Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 92

Let’s Discuss the Silent Hill Reboot Rumors

Last week, rumors began circulating about a potential soft reboot for the Silent Hill series, with two new games supposedly in development.

Eurogamer reported about how a leaker on Twitter known as AestheticGamer had tweeted about these projects.

According to the tweets, Konami reached out to developers a couple years ago with pitches for two Silent Hill games. One would be a soft reboot for the series, while the other would be an episodic spin-off in the style of Until Dawn or Telltale’s games.

This revelation caused a flurry of speculation, especially since Silent Hill art director Masahiro Ito is working on a new game. People already wondered if he might be involved with Kojima’s in-development horror game, and so now of course some fans are theorizing that Konami and Kojima might be working together again on the next Silent Hill game.

Since then, AestheticGame has clarified that this information comes from Konami approaching the developers a couple years ago, so it’s only speculation that the games are actually in development. However, Rely on Horror has also reported an independent source saying Konami has a Silent Hill game in development.

Konami responded to Eurogamer to say they are “considering ways to provide the next title.”

I don’t know how to feel about these rumors. As much as I love Silent Hill, I’d pretty much given it up for dead… and even if they do have new Silent Hill games in development, I don’t have much faith.

Let’s talk about the rumored main entry, the soft reboot for the series. What does a soft reboot of the Silent Hill series even look like? Several of the games already stand on their own well enough, and Downpour was so far removed from everything else in the series it could almost be a soft reboot itself. Then again, some people felt Silent Hills would be different enough from the previous games to be a soft reboot, as well.

Aside from my confusion over the nature of the reboot, though, I just don’t have confidence that they will make another game that feels like Silent Hill. I’m worried it will try to mimic the past games without understanding them, or try too hard to explain how the town works (a criticism I had of Downpour).

As for the spin-off, I don’t know. I’m sure it would be fine as a spin-off, but planning a spin-off at the same time as the next mainline game just makes me wonder what they have in mind for the series.

Of course, a lot of this depends on which developers they got to work on the games, too. Who knows? Maybe they’ll surprise me. For now, however, I’m not holding my breath about Silent Hill making a proper return.

What do you think? Are the rumors of two new in-development Silent Hill games true, and do you think they’ll do the series justice? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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 Let’s Discuss the Silent Hill Reboot Rumors appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Ascendant Hearts is Coming to the Switch on January 30

The isekai visual novel Ascendant Hearts, which I wrote the script for, is coming to the Nintendo Switch!

It will be available from the Nintendo eShop for $9.99 on January 30.

Ascendant Hearts is a romantic comedy visual novel about a young man who wakes up in a fantasy world where the rules of RPGs govern real life. It parodies a lot of JRPG and MMORPG tropes, and it’s also a galge/bishojo game with three possible romance options.

I’m excited that a project I played a major role in is going to be available on Switch. I had a lot of fun working on Ascendant Hearts, so I hope you’ll take a look if you like romance visual novels.

(Speaking of such things, people responded positively to my social media polls about holding a romance game event in February, so you can look forward to those reviews coming up next month!)

Here is the new trailer for the Switch release of Ascendant Hearts.

(I almost posted another Kingdom Hearts article today instead, since the KHUX team’s announcement turned out to be “Project Xehanort,” an upcoming prequel about Young Xehanort… for mobile devices. I’ve wanted that game forever, so I would be much more excited if it wasn’t a mobile game.

I decided to save that post for once we have more information.)

Anyway, what do you think of Ascendant Hearts and its upcoming Switch release? Let me know in the comments!

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 Ascendant Hearts is Coming to the Switch on January 30 appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Re:Mind is Almost Here; New Kingdom Hearts Coming “Surprisingly Soon”

Kingdom Hearts III’s Re:Mind DLC is almost here. It will officially be available tonight at midnight.

Ahead of the DLC launch, the 1.09 update is also available.

This update includes adjustments to cutscenes in the main game, mainly along the lines of improving lighting and animations, changing some camera angles, more focus on characters like Riku during the ending, etc. So don’t worry about missing any story content if you’ve already played (although the updated cutscenes can be watched in theater mode).

It also adds Oathkeeper & Oblivion (unlockable if you’ve found all of the Lucky Emblems and finished the game on Critical Mode, respectively), new forms, and new abilities.

But for me, the most exciting Kingdom Hearts III news of the day is the “13 Questions of Darkness” Q&A posted on Twitter and translated by Goldpanner.

After going through some general information about the free updates and Re:Mind, including the decision to put the Final Fantasy characters in Re:Mind’s story and the debate about whether or not a certain member of the New Organization XIII should be included among the limit cut bosses, it moves on to the amount of content in Re:Mind.

According to this interview, while a new world was initially considered for Re:Mind before they decided it would feel strange to add it in, the total content included in Re:Mind is equivalent to “more than one world’s worth of content.”

Then it gets into the most interesting parts of all. Re:Mind’s title screen “serves as a piece of foundation” for the next Kingdom Hearts game, which they’re already working on. There are also two more teams working on Kingdom Hearts in addition to the KH3 and KHUX teams, and one of them has a title “coming surprisingly soon.”

A surprising KHUX announcement is also set for tomorrow.

This has spurred all sorts of speculation about the new title coming out. It’s not a mainline title, but that still leaves open a lot of possibilities. Some people think it’s just a port to another system, while others think it might linked to the KHUX team’s announcement and be a full console version of KHUX.

Personally, that’s what I’m hoping for, since the KHUX story is too good (and important) to be confined to a mobile game forever. Whatever it is, I’m excited for both Re:Mind and all the upcoming Kingdom Hearts announcements!

Update: They’ve also tweeted this new artwork, which suggests the KHUX news might be linked in some way to Young Xehanort.

What do you think the KHUX team is going to announce? What do you expect from the non-mainline title from one of the new teams? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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 Re:Mind is Almost Here; New Kingdom Hearts Coming “Surprisingly Soon” appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation is a Funny, Heartwarming Side Story

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle is a side story set after the events of Chuusotsu! 1st Graduation: Time After Time, a visual novel I read/played and reviewed in 2018.

As a Kickstarter backer, I received a copy of 1.5th Graduation ahead of its public release, and I finished it this weekend.

It’s about 2 hours long and follows Arue as she prepares to take her manga to a doujin event for the first time. An encounter with an arrogant manga artist leads to him betting that Arue, due to her lack of a seal, won’t be able to sell even a single copy.

This not only brings him and Arue into conflict with each other, but also sets her dreams and passion against a belief that profit is all that matters. A new character named Monami is also introduced, and Arue gets to know her across the course of the plot.

I really enjoyed it, and I definitely recommend it if you liked the first Chuusotsu. However, if you haven’t gone through the original, I wouldn’t recommend starting here. Not only is it a short side story, but it doesn’t really explain its world like the original does.

But if you have, it’s great!

There are a lot of funny moments, but many heartwarming parts as well. Just like the original, it takes a premise that could just be a silly story and turns it into something meaningful.

It especially resonated with me since I’m a writer. While I write prose and video game scripts, not manga, I really connected with Arue’s love of creating stories and her general feelings at the doujin event. Talking to someone about your inspirations, the anxiety of sharing your work with people for the first time, the fear of no one wanting to read it… this is all conveyed in a way I connected with quite well.

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle does a wonderful job of capturing the sense of being a new writer/artist, and it’s a funny, heartwarming side story in the Chuusotsu universe. It ended with a hint that there might be another “graduation,” so I hope we see a full Chuusotsu sequel in the future.

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 Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation is a Funny, Heartwarming Side Story appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses “Cindered Shadows” DLC Revealed

Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which got an honorable mention on my Top 5 Games I Played in 2019 list since I’ve only beaten one route so far, also has a DLC Expansion Pass available for $24.99.

The first three waves of DLC have added new costumes, more activities, and similar things, but the fourth was announced as story DLC. Yesterday, it was finally revealed to be a side story called “Cindered Shadows” with a February 13 release date.

Cindered Shadows deals with a “secret fourth house” known as the Ashen Wolves, students who are apparently living under the monastery. This led to a lot of speculation about whether this would be a full route or if the Ashen Wolves would simply be recruited into your house after you played their story.

Nintendo Japan has now cleared up some of these questions. As translated by Serenes Forest, you will not encounter the Cindered Shadows storyline as part of a normal playthrough. It is a separate option from the main menu, with its own save files.

However, due to data mining, it is believed that completing the side story will allow you to recruit the new characters in the main game, as well.

Cindered Shadows will also deviate from the normal teaching/activities/battle gameplay cycle, although they didn’t specify how, and the battles will be more difficult than those in the main game. You will also be given a set team, without the ability to recruit other characters.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Cindered Shadows and how it will fit into the plot, but at least some things are clearer now. I haven’t actually bought the Expansion Pass, but if this side story is good enough, maybe it will sway me.

In the meantime, I’ll get back to slowly working through my second playthrough. What do you think of the Cindered Shadows DLC and what we’ve learned 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 Fire Emblem: Three Houses “Cindered Shadows” DLC Revealed appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation Comes Out on Friday

During the visual novel Chuusotsu’s Kickstarter campaign, it had a stretch goal for a side story called Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle.

Although the campaign itself didn’t reach that goal, upgrades and add-ons through BackerKit brought Chuusotsu’s funding high enough for the side story to be made.

Now, Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle has a Steam page and will be released this Friday, January 17.

Backers got it a few days early, so I hope to play it soon and have a review ready. As a side story, it’s supposed to be a couple hours long and focus on a lighthearted adventure at a doujin event set after the main visual novel.

I really enjoyed Chuusotsu, even more than I expected to, so I can’t wait to play The Moving Castle.

And of course, I’m still hoping we’ll see a full sequel someday, too.

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 Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation Comes Out on Friday appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Skies of Arcadia Programmer Hopes Overseas Interest Will Lead to a Sequel

Is there hope for a Skies of Arcadia sequel?

Kenji Hiruta, who worked as a programmer on Skies of Arcadia, recently tweeted about the new Skies of Arcadia illustration that was revealed. He followed that by tweeting about a chance for overseas fans to win an autograph from Itsuki Hoshi, the Skies of Arcadia illustrator.

In his final tweet about the autograph, Hiruta added, “I believe that if this kind of movement expands a lot, SEGA may consider to develop the sequel.”

Sounds like it’s time to tell Sega we want another Skies of Arcadia game.

This is no guarantee Sega will actually make a Skies of Arcadia sequel, or that it has enough interested fans to get their attention in the first place. However, if it really did get a lot of attention, maybe it’s possible. I’d love to see a Skies of Arcadia 2 happen, especially since it felt to me like the universe left plenty of room for a sequel.

Last April, a Kotaku interview with Skies of Arcadia’s producer Rieko Kodama suggested a remaster or sequel were both unlikely due to the GameCube version being the “director’s cut” of the game (although I’m not sure how that rules out a sequel), but we can still hope, right?

Do you think fan interest will lead to a Skies of Arcadia sequel?

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 Skies of Arcadia Programmer Hopes Overseas Interest Will Lead to a Sequel appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

Aviary Attorney: Restrictions and Revolutions

Not only did I end 2019 with A Hat in Time, but I started 2020 by finally playing another game I backed on Kickstarter, Aviary Attorney.

Aviary Attorney first caught my attention because it looked like Ace Attorney, except with animals as the main characters. Oh, and being set around the era of the French Revolution.

The game’s cast and art style came from the art of J.J. Grandville in the book Public and Private Life of Animals. As a result, the entire game has been made with this art style, and while it’s unusual, I got used to it pretty quickly.

Now, Aviary Attorney had a troubled development. While the game did come out, the planned bonus chapter and other Kickstarter rewards never did. The developers offered backers a refund and then left Aviary Attorney.

It’s getting new life soon on the Nintendo Switch because another developer stepped in to make a Switch version, but the main reason I’m bringing up Aviary Attorney’s history is because of its bugs. Aviary Attorney has two major bugs which are easy enough to work around once you know about them, but are an unpleasant surprise if you aren’t.

First, the “save and quit” feature doesn’t work. The game auto-saves at the start of each new day, but the tutorial says you can also use “save and quit” to save your progress at any point. You can’t. The daily auto-save is the only way. “Save and quit” just quits.

Second, the game saves at the end of each case. However, if you start the next case, but then quit the game before reaching the first auto-save, trying to continue from the start of the case will result in a broken opening you can’t get past. You’ll need to replay the previous case’s final day in order to continue.

Like I said, these are simple to avoid, but only once you know about them.

Let’s move on now to talk about the game itself. Aviary Attorney might look like an animal-starring Ace Attorney, and it definitely has some nods and shout-outs to the series (as well as a prosecutor whom I thought of as Bird Edgeworth for most of the game, because that’s pretty much what he is), but it also takes some steps to distinguish itself from Ace Attorney’s formula.

Séverin Cocorico, aka Bird Edgeworth

The main way it does this is by putting restrictions on how much you can do during investigations. In each case, you only have a certain number of days before the trial, and you can perform one action each day.

Don’t panic, though. While it’s a little frustrating to not be able to see every line of dialogue in a single playthrough, there are often multiple ways to find the evidence you need, so it’s not as stressful as you might expect. Failing a trial doesn’t give you a game over, either, but lets you continue.

Since Aviary Attorney has multiple endings, I expected your choices and trial outcomes to play a major role in how the game branches. Instead, they influence dialogue and available options, while the main story follows a fairly linear path until one specific part where it branches into its three endings.

You can start over from any day you’ve previously completed, so getting all three endings is pretty simple (especially since the game is short, only taking me about 5 and a half hours to get my third ending).

Overall, the game is enjoyable. There’s a lot of funny dialogue, and the characters are good, especially the main protagonist Jayjay Falcon and his assistant Sparrowson. Their banter included a lot of entertaining moments that made me laugh, and I really got to like them.

The overarching plot is generally interesting, too. Aviary Attorney is set around the French Revolution, and each case builds toward a growing conspiracy.

Click for Aviary Attorney spoilersI do think it would have been more compelling if they spent a little more time building up the Veridian Killer in the earlier cases, since it felt like I was suddenly being pulled into another character’s plot at the end of the game.

I also wanted a little more from Falcon’s past. He does act like he’s hiding some dark secret, so when he finally reveals he just didn’t want to be compared to his grandfather, it felt like a bit of a cop-out to me. If nothing else, they should have spent a little more in-game time talking about who Robespierre was to make Falcon’s behavior more understandable.

I enjoyed Aviary Attorney. Being limited in how much I can investigate isn’t my favorite mechanic, but I’d happily play the bonus chapter or a potential sequel if they’re ever made… preferably without bugs, this 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 Aviary Attorney: Restrictions and Revolutions appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

2020 Writing Goals

It’s a new year, and that means it’s time for a new list of writing goals!

By 2021, I will:

Send out regular batches of queries for the novels I have in the querying stage.
Complete my current pulp fiction story and write at least one more pulp fiction story.
Revise On An Island of Oaks and send it to a beta reader.
Edit The Sunken Sapphire.
Write at least 3 more short stories.
Update my two side websites on at least a monthly basis.
Participate in an additional book signing/event.

Of these, the third goal is the one I really hope to make progress on. On An Island of Oaks was my NaNoWriMo novel this past November, and I have high hopes for it once it’s revised. However, it needs major structural changes, so it might be quite a project.

I’ll also write a new novel draft during NaNoWriMo, but since I do that almost every year, I didn’t think it should be included on my list of goals.

Do you have any writing goals for 2020? What are they? Let me know in the comments!

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 2020 Writing Goals appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.

A Hat in Time: Cute, Funny, and Fun to Play

After all the time I spent blogging about A Hat in Time, it’s amazing it took me over two years and being assigned it in a holiday game recommendation exchange before I finally played it.

I backed A Hat in Time on Kickstarter back when I was desperate for a new 3D platformer that would feel like Banjo-Kazooie, and it looked like exactly what I wanted.

Now that I’ve finally played it, I’m happy to say A Hat in Time a fantastic game.

Several things changed from the early builds. Some of these disappointed me a little, like how it felt less focused finding secrets and more on working toward a specific goal in each act, and I’ll always be a little sad that we didn’t get to see the dual timeline story they originally planned.

On the other hand, it has a great sense of humor and lots of funny dialogue, it’s very cute, and the gameplay is a lot of fun. It has fantastic music, too.

You play as Hat Kid, a girl whose spaceship is stranded when the time pieces that power it are scattered. Now you need to get them back so you can restore your ship (which acts as your hub area) and go home.

A Hat in Time is split into separate worlds, referred to as chapters, most of which are split into acts (specific time pieces to collect). This feels a little odd, since you don’t have to go in order – and in some cases, you can’t go in order.

Despite what I said earlier about exploration, you’ll still want to search every inch of these worlds to collect various things, especially the yarn Hat Kid uses to make new hats. Hats have different abilities, and you’ll need these to progress and/or find new things.

(In another oddity, the game tells you the yarn is for a specific hat, but it isn’t really. Finding yarn for a hat you already have just goes into your total yarn count to be used for the next hat.)

Some areas are fairly linear, with a set goal you need to accomplish. Others offer you more freedom. Strangely, the first world presented as a “free roam” level feels more linear than those with distinct acts, since you choose which area to tackle first but then each of these areas is essentially a large platforming puzzle. On the other hand, at least one of the worlds separated into specific acts gives you enough freedom to do different acts’ objectives instead, making it feel more open.

But regardless of whether they’re linear or nonlinear, the worlds in A Hat in Time are almost all excellent in their own way, with Subcon Forest and Nyakuza Metro being my favorites.

(My least favorite is Arctic Cruise, which I didn’t find fun at all and didn’t actually finish.)

Across its different worlds, A Hat in Time shows inspiration from Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario Sunshine, and even a few hints of Psychonauts (I loved the crows so much), while still feeling like it has its own identity. I greatly enjoyed playing it. Its story felt a little weak and needed Mustache Girl to have a bigger presence before the finale, but I don’t play most 3D platformers for their stories anyway.

So if you love this style of 3D platformer collect-a-thon and you’ve been curious about A Hat in Time, I definitely recommend it. It’s available now for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, although only the Switch has a physical version. It took me a long time to get around to it, but I’m happy I finally did.

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: Cute, Funny, and Fun to Play appeared first on Samantha Lienhard.