jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Welcome to the August 2015 NeoGAF Steam thread! Where the hottest new OS isn't SteamOS
- STEAM News Thread - Read rules before posting
- GAF Steam ID List | Request a buddy
- Steam Trading | Games/Cards/Keys/Money/Items
- PC Gaming Threads | A list of PC threads on NeoGAF
Armikrog - Dog Problems
Armikrog is a claymation point-and-click adventure that is a spiritual sequel to The Neverhood which released back in 1996. Doug TenNapel (creator of Earthworm Jim) and many of the original developers of The Neverhood are back together making this game. Terry Scott Taylor, who did the soundtrack for The Neverhood, is returning to compose the soundtrack for this game. It also features voice actors such as Michael J. Nelson (Mystery Science Theater 3000) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). It had a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013.
The story revolves around the main character, Tommynaut, and his blind talking dog, Beak-beak as they try to escape a fortress that is holding them captive.
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD - jshackles
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is a port of the PS4/XB1 game released in March, which itself was a port of a PSP game released in Japan in 2011. This Final Fantasy spin-off takes place in the fictional world of Orience, during global war that's taking place between four factions: the Dominion of Rubrum, the Militesi Empire, the Lorican Alliance, and the Kingdom of Concordia. Amidst all of this, you (the player) take on the role of "Class Zero" - a group of top students from Akademeia, the capital of the Dominion of Rubrum. These 14 cadets are mostly named after playing cards - Ace, Duece, Seven, Jack, King, and so on.
As for the game play itself, this is an action-RPG rather than the traditional Final Fantasy turn-based games we're used to. All 14 cadets are playable from the very beginning, and it's up to you to choose which ones you'll take on missions and level up. Each party member has their own weapon with unique play style - everything from swords, bare hands, guns, and even magic playing cards. The game progresses linearly by taking on missions, then chilling out at the school listening to lectures from Moogles or raising Chocobos or doing side content until it's time for the next mission. The story plays out over the course of several Ken Burns-inspired faux-wartime footage videos. The game is a bit more dark and gritty than other entries in the series, and has even been called "Final Fantasy for adults".
Personally I found the game to be pretty lackluster in it's execution, but hopefully with the PC release we'll see texture mods and fixes to make this the best version of the game yet. It's currently available for $26.99 and includes some pre-purchase exclusive DOTA2 items. Sadly, a demo for Final Fantasy XV on PC is not included.
Close Your Eyes - Dusk Golem
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. How y'all doing? The name of the game is Close Your Eyes, a free-to-play surrealistic horror game made in RPG Maker by yours truly. The game was originally made for Ludum Dare 29 in two days during April, 2014. The game was reworked into a 'Redux' version of itself in a few days a year later in April, 2015. This version of the game received surprising positive response, and prompted me to try and experiment and post it on Greenlight. It went through much faster than I expected (11 days), and so here we are with a Steam release. This is the 'final expansion' version of the game, which adds and tweaks even more content to make the game about twice as long, as well as a few features special to the Steam platform.
The game stars a peculiar almost marshmallow-like character who has just narrowly avoids death row. Escaping into an abandoned subway system, maybe it's here that they'll find salvation? But really, all one needs to do is close your eyes. Then you'll really start seeing~
Previous version was praised for a strange atmosphere that somehow is developed through the game's simple graphics and shapes, bizarre but effective audio design, and a surreal world with surprising moments, backed with well-done voice acting and a cryptic narrative. But really, it's all in the experience, isn't it? Hope those who decide to give it a swing enjoy it, it's a small little game but interested to hear thoughts and experiences, of course.
Satellite Reign - Uzzy
Satellite Reign is a class based, open world, real time tactics game from 5 Lives Studios. In the neon and rain soaked City of the future, you play as members of a new, emerging corporation, struggling to survive. You'll have to build up your power base within the city, influencing people to your cause and obtaining assets, through hacking, propaganda, infiltration or brute force. Your eventual target: Dracogenics, a megacorp with the monopoly on immortality. Take them down and end their monopoly on immortality, freeing the poor oppressed masses, or ruling over them as you see fit.
I never get tired of seeing the ambiance of a desolate cityscape, cast in floods of rain and neon, with skyscrapers rising into the heavens far above the dispossessed squalor below. Satellite Reign's city is a fascinating example of this, but it's not just a pretty aesthetic. It's a massive open world, with masses of options for you to engage with. You'll have this constant list of needs, such as money to buy upgrades, to pay for cloned agents (no permadeath of your agents here), technological resources , researchers to develop your latest gadgets, and a variety of missions for you to try and sate those needs, with a ton of different ways of going about them. Your agents all have different classes, but you can tool them out with equipment and augmentations to suit your desired playstyle. It's a spiritual successor to Syndicate, and from what I've seen, it more than lives up to that classic name. Two great cyberpunk games in one month? I'm in mirrorshade heaven.
Celestian Tales: Old North - Arthea
It is one of very successful kickstarter RPGs that seems to be borrowing of the best JRPGs of old, as Suikoden for example.
It has immersive storyline, very beautiful hand drawn artwork, moral driven story, multiple personal arcs (six main characters) and great soundtrack.
I don't know much about gameplay yet, only that it is a turn based RPG, but I expect great things from it too.
Also it has one of the best disclaimers on the steam store
You are not special
The world is not about to end
There is no ancient prophecy
No giant mythical beast is about to be unleashed
But, war is coming
And your moral duty is to your family and your people
Right or wrong is for you to decide
Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Uzzy
Shadowrun: Hong Kong is an isometric, turn based RPG from Harebrained Studios. As a standalone title, Hong Kong doesn't need you to own any of the previous Shadowrun titles, Returns or Dragonfall Director's Cut. Set in a cyberpunk world where man (and orc and elf) meet machines and magic, Shadowrun: Hong Kong takes place in the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone. You play a recent arrival to the city state, drawn to the glittering lights of Victoria Harbour with the promise of a quick, easy payday. However, you instead find yourself quickly drawn into a corporate conspiracy decades in the making, and forced to make new allies and prove yourself in the shadows in order to survive.
Even with my love for cyberpunk, the Shadowrun setting had never been one that really clicked with me. Shadowrun: Returns, despite being a generally solid game, didn't do much to change my feelings on the setting. However, Shadowrun: Dragonfall displayed a level of excellence in the writing, characters, setting and choice and consequence that propelled it to the very top tier of RPG's last year. More than that, it made me fall in love with the setting. The characters brought the world to life, the story was intriguing and full of twists and turns and really brought the setting's strengths to the fore, while making Anarch Berlin feel like an actual place actual people lived in. Should Harebrained's efforts in this game equal those made previously, then Hong Kong should prove to be one of the RPG highlights of the year.
Volume - AHA-Lambda
From the mind of Mike Bithell, the man who made you care about feelings of blocks, comes a stealth game? Why yes, of course! What else were you expecting? Volume is a 3rd-person top-down stealth game that takes inspiration from classics such as Thief, but most prominently the original Metal Gear Solid; the games style taking heavy influence from that games VR missions.
The plot is a modern day retelling of the Robin Hood folk story by way of Youtube culture; where Robert Locksley discovers the Volume, a device allowing the user to simulate heists. He decides to broadcast these simulations on the internet, becoming a Let's Player of crime.
Featuring the voice talents of Youtuber Charlie McDonnell as Locksley, Danny Wallace (the narrator from Thomas Was Alone) as the Volume AI, and Andy Serkis as Guy Gisborne, the central antagonist.
You cannot kill in this game, you must distract and avoid your foes through each of the levels, using your equipment and environment to your advantage. But the campaign is not all that's on offer; a level editor also features, allowing you to create and share your own creations with other players.
If you love old school stealth games, and have some nostalgia for old Metal Gear in particular, then you should be picking this up! Itd be a great primer and also some good variety for Phantom Pains release next month.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 - Tizoc
GUMO GUMO NO STEAM!
5 years ago if you said a One Piece game would release on a service like Steam, people would think you were crazy. Now here we are in 2015, weeks away from a One Piece game releasing on Steam.
This game plays similar to the Warriors/Musou series KOEI is known for, but with the themes and settings being based on one of the most popular manga/anime series of the past 20 years.
The game will have you play through many of the areas Luffy and co. visited on their adventures up til the recent events in Dressrosa.
Play as many of the famed characters among Straw Hat crew and their allies ranging from Luffy, Boa Hancock, Whitebeard and 'God' Usopp as to the various enemies they faced on their adventures such as Donquixote Doflamingo, Akainu, Kizaru, Buggy, Enel and Rob 'Pigeon Pimp' Lucci.
While a lot are expecting the PC port to perform as well as TOEI's recent Steam releases, the fact that a game is even releasing on Steam should still be appreciated and given the chance, especially if you're a fan of Musou games or OP in general.
Submerged - MakeshiftChef
Tired of being chased by zombies? Shooting zombies/dudes/whathaveyou in the head? Want to take a break from the frenetic action of that soccercars game you've gotten addicted to? Well then, this might be the game for you!
Submerged is a third person exploration game that doesn't have combat. The hook here is simple, you're trying to get your wounded brother back on his feet again. You've taken him in your small boat to a ruined and flooded city in search of supplies. You'll use a telescope to spot things of interest from afar and travel by boat to try and reach them by climbing to them. Apparently the climbing bits are navigation type puzzles. You choose where to go and explore at your own pace. Enjoy the scenery as game has a day/night cycle and unravel the mystery of what happened to the world and your family as you explore and discover more.
The game will launch August 4th on Steam. After having trouble finding the launch price I emailed the developers and asked what it would be. Here's the response I got: "The price will be $19.99 USD - (Launch Discounts will apply for all Steam users, PS Plus, and XBOX Live Gold users)."
Way of the Samurai 4 - Kurt Russell
Way of the Samurai 4 is Ghostlight's latest PC release. For those who haven't been following the company's work, they are a British publisher which focuses on bringing Japanese games to Western audiences, and as of late, has been bringing many of those games to PC.
After that quick intro, let's concentrate ourselves in Way of the Samurai 4, which is the second WotS game to come out in non Sony platforms (and the first on PC). Players start the game as a nameless Samurai who arrives in a fictional Japanese port town in the middle of the 19th century, just as foreigners start to influence Japanese life. Upon arrival, the player can choose to align with different factions (foreign powers, Shogunate forces or rebels who want to expel the foreigners) This non linear approach also translates to the gameplay, as players are able to experiment with different fighting styles, character customization options (though the character's gender is always male) important decision making and also ten different endings.
This new PC version features Steam Trading Cards, Achievements, Cloud Saving support and also supports either keyboard or controllers.
King's Quest - jshackles
I loved the King's Quest series back in the good ol' days. I was first exposed to it in 1987 when it was re-released for MS-DOS and eagerly looked forward to each subsequent release in the series through 1998. So when I heard that they were making an episodic game in the King's Quest series starring Christopher Lloyd and Zelda Williams, I was immediately hyped. The game is absolutely fantastic, even if you're not a King's Quest fan (let's be honest the series has been dead for 17 years). If you are familiar with King's Quest, you'll spot a few of the same story arcs from the original series of games, as this is more of a "re-imagining" than a "remaster". Graphically it's not unlike something you'd see in a Saturday morning cartoon, and the game shares a lot of similarities with The Princess Bride (including the inconceivably talented Wallace Shawn).
To say that the new King's Quest is like a Telltale game is a bit of a disservice. Sure, it's an episodic adventure game, and sure it's got QTEs - but it's also got multiple ways to solve the same puzzles, red herring items, branching story paths, and a lot of other conventions that were brought back from the adventure games of yore. The first episode is also 4-6 hours in length, meaning the entire game should be around 20-30 hours long - way meatier than the typical adventure game from Telltale. Also, this game doesn't hold your hand like modern adventure games do - it's easy to get stumped on a puzzle and wander around looking for a solution, or simply deciding to visit a new area to look for clues there - or an entirely new puzzle. For the best nostalgic results (and maximum play time), try not to follow any walk-throughs or guides online. We certainly didn't have that luxury in 1987!
If you're a fan of adventure games, or simply want to see what all the King's Quest fuss is about: be sure to pick this one up. My only (very small) complaints are that the story is a little sappy (like it's a fairy tale written for small children/young adults, which makes sense in the context of the story) and that some of the animation sequence times and backtracking can get a little annoying after doing whatever for the 10th time. Other than that, this has so far been one of my favorite games of 2015 so far.
Contradiction - Spot The Liar! - Dsyndrome
Do you find yourself longing for the glory age of PC, back when games took up multiple CD's, were nothing but FMV's and static environments, and had some sort of mystery to solve? Well then look no further than Contradiction, a recently release FMV game akin to games of yore like Gabriel Knight 2, Temujin, the X-Files Game, and everyone's favorite, Night Trap. Kickstarted back in 2014, the game released on July 10th and currently costs $10.
You play the role of Detective Inspector Jenks who's investigating the mysterious death of Kate Pine in the small village of Edenton. Gameplay consists of collecting clues you find around the map (no pixel hunting thankfully), interrogating townsfolk, and finding contradictions from their statements. Think Ace Attorney without the life bar. When you find enough contradictions in the statements provided by the people, the hour moves on and the next chapter begins. A help system exists for when you can't figure out the contradiction in the form of calling your chief.
Why should you want to play this game? Because this and the recent Her Story are returns to classic FMV adventure games that have been shunned since the late '90s. The acting may be hammy at times, but it never gets downright grating, and you might even end up liking it just to see how some characters react. Need another recommendation? Here's a review by Dusk Golem here on Neogaf, and here's a Giant Bomb Quicklook from a few weeks ago. More incentive? It's got pretty easy achievements and costs only $10, mere card earnings for many folks. Hopefully you'll check it out and continue to support more excellent FMV games in the future!
Anyone can write a recommendation for an upcoming game for next month, just send a a PM of the game you want to write about and your thoughts on why it's good/why people should play it. Please make the sure recommendation is 60+ words at least and try and hand it a few days before the month ends so I can add it to the next thread.
