The wait for Oddworld: Soulstorm’s ends April 6th (digital version).
The original sequel to Abe’s Oddysee (later remade as New ‘n’ Tasty) was Abe’s Exoddus, but that was released in 1998 and it only took 9-months to make it.
It was not the game Lorne and Sherry McKenna had envisioned to be the true sequel. New ‘n” Tasty released in 2014. And now, the second game in Abe’s five-part quintology, Oddworld: Soulstorm will release April 6 on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, and Epic Games Store.
As we wait a few more days, here are a few new details about Soulstorm.
FREE PATH-PS4 to PS5 The digital version of the game releases April 6th on PS5 and PS4. The PS5 digital version will be free forPS5 PS+ members during the month of April. If you purchase the PS4 version, we are offering a free path to the PS5 version. Because the game is free for PS5 PS+ owners in April, we will not be offering a free backward path from PS5 to PS4. The physical retail versions of the game will be in stores on July 6th. If you purchase the physical retailPS4 version, you will get the PS5 digital version at no cost.
PC SPECS Minimum requirements are as follows: Windows 7 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 1.7Ghz, nVidia GTX 670 or equivalent, 8GB RAM.
Recommended requirements are Windows 10 64 Bit, Intel Quad Core 2.3Ghz, nVidia GTX 970 or equivalent, 16GB RAM.
PLAYSTATION 5 GAME HELP On the PS5, Soulstorm players can get hints, tips, and walkthrough videos, without needing to leave the game. These hints can be accessed for the specific area of the game they are playing (using the PS5’s Activity Cards), so they don’t have to spend time searching the internet or risk seeing spoilers. *Active PS Plus membership required.
Modiphius Entertainment, the London-based tabletop game publisher of Fallout®: Wasteland Warfare and The Elder Scrolls®: Call to Arms miniatures games, today revealed key details about their pen and paper role-playing adaptation of the immensely popular Fallout series.
In Fallout 2D20, players will create their own survivors, super mutants, ghouls, and even Mister Handy robots, and immerse themselves in the iconic post-nuclear apocalyptic world while gamemasters guide their group through unique Fallout stories in a format made popular by games like Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, and Pathfinder. For tabletop RPG fans, this 2D20 edition of Fallout is as close to the bottlecap-bartering, wasteland wandering, super mutant battling excitement of Fallout you can get.
Available now for pre-order, the 400-page hardbound rulebook features a gorgeous cover design evoking the iconic Vault-Tec jumpsuit. Inside, players will find rules and lore for roleplaying in the Fallout world, as well as concept art from the Fallout videogames. Utilizing Modiphius’ celebrated 2D20 cinematic role-playing system, the Fallout RPG will take players on an exciting journey into the post-apocalypse! Also available is a bevy of post-apocalyptic-themed accessories including a custom dice set, a gamemaster’s toolkit, and even more supplements to come!
Thanks to the easy learning curve of Modiphius’ 2D20 system, newcomers to tabletop roleplaying will be able to learn as they play with a starter set designed just for them. The starter set includes pre-made characters, quick-start rules, a set of custom dice, and an original questline designed by Modiphius Entertainment — all presented in a handy softback booklet.
Eager vault dwellers can place their orders now, at Modiphius.net and participating retailers.
Curve Digital and Skyhook Games are pleased to announce Lawn Mowing Simulator, a stunning mowing simulator and detailed business management game set in the British countryside, coming to Xbox Series S|X and PC summer 2021.
Lawn Mowing Simulator explores the Great British countryside and invites players to ride an authentic and expansive roster of licensed lawn mowers from prestigious manufacturers; Toro, SCAG and STIGA as they manage their mowing business.
Before Lawn Mowing Simulator releases later this year, Skyhook Games and Curve Digital are giving players access to the game for a limited time period via the Xbox Insider program. Pre-registration starts now, with the flight taking place from April 2nd until April 16th.
“We’re incredibly excited to show the world our first in-house developed game,” said David Harper, co-founder of Skyhook Games. “We can’t wait for players to experience the satisfaction of manicuring a lawn to perfection within Lawn Mower Simulator’s idyllic setting.”
“It feels great to be able to reveal Lawn Mowing Simulator alongside Skyhook Games. The team have done an amazing job recreating the experience of lawn mowing across the gorgeous British countryside“ added Simon Byron, Publishing Director at Curve Digital. “We’re excited for players to get hands-on with Lawn Mowing Simulator as early as next week through the Xbox Insider Program and to hear everyone’s thoughts.” Lawn Mowing Simulator will feature:
PHYSICALLY AUTHENTIC LAWN MOWING EXPERIENCE Execute ground checks, set your blade height, and measure your engine load as you complete a variety of contracts across Career Mode, Free Mode or Challenge Mode. Take your mowing to further heights with several attachments from stripe rollers, mulching kits, grass collectors, recyclers, flail decks and more.
BEAUTIFUL RURAL BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE Lawn Mowing Simulator is set in a beautiful British countryside town. Busy residential streets, vast castle grounds, quaint cottage greens, and large equestrian fields are just some of the locations that await your mowing blades.
REAL WORLD LICENSED MOWER MANUFACTURERS Toro, SCAG and STIGA front line Lawn Mowing Simulator with their real-world machines painstakingly re-created visually and physically. 12 Mowers are available in the base game, each with their own challenges, attachments and upgrades to pursue.
ACCURATE AND ATTENTIVE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Build your own lawncare business from the ground up. Purchase and upgrade your headquarters, hire employees, purchase advertising and balance the books as you grow and expand your business.
Lawn Mowing Simulator is headed to PC and Xbox Series S | X in 2021. To be kept up to date with any news follow Lawn Mowing Simulator on Steam.
Today marks the launch of the first Annual Games Careers Week: a diverse programme of events dedicated to getting more people to explore careers and education in one of the UK’s highest growth and most exciting creative industries.
Running March 26th- 2nd April 2021, over 75 event partners – including video games studios, nonprofit organisations, and educational institutions – will come together for this free online festival to provide exhibitions, interactive workshops and panel discussions, with the aim to encourage students, parents, career advisers, and teachers, to explore the potential of and many pathways into video games careers.
The week will provide a comprehensive guide for anyone interested in a career in video games. Participants of all ages and backgrounds can benefit from the experience and advice of some of the UK’s top industry leaders – from how games are made, useful subjects and skills to study, to portfolio building, networking and how to break into the industry, and more.
Key themes and insight into games careers from social, political, cultural, and economic perspectives will include:
Highlighting the need for greater access to education and advice on games careers to people from all backgrounds
Tackling industry stereotypes and misconceptions
Improving diversity and inclusion in video games by showcasing the diverse talents, viewpoints, and experiences behind critically acclaimed bodies of work
Unconscious bias in parental perceptions of careers for their children
As part of the event’s focus on diversity in video games, the event organisers have recruited a very diverse range of spokespeople from the sector. They also called for an industry-wide sourcing of diverse images of studios, makers, and the people behind the games, to create a royalty-free image bank for games careers. The aim is for would-be game designers, programmers, artists, producers and anyone from diverse backgrounds to be able to see people like themselves already in the industry, showing that it’s a career option available to all, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, neurodiversity, or having a disability.
Games Careers week is a non-profit event funded and organised byThe BGI, Grads in Games, and Into Games. It has amassed the support of over 75 partners, all recognising the necessity for educating the public about an industry with a global sales value of over £100 billion in 2020 (Nielsen) – and the fact that many of the world’s top games development studios are UK based.
Rick Gibson, one of the founders of Games Careers Week, commented “We want to help diverse young people, their parents, and their educators to learn more about why creative technology are so important for their futures. The games industry should be a poster-child for the UK’s export-driven knowledge economy. Most parents don’t know the UK supports over 25,000 stable, exciting and well paid jobs, which number grew by over 12% in 2020 right through the pandemic. We recognise there are education and knowledge gaps about games careers, especially amongst women and underrepresented communities, and we think the best way to build a more diverse workforce is to provide the tools, advice, and information to encourage a range of diverse new talent to explore their digital skills and career potential.”
Games Career Week has also received support from UK Minister for Employment Mims Davies: “Gaming can traditionally be a rather challenging sector to break into, so it’s great to see the industry giving such exciting opportunities to young people this Games Careers Week.
“Many companies in the gaming world have already signed up to the DWP Kickstart Scheme to help our next generation of workers into brilliant new roles as part of our Plan for Jobs, and I encourage other employers to get involved across the sector as we push to build back better from the pandemic.”
A full schedule of the Festival’s events, news, as well as a permanent information resource on games careers can be found at https://gamescareersweek.org/
Whatboy Games today announced it will launch its debut title TRIALS OF FIRE on 9 April.
Trials of Fire is a single-player, turn-based strategy game set in a post-cataclysmic fantasy realm.
Embarking on their chosen quest into the desolate wastelands of Ashe, players guide a party of three Heroes in search of hope. The hope to save a forsaken people, the hope to survive in the brutal and barren wastelands, the hope that their party will live to fight again and write a new chapter in their enduring story.
Directed by the Lead Gameplay Programmer of Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Asylum, Trials of Fire plunges players into a vast and varied game world featuring a unique tactical, card-driven combat system, and branching narrative encounters with no easy choices.
Key Features
A new kind of deck-driven combat. Tactical, turn-based battles on hex-based maps combine party tactics, positional play and deck-building skill. Optimise each Hero’s capabilities by taking advantage of powerful card synergies and by combining Heroes’ individual skills and powers.
Game-changing loot and limitless combinations. Players are able to build out their party with any combination of nine unique character classes. Equip their Heroes with over 200 unique items and over 320 upgradeable Skill Cards. Every run will be different.
A vast and varied wasteland. Players traverse an immense overworld filled with combat and narrative encounters, choosing their own path and defining their own adventure as they search and fight for resources critical to their survival.
Play your way. Six different game modes and customisable quests allow gamers to tailor their play session how they want. Blast through a quick-fire combat run, endure an endless survival mode or take on unique, daily challenges.
Following seven years at Rocksteady heading up Marketing and PR for the Batman: Arkham series, co-Founder and Studio Director, Dax Ginn says: “Throughout the almost two years of full-time development in Early Access on Steam we have been able to deliver on the complete content plan for Trials of Fire and also build a community around the game of insanely dedicated players and collaborators. Trials of Fire would not be the game that it is today without the incredible support we’ve received from gamers around the world. We’ll be forever grateful for their feedback and help in shaping and improving the game to where it is now at full launch.”
Trials of Fire launches for PC on 9 April. Also launching on 9 April is the digital collector’s edition of Trials of Fire featuring bonus content including a digital map of Ashe, the complete original soundtrack by SCNTFC, and 100-page digital artbook. Both editions are available from the Steam online store.
Capcom’s genre-defining survival horror franchise reaches a monumental milestone yesterday with the 25th anniversary of Resident Evil.
Over the years, the popular series has shipped more than 107 million units, introduced some of video games’ most iconic characters and gameplay systems, and transcended beyond games to become a cornerstone of entertainment.
The next hotly anticipated entry in the game series is coming soon with Resident Evil Village releasing worldwide May 7, 2021 on PlayStation® 5, PlayStation® 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam and newly confirmed Stadia. Ahead of the launch, Capcom confirmed a new Resident Evil Showcase digital event will be coming in April and announced details for an open beta test for the upcoming multiplayer experience Resident Evil Re:Verse.
New game details will be revealed in a new Resident Evil Showcase digital event in April, giving fans a look at what’s in store for them when Resident Evil Village launches on May 7. The Resident Evil Showcase in January revealed information on significant new gameplay features and characters for Resident Evil Village as well as other brand updates, and the April event will follow suit with new game content and 25th anniversary news to share.
Follow the official @RE_Games channel on Twitter for more info soon including the exact time of the digital event and how you can tune in.
An all-star roster of fan favorite heroes and bioweapons come together to celebrate 25 years of Resident Evil in the upcoming multiplayer experience ResidentEvil Re:Verse. In Resident Evil Re:Verse, players start as human characters, hunting each other and collecting virus vials scattered across the map. When they are taken out, they resurrect as bioweapons to enact revenge. The more vials they collect, the stronger their bioweapon transformation will be – it will be up to each player to strategize between vial collection and a full-on offensive strategy. This thank you to fans will be available for free for those who purchase Resident Evil Village.
Today Capcom announced PlayStation® 4, Xbox One and Steam players can participate in an open beta test for Resident Evil Re:Verse taking place April 7 at 23:00 h PDT / April 8 07:00 h BST / 08:00 h CEST, through to April 11 at 22:59 h PDT / April 12 06:59 h BST / 07:59 h CEST. Players who participated in the earlier closed beta test and still have the game installed on their hardware can play via a game update once the open beta is live. New players will be able to pre-load the open beta content starting April 5. All open beta participants will need a registered Capcom ID to play.
Pre-orders for Resident Evil Village are available now, with digital Standard and Deluxe Edition options for all platforms, plus physical Standard and Collector’s Edition for console players.
The digital Deluxe Edition includes the base game and a digital “Trauma Pack,” which consists of additional in-game content including a Samurai Edge weapon, Resident Evil 7 biohazard-inspired found footage screen filter, tape recorder save point option, immediate access to an especially challenging difficulty setting, and more. The physical Collector’s Edition includes the Deluxe Edition content plus a striking statue of franchise veteran Chris Redfield, a SteelBook case, art book, a cloth map of the village and an A4 print showing the key art. Resident Evil Village will be eligible to upgrade from PlayStation 4 to the digital PlayStation 5 version and will support Smart Delivery for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles.
Resident Evil 7 biohazard Gold Edition will be available on Stadia as an individual purchase option and will be free with Stadia Pro beginning on April 1, 2021. Players can also delve into the rich library of titles from Resident Evil with several discount promotions across multiple platforms in celebration of the 25th anniversary.
Please check respective digital storefronts in the coming weeks for sale promotions.
IDW Publishing (OTCQX: IDWM) and SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced a special comic book collaboration celebrating 30 years of the video game sensation-turned-pop culture icon, Sonic the Hedgehog™.
Timed to the speedster’s 30th trip around the sun this June, IDW will release the Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special, a super-sized 80-page comic book featuring three tales of colorful heroes and dastardly villains, sure to tug at the heartstrings of fans of all ages!
With the franchise entering a new decade, the anniversary issue will feature the writings of New York Times best-selling authors Gale Galligan and the McElroy Brothers to bring a fresh spin to the Blue Blur’s next chapter.
“We’re celebrating a major milestone for the world’s coolest hedgehog, so we needed creators who could capture the vibrant comedy and action of Sonic in style,” said IDW editor David Mariotte. “The 30th Anniversary Special features possibly the greatest creative lineup ever assembled on a single issue of Sonic!”
For this spectacular tribute comic, IDW has tapped Gale Galligan, known for her illustration work on The Babysitters Club, along with Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy, podcasters recognizable from The Adventure Zone and the wildly popular My Brother, My Brother, and Me. This group of newcomers will be contributing their first-ever Sonic adventures alongside fan-favorite and longtime scribe Ian Flynn and artists Mauro Fonseca, Reggie Graham, Aaron Hammerstrom and Thomas Rothlisberger.
“Seasons of Chaos,” the first of three stories featured in the 30th Anniversary Special, comes courtesy of Flynn, Hammerstrom and Graham, and sends Sonic on a mission from pleasant spring valleys to winter wonderlands in search of Chaos Emeralds alongside his friends Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel.
“Sonic has been central to my creative career for fifteen years,” said Flynn. “I’ve had the pleasure of writing the little blue hedgehog in a variety of media, and he in turn has introduced me to an army of artists and editors who have helped me grow as a professional (and made me look good). I’ve had a long run with Sonic, and I hope that continues for years to come!”
The vile Dr. Eggman takes center stage in the second story, with the surprisingly poignant “Dr. Eggman’s Birthday” by Galligan and Rothlisbeger… because this momentous occasion belongs to the bad doctor, Sonic’s 30-year long nemesis, as much as it does to the Blue Blur.
“When my sister and I were little, we borrowed the Sonic the Hedgehog OVA from our local video library and proceeded to watch it about a billion times,” said Galligan. “I still remember quoting it back and forth with her for weeks after that! Sonic has held a special place in my heart ever since. I’m thrilled to be able to contribute to the 30th Anniversary Special, and I can’t wait to send my sister a copy!”
Finally, in the action-packed and laugh-inducing third story “Sonic Learns to Drive” by the McElroy Brothers and Fonseca, Sonic’s up against a tough challenge: when the fastest thing alive can outrun any car, will Sonic have the patience to learn what to do behind the wheel… or will he finally get left in the dust?
The Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special will be available with multiple cover variants for retailers and fans to enjoy, including Cover A by Sonic Team, Cover B by Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou, and two retailer incentive editions featuring art by Patrick Spaziante and Tyson Hesse, respectively.
For ardent Sonic enthusiasts, IDW will also be producing the Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Celebration: The Deluxe Edition, a hardcover version with special bonus content and a level of added prestige for $19.99 USD. Hitting stores on October 5, 2021, the Deluxe Edition features an additional story by Gale Galligan, a cover gallery, a “From Script to Comic” feature and much more.
As another way to commemorate 30 years of Sonic, IDW will release Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection, Vol. 1 for $59.99 USD on June 22, 2021, debuting a new line of oversized Sonic hardcover editions that will encompass the ongoing series, annuals and mini-series in the recommended reading order.
Featuring everything a beginner could need and everything a diehard could want, the first volume collects issues #1-12 of IDW’s Sonic the Hedgehog comics, comprising the complete “Fallout,” “The Fate of Dr. Eggman” and “Battle for Angel Island” story arcs.
For information on how to acquire Sonic the Hedgehog comics and graphic novels from IDW, please contact your local comic shop or visit www.comicshoplocator.comto find a store near you.
The total raised for GameBlast21, the UK’s largest charity gaming weekend, has been confirmed at £228,300 ($317,800).
It’s more than double the original fundraising target for the event, and one of the biggest totals in its eight-year history.
Gamers across the UK and beyond took on gaming marathons and game-themed events over the weekend of 26-28 February to raise money for the charity, who help people with physical disabilities to experience the fun and inclusion of video games.
As well as the hundreds of individual gamers and communities who took part, many major names in the games industry supported the event, including Twitch, EA DICE, Mediatonic, SEGA Europe, Unit 2 Games, Fanatical, Insert Coin Clothing and Turn 10 Studios, alongside a host of esports teams and popular streamers.
In addition, several other companies including HyperX, Noblechairs, Fierce PC and Big Potato Games, showed their support for by creating some awesome limited-edition products and running giveaways to reward people for taking part.
“We’d hoped to raise £100,000 this year,” said Becky Frost, the GameBlast Event Coordinator, “so we’re amazed and humbled by the final figure. To have the support of so many gamers is a huge boost for the charity, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of everyone involved. As result of their generosity, many hundreds of people will be able to enjoy the magic of video games for many years to come. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who took part.”
The dates for GameBlast22 have been announced as 25-27 February 2022.
Evercade, Codemasters, and The Oliver Twins are delighted to share the news of the first donation to the National Videogame Museum.
Following the launch of The Oliver Twins Collection cartridge, exclusively for the Evercade Retro Gaming console, it was announced that all profits from this would be donated to the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield.
Today Evercade and Blaze Entertainment are happy to announce that the first payment of donations for over £11,000 has been made to the National Videogame Museum. The funds raised from all sales of The Oliver Twins Collection Cartridge from Evercade will continue to be donated until 31st December 2021, meaning that more donations will be made in the future.
Rick Gibson, CEO of the charity the BGI which runs the National Videogame Museum, said: “We have been preserving and displaying the Oliver Twins’ important work for the nation for many years and their support has been pivotal. We’re delighted and grateful for such generosity from Philip and Andrew, Codemasters, and Evercade. Thank you!”
“We’re absolutely delighted that the Evercade fans have responded so well to The Oliver Twins Collection,” said Andrew Byatt, Managing Director of Blaze Entertainment. “One of the key things about Evercade and its community is the desire for preservation of gaming history and the industry that forms an incredibly formative part of gamer’s lives. It’s our pleasure to donate these funds to the museum to help further their efforts and we hope that we can have just as healthy a donation in the future.”
“We loved seeing The Oliver Twins Collection added to the already impressive Evercade library and it’s been great to see fans old and new enjoying the games we created almost 30 years ago,” said Philip Oliver. “As patrons of the National Videogame Museum, it’s great to see our collection has raised these funds and we hope it will continue into the future. We also want to also thank Codemasters and Blaze Retro for supporting this great charity,” added Andrew Oliver.
“It’s incredible to see how much love there is for both the Oliver Twins and their early Codemasters titles,” said Jonathan Bunney, SVP Publishing at Codemasters. “The Collection, which wouldn’t be complete without Dizzy, is a time capsule for the die-hard Codemasters fans, and we’re proud to contribute towards such a worthwhile charity as the National Videogame Museum.”
The National Videogame Museum was originally opened in 2016 in Nottingham, before moving to Sheffield in 2018 and then taken over by the BGI in 2020, which is now a registered charity. The Coronavirus crisis has affected the NVM, as it has multiple places over the last year, although the NVM managed to briefly reopen.
The Evercade is a handheld retro gaming console that features curated collections of games from historic publishers like Codemasters, Team 17, Atari, Namco, Data East, and many more, all officially licensed. These are released in the form of physical propriety cartridges that work with the Evercade handheld console. The Oliver Twins Collection cartridge is one of 14 currently available since its launch in June 2020, and the Evercade will have over 250 games available by the end of 2021.
SQUARE ENIX® today announced the debut of a new video program called SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS, a series of shows in which the company will reveal new games, updates and news directly to the global gaming community throughout the year.
The first show, debuting on March 18 at 10:00 a.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. EDT on Square Enix’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.
These shows will run approximately 40-minutes and include the world premiere of the next game in the critically acclaimed and award-winning Life is Strange™ series, featuring an all-new protagonist wielding an exciting new power.
The show will also feature trailers, gameplay videos and announcements for the following:
Outriders™, the high-intensity RPG-shooter set in an original dark and desperate sci-fi universe, coming out on April 1
Balan Wonderworld™, which arrives on March 26
The ongoing celebration for the 25th anniversary of TOMB RAIDER®
Marvel’s Avengers, the story-driven, third-person action-adventure game from Crystal Dynamics
Upcoming action shooter Just Cause® Mobile
New mobile game announcements from the award-winning Square Enix Montréal studio
A look at a few of the whimsical games from Square Enix sister company TAITO
To receive event updates and other Square Enix news, sign up to become a Square Enix Member; and be sure to subscribe to Square Enix’s official Twitch and YouTube channels ahead of the showcase on March 18.
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