Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 88

Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected is Starting to Sound Extensive

The more I learn about Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected, the more I wonder how long it will be.

Future Connected is the new epilogue created for Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, the upcoming Switch remake of the first Xenoblade game.

Even though it’s an epilogue, set one year after the events of the main game, it will be available from the start.

A new Japanese overview trailer and updates to the official website have shed some light on what Future Connected is all about, and it sounds fairly extensive.

Shulk and Melia set out in search of the Imperial Capital Alcamoth and crash on the Bionis’ Shoulder. As we discussed when this area was first glimpsed in the initial announcement trailer, the Bionis’ Shoulder was a huge area cut from the original game.

It looks like Shulk and Melia will be the only party members from the original cast featured in Future Connected. They’re joined by two Nopon companions, Kino and Nene. The combat system has been redone for this new story, and it looks like it features some sort of Nopon group attack.

So right now we have a new story, unlocked from the start, with a new combat system and party members, set in an area that was originally one of the largest maps in the game. All of this together makes it sound more like a standalone expansion like Torna ~ The Golden Country than a simple epilogue. Does this mean it could be around the same length?

When Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Connected was first announced, I expected it to be a couple of hours long. I’d still be happy with that, but another mini Xenoblade game like Torna would be pretty cool.

What do you think about Future Connected? How long do you expect it to be? And if you already played the original Xenoblade, are you planning to start with Future Connected or play through the main game again first?

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Nier Re[in]carnation Protagonist is Not Kaine

When we looked at the recent Nier Re[in]carnation gameplay footage, we discussed the theory that the protagonist is a young Kaine.

Well, that is not true.

In some Famitsu details translated here, it was confirmed that she is not Kaine.

The ghost-like companion following her is named Mama and will watch over her.

One of the most interesting details revealed, however, is that there will actually be more than one protagonist. Many more, in fact.

In light of that, I take back when I said previously about how typical character-collecting gacha mechanics wouldn’t work for a game like this. Having numerous protagonists definitely opens the doors for that more. Here’s hoping it’s not quite like that.

More translations, this time from Twinfinite, say Nier Re[in]carnation will follow the “service” mobile game model and therefore might end up with more text content than either previous Nier game. However, the story will eventually end.

I’m still curious about Nier Re[in]carnation, although there hasn’t been any news about an English release yet.

Meanwhile, details about the Nier Replicant remaster continue to get muddled as people pass on news. Right now it isn’t clear how much the game is being changed, except that it’s planned to be more than a straight remaster and will have some new content.

Before any of this happens, I need to finish Nier Automata! Maybe by the time Nier Re[in]carnation is out, I’ll be ready for it. What do you think about the new Nier Re[in]carnation details?

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All E3 2020’s Digital Replacements Announced So Far

Last month, we learned that E3 2020 had been cancelled and speculated that more companies would do digital events in its place.

Based on last year, we would expect to see E3 shows from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, EA, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Square Enix, PC Gaming, Limited Run Games, and Devolver Digital.

Sony had already announced it wouldn’t be at E3 2020, so that leaves us with 9 others. Let’s take a look at what we know so far.

An Xbox digital event from Microsoft was almost immediately announced, although we still don’t know when it will be.

Nintendo has yet to announce its usual E3 Nintendo Direct, but since they already held a digital event, a big Nintendo Direct in June seems likely. (I can see them not replacing the Nintendo Treehouse streams, though.)

EA has yet to make an announcement.

Bethesda will not have a digital showcase in June.

Ubisoft hasn’t announced anything definitive, but like Microsoft, made an early statement about exploring digital options.

Square Enix had a similar statement.

The PC Gaming Show has been announced for June 6.

Limited Run Games has kept its digital presentation set for June 8 at 3 PM ET.

Devolver’s insanity will continue as planned.

But that’s not all! IGN has also announced a “Summer of Gaming” event in June that aims to show lots of demos, interviews, presentations, etc., and GamesRadar recently revealed the Future Games Show for June as well.

Overall, it sounds like we’ll still have a lot of “E3” coverage to look at this year. Did I miss any? Which are you looking forward to the most? Let me know in the comments.

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Tales of Crestoria Open Beta, Release Window Announced

We haven’t talked too much about Tales of Crestoria, the next upcoming mobile Tales game.

Tales of Crestoria was first revealed in 2018 as basically a full original Tales game (although one with a turn-based combat system) for mobile devices, with its own original plot, cast of characters, etc.

It also managed to look even edgier than Tales of Berseria, being described as “An RPG Written in Blood and Betrayal” where characters deemed sinners are marked by the “Stain of Guilt” and hunted down by enforcers.

Despite them making a point of how it’s not a crossover like the past mobile Tales games, it… is? They’ve shown protagonists from past Tales games who will make an appearance in Crestoria. I assume the main story will deal solely with the original cast and that’s why they say it isn’t a crossover, but the returning characters make it feel like it’ll have typical character-collecting gacha mechanics.

Anyway, we’ll be able to find out for ourselves what Tales of Crestoria is like next month! A new announcement revealed not only a June 2020 release window, but also an open beta in May.

Crestoria will be the first Tales game to get a simultaneous global release, so the beta test in May is meant to test the network load of the English version.

I’m interested enough that I’ll probably give the beta test a try if I’m able to. I’m not a big mobile gamer, but I’m still disappointed over the loss of Tales of the Rays. Of course, what I really want to hear more about is Tales of Arise… Is that still coming out this year?

What do you think about Tales of Crestoria? Will you be trying the open beta in May?

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There’s a New Crash Bandicoot… Mobile Game

A new Crash Bandicoot game was released today… for mobile devices.

Apparently this has been anticipated since February, when fans found Facebook ads for a Crash Bandicoot endless runner developed by King.

It doesn’t seem like there was ever an official announcement, and now it just showed up on the Google Play store.

Called simply “Crash Bandicoot Mobile,” it features Crash and Coco fighting against Cortex’s latest plan: taking over the multiverse.

Endless running isn’t a terrible match for Crash Bandicoot, and the regular levels look fine in the gameplay videos that have been uploaded. However, there’s also a base-building/crafting element, and that’s where it starts to look more like a typical mobile game. You need to craft weapons using resources, and of course crafting takes time…

That seems to be where microtransactions will come into play, and even though I expected it, it was still a little disappointing after the initial gameplay.

This isn’t quite what I had in mind when I was hoping for a brand new entry in the series, but since it has been a long time since even the last mobile game, maybe it’s a good sign?

I’m still hoping we see a true new entry in the Crash Bandicoot series before long, but how do you feel about Crash Bandicoot Mobile?

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First Nier Re[in]carnation Footage

Along with the announcement of the Nier Replicant remaster, we also discussed Nier Re[in]carnation, the upcoming mobile game in the Nier series.

At the time, all we had was a short teaser showing some game environments, with a reference to a place called “the Cage” that is presumably the game’s setting, and a few quotes from producer Yosuke Saito and direction Yoko Taro about their goals for the game.

Of course, the use of “reincarnation” in the title has let to theories about what the story might involve.

We still know very little about Nier Re[in]carnation, although a new Famitsu article confirms that it will have gacha. Here’s hoping the gacha elements aren’t too intrusive.

(I can’t see the typical character-collection sort of gacha game working for this game, anyway.)

This new detail accompanied the first actual gameplay footage, which shows the player using a virtual joystick on the touchscreen to control a girl running through a castle-like area while accompanied by a floating creature.

The girl, who was also shown in the art when the game was announced, is most likely the protagonist. Although no details about her have been confirmed yet, some fans believe she’s a young Kaine. It’s hard to get a good look at her face, but I can see how she would fit with the themes mentioned in the initial reveal trailer (memories, longing, solitude, and salvation).

Of course, people have already jumped to the conclusion that since this is the first gameplay video shown, it must be the only gameplay and therefore it will be a walking simulator. Personally, I find it hard to believe that there will be no gameplay beyond what’s shown in the video (although I do wonder how those people think gacha would come into play). They probably just wanted to showcase the general tone and feel of the game.

It looks pretty good for a mobile game to me, and the music is great.

There has been no word so far about localization. What do you think of Nier Re[in]carnation?

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Fig Crowdfunding Platform Has Been Acquired By Republic

In case you don’t remember, Fig is the crowdfunding platform founded by people from Double Fine that mainly matters to me because Psychonauts 2 was funded through it.

Despite my initial concerns about it, Psychonauts 2 is one of my most-anticipated games of 2020, so I’m looking forward to it quite a bit.

The big thing intended to set Fig apart from other crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter is that in addition to normal crowdfunding, you can also choose to become an investor in a game, and it only hosts a couple campaigns at a time. Some other games funded through Fig have already been successful, which also made me feel better about Psychonauts 2.

Anyway, today Fig announced that they’ve been acquired by a company called Republic. This announcement was accompanied by the launching of a new campaign for the Intellivision Amico console (which apparently was revealed quite a while ago).

Republic appears to be a company focused on helping people invest in startups, so the match with Fig makes sense. People seem hopeful that Republic’s greater reach should help campaigns on Fig get more investors and backers.

Kickstarter is still the first company I think of when it comes to crowdfunding, but Fig is starting to make a name for itself as it’s now released some fairly successful games, such as Pillars of Eternity II. Personally, I’m still looking forward to more news about Psychonauts 2.

With games being delayed due to COVID-19, I’ve wondered if Psychonauts 2 might be bumped from 2020 after all, but there’s been no delay announced yet. Double Fine is doing their best to handle the situation.

Anyway, what do you think about Fig and its acquisition by Republic?

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Eternal Radiance is Now Out in Early Access!

As of yesterday, Eternal Radiance is available now on Steam in Early Access.

The Early Access build has the core gameplay completed, while the first three chapters of the story are available. We’ll continue to add new story and quest content to the build chapter-by-chapter, until the game is complete.

However, one of the main reasons for the Early Access launch is that we’re gathering feedback to further improve the game!

Since its launch yesterday, we’ve already made improvements to the combat and tutorials, and we’re looking into additional adjustments to make.

We want Eternal Radiance to be as polished and fun to play as possible once we’re done with it. If you’ve picked up the Early Access build, let us know your thoughts!

And of course, if you have any questions (especially about the story, characters, quests, etc., since I’m the writer), feel free to ask me. This is one of the biggest game projects I’ve worked on so far, and I’m really excited about how it’s turning out.

What do you think of Eternal Radiance?

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The Next Resident Evil Remake… Might Be Resident Evil 4?

With Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remade, everyone wondered if Code Veronica would be the next to receive the remake treatment… but rumors claim it will be Resident Evil 4 instead.

Despite the numbering, Resident Evil 4 did not follow directly after 3. Code Veronica and Resident Evil Zero (and the original game’s remake) came in between.

If these rumors are true, Capcom has decided to skip over those in order to remake Resident Evil 4 next. A lot of fans question this decision since Resident Evil 4 is still ported to just about everything, but it does make sense that a game so popular and highly-praised would look to make a profitable remake.

Now, these are still only rumors, brought to us by VGC. There are also numerous rumors about Resident Evil 8.

Meanwhile, RE3make has seen a less warm reception than its predecessor due to a shorter length, cut areas, and fewer puzzles than the original. That last one is the biggest blow for me. When I played the demo, I was encouraged by what appeared to be a solid survival horror structure, but apparently this doesn’t hold up.

I might still play RE3make eventually, but I’m less enthused than I was.

So with the changes made to Resident Evil 3, the biggest concern I’ve seen for a potential RE4make is that people generally consider it to be such a great game, they’re concerned the remake won’t be as good. My lack of interest comes from the opposite side, though; I have little love for Resident Evil 4, so I have no interest in a remake.

Resident Evil 4 is when the series moved away from survival horror and became more action-focused. After the success of RE2make, I did see people speculate that Capcom might remake Resident Evil 4 as more of a survival horror game, but I doubt that.

A remake of Code Veronica or Zero I’d be down for, if they kept the survival horror structure intact, but if they’re remaking 4… well, that’s one I’ll most likely skip.

What do you think about the rumors that Capcom is remaking Resident Evil 4?

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New Eternal Radiance Trailer; Early Access Starts April 14

We’re getting ready for the Early Access launch of Eternal Radiance, the action RPG I’m working on, and yesterday we officially announced that it will be available in Steam Early Access on April 14.

Eternal Radiance is a character-driven RPG about a squire named Celeste who sets out on a journey to reclaim a stolen artifact and joins forces with a mercenary named Valana and a mage named Ruby, who are both pursuing the same thief for their own reasons.

I’m the writer for Eternal Radiance, so feel free to ask me any questions you have about the story or characters (or any other questions you might have; if I don’t know the answer, I can probably find out).

The Early Access version will have three chapters available at launch, with approximately 8-12 hours of gameplay.

These opening chapters are the start of the game, and we’ll continue adding chapters as we move toward the final version.

I know, it’s ironic since I typically don’t play Early Access games myself. However, it was the path we decided was best to help us fulfill our vision for the final game.

The full game will be released for the Switch and PS4 in addition to the PC.

A new trailer is available now.

It’s exciting to see the project reach this point after how long I’ve been working on it now, and I’m even more excited when I think about its eventual full release.

As the writer, I’m responsible for the story and characters of Eternal Radiance. If you play the Early Access launch, please let me know your thoughts and what aspects of the writing you like the best!

What do you think of Eternal Radiance so far? Let me know in the comments.

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