth map, the digital mini art book and digital mini soundtrack, and also a collector’s box, a statue of Phoenix vs. Ifrit, a metal pin set, and an in-game sword. If any version came with a physical art book and soundtrack, I’d be tempted to go for it, but as it is none of the bonuses appeal to me enough.

(All of these editions also include the game, of course.)

But if the special editions are a little disappointing to me, the new trailer was not. It’s exciting and flashy, although the emphasis is still on combat like in previous trailers.

(I embedded the Japanese trailer because the English one can’t be embedded, but you can watch it here.)

I still want to see something of Final Fantasy XVI’s non-combat gameplay, like exploration, but aside from that, I think this will be the last Final Fantasy XVI trailer I watch. Square Enix has a tendency to put major late-game events in their trailers, and I don’t want to spoil another game that way.

There were some other interesting-looking games shown at the Game Awards, like a horror game called Post Trauma that looks very much inspired by the classics, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (I’ll play Fallen Order eventually), Death Stranding 2 (I’ll play the original eventually), and a new action RPG from Dontnod called Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden that could be cool, but those were the major highlights for me.

Which Game Awards announcements stood out to you the most?

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What Is Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn?

Yesterday, Bandai Namco filed a trademark in Japan for “Beyond the Dawn.”

It didn’t particularly stand out to me. A title like that could be for anything.

Today, however, they followed it with a European trademark for “Tales of Arise Beyond the Dawn.” Now it’s much more interesting to me.

So, what could Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn be?

Back in April, the developers said there were no plans for a Tales of Arise sequel or story DLC, as they wanted it to stand on its own without the need to continue the story. Some fans are now wondering if they’ve changed their mind and decided to make an expansion or DLC after all.

Another possibility is an anime adaptation. A handful of Tales games have gotten anime adaptations, such as Tales of Zestiria the X.

The worst-case scenario is that it’s a mobile game. That’s not even just because I’m not a big mobile gamer; the last couple of Tales mobile games have been shut down so quickly, I’d have no faith in a new one to last. Luminaria didn’t even make a full year.

If Beyond the Dawn is game-related, we could hear something at the Game Awards tomorrow. Of course, trademarks sometimes go a long time without any news coming of them. I’m still waiting for something to come from Capcom’s mysterious Apollo Justice trademark. Yes, I’ll be hoping for Ace Attorney news tomorrow, too. Let me dream.

What do you think Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn will be?

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Macbat 64 is a Delightful Little 3D Platformer

Among the many games I picked up in a bundle earlier this year were three 3D platformers from the indie developer Siactro: Toree 3D, which we discussed in March, its sequel Toree 2, and Macbat 64.

(I linked to the Steam version above, but it’s also available on the Switch, as well as on the Xbox as part of a bundle.)

Since Toree 3D and Toree 2 were both level-based 3D platformers, I expected Macbat 64 to be along the same lines.

So it was to my great delight that Macbat 64 is actually more like a miniature Banjo-Kazooie homage.

While it’s still split into levels, each level is a small explorable world with items to collect to reach your goals, usually by gathering items for NPCs in exchange for other items. For example, you might need four balloons to progress, and one character will give you a balloon in exchange for coins while another will give you one if you help them with a task.

(This setup of helping characters in exchange for items to trade for the items you need reminded me a bit of Frog Detective and its sequel, actually, although they’re adventure games instead of a platformer.)

A few levels switch up the gameplay, and overall it was a fun and charming experience that called back to 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie despite being much simpler.

In addition to the main story, there are some bonus levels unlocked at the end of the game, along with other secrets. A couple of the bonus levels felt like homages to Silent Hill, of all things, which just made me like it more. And then there was a Christmas-themed bonus level to make it perfect for this time of year!

Macbat 64 only takes a bit over an hour to complete, but it was absolutely delightful. I also realized shortly after starting it that a 3D platformer I’ve seen advertised on Twitter lately, Super Kiwi 3D, is the newest game from the same developer, so that will definitely be one to check out in the future. In the meantime, if you like this style of platformer and want something short and charming, check out Macbat 64!

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A New Amnesia Horror Game, You Say?

Yesterday, I was surprised by the sudden announcement of a new Amnesia game from Frictional Games.

To recap, I loved The Dark Descent, didn’t especially enjoy A Machine for Pigs, and wrote a full freelance review of Rebirth, which I generally enjoyed.

(No relation to the Amnesia otome games, funny though that would be.)

So the announcement of a new Amnesia from Frictional Games got my attention right away.

Amnesia: The Bunker is set in a World War I bunker and is due out in March. One surprise from the trailer is that there are weapons this time. As much as I loved the first Amnesia, some of the best survival horror games have elements of combat, so I think that’s fine.

What has me unsure, though, is the full press description provided by sites like Gematsu.

Amnesia: The Bunker has a semi-open world and includes “emergent gameplay and sandbox elements.” A later point highlights its “unscripted environment” where “objects, threats, and resources, change in every playthrough.” I’m not sure I like the idea of objects and resources in particular changing in each playthrough. That feels like it will take away from the carefully-crafted exploration I enjoy in survival horror games.

On the other hand, maybe it won’t be as randomized as that makes it sound and I’m worrying over nothing. What do you think?

Right now, I’m intrigued by Amnesia: The Bunker, but cautious. I’m sure more gameplay details will come out as we get closer to March, and that should help me make up my mind. What are your thoughts on Amnesia: The Bunker?

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Piofiore: Fated Memories – Mafia Romance With a Dash of the Wildest Plot Points I’ve Ever Seen

It’s time to talk about another otome I’ve been meaning to get around to for a while now, Piofiore: Fated Memories.

Piofiore follows a young woman named Lili who has grown up at a church in Italy, not knowing that she holds special significance to the region that will soon draw her into a conflict involving the mafia.

The choices you make in the very short common route will determine the form this introduction of conflict takes, and which of the game’s love interests you’ll spend the rest of the route with.

With most of the love interests being criminals, it should come as no surprise that this is a darker story, with a lot of death and violence and other disturbing content.

One route in particular I saw less as a romance and more like a thriller in which I had to carefully weigh every choice to try to avoid death or worse. (Yes, I’m talking about Yang.)

However, I’m not so sure I agree with the general assessment that Piofiore is story-driven. A couple routes are more story-driven than others, and it has a finale that emphasizes the plot, but most of the routes are focused on Lili’s growing relationship with the love interest in question.

And that’s probably a good thing, because one of the plot revelations is so wild, so ludicrous, that I was just relieved the later routes didn’t address it again.

Click for the wildest Piofiore spoilerWhat does it mean that Lili is the “Key Maiden,” and why is this so important? *deep breath* Because the Catholic Church wanted to hide the fact that Jesus didn’t actually ascend, so they put a special seal on his tomb that can only be broken when a special woman chosen by astrology has sex with the heir to the Falzone mafia family, after which their blood can be used to unlock the tomb, which has miraculous healing properties.

…………..what?

There were also some occasional character inconsistencies across different routes, which bugged me a bit.

As for the routes themselves, though, they were all decently enjoyable. I found a couple less interesting than the others, but there weren’t any I really disliked. At the top of my list are Gilbert, whose route was just pure fun from start to finish, and Dante, who has some of my favorite traits. …And then there’s Yang, whose route was certainly something.

Despite all of its dark content, it feels like an oddly romanticized view of the mafia at times. It’s like they didn’t want to show the love interests being too bad (except Yang), so it glossed over the actual criminal activities in favor of romantic moments and delicious food.

Ah yes, the food. Food comes up so often it deserves a special mention here. I feel like half the dictionary entries are Italian desserts. Playing Piofiore made me hungry!

But I didn’t mind the noble criminal approach to half the routes, even if it did feel a little silly at times.

In short, while it’s not a new favorite, I enjoyed Piofiore enough that I’ll eventually pick up the recently-released sequel. If you’ve played Piofiore, what did you think of it?

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Some Favorite Holiday 2022 Video Game Deals

With Black Friday having just passed, today is Cyber Monday, and we’re heading toward the holidays. That means it’s a time of great sales, so if you’re looking to do some video game holiday shopping or want to pick up a few games yourself, here are some highlights that I’ve seen.

…And by “highlights,” I mean I’ll be focusing on some of my favorite series and games that otherwise interest me.

Ace Attorney Sales

Ah, Ace Attorney, my beloved Ace Attorney. While we wait anxiously for news of a new game or collection, several games from the series are currently on sale to help you take the plunge into this series or talk your friends and relatives into it.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for the Nintendo Switch is currently on sale for $29.99 at Amazon. You can also find the sale deal at Best Buy. Meanwhile, digital copies are on sale in the Nintendo eShop for $24.99 and on Steam for $24.79.

Although the game is also available digitally on PS4, it doesn’t appear to be on sale there right now.

Set well before the events of the main series, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a collection of two games following Phoenix Wright’s ancestor, Ryunosuke Naruhodo. I enjoyed the first game and can’t overstate my love for the second, so please play these games.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Wright Trilogy is on sale for $14.99 at the eShop, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and Steam.

If you want both of those, you can buy the Phoenix Wright Trilogy and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles together in a digital bundle from the eShop for $34.99 and Steam for $34.79, an additional discount.

What about the other games in the series? Well, while Capcom has yet to port the rest of the series to modern platforms, Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, and Spirit of Justice are all on sale in the 3DS eShop for $4.99 each. With the 3DS eShop shutting down in March, getting these games on sale is probably a good idea (although I’m still hoping for a collection announcement).

All right, we probably should talk about some other games so that this doesn’t become just an Ace Attorney deals post.

Yakuza and Judgment

So let’s take a look at my second-favorite series, Yakuza. Linking to all of my Yakuza reviews might be a bit much when you’re looking for sales, so I’ll just let my glowing review of Yakuza 0 give you an idea.

You’ll find a lot of good prices on the Yakuza series on Amazon, though none seem to be actual sales.

For digital copies, however, you can get Yakuza 0 for 4.99 at the PlayStation Store and Steam. From PlayStation, the same price also applies to Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2. If you’re sure you want to jump into the series, the Yakuza Origins bundle also lets you buy those three games together for $14.49.

While there’s no sale on the remastered collection of 3-5 at the PlayStation Store, they’re on sale separately for $7.99 each (Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, Yakuza 5).

Steam has similar Yakuza sales: Yakuza 0 for $4.99, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 each for $5.99, and a bundle of those three for 16.12.

Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5 are on sale on Steam for $6.99 each, but Steam also has them bundled at $19.92 for a tiny additional discount.

(There are also sales on Yakuza 6 and Like a Dragon, but since I haven’t played them yet – I’m working on it! – I haven’t included links here.)

Then there’s Judgment, a spin-off following a lawyer-turned-detective. As you might imagine, given my love for Ace Attorney and Yakuza, this idea tremendously appealed to me, and I absolutely loved it. The truly spectacular Judgment sales have unfortunately passed with the end of the weekend, but the Xbox Series X version is still on sale for $19.99 on Amazon and $15.99 at the Xbox Store, while the digital PS4 and PS5 versions are on sale at the PlayStation Store for $14.99 and $15.99 respectively, and Steam brings in a sale at $29.99.

Other Games

More sales you should know about!

Kingdom Hearts 3 is on sale at Amazon for $12.78 for the PS4 version and $7.99 for the Xbox One version.

Nier Automata recently came to the Nintendo Switch and is now on sale for $29.99 at Amazon. The PS4 remake of the first game, Nier Replicant, is also on sale at Amazon for $19.99.

Digital copies of AI: The Somnium Files are on sale for $7.99 at the eShop, PlayStation Store, and Steam, and I implore you to play this game if you like mystery/detective stories, because it is amazing.

Persona 5 Royal – which I haven’t played yet, but I loved the original – is also on sale at Amazon for $29.99 for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions.

(Meanwhile, some new games I haven’t gotten to play yet, like Star Ocean: The Divine Force and Harvestella, already have decent discounts, which has me tempted… but I’m resisting. So far.)

Conclusion

Many more sales will undoubtedly come and go, but this should help you get started on your 2022 video game holiday shopping! Did you pick up anything in the sales? Did you notice any great sales I’ve overlooked? Do you think this post is just me trying to get more people to play Ace Attorney and Yakuza? Let me know in the comments!

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New Utawarerumono Spin-Off Visual Novel Announced

This morning, Aquaplus held an Utawarerumono broadcast.

I didn’t particularly expect anything to come from it, since Monochrome Mobius just came out and they had a mobile game and upcoming anime adaptation to discuss.

However, Aquaplus announced a new Utawarerumono spin-off visual novel!

Gizoku Tantei Nosuri, or Chivalrous Thief Detective Nosuri, as detailed here by Gematsu, is a digital-only visual novel launching in Japan on December 22 for PS4 and Switch.

I haven’t gotten far enough in Utawarerumono yet to know who Nosuri is, but I’m intrigued.

It sounds like this might be a pure visual novel, which is interesting. While the main trilogy is a visual novel strategy RPG hybrid, they’ve now released a traditional JRPG spin-off and announced a visual novel spin-off.

While there isn’t a full trailer, they do have a short TV commercial.

One thing that concerns me, though, is its platforms. Being released on the PS4 and Switch wouldn’t normally be a concern, except that Monochrome Mobius just came out for the PS4, PS5, and PC, but only the PC version was localized. Meanwhile, Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth aren’t available digitally on consoles, because their license was never renewed. Back when the Monochrome Mobius localization was announced, I speculated that the PC-only localization together with those two being delisted from PSN meant they sold poorly on consoles.

So this new spin-off having no PC release makes me nervous about its localization chances. Let’s hope for the best, though!

In the meantime, I’ve got some Utawarerumono to catch up on.

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Will Kid Icarus: Uprising Be Ported or Remastered?

Some 3DS games have made the jump to other platforms, but a lot have not.

One often-requested title is Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Kid Icarus: Uprising was a 3D action game directed by Masahiro Sakurai and released for the 3DS in 2012, and the first new entry in the Kid Icarus series in 21 years. Since then, the series has gone silent again, with no sign of a sequel.

I played Kid Icarus: Uprising and found it to be pretty fun. The controls took some getting used to, but I enjoyed it (and I still use the 3DS stand it came with). So like many fans, I’d be happy to see more from Kid Icarus.

Well, in his latest video, Sakurai talks about Kid Icarus: Uprising and ends by saying, “It sure would be nice to play Kid Icarus: Uprising on a home console. I wonder if someone out there will ever port it?” while smiling. This has caused a lot of speculation that he might be teasing an upcoming Kid Icarus: Uprising port.

One thing that makes this comment stand out is that it’s different from things he’s said in the past. In 2018, Sakurai mentioned that fans had been asking about a modern port of Kid Icarus: Uprising, but stated, “I don’t think this will be possible.” Just last year, he again acknowledged the requests for a port on its anniversary, but suggested it would be difficult enough to be unlikely.

So to instead say a home console version would be nice and wonder if anyone will port it makes it sound much more plausible, like it’s an actual possibility now.

What do you think? Was Sakurai teasing a Kid Icarus: Uprising port or remaster?

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Yomawari: Lost in the Dark Might Be the Best Yet

I didn’t get it done in time for Celebrating All Things Spooky, but now it’s finally time to discuss Yomawari: Lost in the Dark.

I loved the first two Yomawari games, so I was thrilled that we got a third.

As always, these games might look cute, but they’re horror games through and through.

When it was announced I mentioned that the first game focused on exploration while the second game took a more linear, story-driven approach. Well, the third game strikes a balance between the two.

In Yomawari: Lost in the Dark, you have been cursed. Now you need to find your lost memories by visiting certain parts of the city, to remember how to break the curse.

This sets up a structure where you’re largely free to explore the town and tackle whichever lost memory you want, but once you reach the area for that memory, it has a much more structured approach. These areas have a traditional survival horror approach, with backtracking and puzzle-solving, albeit more linear than I’d like. Meanwhile, exploring the town still feels like it lacks something special that the first game had, but I’d like to see them expand on this style in the future. In terms of structure, I found this to be the best of the three.

As you explore, you’ll encounter numerous spirits. Instead of hiding this time, a new mechanic is to close your eyes. Many (though not all) enemies won’t pursue you while your eyes are close. Of course, you only get a rough idea of where you are, but glowing pulses indicate enemies around you.

You walk very slowly with your eyes closed, can be a little tedious, but sometimes adds to the tension.

Some amount of trial and error is required to figure out how to handle different spirits, but checkpoints usually aren’t too far back. Spirits have wonderfully disturbing designs, as always, and there were some tense moments. Meanwhile, the story has a dark, somber tone, and the town is filled with items and notes to collect.

My only complaint is about the pacing near the end of the game. While most of the game is paced pretty well, the last couple of hours feature a lengthy story segment followed by several encounters in a row, which make it feel like the end was being dragged out. I can see why they did it that way, because of how that part of the story was handled, but it did disrupt the flow.

Anyway, Yomawari: Lost in the Dark joins its predecessors as another fun horror game, possibly the best in the series so far, and I hope they continue to make Yomawari games in the future!

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Have We Misinterpreted Bayonetta 3’s Ending?

Bayonetta 3 is out, and I have a full review up over at MonsterVine.

Like many people, I was put off by the game’s ending.

(While there won’t be unmarked spoilers in this post, it might not mean much to you if you haven’t played Bayonetta 3. Instead, maybe you’ll prefer the confirmation that Granblue Fantasy: Relink news will be coming in January or the unveiling of Ace Attorney merchandise at Fangamer.)

Getting back to Bayonetta 3, I felt some aspects were unearned, and one implication at the end left me worried about what was planned for the future of the series.

But lately, Hideki Kamiya from PlatinumGames has made some tweets that sound as though we might have the wrong idea.

Running tweets through Google Translate is never a great way to get information, but let’s do the best we can. First up is a tweet from a few days ago in response to a comment about the ending, in which Kamiya says “everyone seems to have a misunderstanding” but that he can’t say too much because it’s related to the sequel.

Now in another tweet from earlier today, he also says, “it seems that the ending of Bayo 3 wasn’t conveyed correctly to everyone, so I think Bayo 4 will be an unexpected development for everyone.”

These two tweets both suggest that something about the ending is being misinterpreted by a majority of fans.

Click for major Bayonetta 3 spoilersThe main thing I disliked was the implication that Viola would be the main character going forward, so I hope that – and everything related to it – is what he’s referring to.

And yes, he’s also casually referring to Bayonetta 4 like it’s a given, but I wouldn’t take that as official confirmation of anything since he’s already said in the past that he has ideas for future Bayonetta games. Bayonetta 3 definitely felt like it left the door open for a sequel, though.

How did you feel about Bayonetta 3’s ending? What do you think about these suggestions that something about the ending has been misinterpreted?

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