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The Crush House, the latest game from Reigns developer ​​Nerial, will debut on August 9. 

Described as a “thirst-person shooter,” The Crush House has you playing as a camera person tasked with filming a 1999 reality show. You’ll cast four out of 12 potential characters for the show, and then film them at a secluded Malibu mansion for a week to create your season. The aim is to find the perfect reality-show balance of drama, romance and near-violence to keep audiences hooked. Similar to the Reigns games, you’ll have to play to different audiences’ desires to keep the show ratings up, and pleasing everyone is a near-impossible task.

There seems to be a lot more to The Crush House than just a run-of-the-mill reality show. From the trailer, there’s clearly some dark horror going on behind the scenes, and you’ll be able to explore the mansion after-hours, talk to the cast and live out your dream of being a Bravo producer. Because everyone dreams of that, right? Right?

The Crush House hits PC on August 9, published by Devolver Digital, and there’s a demo set to hit Steam imminently.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/thirst-person-shooter-the-crush-house-hits-pc-on-august-9-002222406.html?src=rss 

Heart Machine is working overtime. The studio is gearing up to release Hyper Light Breaker, a big ol’ online adventure game, and it just revealed another title that’s in development and due out soon: Possessor(s). It’s scheduled to hit PC and consoles in 2025.

Possessor(s) is a twitchy action sidescroller set in a sci-fi city overrun by interdimensional horror. In its reveal trailer, it looks absolutely beautiful — demonic, dramatic and hyper-chromatic. 

Possessor(s) is set in a quarantined metropolis that’s been invaded by otherworldly forces, featuring 3D backgrounds and hand-painted characters coated in a sickly VHS glow. Combat involves lots of melee with found objects, sliding down long corridors and swinging from a grappling hook, with more weapons unlocked and upgraded as the experience progresses. 

Possessor(s) stars the host, Luca, and her problematic counterpart, Rehm. In order to survive, they need to learn how to coexist, and together they’re on a mission to discover the source of the catastrophe that destroyed this city. There’s an open-ended narrative with multiple paths to travel down, and a roster of characters to meet, each new story of devastation illuminating the larger mystery. 

Every cutscene in the Possessor(s) announcement trailer could be a screensaver and combat looks super smooth. It’s developed by Heart Machine and published by Devolver Digital.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/possessors-is-an-eerily-beautiful-action-sidescroller-from-heart-machine-003306696.html?src=rss 

The massively popular free-to-play tactical shooter Valorant is finally coming to consoles, as announced on-stage at Summer Game Fest. The game will be available for both Xbox Series X/S and PS5 as a limited beta starting on June 14. Once the beta concludes and Riot Games works out all of the bugs based on player feedback, it’ll be available globally to all users.

There are some caveats. You have to sign up for the beta right here and it will initially only be available in the US, Canada, Europe, the UK and Japan, with more regions to follow. Riot has also stated that there will be no crossplay between PC and console players, so as “to maintain Valorant’s renowned standard for competitive integrity.”

To that end, the game has been redesigned specifically for console controllers, with the company teasing “custom-built” gameplay. This won’t allow for crossplay, but will allow for a connected inventory and shared gameplay progression. Riot has also promised that both console and PC players will receive simultaneous updates, so patches, agents, maps and premium content will drop at the same time.

“We knew we had to be able to offer the same uncompromising, competitive experience that we’ve provided to PC players for years: a precise, team-based, tactical shooter,” said Arnar Gylfason, production director at Riot Games. “We hope we nailed it, but ultimately, our players will have the final say.”

For the uninitiated, Valorant has made a name for itself by focusing on precision and strategy, a rarity in the free-to-play FPS space. If you go in guns blazing without some serious tactical planning and some check-ins with your team, you’ll lose every single time. It’s more about outsmarting your opponents than shooting. It’s also a major player in the esports scene.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valorant-is-coming-to-xbox-series-xs-and-ps5-in-a-limited-beta-on-june-14-230016116.html?src=rss 

Alan Wake 2 is getting its first DLC package, which will consist of three separate chapters letting players explore the weird world of Alan Wake 2 with three new, if familiar, characters. The DLC itself is called Night Springs, and it’ll be available to download and play tomorrow.

Night Springs is a TV show that appears in the Alan Wake universe and if we followed that show’s Twilight Zone theme, these spin-off chapters could be ‘episodes’ of this series, existing in “parallel realities”. 

Think of it as Remedy’s take on Marvel’s What If…, because you’ll get to play as Alan Wake’s biggest fan, Rose Marigold, Quantum Break’s Jack Joyce and Control’s Jesse Faden, in each chapter, respectively. 

It’s a fun idea for DLC and it seems like Remedy is looking to get silly. Sinister voices tell Jesse to “try the coffee.” We get a jump cut to Shawn Ashmore’s ‘acting’ as Quantum Break’s Jack Joyce and a talking Billy Bass for fair measure. As mentioned alongside the full reveal, the DLC will be downloadable starting June 8.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alan-wake-2s-first-expansion-brings-remedys-other-heroes-to-night-springs-225204575.html?src=rss 

Simpler Times, the game that’s sweet like honey on a summer’s day, is out right now. Simpler Times is a soft and slow exploration game set in a supremely cozy bedroom, featuring a lifetime of memories to uncover and a soundtrack of soothing lo-fi music. Simpler Times is available on Steam.

The game takes place over four seasons, as the protagonist, Tania, clears out her childhood bedroom and looks back on her life. Her room is compact, with a wide bay window, a desk, a bed and a record player, which controls the game’s soundtrack. Players have to physically swap out the vinyl to keep the lo-fi beats going: remove the record, select a new one, slide the arm back and forth, drop the needle down. The process is meditative and rewarding, just like the rest of the game.

Indie studio stoneskip and publisher iam8bit announced Simpler Times’ surprise launch during the Day of the Devs showcase, which is part of Summer Game Fest. We played the demo at last year’s SGF and found it to be the coziest game of the show.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/simpler-times-the-coziest-game-of-summer-game-fest-2023-is-available-now-225927580.html?src=rss 

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, the stunning action and strategy RPG from Capcom, is set to come out on July 19 for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PS5 and PC. It’ll be a day-one Xbox Game Pass title.

We’ve had our eyes on Path of the Goddess for a while now. Even just in early trailers, it seems to offer a beautiful exploration of Japanese folklore, featuring lush settings packed with reactive details and dangerous creatures to battle. In Path of the Goddess, the land is fighting back against the people who have defiled it, spreading blight and spawning monsters called the Seethe. Players have to recruit villagers to their side during the day, and at night, they fight the Seethe, strategizing and managing resources along the way.

Capcom is celebrating Japanese history and culture with this game, similar to its previous titles Okami and Shinsekai: Into the Depths.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/capcoms-kunitsu-gami-path-of-the-goddess-is-coming-out-surprisingly-soon-230516011.html?src=rss 

The next title out of Capybara Games — the studio behind Super Time Force, Below and Grindstone — is a competitive, online puzzler with real-time strategy and color-matching mechanics, live updates and a seasonal narrative shaped by players. It’s called Battle Vision Network, and it’s heading to PC and mobile devices in 2025.

Battle Vision Network feels like an encapsulation of Capy’s sensibilities over 20 years as an independent game studio. It’s adorable in a Saturday-morning-cartoon kind of way, kind of like OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes. It relies on color-matching tactics, much like Grindstone. It has music from longtime Capy collaborator Jim Guthrie (Sword & Sworcery, Below) and Grindstone composer Sam Webster. And finally, it’s a one-on-one puzzle fight, similar to Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. In the announcement video for BVN, director Dan Vader described the new game as a spiritual successor to Clash of Heroes with an emphasis on multiplayer combat.

BVN has unlockable units with special abilities and a roster of customizable characters. The environments in BVN are outlandish and bright, packed with alien creatures, enthusiastic astronaut spectators and at least one talking skeleton. There are a handful of intergalactic teams in the game, each with a specific vibe, captain and engagement style. Every season players will determine the champion by battling under the banner of their preferred team and racking up points in a shared pool, affecting stats, events and narrative outcomes for everyone.

Capy is building BVN to be accessible but deep, with hours of replayability baked into its design. Netflix will distribute the iOS and Android versions of the game, meaning it should be available to all Netflix subscribers at no extra charge.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/battle-vision-network-is-capys-spiritual-successor-to-might–magic-clash-of-heroes-230547594.html?src=rss 

And now for a game that’s actually 50 games — at least.

UFO 50, the latest project from Spelunky studio Mossmouth, is due to hit Steam on September 18, about six years after it was originally expected to launch. That’s merely an observation, not a criticism — UFO 50 is an ambitious project that offers 50 full, retro-styled games in a single package, and it’s all coming from a team of just six people.

In UFO 50 lore, UFO Soft was a game developer who was active between 1982 and 1990, peak NES and Genesis years. The games collected in UFO 50 feature recurring characters and sequels from UFO Soft’s fictional past, and they’re restricted in terms of color and audio, as if they had actually been developed for bygone hardware. Mossmouth is manifesting an alternate timeline of video game history here, and it looks like a ton of fun.

“The story of UFO 50 is that the games were all created in the ‘80s by a fictional company that was obscure but ahead of its time,” the game’s FAQ reads. “They’re also connected by a unique 32-color palette and other restrictions we decided on to make them feel more authentic. (However, we don’t force sprite flickering or slowdown, as we didn’t feel that it would make the games more enjoyable.)”

Every game in UFO 50 is unlocked from the start, and the collection features a wide variety of genres, including platformers, RPGs, roguelites and shoot-em-ups. None of the titles are mini- or micro-games, and while they’re all done in an 8-bit aesthetic, their visual and mechanical styles evolve with the years. Every game is playable solo, and half of them include multiplayer elements.

All that said, I think Mossmouth is selling itself short by calling UFO 50 a collection of just 50 games. Sure, it includes 50 individual experiences inspired by classic games of the 1980s, but there’s also one huge, hidden title in the collection — UFO 50 itself. Don’t forget to factor that into your pricing deliberations, Mossmouth.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ufo-50-the-latest-game-from-the-spelunky-team-will-finally-arrive-september-18-231541214.html?src=rss 

Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure is due to hit PC, Switch, PlayStation 5 and mobile devices on July 25.

Arranger is an adventure game with a simple and disruptive conceit: The world exists on a grid of sliding tiles. Moving the main character, Jemma, slides the connected row or column of tiles with her, shifting the landscape as she travels. This mechanic turns walking into a puzzle and it forms the basis of the game’s spatial riddles.

Jemma is a misfit who’s venturing outside of her cozy home for the first time, discovering all of the amazing and terrifying things the wider world has to offer. The land is ruled by a strange, static force, and Jemma’s mission is to make the place loosen up (quite literally, it would seem).

Arranger is developed and published by indie studio Furniture & Mattress, which includes Braid artist David Helman, Carto writer Nick Suttner, Per Aspera composer Tomas Batista and Ethereal developer Nicolás Recabarren. The mobile version of Arranger will be distributed through Netflix, meaning anyone with an active subscription should be able to play at no extra charge.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arranger-turns-a-slide-puzzle-into-an-adventure-game-this-july-232441365.html?src=rss 

The team behind Furi and Haven is back with something completely different and seriously intense: Cairn. It’s a rock-climbing simulator set on the face of a lethally steep mountain, starring an alpinist who’s determined to be the first person to reach its summit. Players can climb literally everywhere in Cairn, and the challenge lies in maintaining balance and stamina moment-to-moment. If you don’t, the climber falls and dangles on their tether, expelling a scream of frustration. It’s kind of like GIRP, but incredibly elegant and super hardcore.

Cairn is a “survival climber,” according to The Game Bakers, and it includes moments of slow mundanity among the extreme physical exertion. As they ascend, players are able to establish a limited number of checkpoints by screwing pitons into the rock, and choosing where to place these is a critical aspect of the game’s strategy.

The Game Bakers debuted Cairn during the Summer Game Fest opening show. Its development team includes sound designer Lukas Julian Lentz, who worked on Cocoon, and audio director Martin Stig Andersen, whose previous projects include Limbo, Inside and Control. It’s currently scheduled for a 2025 release on PC and consoles.

Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 right here!

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-game-bakers-cairn-turns-mountain-climbing-into-a-boss-rush-220638117.html?src=rss