A new Fortnite update is now available on consoles and PC, but in addition to checking out the new stuff it has to offer, Battle Royale players have some other things they can now do.

Week 4 Challenges

The week 4 Battle Pass challenges have released and some of them might prove to be more tricky than others.

Check out the full list below to see what’s in store for you next time you log in. One requires you getting the right weapon and utilizing it efficiently (dealing a specific amount of damage with a sniper rifle), while another has you tracking down chests in the Flush Factory. The first challenges may seem easy but the difficulty slowly increases as we go down the list.

While this may not be labeled as “hard”, you’re told to visit five different ice cream trucks. These are scattered across the map–there are more than five in total, with a handful located right inside major locations like Tomato Town & Retail Row. Others are in less obvious locations, but imkairu has shared this map on Reddit to help all you Fortnite players out! Check it out below!

Scavenger Hunt

One of the hardest challenges for this week includes “Search between a Vehicle Tower, Rock Sculpture, and a Circle of Hedges.” This vague clue is pointing you toward a point in the southeast corner of the map, in the G9 section. If you are stumped on where to go, Reddit has come to the rescue again! Click here to check out the spot.

You can check out all of the Week 4 challenges below. Keep in mind that, despite being added weekly, you have the entirety of Season 3 to finish these out! The Season 3 Battle Pass also includes new types of items, such as loading screens and Back Bling. So if you haven’t purchased it yet, what are you waiting for?

Fortnite: Battle Royale Week 4 Challenges

As long as it’s well written, you can’t beat a good point and click adventure. I remember the old Zork days when you spent more time rewording things like, “pick up rock,” than adventuring because, as well written as it was, the game had the vocabulary of a four year old. Then when I hit my early teens things changed. Some of my favourite games of all time appeared and the point and click genre was born. I’m talking games like Curse of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle and of course Terry Pratchet’s Discworld. If you haven’t played any of these, by the way, go and emulate them (or actually there’s a few good ones including Day of the Tentacle in the PS Store), they’re all awesome. Actually, while we’re at it, let’s add 7th Guest and 11th Hour to that list.

Now I’ve just given myself more work by spawning a future article I’ll get on with the reason I’m here. Nairi: Tower of Shirin is soon to hit the Nintendo Switch and yes you’ve guessed it … it’s an FPS. No, seriously, point and click all the way. Let’s have a little look, shall we?

It’s been a full year since the events of Yakuza Kiwami and fate has other things in mind for the legendary Dragon of Dojima, Kiryu Kazuma. In Yakuza Kiwami 2, one of the most beloved storylines in the franchise’s history, Kiryu finds himself back on the front lines of a potential all-out war, remade in full HD for the Playstation 4.

Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza returns in high form with Yakuza Kiwami 2, which will be released both physically and digitally on the Playstation 4 on August 28 2018. Pre-orders and first-run copies of Yakuza Kiwami 2 will come with an elaborate and tantalising SteelBook case featuring Kiryu and the Dragon of Kansai, his rival Ryuji Goda.

I’d like to think it’s common sense that if you go into a game expecting it to be exactly like another of its kind, you should also expect to be disappointed. This had me worried for Gleaner Heights, which has been compared in numerous reviews to Stardew Valley. But for those of you considering Gleaner Heights as your next farming time-sink, I have good news: it is not a Stardew Valley clone. While it might bear some surface similarities to other farming simulators, trying to compare it to a pre-existing game is just setting it up to fail. There are huge facets that are singularly unique, for better or worse, which help to make Gleaner Heights a game in a category all its own.

It’s not just its Lynchian, “who killed Laura Palmer” mystery, the pixelated retro homage to SNES-era Harvest Moon, or the Shin Megami Tensei–meets-smoky-jazz-nightclub soundtrack that sets it apart from 2016’s breakout farming simulator. Gleaner Heights is an entirely unique game that makes you work for what you want. It tells you right from the get go that it is not giving you any handouts, and that if you want to get to the bottom of the mystery, get married or win the golden chicken, you’re going to need to get comfy and be prepared to put in some serious time. Gleaner Heights is the brainchild of a single person, developer and publisher Emilios Manolidis, and for the complexity of the game, their dedication is impressive. It went live on Steam February 21, 2018 as a fully finished product, and already Emilios seems to be incredibly receptive to player feedback, fostering an open line of communication and encouraging players to report any issues they’ve found within the game.

Granted, game-play is still clunky. There are certain areas of the map where you may experience some serious lag (most notably for me was when exiting the hotel), loading between different locations can take a while, and there are instances where I glided past doorways or had to attempt an interaction multiple times before the game registered what I was trying to do. All of this can be attributed to the game’s newness, however. It’s not broken, just a little rough around the edges, and it is completely playable (and enjoyable) from beginning to end.

What Gleaner Heights could benefit from is a tutorial. As it stands, there is absolutely no “how to play” introduction outside of a brief directory in the menu. The game starts you off on your farm with tools, but no idea how to use them, and multiple buildings, with no explanation of what they are or what they do. Even things as simple as what keys do what thing are not explained, and I spent the first ten minutes of my game randomly pressing keys in an effort to learn through trial and error. Coupled with some unintuitive key mapping (the space bar is used to interact, but also to pick up items, and if you hold it you can place the item in your pack, but only sometimes; other times “c” is required to do so), and the clunky, hit-or-miss interactivity that I mentioned above, this lack of introduction resulted in some serious friction that almost soured me on the game as a whole.

That’s a damn shame, because once you get the hang of it, Gleaner Heights is really quite fun. But it is such a struggle just to learn how to play it, that I fear a lot of players might not give it a chance to get there. On their development blog, Emilios said that they don’t “like games [that] treat players like morons,” and they’d “rather have half of the people complain about not understanding what to do… than treat all of them as idiots.” I can understand that. I’ve been equally as frustrated with video games that excessively hold your hand, and that are so paranoid you won’t realize you can do x, y, or z, that they beat you over the head with intrusive text, explanations and tutorials (here’s looking at you, Skyward Sword).

There is an art to introducing players to your game in a way that’s fun and informative, but also discreet. Like the age-old screenwriting credo states: show, don’t tell. Games like Uncharted 3 or Half-Life find a way to integrate the tutorial into gameplay, so that players can learn by doing. Other games integrate the tutorial into the theme of the game, sometimes so fluidly that the player doesn’t even realize they’re being taught. And still other games like Total War: WARHAMMER, which would suffer from a fully interactive tutorial because they rely on forethought and strategy, rely on optional tutorial battles and encyclopedic text. That’s not to say that having no tutorial isn’t a completely valid option, either. Video games are all about overcoming challenges. That’s where the fun comes from: playing the game and figuring things out. Without a tutorial, the players are allowed to come into their own understanding of the game organically, resulting in a sense of accomplishment when they discover something new.

Trouble arises when basic functions that should have been explained go undiscovered by the player, and that’s where Gleaner Heights suffers. Be it something as simple as how to plant your crops, the lack intuitiveness between the game and the player runs the risk of becoming frustrating. In the beginning it can almost feel like the game is actively fighting against you, putting up barriers to your enjoyment of it through lack of communication alone, and I fear it acts as its own unintentional gatekeeper against players who might otherwise become fans. And for a game like Gleaner Heights, that hides so much of itself so steadfastly, this lack of fundamental understanding seems to be a step too far into the realm of “too much bother.” I wholeheartedly believe that it needs a tutorial, even something optional like “press F-whatever for exposition,” so that players who need help aren’t having to scour the Steam hub looking for answers to questions outside of the game itself.

Gleaner Heights expertly toes that magical line between loving retro-pastiche and originality in its design. It functions much like any other farming simulator in that you farm (clearly), raise animals, get married, and so on. There are a number of mysterious townsfolk to befriend, and multiple celebrations and events that take place throughout the seasons. Harsh weather like heatwaves and cold snaps, which cause your stamina to deplete faster, add another level of strategy to an already wonderfully challenging game, and a level system that includes select-able perks allows you to customize and adapt your character to your play style.

I did find myself wishing there were more dialogue options for NPC’s. Outside of community events, and the occasional difference depending on where the character is in town (characters have different dialogue in church on Sunday, for example), most NPC’s say the same thing over and over again, day after day. It tends to get monotonous, and it makes it hard to even want to build a rapport with them. I mean, if all Linda from finance said to you was “I like puppies,” every day for a year straight, you’d probably avoid her like the plague, even if your paycheck came up lacking. But it’s exactly then, when you put your head down and focus on building your farm and making friends, that the true heart and soul of this game makes itself known.

Gleaner Heights is a Twin Peaks analogue, through and through. Gigantic old hotel, with a rich and secretive owner who seems to have his sticky fingers in everything? Check. Visiting agent investigating the murder of a young, beloved local girl? Double check. A town full of rich, interesting characters with their own secrets and troubles? You better believe that’s a check! There’s even a sinister, paranormal force underlying all of it, infecting the towns inhabitants and driving the main plot of the game.

Things get weird in town after dark, and you will spend most of your nights combing through different avenues, collecting Nightflowers (a universally liked gift that only blooms after 9 p.m.) and seeking out events. As you build a rapport with your fellow townsfolk, more events will become available but you have to go looking for them, as they won’t come to you. They require diligence and hard work to discover: this is a game that does not relinquish its secrets easily, so if you are in it for the mysterious plot, be prepared to fight for it. It’s a Lynchian daydream down to its very core, but is also a fun, mysterious romp for everyone, and you don’t have to be a fan of David Lynch or the show to appreciate it.

The soundtrack is impeccable, a jazzy synth combo that inspired me to purchase the soundtrack so I could rock out to the boss battle music on the treadmill, and the dialogue can veer back and forth between charming, disturbing and outright ridiculous so fast, it’ll make your head spin. The coolest function, in my humble opinion, is the Sin System, and it is the one facet of the game in which the lack of explanation works completely in its favor. During the course of the game you are faced with delicate ethical dilemmas, and are forced to make decisions that rely on your perception of morality. Immoral actions grant you a sin, which stack up and play a major part in the end game scenario, but throughout the game, you have no idea what that is. All you are aware of is that you’re either gaining sins, or not, and it looms over your head like a dark, ominous cloud, building tension and promising nothing good. And while some issues of morality are cut and dry (don’t murder people, or condone murder, for instance), some are dubious at best. It adds a layer of unease to the game that, coupled with the obvious, yet painstakingly hidden mystery at the center of this strange little town, leaves you feeling like you are always a step behind, in the best way possible.

The plot itself is fairly cut and dry: someone died. There is a fresh grave in the cemetery when you arrive, and it is clear there is something odd happening in this sleepy town. There are pieces moving behind the scenes, but they will not show themselves to you. As a player, you need to make a conscious decision to go out and find them, sometimes with painstaking diligence and a lot of time and dedication. Be prepared to sink hours into wandering different paths around town, night after night, systematically gifting things to characters on the off chance it might be enough to spark an event during one of your patrols. And even when you put the work in, be forewarned: Gleaner Heights is loath to give up its secrets.

In his last development blog post before the games release, Emilios confessed that they “like games that are a slow burn,” and that they “don’t really like gratification because [they] double clicked the game’s icon! [They] actually want to do stuff, and [are] totally fine with missing some of them!” And in Gleaner Heights, you will miss stuff. If you don’t put on your sleuthing cap and follow the right story lines, or if you just don’t put enough effort into (or skip out entirely on) building relationships with townsfolk, the main plot will pass you by. After two years, no matter what you have or have not discovered, if you did not get to the bottom of the mystery, the end game scenario will happen with or without you.

That’s it. There goes the plot, and you missed it.

In this way, it’s two games in one for two different kinds of players. It’s for those of us who want the plot, and those who want to farm. However, it feels a little lacking for those who want both. You need to submit yourself to the humdrum, day to day farm life to make progress, but it can start to feel like you’re spreading yourself a little too thin, especially when you add to that the relentless friendship grinding and film noir spying the plot demands. It’s a game that will appeal to some, not all. Not everyone is going to like this game, but honestly, that’s fine. Not every game needs to be accessible to everyone, and for the audience that Gleaner Heights appeals to, I think it’s a total gem. It’s just a shame that it came out after the success of Stardew Valley.

I think its asinine to go into a game expecting it to be exactly like another of the same genre, and Gleaner Heights is so clearly modelling itself after Harvest Moon, if anything. Regardless, I still think the mere fact that it’s a farming simulator along the same vein as Stardew Valley will color people’s opinion of it, when really, it is a game in a category all its own and deserves to be seen as such. Despite only having released on February 21st, developer and publisher Emilios is already a superstar. At the time of writing, the game has been patched seven times, and Emilios has considered every piece of critique they’ve received, taking steps to rectify any issues in functionality, and actively listening to their fans suggestions. Some of the issues mentioned in this review will probably already be resolved by the time your read this, and that is just a testament to how fantastically adaptable they are. Though I was unable to find a site for them, they’ve been updating their twitter consistently, as well as the Steam community page with updates, and I am certain that as time goes on, what is already a good, solid game will become even better.

If you loved the challenge of older generation farming simulators, and you aren’t one to shy away from heavy subject matter and a good murder-mystery, give Gleaner Heights a shot. Just remember to be patient, work hard and fight for your right to insight. What this game hides is exactly what makes it memorable, and it only rewards the most steadfastly determined of adventurers.

The post REVIEW / Gleaner Heights (PC) appeared first on That VideoGame Blog.

It’s been one year since Thimbleweed Park first shuffled its way onto our consoles (and, in the case of the critics and fans, into our hearts). To commemorate the digital launch of the pixelated thriller, developer Limited Run Games has announced that their 2D adventure will be receiving a long-awaited physical release on both PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Both consoles will be touting two versions of the physical release, up for grabs in limited quantities from March 30th. The standard version will be game-only, priced at $34.99; for $30 more, you can pick up the collector’s edition, featuring exclusive art, posters, post-it notes, and an old-school ‘big box’ case.

But wait, I hear you cry. What’s this game all about? Let me explain.

In classic, side-scrolling fashion, Thimbleweed Park is a game for those who enjoy a jolly good story, paired with a healthy dose of surreal humor. A backwater town, a creepy clown, and a dead body in the river – it’s not Stephen King, but boy, it should be. Shall we peruse the trailer?

The Long Reach is a good example of the amazing amount of depth you can draw from 16-bit graphics and zero voice acting. Designed and crafted by Merge Games and Painted Black Games (from Ukraine and Russia, respectively), The Long Reach is a 2D adventure-thriller that tugs at your nerves with remarkable persistence for something so simple. “You don’t play in a post-apocalyptic world,” the press release intones, “or a fairy-filled fantasy world. You’re in the thick of it, just around the corner from where you buy your groceries.” Ah, groceries. Historically terrifying.

Simon’s Corner. Here, you are Calvin, and sane.

Rubber dog bones. Great for… erm?

Sheesh, NSFW.

Grim.

Not bad at all.

I seem to remember a quote somewhere that said something along the lines of, “The only good alien is a dead alien.” This is something that always rings true in videogames, unless you’re in a universe like that of Mass Effect, of course. If it’s green and ugly, it needs to be dead before you become its slave, an experiment, lunch or all of the above. This is certainly the case in Holospark’s new title, Earthfall, set for Xbox One, PC and PS4 release this spring.

In this squad based co-operative shooter, the alien horde have landed on Earth, bringing an army of horrors with them. Their one and only aim is to wipe humanity from the face of the planet. As a member of a four man team of defenders, it’s your duty to fight the invaders off or die trying.

Earthfall challenges up to four players to team up online and fight an invading otherworldly menace. Your armory will include a mix of modern and futuristic weaponry, portable barricades and mobile turrets. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to turn your enemy’s firepower against them. Features of the game are said to include not only the co-operative survival that I’ve just mentioned, but also A.I. teammates to insure you’ll always have a full squad regardless of how many are playing. Earthfall also allows you to play across multiple campaigns. Each one of these tells a story set over several missions. This insures the action stays fresh, allowing players to experience a diverse set of locations and challenges. These disparate campaigns also offer hints to the overall plot and the cataclysmic alien invasion.

Talking about keeping things fresh … you won’t be fighting mobs of copy and paste grunts. Your enemy comes in all shapes and sizes, from massive drone armies attacking in waves to towering behemoths spitting plasma. Your experience is designed to be different each time you play. The game’s dynamic spawning system will ensure that the challenge will be unpredictable with a new set of nasties lurking around every corner.

“When we released Earthfall in Early Access we received a great response from players,” said Russel Williams, CEO of Holospark. “Now it’s time to bring Earthfall to completion, along with making it available to Xbox One and PS4 players. We think players on all three platforms are going to be stunned by the game’s amazing 4k visuals, and will find themselves unable to tear themselves away from the cooperative sci-fi themed gameplay.”

We love a good shooter and this one sounds very interesting, indeed. A trailer has been released for the title and as always this is what I’m going to be leaving you with. If you happen to find this little video tantalizing then you won’t have long before you can get to grips with the real thing.

Publisher IMGN.PRO and developer Juggler Games have announced that My Memory of Us, an emotional puzzle-based, side-scrolling game, will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in Q3 2018. My Memory of Us is a story about real people in real events from history. It is a powerful story about a young boy and girl from two different worlds who grow up in the face of horror.

Indie game Last Day of June is making its way to the Nintendo Switch’s eShop and Facebook Gameroom for $19.99 on Friday. The game featuring the cutest no-eyed people you will ever see is developed by Ovosonico and published by 505 Games and has a 75 on Metacritic.

Last Day of June originally released last August for PlayStation 4 and PC and follows the story about a man named Carl and his (girlfriend/wife?) June. The game looks to be a gorgeous piece of art mixed with fitting music and a lot of emotion as Carl tries to prevent the death of June.

You can watch the trailer for the game down below.

Its been a long time since a game so simplistic on the surface could make me feel so damn hollow, but Speed Dating for Ghosts accomplishes that feat in record time. This quirky indie sim is, as the title suggests, all about speed dating ghosts. Developed and produced by Ben Gelinas and Mikey Hamm of Copychaser Games, it is available on Steam for under ten bucks, and is both compelling and deeply upsetting, all wrapped up in a quaint little bundle of pretty pastels and unobtrusive text.

As far as mechanics go, Speed Dating couldn’t be simpler: You click your mouse. That’s it. Click the “next” box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen to advance the dialogue (or if you really want to mix it up, hit that enter key, you rebel), which will eventually lead you to select from pre-generated responses to answer the ghost’s questions. The only real gameplay mechanics are the choices that you make. Different dialogue options will either make or break you with certain ghosts.

For instance, on my first playthrough I was introduced to a ghost who immediately asked if I wanted to rob a bank. Being the law-abiding spectre that I am, I obviously told him no…and so he left. The possibility of messing up your chance with a ghost, especially if you’re invested in their story (or if you’re a rabid completionist, like yours truly), raises the stakes and forces you to think and chose wisely. However, in my experience I found that even when I thought I royally messed up my chances, I was still able to salvage my relationship with specific spooks in the second round.

At the game’s opening, you’re asked to choose a room wherein you’ll sit and meet with three potential admirers. When the bell rings, the ghosts move to the next table, and you get to meet your next potential paramour. Once you have spoken to each of them twice, you get to choose who to go on a date with. The dates revolve around what you talked about, and more often than not, they pertain to a certain facet of that apparition’s death. There are nine ghosts in total, plus a bonus ghost (again, for us completionists). Each ghost has their own unique motives, personalities and story-lines, teased about at the speed dating event and then fleshed out as a text-adventure during their date.

With an accompanying musical score by Mikey Maybe, the “alter ego of game artist Mikey Hamm,” a soothing, Wes Anderson-esque color palette, and adorable/terrifying character art, Speed Dating for Ghosts is an enjoyable game to play, if a short one. I managed to get through all nine plus dates in a single sitting, and went back and dated a few of the same ghosts again, just to see how different dialogue choices changed the progress of the game.

It’s not particularly taxing, and in no way is it traditionally difficult; emotional difficulty is a whole other can of worms. I was able to sit back with a cup of tea and work my way through it as though I were reading a book and despite (or perhaps thanks to) the visual medium, I found it just as compelling. There were moments where I couldn’t click “next” fast enough, and others where I couldn’t bring myself to move on. Speed Dating for Ghosts knows its limits and plays to its strengths, betting it all on its ability to tell a compelling story, and it pays off. There’s tension, suspense, heartache and misery, and a good deal of tongue in cheek, dark humor that creates a functional world of fiction that both draws you in and keeps you invested, like any good storyteller would.

But don’t let the cheeky little characters and the silly premise fool you: this game is glum. You meet a plethora of dead folk, some with stories more miserable than others, and throughout the course of your meeting/dates, you’ll uncover a little more insight into who they are (or rather, were). You get to know the benefits of being dead, like free admittance to football games and the best seats in the house, as well as the philanthropic, like helping out at a nursing home.

The subject matter is heavy, and some of the stories you delve into are difficult to read, but the most impactful thing about Speed Dating is its premise, the sum of its parts. The entire game is shot through with what can only be described as a sunny sort of nihilism. From the get go, upon entering the speed dating event and talking with Fran (the organizer) you are shown (if not outright told) that this is an exercise in futility. You’re dead, so what are you hoping to accomplish here? Are you trying to make friends? Find someone to love? A partner in crime?

It doesn’t matter.

You are dead.

This shifts the premise immediately from being a cutesy, whimsical game about sweet little spooks finding love in the afterlife, to one about the intrinsic insignificance of mortality. What does it matter if you help Gary remember his death? It won’t change that he’s dead, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Even agreeing to meet the altruistic Hattie’s husband at their retirement home is pointless… he’s brain dead when you get there, kept alive against his will, and there is nothing to be done. You can comfort them, but what comfort can there be when they have no life, no future?

That’s the beauty of it: you can’t help but care for the spirits you meet. You feel for them as they divulge to you their regrets. Their hurt and confusion. And you try to help them, in any way that you can, because even though their lives have ended, the person they were is still just sticking around, caught in the ether of time where they can only observe the present, or look back on the past.

So yes, it’s a depressing game. But it’s lovably depressing, and if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself curled up in a little ball on your couch at two in the morning, torn between a existential angst and warm contentedness, wishing you had just a little more time with these dearly departed characters. And, to me at least, that’s the whole point.

Speed Dating for Ghosts isn’t for everyone. It’s not a traditional game with a goal, or a definitive end, or even anything to do. But it’s charming, heartfelt and makes you think, and for less than $10 ($12 for us Canucks, eh?) it’s definitely worth a try. Just be prepared for some soul searching, and go into the game with the understanding that you will be confronting frank discussions of death and its consequences, both humorously and not. And I for one will definitely be keeping an eye out for future Copychaser Games, because anyone who can make me want to give Gary a hug is really somethin’ extra.

Seriously, when he first popped up on my screen I screamed.

By the end of the date? I was calling him Gare-Bear.

That’s talent.

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