Today Bandai America has celebrated the 20th anniversary of the original Tamagotchi. To memorialise the occasion, Bandai has decided to give the gift of nostalgia to Tamagotchi fans of the mid-to-late ’90s by releasing a smaller version of the device in limited quantities on November 5th this year! Better yet, Tamagotchi fans can pre-order the little handheld starting today!

The new Tamagotchi, despite being smaller, features the familiar egg shape, pixelated LCD charm and the recurrent need for TLC that endeared fans when it was first released. Bandai doesn’t mention the sleepless nights as a seven-year-old, waking to your crying Tamagotchi at 3am, but that’s neither here nor there.

Like the originals, the mini Tamagotchi device offers six different shell designs from the initial Japanese launch, and each contains six characters. Bandai also plan to feature the iconic packaging design from the original device.

The mini Tamagotchi will retail at $14.99 in the US!

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I spent a lot of time this weekend exploring the Star Wars: Battlefront II open beta (customary article reference here). After having played the first game enough to realise that it was an incomplete mess, I’d seen many a promising trailer for the sequel, and had decided that the EA DICE development team could only travel in one direction: straight up. Battlefront II boasts a significant increase in the amount of launch-day content over its predecessor; it has also done away with the notorious season pass, courtesy of EA’s hasty business MO change. But are these charitable alterations enough to bring Battlefront II out from the shade?

Yeah, you sell it, John Boyega.

Chaos;Child is a fourth entry in the Science Adventure series of visual novel-styled games by 5pb and the sequel to Chaos;Head. Originally released in Japan 2014, it has over the last few years ended up on basically every platform, worldwide. In Chaos;Child, players control Takuru Miyashiro, president of Hekiho High School’s newspaper club, who experiences regular delusions. At key points throughout the story, the player is given the option to choose if Takuru experiences a negative or positive delusion (or neither). Each choice affects the plot’s direction and the way it diverges from the main narrative into a different version of the story. Chaos;Child uses psycho-suspense elements similar to previous entries in the series, but leans heavily on horror and gore without being excessive.

Regarding the main high-school age characters, the character designs are pretty and cute without being very interesting. 5pb have done well to make the characters varied and unique despite only having a few different poses and expressions available, which is something that many games and anime lack. Chaos;Child does well not to fall into the anime/anime-style game trap of falling into stereotypes – while you still have the sister character, the childhood friend character, and the mysterious mute character, you wouldn’t be able to pick them just by looking at the art, which is refreshing.

The strength of Chaos;Child’s character design really shines in the horrific and less-cutesy characters. It’s imperative that if your game relies on the use of gore and horror imagery, you must be able to show these images appropriately and with an acceptable amount of detail. Chaos;Child has fantastic, eerie horror visuals with fantastic use of light and shadow and lingers for just the right amount of time on certain images to stir up a sense of dread and unease.

The music, while fairly unmemorable, is perfectly realised for each of the settings in the game – school, crime scenes, in the city and in flashbacks. What really stands out in Chaos;Child is the use of sound effects. In various scenes, sounds like a door ominously, continuously knocking in a specific pattern are used repetitively, which also contributes to the growing feeling of dread. Likewise, all other sound fades away at key points, along with the visuals, to make way for the sound of a racing heartbeat so muffling it’s as if the sound is in your own ears. All of the general sound effects like typing and pouring tea sound blend seamlessly into the dialogue and don’t feel as though they were introduced in an abrupt way, and fade out just as easily.

I’m the kind of person who doesn’t expect that a horror genre text-based adventure like a visual novel or a book will have the same effect as a movie or interactive game of the same genre, but I was genuinely feeling uneasy and gripping the controller harder and harder at regular intervals. The voice acting (all in Japanese) is refreshingly natural and really fits each of the characters perfectly. There is a complete lack of overwhelming anime-style personalities or irritating extremes like squealing or shouting, which I also appreciated, given the risk one runs when playing games such as these. Obviously screams and shrieks do happen, given that Chaos;Child has a reoccurring horror theme, but the volume is balanced well with the rest of the audio and it is used sparingly and to great effect.

Here comes the bulk of the review, as one might expect from a game that relies almost entirely on its storytelling. Chaos;Child‘s storyline is pretty unique, although I won’t spoil it here for those that intend to play the game in future. For reasons which are revealed later in the plot, Takuru has been beset with regular delusions, which I mentioned earlier in the review, which can be neutral, positive, or negative. The game doesn’t actually give you much of an indication of what you’re supposed to do with the delusions (selecting them involves pressing L2, R2, or leaving the screen centred) or even what they are at first. The delusion trigger pops up in response to certain stimuli in the plot, though it’s often as a response to talking to other people.

For example, Takuru is speaking with a classmate who is threatening him, and choosing the negative delusion shows a path where Takuru imagines in vivid, gory detail, what it would be like to attack the other student. After the delusion is over, Takuru shakes it off and makes a comment on whatever the delusion showed him. At face value your choices have no effect on how the plot progresses, although obviously they become important later on. Positive delusions, in my experience, are almost entirely related to wooing the female characters, even though not a single one of them show any interest in him. While the visuals are very tame, some of the situations that are brought up in positive delusions are quite sexually explicit. It feels a bit icky, like unnecessary fanservice, until you consider Takuru’s general disposition in the game.

Early in the game before any of the horror and gore starts affecting your character, Takuru spends an eternity talking about how he’s not a “normal”, and that he’s a “right-sider”. He also implies that his non-nerdy, non-tech and information-obsessed classmates are “normals” and nowhere near as intelligent as him. Multiple times he states that he is special, and that he wants to show all of them how superior he is compared to the rest of the class – or society in general. He also hates to admit it, but he’s clearly sexually and romantically frustrated and regularly reads ageing magazines about how to pick up women. I really, really disliked Takuru as a character because he reeks of what the internet loves to refer to as a “Nice Guy” or possibly even a “Neckbeard” in some contexts. Since the visual novel format has you constantly strapped to Takuru’s every thought and action, if you aren’t at all receptive to his obsessive love for himself, he’s going to start to grate on you.

Luckily, the other characters are more agreeable, even with their own flaws. Once the storyline deepens a little and it becomes less about Takuru’s thoughts on society and more about his obsessive interest in the case and his past, the grating feeling lessens considerably. Excluding how infuriating Takuru is in the first few hours of the game, Chaos;Child‘s storyline is really gripping and interesting. It’s also a lot longer than I had anticipated, and as such I haven’t even gotten to the end of the story at the time of writing this review. The first chapter alone, which feels insanely long, took at least 5 hours of solid gameplay to complete, although I’m certain it was longer than that. Even though the visual novel format can be exhausting, reading lines and lines of dialogue for hours on end, Chaos;Child‘s storyline will keep you saying “Just one more day, just one more scene” and I truly believe that is the hallmark of a fantastic story.

Provided you’re not too upset by unpleasant themes and gory screenshots, Chaos;Child will appeal to you. If you’re not a fan of visual novels or have no patience for non-action games, steer clear and maybe read a synopsis or watch a “let’s play” instead. The story is fantastic, but it might be more suited to a book than a game for some players. Chaos;Child‘s storyline turned what would have been an average to above average game for me into a truly intriguing one. I also think that with the prevalence of glossaries, chat logs, and any-time saving, a purchase on the Vita would be just as enjoyable.

Note: A video form of my Cuphead review will be available Here and all images are taken from my gameplay I put up on my personal Youtube channel.

After being in development for what seemed like forever, Cuphead has finally arrived. Studio MDHR’s debut game is hand drawn to look like a 1930’s cartoon and it looks amazing. Now everyone around the block who has had a chance to talk about the game will tell you how difficult Cuphead is. While yes, it is difficult, by no means is it impossible and hardly ever are you handed an unfair situation. Anytime I found myself in a battle that took me awhile, I knew my downfalls were self-inflicted (miss timing a jump, not dodging at the right time, losing concentration). I can not say there was a single point of the game where I felt the game gave me an unfair situation which took luck or the perfect situation to happen for me to win.

The story of the game follows Cuphead and his best friend Mugman as they go to the Devil’s Casino. After the Devil sees them winning every roll, he makes a deal with them: win one more roll and they get all of his loot, lose and he owns their souls. Of course, they lose and to pay back the Devil, they have to collect the souls of other debtors in exchange for their own. It is a simple story, but it gets the game moving. There is actually very little in terms of story progression from beginning to end. It pretty much comes down to gathering the souls and bringing them to the Devil.

One more thing about the story, the cutscenes are played out in still pictures. As a guy who loves all of the animation put into the game, I would have loved to see the cutscenes have their own animations. By no means does this make the game worse, but I was disappointed to see a game that prides itself on it’s hand-drawn animations have still pictures to tell its story. That being said, who knows how much longer the game would have had to be delayed to put in those animations, so at the end of the day I am fine with it.

The gameplay of Cuphead is simple, but it works well. Cuphead (or Mugman) shoots bullets out of his hands to damage enemies and has both a jump and dash move to dodge enemy attacks. Pink enemy attacks can be parried which adds to your super move that I will talk about in a second. Using the coins found in the Run and Gun sections of the game, there is a shop in the game to buy new abilities to outfit yourself with and super moves can be unlocked at Mausoleums.

The shooting in the game is limited to only being able to shoot left, right, up, all diagonals, and down while in the air. I found this to be limiting a bit in what I wanted to do. If the fight called for me to shoot below the platform I was on I either had to keep jumping and aiming down or move all the way to the side and go down myself to reach them. Also, there were a few times that not having a full 360 degree range of aiming just didn’t cut it. Especially when you have only the peashooter, there are times that where you are standing is not viable. Putting those nitpicks to the side though, the gameplay is fluid and really works well.

Equippable abilities range from two different ways to shoot, one super ability, and one “charm” ability. I found myself using the normal peashooter for range and switching to the spread shot when close to deal out the big damage, but there are six different shooters available with different effects. For charms I really stuck with the smoke bomb ability which lets you take no damage while dashing, but there are others like more health for less damage, and an automatic parry.

In the bottom left of the screen while playing you will notice cards come up when you deal damage and parry pink attacks. This is your super meter. One card lets you do a more powerful attack, but letting all 5 cards fill up allows you to do your super. There are three supers, a powerful energy beam, invincibility for a very short time, and a ghost attack that can really wipe out enemies when used correctly. For most of my time, I used the energy beam because invincibility was too short, and with the ghost attack I was letting myself get hit more trying to deal out as much damage as possible. The supers are useful tools for different situations.

There are two different kinds of levels in Cuphead. First, are the bosses. Every boss is very different from the last one faced. You can start out fighting giant vegetables in a garden, to two boxing frogs, to a dragon while jumping on clouds, to a mermaid that turns into Medusa, to the Devil himself. I loved the design of the bosses and the stages they are placed in. The bosses seem lively with fluid movement, and the backgrounds can sometimes play into how a fight is handled, or sometimes have their own element of animation. The methods needed to win each fight comes down to knowing how to dodge attacks and knowing when to deal damage. There are no health bars or checkpoints in the game and the only indication of progress is when a boss goes into a different phase or you die and you see how close you were to the end on a timeline. Some bosses were a harder learning experience than others, I do not know how many times I saw I was so close to the end, only to die and start over from the beginning.

The second kind of level is the “run and gun.” These are the platforming areas of the game where you have to reach the end while dodging smaller enemies and find coins to spend in the shop. I had a fun time playing these levels, without them I feel the endless boss fights would be a bigger chore. While still challenging, I could always look towards a run and gun section to make the game feel a little more fresh when I spent too long on a previous fight.

In the end, Cuphead was a blast to play from beginning to end. It is difficult and you will be tested as a gamer, but this throwback to 1930’s era cartoons is an absolute piece of art with great gameplay to accompany it. The $20 price tag is perfect for it and for anyone who has been waiting for this since it was first announced years ago, the wait was worth it.

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Although Darkwood only saw full release in mid-August of this year, it already has quite the following due to its lengthy (as in three years) Alpha release. Its novel approach to survival horror – with the emphasis heavily on survival – has drawn a lot of attention, and fans eagerly awaited the game’s ending that has only now been included in the full release. From the get-go, the game delivers on atmosphere. There’s something about limiting your visibility that automatically has you on edge; did you see something move in the darkness, or are you just letting your imagination run away with you? The soundtrack and sound effects are also well chosen and judiciously used to increase the tension as well as guide the player toward objectives and away from danger.

The game consists of a Prologue and two Chapters, although the prologue can be skipped as it serves mostly as the game’s tutorial. For first time players, this is a mistake; not because the game is particularly difficult or the controls differ widely from other games, but because this tutorial is carefully designed as an introduction to the Darkwood world, as well as our main character. Backstory is delivered from a doctor living in the woods, although he is quickly marked as an unreliable narrator, with claims of persecution, paranoia, and warped, terrifying images of the people he supposedly helped. The aspersions cast on his character are not lessened as you explore his house, where cages stand empty and behind the door of a locked room, someone cries pitifully to be let out.

Although you gather materials and learn how to wield weapons as the doctor, after he comes across a collapsed figure in a forest clearing and begins torturing the man for information, you begin to play as the captive instead. The tutorial does not attempt to hold the player’s hand through the various game functions; it is very bare-bones instruction as the player moves through the story. Briefly, we are introduced to combat, the crafting system, and how to navigate the game environment, but all of it is done in a minimal, almost under-explained way.

Most of the gameplay in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 is a combination of exploring the environment and reinforcing various “hideouts”. The passage of time is marked with “day” and “night” segments of gameplay. During the day, the protagonist scrounges for supplies and meets various inhabitants of the overgrown, dangerous forest who will trade with him or ask him to accomplish various tasks in exchange for information. At night, it is not safe to be outside, and the protagonist is forced to take shelter in one of several rundown buildings.

The nighttime portions are where the real horror happens; like a more serious version of Don’t Starve, you hole up and try to keep the darkness at bay. There’s a significant amount of downtime as you wait through the darkness. However, in this game, the light you need to stay safe can also alert certain supernatural elements to your presence. Randomized events happen throughout the night, including phantom images in the room with you, shadows lurking just outside of view, and ominous, persistent knocking at the doors and windows. And of course, stuff that breaks into your house and tries to kill you.

Frankly, despite the developer’s claims that this was a horror game “without jumpscares”, the tension and paranoia induced by the hostile nature of the game environment allow the player to scare themselves. The keyboard controls are not as refined as one might hope, but the ease with which a player can accidentally open a door in the dead of night, while something lurks in the darkness just outside- in the right circumstances, it’s actually something of a benefit to a horror game.

The game’s character designs, which are really only visible when interacting with other characters, are amazing- they are disquieting without being gory or grotesque. The same can be said of any artwork in cutscenes or when interacting with special areas or concocting power-ups, but the bulk of the game is a top-down view of the protagonist and his environment.While every environment is incredibly detailed, the top-down view prevents the aesthetics of the game from being enjoyed fully.

The best thing about Darkwood is that it gives the player an objective, but attempts to provide as much freedom as possible to them while imposing actual consequences for actions. Most of the characters you talk to, you can also choose to attack and potentially kill. For every task a character asks of you, there is potentially another way to gain the information or benefits they offer. Even the power-ups you can get by filling a hypodermic needle with the strange mushrooms growing in the forest require you to choose a negative effect to go along with your new abilities.

Darkwood’s creators call their game “unforgiving”, but what I think they really mean is that the game strives to truly put you in the place of the protagonist- not particularly strong, but a potentially resourceful person who is trying to get out of this frightening place alive. It asks a lot of its players: perseverance, strategic thinking, and constant vigilance. It definitely delivers on being a unique entry in the survival horror genre, but for a lot of players, may end up as something of an acquired taste.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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The Warriors franchise has been duplicated multiple times as of late. This style of gameplay can be seen in Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, and even Dragon Quest Heroes. The formula of looking super bad-ass by wiping out screen-fulls of enemies with one guy (or girl) is popular, so it makes sense that they would want to throw a bunch of skins on it. You would think that with all of these recent games using the formula that a recent Warriors game would be the top experience. Normally, you would be right. However, Warriors All-Stars has decided to forgo fine-tuned gameplay for needless fan-service and a paint-by-numbers story.

If you have ever played a Dynasty Warriors game then you will feel right at home with this title. Levels are filled with wave after wave of squishy enemies for you to smash through and objectives for you to complete. Battles are fought using light, heavy, and special attacks. Fighting the nameless grunts is easy, with most if not all of them not being able to lay a hand on you in any given battle.

Bosses are another story entirely, with most of them employing cheap A.O.E. tactics in order to keep you away from them. Then, once you get back up, you find yourself caught up in their attack all over again. So, in turn, I was forced to use cheap tactics of my own if I wanted to have a fighting chance. I walked away from battles feeling like I out-cheated the computer, not like I outmaneuvered it in combat. This mad me annoyed whenever I had to deal with someone I couldn’t kill in a few smacks.

My biggest gripe with Warriors All-Stars has to be the lack of any sort of co-op multiplayer. The best part about hack and slash games would have to be taking on crazy and slightly stupid bosses with a friend. Fighting together makes up for a lot of the series shortcomings with the two of you being able to split up objectives on the battlefield.

Yet none of that is present in Warriors All-Stars. Another game that would have greatly benefited from couch co-op has been denied it. I had the same problem with Hyrule Warriors when it was brought to the 3DS, but I gave that one a pass because of the weaker hardware. But this game is on the PS4. Come on, guys!

The story of Warriors All-Stars is basically a direct rip from a lot of other collaboration games, the first one coming to mind is Fire Emblem Heroes. To sum it up, creatures in the world that the game takes place in use the last of the magic of a dying power source in order to summon multiple different characters from the Koei Tecmo games in order to help them save their realm. However, in a twisty twist that almost no-one saw coming, the characters are recruited by different sides and now have to fight each other in large-scale battles. It goes without saying that everyone is stuck in this world until they can solve the problem at hand. But first, they have to survive each other.

Since the game has three different sides for you to play that adds a level of replayability. Look, I’m not saying that the story is the worst thing in the world. I would actually have to know what is going on in order to make that claim. Sadly most of the story plays out in text conversations that show up while you are in the middle of the fight. And seeing that the game was only subbed in English your choices are to pay attention to the story and give the already annoying bosses an advantage or solely paying attention to the combat and blocking the story out entirely. I picked the latter.

Honestly, the characters are the best part about Warriors All-Stars. From the crazy fighting style of Kasumi from Dead or Alive to the swordplay of William Adams from Nioh, every character in the game plays refreshingly well. Combos are flashy and over the top. Taking down giant groups of enemies feels just as great as it does in any other Warriors game. O

n top of that, they decided to keep the original art style of every character which makes the game look interesting, albeit sometimes really weird. It’s hard to take a battle seriously when the rest of your team starts dancing and cheering you on. It is equally as hard when you are throwing huge dice at people, I’m looking at you Rio. The environments are pretty the first time you see them but you will soon notice that you are seeing the same things over and over again.

It seems that the biggest problem that Warriors All-Stars suffers from is lack of heart and ambition. Koei Tecmo had the ability here to tell an amazing story and the opted to make a soulless Hack & Slash. Its average, plain and simple.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.

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It’s been a big week for videogame tributes to the galaxy far, far away. EA have been teasing the sequel to 2015’s Star Wars: Battlefront since E3 in June, in what appears to be an effort to prove that “we can do better than the first game.” In fact, a recent trailer revolved around drawing comparisons between the original and the sequel, showing us all just how sorry they were that Star Wars: Battlefront was an incomplete game at launch.

Since the early 2000’s, RollerCoaster Tycoon has arisen as a model of simplicity of what is possible to achieve with a videogame. RCT quickly became the staple of construction and management simulation games, popularizing the genre by implementing the idea of creating your very own theme park. The interface was also quite simple to use compared to other world-building games. Of course, this enabled millennials (like me) to enjoy this experience early on in their childhood.

A decade and a half later, loyal fans of the game can now relive their fond memories of the classic games. Chris Sawyer, the original creator and producer, has teamed up with Atari® to present RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic. The game is now available on Steam for PC.

The remastered title includes updated versions of the original theme park sims, RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. Aiming to focus on the best features the series has to offer, Sawyer revisits the two most popular games of the Tycoon series. In addition, players can enjoy new add-ons not found in the original games. The Scenario Editor Toolkit, Wacky Worlds, and Time Twister expansion packs add new layers to a timeless gaming experience.

Key Features

Education is the best weapon. Assassin’s Creed Origins’ new upcoming DLC will certainly support this ideal. The player will delve into the ancient Egyptian setting within the game mode Discovery Tour. This free piece of DLC launches early 2018, so we won’t have to worry about the hole in our pockets after getting Origins.

What can we expect?

Developed by Ubisoft, the Assassin’s Creed franchise started in 2007. The tenth major installment had now dropped after ten years. It seems like the series has been with us forever, but we don’t tire of it. Furthermore, this DLC turns Origins into an interactive history lesson, which will be sure to please many keen fans. It’s been in development for two years and Ubisoft did a good job keeping it under wraps. Kudos. In any case, Discovery Tour essentially avoids combat. Gone will also be the narrative of the main campaign. Instead, the practicalities of mummification and Cleopatra’s life will replace it. Players are able to traverse through famed locations such as Alexandria and the Nile Delta, and many more. The tour has been brought to life, primarily with the use of audio narration and drawings.

This, and the tale of the opposition between Templars and Assassins alike from the construction of the pyramids, will be included. The open-world restoration of ancient Egypt will feel more realistic and bring about a fresher take on AC-type exploration.

Mummies!

Ever wondered how corpses were mummified? I had always been curious to know. Discovery Tour is a game mode that will exhibit the detailed process of mummifications during the era of BC. It will definitely be a very educational journey for the players. They will watch people and animals work and live their lives during this time. Hopefully, the DLC will almost be as immersive as physically going back in time!

Ubisoft previously received backlash from players for the factual inaccuracies of AC Unity. It had caused so much upset that the developers had to resort to openly telling the public that the game is “not a history lesson”. Could this have inspired the contents of Discovery Tour? Whatever the answer is to that, we are looking forward to this game mode as players. Historians and Egyptologists alike had been asked to contribute knowledge during the development process. This is to ultimately add accuracy. It would be like walking around an open-world museum, with little to no hostility. No need to worry about practically carrying a target around your back – phew!

Conclusion

There has always been the question of whether videogames (which address history in a way) should be used for educational purposes. Discovery Tour is most definitely not exempt from this argument. Those who disagree have called games such as these ‘gimmicks’ more than anything. Realistically, we will not know until the DLC arrives. In any case, I do admire the sentimental idea that it is intending to deliver. Assassin’s Creed is widely known for being conveyed back through time to witness key events in history.

Discovery Tour will allow us to look back into ancient Egypt and still have the power to entice young minds. Because whether we’d like to admit it or not, there had always been a time in the classroom where we’d rather be anywhere but there. What’s not to like with a videogame that will immerse and captivate you in a time far before our own?

The post Assassin’s Creed Origins DLC Discovery Tour: It’s a history lesson after all! appeared first on That VideoGame Blog.

On September 14th, I had the opportunity to attend one of Egypt’s very few video game industry events. Run Double Jump is an event that encourages indie developers in Egypt to discuss their work and showcase their games. Its mission is to energize investors and professionals towards supporting the video game industry in Egypt. Furthermore, RDJ aims to raise awareness about the presence and struggles of video game development in Egypt. The Egyptian Information Technology Institute (ITI), IGDA Egypt Chapter and Egyptian indie game studio, 2024 Studios were the event organizers.

Each year, attendees test the showcased games and provide feedback to the developers. As a result, aspiring developers in the region gradually become open to the idea of sharing their work. This should help developers perpetually fine-tune their project until it’s ready for release. In turn, these indie developers and volunteer testers assist with shaping the Middle Eastern video game industry into a more solid form. The featured games this year were playable across multiple platforms such as mobile, PC, and VR.

Run Double Jump 2017 also featured multiple talks and workshops by industry professionals. Here are some that highlighted different aspects of the industry…

When from Scratch was from Scratch – Ahmed Naguib (Instinct Games)

Instinct Games’ Ahmed Naguib provided the audience with a historical overview on the evolution of video game development

Media and creative agency representative Momen Al-Adl discussed how media and PR services are advancing – all thanks to augmented and virtual reality

PhD student Laila Shoukry discussed gamified education and its prominence in Egypt and the Middle East

Two-man team Youmaku Games walked out of the event more victorious than ever