After several teases online, Paradox Interactive and Hardsuit Labs have finally revealed Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, the sequel to the original 2004 RPG. With Bloodlines 2, releasing in 2020 for PC and consoles, several key members from the former studio Troika Games, along with some new blood at Hardsuit Labs, are looking to pick up where the bleak yet off-the-wall original left off. Just before its reveal, we had the chance to get an early look, while also speaking with Bloodlines 2 lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and senior writer Cara Ellison about the making of the sequel.

As an adaptation of the table-top game series from White Wolf Publishing, the first Bloodlines focused on the shadowy underworld of Vampire society in modern-day Los Angeles. Starting out as a newly converted vampire, you were drawn into centuries-long quarrels amongst elite vampires, all the while coming to grips with your new and unusual circumstances. While much of the first game hasn’t aged too well, its in-depth role-playing and social gameplay are enduring achievements. Showing shades of immersive-sims like Deus Ex and System Shock, it possessed an impressive amount of complexity with how you could use your vampiric abilities to navigate the complex web of conspiracies within the secret society.

The game’s original developers, Troika Games, drafted up concepts for a follow-up, however, low sales and a lack of projects after Bloodlines’ launch forced the closure of the studio. In the years since its release, a dedicated online community has kept the game active, slowly turning the obscure PC RPG into an underground hit.

Showing similar shades to the original game, the new protagonist of Bloodlines 2 is suddenly thrust into their new life as a vampire. Taking place in the city of Seattle, the new fledgling faces a tribunal held by the Camarilla–the union of different vampire factions. Recalling their final moments alive, and subsequent rebirth at the hands of another vampire, the meeting comes under attack, forcing you to make a quick exit. From here, you’ll slowly work your way up the Vampire hierarchy, dealing with returning factions like the Tremere, and embrace your newfound life as a creature of the night.

For the sequel, the developers expressed that they wanted to maintain the same level of agency and detail from the previous game, while also focusing more on the strange and lesser-known details of living a new life as a vampire. This on-boarding process, as seen in the opening of the game, also highlights the new abilities that come with being a Vampire. In addition to taking on different disciplines, you’ll also have a suite of vampire skills to use, such as levitation, telekinesis, and even a mist-form–allowing you to pass through objects. Eventually, you’ll be able to unlock access to higher-end abilities, like conjuring up sharp objects made of blood and slowing down time to easily evade enemies.

During the demo, Mitsoda–who served as the lead writer on the original game–talked about bringing the series back after 15 years, and how they wanted to make it accessible for fans and newcomers.

“There’s something exciting about the player discovering this world that is right under our noses,” said Mitsoda as he elaborated on the world building of the game. “A big part of what we wanted to do with Bloodlines 2 is to make sure that people who are fans of the first one will immediately feel like, “This is Bloodlines. This feels like Bloodlines.” Then the people who are coming into it fresh are going to going to have the same feelings of what is this all about? I’m a vampire. What do I do now? So, we want people to go out there with the expectations of they don’t know anything now, but they’re going to be discovering everything that’s going on in Seattle.

Just like in Bloodlines 1, you’ll be able to freely explore various open hubs and far away locations while tackling missions with other key-characters. In addition to exploring locations like Pioneer Square, Pier 55, and other areas of downtown Seattle, you’ll follow leads into the city’s underground ruins. These sections are said to be inspired by the real-life locations that were paved over after intense fires during 1889, and the ruins house a number secrets pertaining to the lost history of Seattle, and how vampires played a part in it.

According to the developers, Bloodlines 2 will shed light on the various vampire cultures and their power structures. Just like in the original game, the sequel also leans heavy on socializing. You’re often pushed into high-pressure situations with humans and vampires alike, where you’ll need to make a choice that could compromise relationships. Siding with one faction can put you at odds with another. However, you’re totally free to break away from a side at anytime. These social situations can also highlight the mundanity of living life as a Vampire. Shortly after making it back to your apartment, you encounter a fellow vampire named Dale, who volunteers to be your information broker and to help with your transition. It was an oddly relaxed conversation–especially considering this came after surviving several attacks from humans and other undead.

While explaining their approach to balancing the absurdity of vampirism with the more grotesque aspects of being undead, senior writer Cara Ellison spoke about what it was like working on the game’s tone, and how humor is a bit of a coping mechanism for the vampires in Bloodlines.

“I’m kind of in charge of looking at the game as almost like vampire puberty, like where it’s a transition from leaving humanity behind,” Ellison said. “I think you might be surprised at how funny it is to be a vampire, in a weird way. It’s quite a dark game, but we manage to show it as an absurd existence, and you might encounter some people who were weathering their situation in an interesting or maybe in a slightly dark and humorous way. That really connects to me, because I’m British. Everything bad is funny to us, like Brexit is weirdly funny. […]There’s a lot of complexity in there to explore. It’s pretty fun to write.”

Since you’re a vampire, handling your business and exploring the city–even in the evening–can be a challenge. This is where the series’ signature Masquerade gameplay comes in. According to series lore, The Masquerade is a code of conduct that vampires must follow in order to prevent exposing their existence to humanity. Though you are a vampire, you still look normal enough to pass as human while in public. However, when you use your supernatural powers in front of unsuspecting humans, you’ll break the Masquerade and draw attention to yourself and to the larger vampire society. Police and common criminals can still pose a threat, however, and causing too much havoc will alert elite vampires that will hunt you down.

Bloodlines 2 carries over the complexity of the original game, allowing you to overcome obstacles and events in different ways by using your vampiric skills or social charms–like seduction, for instance. However, there will come a time where you’ll need to defend yourself, which includes several conventional weapons and supernatural abilities. In one section taking place in a back ally in Pioneer Square, there’s an opportunity to break up an attempted mugging. While watching this bit of gameplay, we saw the main character use several of these skills one after another. First, they used their heightened senses to highlight the key targets, and took advantage of their heightened physicality to make high-jumps across the roofs to get into position and perform a series of takedowns on the unsuspecting muggers.

Though you’ll have plenty of tools to use, melee combat will have a larger focus, which the developers stated is something they wanted to improve from the original. During combat, you’ll be able to launch pre-emptive strikes against human enemies, and even counter their attack with instant-kills that will drain their blood. Blood is a resource that you’ll constantly need to keep track of, powering your various abilities. While it’s not possible to do a no-kill run through the game–you still have to feed after all–the developers stated that you can play as a “humane” vampire to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

How you advance your character can set the tone for what’s to come. This even comes into play by the type of human blood you feed on. If targets are angry, especially during a combat encounter, then you’ll feed on blood filled with anger resonance. If they’re frightened, then they’ll be highlighted with the fear resonance. Feeding on a specific type of blood for too long will have you favor a particular type, opening up access to certain skills. But if you choose to forego your humanity, and kill indiscriminately for too long, your character will dip further into the vampiric-side. According to the developers, if this happens, your character’s social skills will be affected, making certain situations–like socializing or going out in public–more difficult, but inversely, you can acquire more vampiric abilities as a result.

Some of my favorite moments from the previous game where seeing just how far you could push social or combat situations in your favor. Though often times they didn’t work out in ways that I intended, I ended appreciating the events that occurred, most of which was very odd. From this early look, Bloodlines 2 looks to be a faithful restart for the series, keeping up the adaptive, and incredibly bizarre storytelling. It’ll be interesting to see what passes for strange in the eyes of the developers, fifteen years after the original game’s release.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-is-a-revival-o/1100-6465762/

Despite the numerous innovations it’s been responsible for over the past three decades, Nintendo has also been notoriously slow to adapt to certain trends. The company was, after all, the last to earnestly embrace online gaming, and it seemed that would likewise be the case with virtual reality–which made the announcement of Labo VR, the fourth kit in its growing line of DIY games/toys, such a surprise. And while it may not be as sophisticated as a true VR headset, Labo VR is the most compelling Labo kit yet, although your enjoyment will largely depend on your own creativity.

Like Nintendo’s previous three Labo packages, the VR kit comes with its own game card and an assortment of cardboard sheets, stickers, rubber bands, and other crafting materials with which to assemble its various Toy-Cons. The full suite of projects includes the Blaster, Bird, Camera, Elephant, and Wind Pedal, plus a set of VR Goggles that works in conjunction with the other peripherals. The goggles are the key to the experience; they house the Switch console and slot into almost all of the other Toy-Cons, allowing you to play their corresponding mini-games in VR (though each activity also supports the option to be played in 2D).

What’s most immediately impressive about this setup is that it doesn’t require any additional hardware or accessories to work, as PlayStation VR and other headsets do; you simply slide the Switch into the VR Goggles, then insert that into the Toy-Con you wish to use. We had reservations about holding the Switch up in what is effectively just a cardboard viewfinder, but the goggles feel surprisingly sturdy, and all of the Toy-Cons feature safety caps to lock it into place, ensuring the console doesn’t accidentally slip out during use. That said, we’d still caution parents to supervise their children when playing with the Toy-Cons to prevent any mishaps.

Of course, without additional cameras or input devices, the Labo VR kit offers a more limited virtual reality experience than proper VR headsets. Even so, head tracking felt accurate and responsive in our time with the kit, and all of the mini-games we played made good use of the 360-degree view the VR Goggles afford. If things do become wonky, however, you can recalibrate the Switch by removing it from the goggles, setting it on a flat surface, and pressing an on-screen button.

Each of the five new Toy-Cons works with a different pair of activities. We only got to try a handful of these during our hands-on time with the kit, but the mini-games we did play seemed to suffer from the same problem as those in the Variety kit; namely, they didn’t appear to offer much in the way of depth, so it’s difficult to imagine spending more than a few minutes with them. That said, the games were amusing, and the Toy-Cons are intended to be passed between players, so your mileage will vary if you have family members or other loved ones to share the experience with. Of the bunch, the Blaster offered the most traditional gaming experience–a simple on-rails light gun game in which you shoot an army of adorable aliens that have invaded a city. The Blaster is also used to play a secondary competitive mini-game that is essentially a VR version of Hungry, Hungry Hippos, pitting two players against each other in a race to fire food into the hippos’ mouths.

Another highlight was Bird, which has players soaring about an island in search of hatchlings to feed. The Camera Toy-Con lets you snap pictures of marine life in a simple underwater photography game, while the Elephant features the most unexpected activity–an art program that allows you to draw 3D artwork by maneuvering its trunk. However, the trunk’s limited range of movement made this particular activity the least appealing of all the ones we tried. By contrast, the most memorable sensory experience came from the Wind Pedal. Like the pedal Toy-Con from the Labo Vehicle kit, this peripheral rests on the floor, but pressing down on it causes a fan to swing upward and blow air into your face. The object of its mini-game is to press down on the pedal at the right time to make a frog leap over stacks of balls that are fired from clockwork bears. The game itself is a rudimentary timing challenge, but feeling the gusts of air against your face as you see yourself ascending into the sky was a trippy sensation.

On top of each Toy-Con’s dedicated mini-games, Labo VR also includes a mode called VR Plaza, which features 64 bite-sized VR activities to play. These run the gamut from side-scrolling platformers to puzzle games, and each one was created using the series’ flexible Garage function, which lets you program your own Labo activities. This is where the game’s lasting appeal lies, as you can tinker about with the entire selection of pre-made games, editing them as you please or even creating your own VR games.

The Nintendo Labo VR kit launches on April 12. This time around, Nintendo is offering the kit in two different configurations. The full bundle retails for $80 and includes all six Toy-Cons, while the starter set–which comes only with the Labo software plus the VR Goggles and Blaster–costs $40. The remaining peripherals can then be purchased across two separate expansion sets for $20 each.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-finally-does-vr-in-the-most-nintendo-way-/1100-6465765/

We all know Double Fine for its rich history of adventure games with an unmistakable, funky charm. Founder Tim Schafer is a household name at this point, especially because of games like Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and Psychonauts, but there’s a lot more to the independent development studio than Schafer’s legacy. I’d say Double Fine’s collection of games is already rad, and it’s about to be even more so with Rad. The game is being led by Lee Petty, who has had a prominent role at Double Fine as art director for both Brutal Legend and Broken Age, and project lead for Headlander. And I was able to catch up with him and see Rad in action.

At its foundation, Rad is a roguelite isometric action game set in a deranged, yet colorful non-linear wasteland, which may sound familiar. Rad has its own twists, though. Mutations act as randomized power-ups that add a necessary (and unpredictable) diversity to your moveset. One such mutation can be a cute, monster-like turret attached to your back that shoots enemies behind you or thrown down in a stationary position. Or you can grow irradiated feet that makes you immune to poisonous terrain and leaves a hazardous trail to trap enemies in pursuit. Variation is key to the roguelite genre, and appears that Rad gives that to you in spades.

You start as a human character, but the world of Rad will transform you.

Run-based action games have no doubt grown in number and popularity since Spelunky‘s debut more than 10 years ago, so I asked Petty about how he and the team plan to make Rad stand out in an increasingly crowded genre.

“I still wanted to find a way to create a memorable world in that space. For me, that was a simple choice, why would you want to basically be in a series of locked rooms? Because it’s easier to balance combat because you’re stuck in a room and have to clear it. But it’s never felt like a world to me. We’re going to have some dungeons, but you’re going to be able to walk around this world. We’re going to make exploration more interesting with stuff to find, and more opportunities for environmental storytelling.”

That shone through a bit in my short time with the game. Fundamentally, however, I had to find a number of certain objects in the world to advance as the game funneled me through encounters with unique enemies and a challenging boss fight. Everything flowed smoothly thanks to tight controls and a few effective abilities. But being a roguelite isn’t the only area that’s challenging for a game to stand out in, Rad’s also playing on a familiar setting: a post-apocalypse. Even in 2019 alone, it’s a frequent backdrop, so I asked Petty how he and the team are distinguishing Rad’s version.

“One of the big things is we really wanted to make a game of a post-apocalypse that wasn’t about killing other people for resources. This is really about having this surreal world that’s undergone two apocalypses with little bits of like 80s culture. I was a teenager in the late 80s, as a lot of this stuff was happening. It wasn’t the shocking post-apocalyptic movies that I found interest in. It was the weird stuff like Solarbabies or Miracle Mile, or even crazy stuff like Hell Comes to Frogtown. It’s almost like they paved the way for an alternate fantasy role-playing game genre, but it was way more surreal and creative. It was science fiction, mutants, and weird off-shoots of human civilization.”

Petty’s perspective is apparent from the start with Rad’s lively presentation and visual quirks that build onto your character with each mutation. Naturally, I wanted to know more about the youthful character you play and how their story gets woven into the roguelite loop. Petty mentioned that you’ll perpetually go to a hub world where you speak to folks who react to your progress and changes in the world. But playing in the post-apocalypse evokes certain worldviews that drive an overarching narrative. Petty had something to say about that.

“There is this arc of, ‘Well, what town or elder is fine with just throwing their teens to the grinder to solve this problem?’ You start to wonder, well, are these good people? Why are we doing this? Is there really a threat out there?

“You have the sense that, and you see this in a lot of those 80s movies, the protagonists are the underdogs. Even back then, there was a sense that, like, the baby boomers fucked us all over. We all agree on it now, but even back then we were thinking, ‘What the hell? We’re going to fix this I guess.’ I think that’s the relevant point and why it’s been on my mind lately. Like okay, we’re going through stuff with climate change, right? Usually there are themes of transformation and bringing the world back, but there’s some sense of hope underneath all of the mutation and mutants.”

It’s refreshing to hear where Rad draws inspiration and see it in action. And it channels that quirky Double Fine personality in a genre and theme that can seem worn which certainly helps Rad stand out. Needless to say I’ll be curious to see how the gameplay loop, increasing challenge, and narrative all coalesce in the full game. We’ll see just how rad Rad will be when it launches in Summer 2019 for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/double-fine-goes-rogue-lite-with-rad-a-fresh-view-/1100-6465735/

Epic Games disrupted the industry when it unveiled the Epic Games Store, a distribution platform similar to Valve’s Steam, late last year. Since then, we’ve seen a number of exclusive game releases on the Epic Games Store, skipping Steam at least for the time being. While Epic has a lot of catching up to do in terms of feature set, CEO Tim Sweeney has declared its stance on allowing “crappy” games onto the platform.

In an interview with PC Gamer, Sweeney said the Epic Games Store won’t distribute low-qualiy games, although it’s unclear how that quality will be determined. The Epic Games Store will have a vetting process to ensure only “reasonably good quality games, of any scale, whether small indie games to huge triple-A games” make the cut. “We’ll have a quality standard that doesn’t accept crappy games,” Sweeney said. “We’ll take everything up to, like, an R-rated movie or an M-rated game.”

Sweeney implied that its “quality standard” won’t gatekeep developers from experimenting with the Unreal Engine. “The side of Epic that makes creative tools like the Unreal Engine available to everybody says that you can use our tools for creating anything that’s legal,” Sweeney said. “And we have no creative say in it–we can’t veto, whether we find it controversial or tasteful or not.” However, Sweeney added, “We’ll be aware of the quality of what’s submitted prior to making a decision to list it in the store–somehow.”

This is in stark contrast to Steam’s policies, which allows a wider range of games on the service. The Epic Games Store, according to Sweeney, won’t be a home for “porn games or bloatware or asset flips, or any sort of thing that’s meant to shock players. The PC’s an open platform and if we don’t distribute it in our store you can still reach consumers directly.” We’ll have to wait and see if Sweeney and the team behind the Epic Games Store make good on those commitments.

The Epic Games Store launched in December 2018. Since then, a host of titles–from Metro Exodus to Tom Clancy’s The Division 2–have released exclusively through the platform. In an effort to brand itself, the Epic Games Store has released a free game every two weeks. The latest offering, Oxenfree, is available now.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/epic-games-store-wont-accept-crappy-games/1100-6465756/

Death is an old friend to fans of From Software’s Bloodborne and Dark Souls games, as the Soulsborne titles all implement mechanics and features that relate to dying. From Software’s newest game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is no different. However, death works a little bit differently in Sekiro.

In the following guide, we go over all the ways that death impacts your journey in Sekiro. Whether you want to know when the best time to use the revive mechanic is or how to deal with the effects of Dragonrot, read ahead to learn more.

Sekiro is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. If you’re still on the fence about whether you want to buy the game, read our review-in-progress. In it, Tamoor Hussain gives the game a 9/10, writing, “Sekiro marries From Software’s unique brand of gameplay with stealth action to deliver an experience that is as challenging as it is gratifying.”

In Comparison To Dark Souls And Bloodborne

First and foremost, you need to treat death in Sekiro differently than what you may have experienced playing Darks Souls or Bloodborne. When it comes to death, the only similarity Sekiro shares with From Software’s previous titles is that its world is filled with innumerable ways to kill your character.

Upon death, your character, Wolf, loses some of his experience and half of the in-game currency in his possession. The former is used to upgrade Wolf’s abilities and unlock new moves, while the latter allows you to purchase items. You cannot recover what you’ve lost upon death, so it’s in your best interest to flee from fights you think you can’t win. To counter this, Wolf has the ability to receive Unseen Aid–providing a chance to keep your experience and coin upon death. You can see your probability of receiving Unseen Aid–which will decrease if Dragonrot has begun to spread–by either pausing the game or resting at an idol.

Dragonrot — What It Does And How To Cure It

Speaking of Dragonrot, this deadly disease is also closely tied to death in Sekiro. Pretty much anyone Wolf meets and interacts with has the potential of contracting Dragonrot, which causes them to suffer violent coughing fits. The game will inform you whenever someone contracts the disease.

The more you die in Sekiro, the more the Dragonrot disease spreads. Die only a few times in your playthrough and only a couple of individuals will catch it. However, if Wolf falls in battle many times–which is much more likely as Sekiro is a very difficult game–then eventually everyone he knows will begin coughing. As stated before, you do not want this. With every character that contracts Dragonrot, Wolf’s possibility of receiving Unseen Aid diminishes. That’s not all, though. You won’t be able to complete questlines for characters who’ve caught the disease, as their coughing fits don’t allow them to properly answer you when you try to talk to them. Some of these questlines unlock new skills and prosthetic upgrades that help with the minibosses and bosses in the main story, so doing them is in your best interest.

Thankfully, Dragonrot isn’t fatal (or at least as far as we can tell), and there’s a cure. So you shouldn’t lose anyone and their respective side quests to the disease while you’re busy collecting the ingredients to make medicine.

In order to first discover the cure, you’ll need The Sculptor to fall ill to the Dragonrot. You’ll know when it happens because you’ll get a cutscene that highlights how sick he’s becoming. Go outside and talk to Emma about it and she’ll give you a quest for a cure. You just need to bring her the blood of someone else who has Dragonrot. When you get the notification that someone else is sick, go and talk to them. They’ll cough up some blood that you can take back to Emma. She’ll use the blood to synthesize a cure, called a Dragon Tear. Using the tear at an idol cures everyone plagued by the Dragonrot. However, if you die enough times, the disease will begin to spread once again. You’ll need to buy more Dragon Tears from specific merchants in order to cure the rot again. As far as we can tell, there isn’t an infinite amount to purchase, so save those tears for when you really need them.

In Sekiro, Shadows Can Actually Die Thrice

Despite Sekiro’s title, you can actually die up to three times on one life. In the bottom left corner of the screen, you’ll notice two pinkish red orbs. They represent how many times you can revive. The first orb is filled by resting at an idol, and the second is filled by executing enemies with death blows.

When you die, you’ll have the choice of accepting death or reviving yourself. Choosing to revive uses your first orb and puts a black smear through the second. You’ll need to land a deathblow to remove the smear. Doing so allows you to revive a second time upon dying again.

You’ll need to be strategic about reviving a second time though. Remember, your second orb is filled through landing deathblows on enemies. So if you use your second orb during a boss fight and then die a third time, you’ll have to go out and farm enemies to recover a second revive for fighting the boss again. If you don’t think you have the necessary upgrades to beat the boss you’re currently fighting, you might want to just let the Wolf die and save your second revive for another run at the boss.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sekiro-guide-how-death-impacts-your-journey/1100-6465755/