Yes, Your Grace recently ended its closed beta run, and now developer Brave at Night has released the first chapter of its kingdom management RPG for free. So get that crown on your head and take a seat atop the throne.

Yes, Your Grace puts you in the role of a royal tasked with listening to the everyday problems of your kingdom’s quirky and determined residents. You can choose to either help these petitioners or conserve resources for what you deem are more important matters, but you’ll also have to deal with your family and decide their fate, hire generals, witches, and hunters to aid your efforts, and prepare for battles by satisfying the whims of other lords and kings in order to forge alliances.

“Yes, Your Grace tells a tale of Davern, a medieval kingdom ruled by King Eryk,” the game’s Steam page says. “The game is set in a fictional world where monsters and arcane practices inspired by Slavic folklore are the order of the day. Villagers will ask for your help with various problems, from monsters attacking the village to a lack of places to relax and enjoy themselves. Some will bring humour to your throne room and some will present you with difficult choices. Your family is important too, and throughout your time as King, you will have to support them in their struggles.

“You will face lords with a variety of personalities; you will need their support in order to win an upcoming battle, but some may ask you to perform dirty deeds to cement the alliance. One thing is clear: It won’t be easy to keep everyone happy…”

You can download the demo right now on the official Steam store page, and Brave at Night is aiming for a full launch of Yes, Your Grace in early 2020.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-first-chapter-of-regal-kingdom-management-sim-/1100-6472118/

Over the next few days, we will offer further insight into why we picked the 10 games we did for the best of 2019, with each article going live on- site in order of the games’ release dates. Then, on December 17, we will reveal which of the nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot’s Best Game of 2019. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub.

Love is a hard thing to get right in video games–especially when that love isn’t presented as an RPG romance option or a dating sim, but rather a consistent undercurrent that elevates every aspect of the game in which you find it. There’s little love between Amicia and her brother Hugo at the beginning of A Plague Tale: Innocence. Hugo has been hidden away from his sister due to his illness for the entirety of his five short years of life, but all of that changes when their home is attacked and it falls on Amicia to save the two of them as best she can.

It’s a common sentiment in video games that escort missions are the worst, but leading Hugo through the threatening, plague-ridden countryside of France in pursuit of a cure is a thrilling, beautiful, and heartwarming experience. The performances from the main characters are extraordinarily affecting, whether it’s when Hugo innocently asks during a frantic escape if he and his sister are going to die, when he finds flowers and puts them in Amicia’s hair and tells her they’re pretty, or when Amicia has to grapple with the devastation of needing to kill to protect herself and her brother. The genuine affection that develops between the two, particularly when things take a turn for the worst, is infectious and believable. When Hugo is in trouble you feel Amicia’s panic and desperation, and your developing love for him makes seeing the story through feel essential and meaningful.

The strength of A Plague Tale’s characters feed into the interesting ways you can engage in its combat encounters which evolve alongside your character development and progress. To great effect, each encounter is more of a puzzle than a toe-to-toe fight. Amicia is a glass cannon who is only able to sneak by her vastly stronger foes early on, but as the game wears on, her abilities become more diverse and unlock extremely satisfying options for combat. The swarms of rats, in particular, work both to establish the horrific sense of place and also become the most interesting tool to use in combat. Combat arenas gradually become more complicated, and mastering your abilities and knowledge of how to manipulate light–a rat’s worst enemy–to your advantage is necessary to paving the way forward.

The effectiveness of A Plague Tale: Innocence’s narrative is due to the sympathetic, unwilling heroes at its heart.

The effectiveness of A Plague Tale: Innocence’s narrative is due to the sympathetic, unwilling heroes at its heart. Amicia and Hugo aren’t adventurers. They aren’t trying to solve a crime, take on a fabled adversary, or become warriors–they’re victims of circumstance. Underdogs. Vulnerable to the violent, grisly world around them. As are the people who choose to join them. That isn’t to say they aren’t clever or bold or brave, but it means their fear is more palpable and their victories and escapes more triumphant. The allies you encounter are empathetic and learning about their backstories informs the harsh world around you. Having younger companions rely on you, particularly in the case of Hugo, enhances the tension in combat encounters, the fear of your environment where staying in the dark for too long puts you at risk of being devoured by rats, and the mental stakes if you fail in an attempt to be stealthy.

A Plague Tale: Innocence weaves a beautiful story about resilience and victory in the face of unbelievable odds, not out of arrogance or the desire to best an enemy, but because it is the only choice Amicia and Hugo can make. The quiet moments of discussion with Lucas and your ragtag group of collected wards and allies are an important contrast to the frantic and terrifying world that lies beyond. Between violent guards, merciless rats, and an almost unrelenting darkness, it’s a game that should feel oppressive to play–but Hugo’s optimistic naivety and the love he shares with Amicia are so touching that there is always a light to be found in the darkness.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/best-games-of-2019-a-plague-tale-innocence/1100-6472106/

Black Friday has come and gone, but the deals aren’t slowing down as the Christmas shopping season ramps up. During Black Friday, Nintendo Switch accessory deals were few and far between, and Switch Pro Controllers weren’t featured in Nintendo’s official deals. However, if you were hoping to pick up a Pro Controller during Black Friday, you’re in luck, as the Switch’s official (and very pricey) gamepad just got a nice discount.

Both Amazon and Walmart are currently selling the Switch Pro Controller for $55. Considering this Nintendo controller normally goes for a whopping $70 and rarely goes on sale, this is a hell of a deal and great opportunity for anyone looking to upgrade. Both come with free shipping, and if you have Amazon Prime, you should get free one-day shipping.

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller | $55 (was $70)

The Switch Pro Controller is an excellent investment if you’re a new Switch owner looking to upgrade from the standard grip and Joy-Cons the Switch comes with. It has a more traditional shape that makes it easier to grip and comfortable to play with for long periods, and it has a nice weight to it. It made our list of the best Switch controllers you can buy, although there are other third-party options out there that are cheaper. For $55, though, you won’t regret picking up the Pro Controller.

It’s unclear how long this deal will last, and it’s likely one of these stores is price-matching the other. So if the Pro Controller has been on your wishlist for some time now, we recommend snagging this deal before it sells out. You certainly won’t have a better chance before Christmas.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-switch-pro-controllers-just-got-a-rare-di/1100-6472117/

A piece of cut content from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has been uncovered, and it recontextualizes an important moment late in the game. Spoilers follow.

The modder Lance McDonald, who is known for having uncovered cut content in previous FromSoftware games, found an important but missing piece of dialogue surrounding the character Anayama. If he catches Dragonrot, he can be cured, but he curiously lacks any kind of dialogue when it happens.

Apparently that’s not the case if he’s cured using a special curative pellet that was cut from the game. In that instance, he was going to have an exchange in which he refused to accept the item for free, and so Sekiro charged him a nominal fee of a single Sen. That information changes the context of a later story event, when Sekiro meets Anayama for the last time near the end of the game. At that point, Ayanama offers the Promisory Note for a single Sen, effectively exchanging the kindness back in return.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was one of our nominees for the best games of 2019, which are being detailed throughout this week. GameSpot’s top Game of the Year winner will be revealed on December 17.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-cut-content-reveals-new-p/1100-6472116/